Audi recalls nearly 100,000 e-tron quattro and Q8 e-tron vehicles

According to the recall database of the German Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA), a total of 96,180 vehicles worldwide are affected, of which 14,601 are in Germany. As reported by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Audi must recall 18,853 vehicles in the USA for workshop inspections.The recall officially applies to the e-tron quattro and Q8 e-tron models, though these are essentially the same vehicle series. As part of a facelift, Audi renamed the e-tron quattro to Q8 e-tron. In addition to the SUV models, the coupé variants with the Sportback name suffix are also affected.In vehicles manufactured between 2 February 2018 and 11 June 2024, a faulty screw connection on the brake pedal may result in ‘limited functionality’ – meaning the vehicle may not decelerate properly when the brake pedal is pressed. According to the NHTSA, only the emergency braking function may remain operational in such cases, increasing the risk of an accident. However, no incidents involving property damage or personal injury linked to this issue have been reported.During the workshop visit, the screw connections of the push rod on the brake pedal will be inspected as part of the recall. If the screw connection does not meet the required specifications (presumably due to insufficient torque), it will be corrected, and the screw will be tightened to the correct torque. Customers will not incur any costs for this repair.The faulty screw connection is attributed to the production process. The e-tron quattro and Q8 e-tron were exclusively manufactured at Audi’s Brussels plant in Belgium. Audi has been aware of the issue for some time, having already conducted a smaller recall for vehicles from the early production years. However, at the beginning of this year, Audi received components, as documented by the NHTSA, that were not part of the previous recall but exhibited the same issue—prompting a significant expansion of the current recall. “It was determined that all parts produced at the suspected screwdriving station at the supplier prior to the implementation of the final optimizations in May 2024, which were not already included in recall 24V-621 (manufacturer recall: 46P6), are now incorporated into the vehicle scope of this new recall.,” the US authority stated.These improvements to the screw station were intended to ensure that all screws were subsequently tightened to the correct torque. However, many vehicles may not have benefited from this change: Audi closed its Brussels plant at the end of February 2025 and discontinued production of the Q8 e-tron. Additionally, production lines in Brussels had already been partially halted in the preceding months due to strikes.kba-online.de, (KBA reference number: 16411R), nhtsa.gov, insideevs.com