This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
The contact owns a 2021 Audi E-Tron. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, a message displayed reading "Electrical System Malfunction: Safely Stop the Vehicle, " after which the vehicle lost motive power. The contact was able to coast to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle failed to restart. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V867000 (Electrical System) and the VIN was included, but parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 26,000.
There are 2 active/open recalls for my 2021 Audi etron vehicle. The recalls were initiated by the manufacturer 2 months ago and there currently are no repairs available for either recall. Both recalls present a severe safety risk to consumers and present risks to their homes. Dec 20, 2023 Manufacturer Recall Number. 93V2 NHTSA Recall Number 23V867 A potentially critical self-discharge condition exists in certain high-voltage battery modules that, in some instances, may lead to thermal overload, possibly resulting in smoke or a fire. A high-voltage battery overheating increases the risk of a fire. Affected high-voltage batteries may experience a loss of range and/or performance as an early indication. Safety Risk A high-voltage battery overheating increases the risk of a fire. Dec 19, 2023 Manufacturer Recall Number 93U6 NHTSA Recall Number 23V842 If a 220V/240V wall plug becomes overburdened when the compact/portable charging system cable is being used to charge the high-voltage batteries in your vehicle, the home wiring can become overheated. If this happens, overheating of the home infrastructure can eventually cause permanent damage to the house socket and charging cable, increasing the risk of a fire. Safety Risk Overheating of the home infrastructure can eventually cause permanent damage to the house socket and charging cable, increasing the risk of a fire.
This issue occurred with my Audi a year after purchasing it and the vehicle had 19,282 miles on it at the time. I received an "Electrical System Malfunction - Please contact service" error message (in yellow) on my 2021 Audi etron vehicle display. The message was displayed for a few minutes as I was traveling home from work and then disappeared. The following day, I was on my commute into work on the highway, traveling 70 mph, and received an "Electrical System Malfunction - Safety stop vehicle" error message. The vehicle immediately started displaying other error messages and the motor turned off, while the vehicle was in motion. Luckily, I was able to move to the shoulder of the highway safely. The experience was frightening as I was traveling 70 mph and experienced a complete vehicle shut down with little to no warning. The Audi etron had to be towed to the dealership to be repaired. The dealership had my vehicle for 3.5 weeks while they repaired the car. They inspected the vehicle and determined it was a front motor failure and it had to be replaced. I am extremely concerned about the safety issues the Audi etron has created for me and others, especially given that it is a newer vehicle with low mileage.
- O'fallon, IL, USA
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The contact owns a 2021 Audi E-Tron. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 23V867000 (Electrical System) and 23V842000 (Electrical System) however, the parts to do the recall repairs were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repairs. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
Twice in the span of 3 months my 2021 Audi eTron with less than 25K miles shutdown while driving with an error message "Electrical system: malfunction! Safely stop vehicle." At this point the drive train is completely disengaged and all that can be done is coast to a stop with limited ability to steer or control the vehicle. The vehicle must then be towed to a dealership. If this had happened on a busy multi-lane highway, there is a high probability of an accident occurring putting occupants of the car and other cars at risk. In both cases there was no prior warning of any problem with the vehicle. The first repair in July required Audi to replace the master controller located in the battery pack and replace the front engine due to a fluid leak. This took 6+ weeks to complete. I had the car back 5 weeks after the first repair when it happened again. I am still waiting diagnosis on second repair.
My vehicle has 13,090 miles on it. I have had two electrical issues that affected the A/C button not working on the panel display, which were both fixed by the dealership. Last week, after dropping my children off at school, a warning sign came on my display that said "Electrical system malfunction - Safely Stop the Vehicle." I wasn't in a spot to stop the vehicle safely so I started to drive to a parking lot where I could. While trying to take off at an intersection after the red light turned green, the car completely stopped with the nose of my car sticking out into the crosswalk/intersection. The accelerator would not respond and I could not move. I had to ask some people standing by to help me push my car off into a parking lot where I had the vehicle towed to the dealership. After being at the dealership for 6 days, they let me know that it has been verified that a motor is going to need to be replaced and they put an order in for it. They said they aren't sure on when the vehicle will be ready for me to pick it up.
Had multiple instances as I approached intersection stops of the vehicle suddenly jerking and the drive train becoming disengaged. The car maintained electrical power and had working steering and braking as I coasted to a stop. This occurred 5 times over the course of 3 miles as I attempted to make my way home, and I would estimate that each occurrence happened at a speed under 10 mph. The car was near full battery charge level when this occurred. With each occurrence, the vehicle would generate a series of warning messages (indicating failures of one system after another, ranging from electrical system, to drive train, to collision avoidance, to tire pressure monitor, etc.) and would indicate the car was disabled, should be pulled over safely, and that I should call the dealer for support. For about 30 seconds, the car could not be put back into "drive" mode, but after that time I could restart the car and was able to resume driving. Fortunately, this all occurred when I was driving on neighborhood streets during a non-busy period, and I was able to carefully make my way back home. But having a car suddenly and randomly disabled while in motion could obviously be a significant safety issue. The following day I had the car towed to my local Audi dealer and at this point have received no indication of what the problem might be or even when it might be assigned to a technician for diagnosis. In looking online at Audi owner forums, it's clear that others have experienced the same problem I experienced, along with an array of other significant electrical failures. I've spoken to the Audi Customer Experience support desk and they say the problem I experienced is not one they've been made aware of.
Vehicle traveling when electrical systems malfunction message came on. Said pull over safely and call for service. After car was slowed to a stop, the vehicle was disabled with no forward or reverse drive possible. The car was stranded close to the middle right of the street. Car had to be towed to the nearest dealership around midnight. Problem has been confirmed with the dealer and they are still looking into the problem. Prior warnings messages of headlamp malfunction, Audi emergency assist unavailable, high beam headlight faulty were present about a month prior but did not disable the vehicle.
While operating the vehicle the air conditioning system failed. The vehicle was brought to dealer for diagnosis which confirmed the failure and was out of service for 30 days due to parts availability being SOP. The dealer provided a loaner and fuel reimbursement due my car being electric but refused to reimburse the lease payment for the 30 days out of service. The parts replaced were 4M0-959-609 SENSOR, 87571950 HIGH PRESSURE SWITCH & REFRIGERANT.
While I was on vacation a couple states away, I drove the Audi Etron Sportback for the first time since three days before when I drove to the vacation destination. After several minutes driving I got an "ELECTRICAL SYSTEM MALFUNCTION - PLEASE CONTACT SERVICE" notification. Several minutes later I got very large red alert that said "ELECTRICAL SYSTEM MALFUNCTION - STOP VEHICLE". I immediately pulled over to the side of the road into a parking lot just before the electric motors shut down completely. This put myself and my dog in danger. Car was towed to local Audi Dealership and they informed me that coolant had infiltrated the front motor and needed to be replaced. Then other hoses and parts had to be replaced. I am at 4 weeks without my vehicle. The car had 9800 miles on it and was roughly 9.5 months old. Upon searching the internet, there's MANY complaints of coolant infiltrating the motors after a long road trip or after many miles. This kills the motor and some owners report horror stories of having no electrical power in the middle of traffic and in the middle of streets. This is apparent that it is a not a stray issue - but it is a routine issue with the Audi Etron Sportback. And with two motors, and each one costing about $15,000 each - it is likely a very serious and expensive problem that Audi doesn't want to be known. Loss of drive ability (along with other systems) in an EV in traffic or highways is an extremely dangerous and terrible activity, especially for first responders and hazard workers that assist an owner in a vehicle that is very difficult to move when in this state.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Franklin, TN, USA