Volkswagen’s EV recall spreads to Audi, and owners are told to stop at 80% charge — SkimNews
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- Audi joined Volkswagen's battery recall with 12,734 Q4 E-Tron and Q4 Sportback E-Tron vehicles, including 9,048 in the U.S. for model years 2024-2025 and one in Germany.
- KBA listed three recalls totaling 72,668 VW Group EVs worldwide, including 9,881 in Germany, spanning ID. Buzz, ID.3, ID.4 and ID.7 vehicles produced from 2022-2025 and Cupra Borns from 2022-2024; Audi's October 27 addition raised the overall total to 85,402.
- Volkswagen issued an earlier NHTSA recall covering 22,524 U.S. ID.4 electric SUVs from model years 2023 through 2026.
- Volkswagen told NHTSA that certain charging profiles combined with a state of charge above 80% may trigger thermal propagation; the company said the root cause remains unknown.
- Affected owners received an email saying Volkswagen intended to apply a temporary 80% charging setting, unless they opted out by October 21.
- Audi Product Safety Committee was informed of battery thermal events in other VW Group EVs sharing the Q4's battery; an internal investigation found matching battery and production characteristics, with most affected vehicles produced for North America.
- Audi reported no claims, crashes, fires, injuries or deaths associated with the Q4 E-Tron battery issue and said U.S. owners could visit dealers for battery diagnostics and, if needed, an 80% charging cap.
Why it matters: For the 9,048 U.S. Audi Q4 owners affected, the material change is a restricted charging routine during the interim: Volkswagen’s safety report identifies a thermal-propagation risk when charging exceeds 80% under certain profiles, while the root cause remains unknown. The recall’s reach is broader than the Audi framing suggests, now spanning 85,402 VW Group EVs.
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