Volkswagen Group’s battery-related recalls have now reached Audi. If you own a 2024 or 2025 Audi Q4 e-tron, here is what has been reported, what owners are being asked to do, and what is still unknown.
What was recalled
According to Electrek, Volkswagen Group of America told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in an October 23 letter that it is recalling 9,048 Audi Q4 e-tron and Q4 Sportback e-tron vehicles from model years 2024 and 2025. Audi told regulators that most of the affected cars were built for the North American market.
Why Audi acted
Electrek reports that Audi’s Product Safety Committee learned of battery thermal events in other Volkswagen Group EVs that use the same batteries as the Q4 e-tron. An internal investigation then found the same battery and production characteristics in the Audi. The root cause has not been determined.
The concern is thermal propagation, meaning a battery fire spreading between cells. Audi says it is not aware of any claims, crashes, fires, injuries or deaths linked to the Q4 e-tron battery issue.
The Volkswagen ID.4 precedent
The Audi recall follows a similar one earlier this month. Electrek says Volkswagen recalled 22,524 ID.4 SUVs from model years 2023 to 2026. In its NHTSA filing, Volkswagen said certain charging profiles combined with a state of charge above 80% may trigger thermal propagation. A separate report from Electrek covers three recalls filed in Germany that together affect 72,668 vehicles worldwide, including the ID. Buzz, ID.3, ID.4, ID.7 and Cupra Born.
What Q4 e-tron owners should do
- Limit charging to 80% until a remedy is available. Audi is advising this.
- Take the car to an authorized Audi dealer, where a diagnostic check on the battery will be run. If needed, the dealer will set a temporary state-of-charge limit of 80%.
- Watch for mail. Audi expects to send interim owner letters on December 18, 2026, with more letters once a remedy exists.
- Questions can go to Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834 (Audi recall number 93SK), or to NHTSA at 1-888-327-4236 or nhtsa.gov/recalls (campaign number 26V698).
What an 80% cap means in daily use
The brief and the source do not quantify the range lost, so any estimate here would be a guess. In general terms, charging to 80% instead of 100% reduces the usable battery by about a fifth, and the effect on a long trip depends on the car’s rated range and your route. Our analysis: for commuting, most owners will notice little difference. For road trips, expect to plan an extra fast-charging stop in some cases. Fast charging is typically quicker at lower battery levels, so stopping at 80% can partly offset the time cost, though this varies by car and station.
Home charging angle
If you charge at home, check whether your car or the Audi app lets you set a charge limit, and confirm with your dealer how the temporary setting is applied. A Level 2 charger on a timer is a convenient way to charge overnight to a set limit, but follow Audi’s guidance on the exact setting rather than relying on charger settings alone. Home charging at a limited percentage also costs slightly less per session since you add less energy.
What we do not know
The cause is unknown and no permanent fix has been announced. Our reading, which is opinion: the repeated use of an 80% cap across several models suggests manufacturers are treating this as a precaution while engineering work continues, but the sources do not say that explicitly.
Sources
- Electrek: Volkswagen’s EV recall spreads to Audi, and owners are told to stop at 80% charge
- NHTSA recalls
Photo: Calreyn88 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.