The alternator and starter of this car fails under heavy load due to the combined start stop engine function with heavy stop and go traffic. This is a known service problem affecting many Audis. my experience happened when I was driving home from work in heavy stop and go traffic after about 30 minutes of start and stop of the engine under these conditions the engine shut down completely and indicated a warning in the dash with an electrical system malfunction. I turned the car off and turned it back on and tried to put it into drive and shifted between park and drive and the engine still would not start. I ended up having to wait for about five minutes with the engine shut off at that point. I turned the engine back on and was able to put the car into drive. This was a dangerous situation because of heavy traffic surrounding my car and not being able to move the vehicle as it was stopped in the middle of the road. Audi has begun a service campaign for this known failure, but it should be upgraded to a recall as this is a serious safety hazard.

- Roslindale, MA, USA