Class Action Lawsuit Filed Over Alleged Battery Defect, Fire Risk in Certain Audi e-tron EVs

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A proposed class action lawsuit has been filed over an alleged defect that can cause the batteries in certain Audi e-tron SUV electric vehicles (EVs) to lose power spontaneously or catch fire while driving.

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The 69-page lawsuit says the apparent battery defect poses an unreasonable safety risk to consumers and can be found in the following vehicle models:

• 2019-2022 Audi e-tron Quattro;
• 2020-2022 Audi e-tron Sportback Quattro;
• 2022-2024 Audi RS e-tron GT; and
• 2022-2024 Audi e-tron GT.

The filing claims that several thousand affected Audi e-tron vehicles have been subject to piecemeal recalls beginning in December 2023 and most recently in September 2024. However, per the case, the recalls have failed to address the alleged defect’s root cause or offer an adequate repair for the faulty part.

Instead, the case says, the recalls instruct Audi e-tron drivers not to charge their vehicle past 80 percent capacity until a software update can be installed at an unknown date in 2025.

“This limitation will result in a reduction of the advertised range and require owners to charge their Class Vehicles more frequently at inconvenient times and locations,” the suit contends.

The suit explains that the software update will apparently allow Audi and parent company Volkswagen Group of America to monitor data from the impacted EVs for any irregularities in the battery. If an anomaly is detected, the dashboard will display a warning message, the battery’s charging capacity will be limited temporarily and Audi says it will replace the affected battery modules, the filing relays.

“Apart from the failure to address the serious risk of fire posed by the Battery Defect now, there is no certainty as to when the diagnostic software update will be available and whether it will be sufficient,” the case contends. “But even if the software update can successfully discover all data anomalies and predict a problem—which is an open question that won’t be answered, at best, for months—Defendants admit that the batteries may have problems in the future by virtue of the monitoring that Audi dealers need to undertake.”

According to the case, the automakers have known of the apparent defect since at least April 2020, when they received the first of several reports from drivers whose high voltage lithium-ion batteries overheated and caused a fire. Despite this, the defendants have actively concealed the dangerous issue from owners and lessees in their advertisements and promotional materials, the complaint argues.

The lawsuit claims Audi’s deficient response to the alleged defect leaves drivers with a “ticking time bomb.”

“[The defendants] have left their customers with two terrible choices: owners can decide to stop driving their vehicles for which they paid approximately $70,000 or more, or they can continue driving the e-trons at the risk of losing power while driving on a highway or, even worse, experiencing a fire,” the case says.

The lawsuit looks to represent anyone in Georgia who has owned or leased one of the Audi e-tron EVs listed above as of January 3, 2024.

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