The statement that was distributed to the media and Audi importers, Champion Motors, revealed what seems like another call to the service centers of new cars, of the type we have become accustomed to seeing in recent years.
According to the statement, as part of a global campaign ordered by the manufacturer, 895 Audi E-Tron vehicles, the luxury electric crossover, manufactured between 2019-2022, are summoned to service centers. As part of this, a high-voltage battery check will be conducted, and depending on the test results, if necessary according to the manufacturer's instructions, modules in the battery will be replaced and/or required to undergo additional periodic testing.
The statement also noted that until another software update planned for about half a year from now, the manufacturer recommends limiting the maximum vehicle battery charge to 80%. The estimated time for the test is approximately one working day. Module replacement, if needed, takes about 4 working days.
The only issue leading to the recall was not mentioned for some reason: a failure in modules manufactured by LG of Korea, and concerns about excess stress and vehicle fires. According to a class action lawsuit filed yesterday in the Central District Court in Lod against Champion and Audi, two incidents of E-Tron model fires due to the problem have already occurred in Israel.
The lawsuit filed by attorneys Eidan Aiden and David Tirosh from the Eidan-Tirosh law firm, claims that as early as 2020 the car manufacturer began receiving complaints about Audi e-Tron models that caught fire due to a failure in the battery modules and battery controller that did not detect excess loads and overheating. In 2022, when the car underwent a facelift and was renamed to Q8 e-Tron, Audi stopped using LG batteries, but the issue with previously manufactured cars has not been resolved.
The e-Tron is not the first model among industry pioneers to suffer from a battery malfunction that could cause a fire: The Chevrolet Bolt EV underwent a costly recall due to such a malfunction that included battery replacement, also from LG, costing billions of dollars. Meanwhile, Audi is avoiding a recall and trying to solve the problem through software update campaigns for the battery controller, which began in April 2022.
In the United States, the issue is under investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in Washington, D.C. According to the lawsuit, Audi reported that between July and November, it observed an increase in the number of fire incidents in e-Tron models and in December declared a voluntary recall. Only three months later, they announced it in Israel.
The lawsuit is for at least NIS 2.5M and does not include compensation for potential depreciation in the prices of luxury used cars.
Now the court will need to discuss the request and decide whether there is a basis for filing a class action lawsuit, and only if the request is approved will discussions begin on the subject. Unless, as has happened many times, the parties reach an agreement on compensation from the manufacturer and submit it for court approval.