Volkswagen battery recall extends to Audi in the USA

The recall campaign for Volkswagen Group's electric cars due to potentially defective battery cells is now also expanding to Audi – especially in the USA. Around 9,000 units of the Q4 e-tron and Q4 Sportback e-tron are now being recalled in the United States. However, nearly 3,700 units are also affected in other markets.

Image: Audi

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Strictly speaking, Audi has decided to initiate a “voluntary safety recall”, ordering exactly 9,048 electric vehicles in the US to return to workshops. These vehicles are equipped with a specific batch of battery cells from Hungary. Although no incidents have been reported in practice, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) states that battery fires cannot be ruled out. Affected vehicles should therefore be charged to no more than 80% for the time being.

In detail, the recall involves 7,040 Audi Q4 e-tron from the 2024 and 2025 model years, built between 4 December 2023 and 24 April 2025, and 2,008 units of the Audi Q4 Sportback e-tron — also from the 2024 and 2025 model years — produced between 30 November 2023 and 22 April 2025. In both cases, the models are manufactured by Audi’s parent company Volkswagen in Zwickau. Audi still does not have its own production facility in North America, and its Mexican plant primarily builds internal combustion engine vehicles and hybrids. As a result, electric cars bound for the US market are still produced in Europe — in this case, in Zwickau, Germany.

It was initially unclear whether a recall for Audi electric vehicles was also pending in Europe. The NHTSA does state, however, that “a large portion” of the affected Audi Q4 e-tron vehicles with potential issues were produced for the North American market. But, on Wednesday, October 28, the Federal Motor Transport Authority (Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt) updated its recall database and now lists 12,734 affected Audi electric vehicles worldwide (manufactured between November 30, 2023, and June 26, 2025), including a single vehicle in Germany. Subtracting the roughly 9,000 U.S. electric cars leaves just under 3,700 Q4 e-tron vehicles in other markets that are affected by the battery issue. However, the KBA does not specify where these cars were registered. Thus, it is impossible to say to what extent European owners are affected.

One thing is clear: Audi’s initiative is closely linked to Volkswagen’s major recall. The German automotive giant began examining its vehicles more closely in September after it had identified internal battery issues. These irregularities culminated in a recall of several VW ID. model series worldwide a week ago. Due to faulty EV batteries, nearly 72,700 electric vehicles must return to workshops. In Germany alone, 10,000 vehicles are reportedly affected.

Audi found that the relevant battery and production characteristics identified in the affected Volkswagen Group vehicles also apply to certain Q4 e-tron and Q4 Sportback e-tron models. This comes as no surprise since, like the VW ID. models, the Q4 e-tron is based on the Volkswagen Group’s MEB platform with partially identical batteries. The electric Audis also received the problematic cells from a supplier. The NHTSA, as is customary for US recalls, names the supplier explicitly as being SK Battery Manufacturing in Hungary, a company within the SK On Group.

Audi has therefore opted for the aforementioned voluntary initiative and warns that “certain charging profiles combined with a state of charge over 80% may trigger thermal propagation.” Affected vehicles in the US are now to be taken to dealers for testing. How a permanent repair will be implemented remains unclear.

Meanwhile, another battery recall is already underway in the US for 22,524 ID.4 vehicles from the 2023 to 2026 model years. Here, too, Volkswagen recommends charging the vehicles to a maximum of 80% until a final solution is available. In this case, however, the manufacturer identifies SK Battery America as the supplier of the affected battery cells. These vehicles were built directly in the US. According to Volkswagen, certain charging profiles above 80% can also promote thermal runaway within the battery.

In another case earlier in 2026, Volkswagen had to recall 44,551 ID.4 vehicles in the United States. These also exclusively involved vehicles from the US plant in Chattanooga. Causes included misaligned electrodes in individual cells.

static.nhtsa.gov (PDF) via insideevs.com, electrek.co, kba.de(Reference: 17222R)