Battery fire risk prompts Audi to recall 9,048 Q4 e-tron EVs, with an 80% charging cap
Audi is calling back 9,048 Q4 e-tron electric SUVs whose high-voltage packs may overheat, and until a repair exists owners are told to stop charging past 80%.
- 9,048
- 80%
- About 2 weeks
What Happened
Audi is recalling 9,048 Q4 e-tron crossovers after concluding that some high-voltage packs can go into thermal runaway, a chain reaction that can end in fire. No such fire has been recorded in one of these cars, and the brand does not yet have a repair. Until a fix exists, a temporary limiter is being fitted that holds charging at an 80% ceiling, and the cap comes off once the pack is mended or cleared.
9,048
Audi has no remedy ready yet, so affected cars get a temporary charging cap in the meantime.
The inquiry started with a sister model. Audi's Product Safety Committee heard about thermal runaway in Volkswagen high-voltage batteries of the sort also used in the Q4, which pushed the brand to examine its own cars. Investigators concluded that specific charging routines, combined with a pack sitting above 80% charge, could trigger thermal propagation inside the battery. Volkswagen recalled ID.4 packs over a comparable fire worry only a few weeks earlier; the two models are mechanical siblings and likely take cells from one supplier.
“observed that in certain high-voltage batteries, certain charging profiles combined with a state of charge over 80% may result in thermal propagation within the high-voltage battery”
- Drivers must avoid charging above an 80% threshold.
- An interim software cap will restrict battery intake.
- Audi has initiated remote diagnostic reviews across customer vehicles.
- Vehicles flagged for additional scrutiny must report to a dealership for physical evaluation.
- The temporary restriction will be deactivated once technicians repair the pack or verify its integrity.
The packs came from SK Battery Manufacturing in Hungary, a plant that belongs to SK On. Nobody has yet worked out why these batteries behave this way, whether in the Volkswagen application or the Audi one, according to the recall. Most of the suspect batteries were sold in North America.
Why this matters
The campaign puts Q4 e-tron owners on a lower daily charging ceiling until Audi finds a remedy, and it widens a battery-fire concern that already reached Volkswagen's ID.4 — a car built on the same underpinnings and probably fed by the same supplier. Because most of the suspect packs went to North America, dealers there handle the first wave of inspections.
Terms in This Story
- thermal runaway
- A self-reinforcing overheating reaction inside a battery cell that can spread to neighbouring cells and start a fire.
- state of charge
- How full a battery is, expressed as a percentage of its usable capacity.
- high-voltage battery
- The large traction pack that powers an electric vehicle, as opposed to the small low-voltage battery that runs electronics.
A brief summary; details can be imperfect — always verify against the original source.