2023 Audi Q4 E-Tron Owner Complaints

I am reporting a severe safety recall compliance failure and fraudulent reporting by an authorized dealership regarding a 2023 Audi electric vehicle. On May 30, 2024, under Repair Order 227719, the dealership officially certified to the NHTSA and Audi that Safety Recall 93U6 (Compact/Portable Charging System Cable) was fully completed. The dealership never actually removed or replaced the hazardous, fire-prone charging hardware. The original recalled cable (Part Number: 8V4.971.675.BB) remains in my home and is available for inspection. The dealer falsely reported a federal safety remedy as remedied while leaving a fire-hazardous component in a consumer's possession. The vehicle suffers from chronic, sporadic overnight charging failures where the vehicle indicates it is charging via a green indicator light but fails to draw power overnight. The vehicle was returned to the same dealer in July 2026 for this defect, at which point the false historical recall reporting was discovered on the printed history report

NHTSA ID

11751185

Incident

May 30, 2024

Front suspension ball joint failure occurred while driving approximately 70 mph on an interstate highway, resulting in sudden loss of vehicle control and requiring immediate emergency response. The vehicle is a 2023 Audi e-tron A5. Two weeks prior to the sudden failure, an Audi dealership inspected the same front corner of the vehicle following earlier damage and stated that the front suspension and wheel components were safe and the vehicle was fit to drive, replaced the rear right tire and recommended replacing the rear wheel housing after not being able to get the full car alignment to spec. I told them I wanted to defer that service until later in February unless it was catastrophic when we discussed the findings. They told me that the car was safe to drive and proceeded with the wheel alignment and replacement on the rear. The ball joint failure was catastrophic and presents a serious safety concern, particularly given the recent dealer inspection and the short time between inspection and failure. Warranty coverage was later denied by the dealership, despite having just inspected the car for damage and claimed that the failure of the front ball joint was caused by deferring the rear wheel housing service. I am submitting this complaint due to the safety implications of a suspension component failure at highway speed and concern that the defect may have existed and should have been detected during the prior inspection.

NHTSA ID

11716747

Incident

Jan 22, 2026

As I began to move the car, the vehicle suddenly accelerated on its own. I attempted to brake before reaching the stop sign, but the car continued to gain speed. I estimate the vehicle reached approximately 60 mph. Within seconds, I collided with two vehicles and then a palm tree, sustaining a frontal impact. The entire incident occurred within approximately two to three seconds, during which the vehicle accelerated rapidly. Despite the collision, the airbags did not deploy, the seat belt did not lock, and neither the brake system warning nor the automatic braking system activated.

NHTSA ID

11712662

Incident

Jan 13, 2026

I purchased the Audi Q4 Etron new. The issue that I'm bring up is 'self-acceleration' I had the intial incident 10/2025 where the car self accelerated (Audi Case open) but can't reproduce which almost pin a kid between my vehicle and another vehicle. I was able to react quickly to prevent a death. Second time 'self-acceleration" was on 3/27/25. My son pulling into garage with my sitting next to him, the car self accelerated after coming to complete stop, jumped a pakring block and crashed into my garage wall. Dealer had the car for 2-3 weeks and still couldn't replicate. Third incident was 10/30/25 while at a complete stop in traffic leaving a parking lot, the car was at complete stop and 'self-acclerated' into the vehicle in front. This incident caused my vehcile to be total-loss by insurance. Audi case was also open and they said no fault and told me it's an insurrance matter. I believe there are many cases like mine and they are aware. There are lots of discussion on the defective 'self-accelreation' on Audi Q4 Etron. take a look at this link "https://www.reddit.com/r/etron/comments/16ta6qe/beware_of_the_q4_etron_sudden_acceleration/"

NHTSA ID

11704429

Incident

Oct 30, 2025

Primary issue is electric shock hazard and limb dismemberment. It was confirmed by an Audi service tech that all Audi Q4s have dangerous gaps in every door. My child 8 years old got her finger caught between the panel and door frame. She could have cut or worse lost her finger should the door rapidly open or close. Wires are exposed leaving the easy situation of access to wires with sharp metal objects that a kid could do. Open door panels have sharp edges leading g to easy cuts. As the wires are colorful and visually appealing a kid would be enticed to try to acquire. The techs will not close the panel to frame since this is Audi’s deliberate design. Tech claims to have fixed but clearly was not touched. Audi should be required to redesign door paneling and reinstall proper paneling. All door paneling to the door frames should be closed and secured with zero gaps. Video claiming this normal is found here [XXX] &section=RECOMMENDATIONS&shouldOpenInspectionsReport=true INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11697683

Incident

Oct 31, 2025

See attached document for complaint.

NHTSA ID

11689510

Incident

Aug 21, 2025

Car alarmed that my EV had a major electrical issue and made sirens outside as to warn others to not come close and keep distance as if the car will catch fire or explode. I replicated this warning again sitting in the car. Fearing the car will catch fire I had it moved out of my garage. My Audi Service Center was not able to replicate the issue and I provided video and photo evidence of the danger. They claim that car works normal. In the photo is the battery light and sos light on. In addition, all safety features failed to work. Audi Q4 Etron regularly crashes and driver lose federally required safety features. For example additional photos show the loss of speedometer reading stuck on 8 mph and other safety features. These crashes happen at least once a week.

