Audi Recalls 9,048 Q4 e-tron EVs as Battery Fix Remains Pending
Audi is recalling 9,048 model-year 2024–2025 Q4 e-tron and Q4 Sportback e-tron electric SUVs because some high-voltage batteries may experience thermal propagation when charged above 80%. The root cause and final repair remain under investigation.
The new U.S. recall, NHTSA campaign 26V698 and Audi campaign 93SK, covers 7,040 conventional-body Q4 e-trons and 2,008 Sportback models. Volkswagen Group of America filed the defect report with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on October 21, 2026.
Audi estimates that 0.1% of the recalled population contains the defect, but the full 9,048-vehicle group is included because the affected SUVs use cells from a suspect battery-production population. Owners should use the VIN lookup rather than assuming their vehicle is excluded based on model year alone.
Which Audi Q4 e-tron models are included
The NHTSA Part 573 recall report lists two vehicle groups:
- 7,040 Audi Q4 e-tron SUVs from model years 2024–2025, produced from December 4, 2023, through April 24, 2025
- 2,008 Audi Q4 Sportback e-tron SUVs from model years 2024–2025, produced from November 30, 2023, through April 22, 2025
The filing says Audi identified the population by reviewing vehicle assembly records, battery traceability data, supplier production records and available charging information. Vehicles outside the campaign do not contain cells from the identified suspect production batch.
Charging above 80% may create a fire risk
Audi told NHTSA that certain high-voltage batteries may not meet its required quality standards. Under some charging profiles, taking the battery above an 80% state of charge may trigger thermal propagation—a process in which heat spreads through battery cells. If that occurs, the vehicle can catch fire.
The manufacturer has not identified a conclusive root cause. Its current findings point to possible manufacturing deviations in battery modules supplied by SK Battery Manufacturing in Hungary. The filing also warns that a technical defect may not be immediately detectable by the driver.
Audi says it has no reports of claims, crashes, fires, injuries or deaths in Q4 e-tron vehicles associated with this issue. The decision followed reports of thermal events in other Volkswagen Group vehicles using the same battery type, not confirmed Audi incidents.
That history makes this recall related in subject but separate from the Volkswagen ID.4 battery recall Chiefs Review covered earlier in October. Owners should rely on the campaign number and their VIN rather than treating different Volkswagen Group battery recalls as interchangeable.
The permanent repair is not ready
Audi has reviewed battery diagnostic data from the affected vehicles. According to the filing, vehicles whose data does not indicate a need for additional assessment require no interim measure at this time.
If usable battery data is unavailable—or if the data indicates more assessment is needed—the owner will be told to limit charging to 80% and take the vehicle to an authorized Audi dealer for another battery diagnostic check. Depending on the result, the temporary 80% limit may remain until a permanent remedy is available, or Audi may tell the owner that the limit can be removed.
This is not a blanket instruction for every Q4 e-tron owner to stop driving or immediately cap charging. The interim action depends on Audi’s assessment of the individual vehicle. Owners should follow the instructions attached to their VIN and contact a dealer if the lookup shows an open campaign.
Audi is still developing the final remedy, and the NHTSA filing lists the remedy-available notification date as “to be determined.” That means some owners may receive an interim notice before Audi has a permanent repair ready.
Owner notices are due by December 18
Audi planned to notify dealers by October 23. Interim owner letters are scheduled to be mailed on or before December 18, 2026, while final-remedy notices will follow later on a phased schedule.
VINs became searchable on October 23, according to the filing. Owners can check the federal NHTSA recall lookup or Audi’s official recall page. A VIN search is more precise than matching only the model and production date because Audi built the recall population from battery traceability records.
The most important practical point is that Audi has not yet published a universal hardware replacement or software fix. Owners whose vehicles are flagged for further assessment may need to live with an 80% charging ceiling until the company completes its investigation and supplies a final remedy.
Sources
- NHTSA Part 573 Safety Recall Report 26V698, submitted October 21, 2026
- NHTSA VIN recall lookup, accessed October 26, 2026
- Audi official recall lookup, accessed October 26, 2026
Featured image: A 2024 Audi Q4 e-tron Vorsprung 45 photographed in England in July 2024. Photo by Calreyn88 via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. The image shows one model included in the recall but does not identify a specific recalled VIN.
