Volkswagen’s latest recall now extends to Audi, affecting nearly 13,000 Q4 E-Tron and Q4 Sportback E-Tron vehicles globally. And just like with the ID.4, owners are being told to limit charging to 80% of the battery’s capacity.
Volkswagen EV recall extends to Audi
Earlier this month, Volkswagen issued a recall with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) impacting 22,524 ID.4 electric SUVs, model years 2023 to 2026.
Official information from the German Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) revealed shortly after that several thousand more VW Group electric vehicles are affected worldwide.
In three separate recalls now under investigation by the KBA, 72,668 VW Group EVs were included worldwide, including 9,881 in Germany.
The recall affects certain batches of the ID. Buzz, ID.3, ID.4, and ID.7 models produced between 2022 and 2025, as well as Cupra Born models from 2022 to 2024.
On October 27, VW Group added another electric vehicle to the KBA recall database. The latest recall impacts 12,734 Audi Q4 E-Tron and Q4 Sportback E-Tron vehicles globally, including just one in Germany. In total, Volkswagen’s battery recall now affects 85,402 EVs globally.
In the letter sent to the NHTSA on October 23, Volkswagen Group of America said it was issuing a recall affecting 9,048 Audi Q4 E-Tron and Q4 Sportback E-Tron vehicles in the US model years 2024 to 2025.
The recall stems from the risk of the battery overheating and potentially causing a fire under certain conditions when charged to over 80% of its limit.
Volkswagen said in a safety recall report with the NHTSA that “certain charging profiles combined with a state of charge over 80% may trigger thermal propagation.”
While the root cause is unknown, Volkswagen urged owners to limit charging to 80%. Owners of affected vehicles received an email saying VW “intends to apply a temporary vehicle setting that limits charging to 80%,” unless they opted out by October 21.
The safety recall follows Audi’s Product Safety Committee being informed of battery thermal events involving other Volkswagen Group EVs that use the same batteries as the Audi Q4 E-Tron.
Following an internal investigation, Audi found the same battery and production characteristics as the impacted VW Group vehicles. Audi said the majority of these were produced for the North American market.
Audi is not aware of any claims, crashes, fires, injuries, or deaths associated with the Q4 E-Tron’s battery issue.
The root cause has yet to be determined, and until a remedy is available, Audi is advising owners to limit charging to 80%.
Owners in the US can take their vehicles to an authorized Audi dealer, where the dealer will run a diagnostic check on the battery. If needed, the dealer will impose a temporary state-of-charge limit to 80%.
Audi expects to mail out interim letters notifying owners of the safety risks on December 18, 2026. Additional letters will send additional letters once a remedy is available.
Owners can contact Audi’s customer service at 1-800-253-2834 with questions or concerns. Audi’s recall number is 93SK. You can also contact the NHTSA Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 or visit nhtsa.gov for more information. The NHTSA campaign number is 26V698.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