NHTSA ID

11652841

Incident

Apr 3, 2025

In several occasions I have noticed my Audi Q4 windows and tailgate are open the next day in the morning in my garage, after I made sure all windows and doors are properly closed and locked, thank God hasn’t happened when parking in open public parking lots and or in raining days. Also many times after locking doors and applying brake properly (after double checking before getting out of my car) I receive on myAudi App the notification that “is not locked “, and after checking my car it’s “unlocked “. Sorry I don’t have pictures for this issue.

NHTSA ID

11648004

Incident

Feb 1, 2024

I have noticed on my Audi Q4 in about 4 different occasions that when I applied the brakes in situations like when traffic suddenly stops, the car and wheels shakes in an uneven, irregular way. Like I never expected before in my more than 45 years driving BMW, Mitsubishi, Mazda. Besides that also always noticed that my car reduces the speed almost to stop suddenly when there is a car already moved into the right or left lane (lanes next to mine) such sudden slow down from 50 mph to 0mph causes the cars behind me to stop suddenly and in several occasions almost ending in a rear ended crash against my car. I guess the radar identifies the traffic ahead next to my lane as a traffic “in front” of my car. Also, even when I am holding the steering wheel with one or 2 hands, frequently I received a message on the dashboard asking me to “Please take over steering” in yellow color, and if I don’t move the steering wheel side to side the yellow warning turns into a Red warning on the dashboard saying “Please take over steering” and if I don’t steer side to side, I get several hard pulls on my seat belt and a load alarm. The only way to avoid such progress of “warnings” is by steering my steering wheel side to side (zigzagging) on my lane. Who ever see me doing that would think I’m drunk or distracted regaining control of my car.

NHTSA ID

11648000

Incident

Mar 15, 2023

On 7/17/2024 at 11:39am at Bakersfield, CA.when weather temperature was in the 100s , when turn ignition on, lights on temperature control module (A/C, Heating) and emergency light switch started flashing unstoppable. I sent the video tu Audi of America and Audi of Bakersfield, CA. I got an email from Audi of America acknowledging the email was received. I’m afraid this is a dangerous electric issue that can start a fire. I have videos about this issue. Since I informed about this issue I still don’t get a solution from Audi.

NHTSA ID

11647884

Incident

Jul 17, 2024

I was driving on the highway at a very slow speed (<5mph) due to heavy traffic. All of a sudden my car accelerated and hit the car in front of me twice because brakes would not apply. I found similar user reports online (links below). These cases suggest that my experience is not an isolated incident, which raises serious safety concerns. Links to other users who have reported similar issues: https://www.e-tronforum.com/threads/unintended-sudden-acceleration.7662/ https://www.e-tronforum.com/threads/sudden-acceleration-issue.2124/ https://www.cars.com › ... › 20232023 Audi Q4 e-tron Consumer Reviews

NHTSA ID

11625261

Incident

Oct 11, 2024

My first two years of ownership of the Juicebox 40 were pretty uneventful. However, over the last few months my Juicebox 40 became very unpredictable. Sometimes it would charge outside of the Time of Use (TOU) settings I had defined in the Enel X way app. Sometimes it wouldn't charge during the times it was supposed to be charging. There were a lot of random error messages. My hypothesis was that the Juicebox was receiving contradictory commands from multiple sources at Enel X. The support staff at Enel X could not figure it out. Then, on 9/12/24, I walked into my garage and smelled smoke. I had a sense it was coming from where the Juicebox connects to the 14-50 wall plug so I cut the breaker. When I went back to investigate more closely, I saw that the Juicebox had completely melted the 14-50 wall outlet. The smell I was smelling was the 14-50 outlet completely melting down.

NHTSA ID

11618803

Incident

Sep 12, 2024

Hi I take the liberty of writing that issue in relation to the tires of the vehicle, Audi Q-4 ETron 2023 (Bridgestone Alenza A/S Sport 235/55R19) which the vehicle came with. It has 5,200 runs, the tread is coming loose.

NHTSA ID

11610493

Incident

Aug 23, 2024

While moving downhill at approximately 20 mph, the car suddenly lost all power and went into park. This abrupt stop caused the safety belt to lock me into the seat. As a result, two cars following me were forced to take evasive action to avoid rear-ending me. This sequence of events repeated itself, culminating in a sudden lurch forward as if the pedal was fully pressed. I managed to get the car out of traffic and notified Audi that a tow was needed because driving was unsafe. The car is currently at Audi of Honolulu. This is not the first loss of power issue with this car. A few days after purchasing the car it lost power in my garage. No towing company could extract the car from the garage because of its height and width with the towing equipment. The car reset itself after four days, and it was towed to the dealership. This car poses an immediate and extreme risk to the driver, passengers, and the public. It is imperative that this issue is addressed without delay.

NHTSA ID

11609263

Incident

Aug 15, 2024

The contact owns a 2023 Audi Q4 E-Tron. The contact stated while driving approximately 50 MPH, the vehicle suddenly powered off and then immediately restarted. The contact stated that the failure had occurred twice. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the seat belt had failed, causing the vehicle to stop while driving. The seat belt for the front driver’s side seat needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 2,000.

NHTSA ID

11608904

Incident

Jul 16, 2023

Mileage

2,000 mi

Pressing on brake but the car accelerated. Unable to stop, the vehicle pushed two other cars I to each other (they were parked, fortunately). Car came to rest and shit down. None of the safety features stopped the car from moving forward despite the brake pedal being pressed down all the way.

NHTSA ID

11590744

Incident

May 25, 2024