Troubled Battery, Audi Withdraws More Than 1,000 GT E-tron Units

Audi e-tron GT (source: Audi AG)

JAKARTA - Bad news came from Audi. This automotive brand from Germany started a recall program involving the E-tron GT and RS e-tron GT as many as 1,042 units.

Reporting from Carscoops, Saturday, March 30, the start of the recall program was due to high-voltage batteries in both EV models and could cause a short circuit.

The manufacturer held two separate recalles. The first involves 1,013 units of model vehicles in 2022-2024. It is stated that if the high-voltage battery has a short circuit, it can cause thermal events and cause fires.

Initially, Porsche told Audi that there was damage to the battery module involving several Taycan models.

As Taycan and e-tron share the same battery module, the four-ring logo manufacturer started an investigation with Porsche and LG Energy Solution WroClaw battery suppliers.

"Because there are several groups of Audi e-tron GT vehicles that have the potential to be affected and require different solutions, Audi decided to make two different withdrawals," wrote Audi.

For now, Audi advises owners to charge their GT e-trons up to 80 percent until improvements to this problem become available. Once repairs are available, dealers will collect and analyze battery data.

This seems to allow them to determine whether the battery module needs to be replaced or not. If a replacement is needed, the company promises to create a replacement module with better quality.

The second recall involved 29 units in 2022 and 2023. Basically this recall is the same as the first, but Audi has enough data to determine the affected cars.

As a result, 100 percent of vehicles in the second withdrawal were disabled, while it is estimated that 1 percent of the 1,013 vehicles in other withdrawals are believed to have problems.

So far, Audi has not found any cases of injuries, accidents, fires, or guarantee claims involving this issue.