FaultScore

2023 Audi Q4 E-Tron electrical problems

11 of the 36 complaints about the 2023 Audi Q4 E-Tron are about the electrical system — 31% of everything reported for this model year.

F

11

Complaints

2

Crashes

0

Fires

1

Injuries

Exactly what failed

Electrical System 10 90.9%
Traction Battery 1 9.1%

What owners said

Filed with NHTSA, in their own words.

Hardy, VA

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

On Friday, XXX, I stopped my vehicle in a parking spot, exited, and returned to my vehicle. I put it in drive, moved from the parking spot, and before I could reach 10 mph, the vehicle began to shake/vibrate violently, and the dash lit up with electrical system malfunction warning. On Saturday, XXX, my [XXX] daughter, who was driving my [XXX] and [XXX] daughters home, called me to tell me that the vehicle failed and that she had "safely pulled into someone’s driveway". We had been out of town, and she was caring for her sisters and my vehicle has the carseats. My [XXX] daughters frequently drive my car. She was a mile away from home, so she did “the routine”. She had to do this 5 times - with me on the phone - just to get the vehicle home and her sisters to safety. After my husband and I returned home Saturday, XXX, we got in the vehicle so that we could possibly get it on video. We were able to finally get video evidence of the problem so that we can no longer be turned away from Audi with the excuse of “no evidence” of a problem. The history: XXX, I had my vehicle towed to Audi, because the electrical system malfunctioned in our driveway not in motion. I was told that the problem could not be replicated and, therefore, not resolved and that Audi “requests vehicle to be released to the customer”. On XXX, we contacted Audi once again to report two instances of the same problem, both which occurred while in motion. The vehicle then went limp and brought me to a stop on the side of the road, on a sharp bend, with, again, my two youngest children in the back seat. Then, my husband and I were in the vehicle and had stopped at a traffic light on a 55 mph road. XXX diagnosis: “Could not duplicate customer concern during several test drives, found no relevant fault codes” and “no obvious electrical or mechanical failures during hoist inspection at this time” were the notes in the report back to us. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA complaint #11757319 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Princeton Jct, NJ

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

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 complaint #11751185 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Austin, TX Crash

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

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 complaint #11704429 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Saratoga Springs, UT 1 injured

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

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 complaint #11697683 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Thousand Oaks, CA

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

See attached document for complaint.

NHTSA complaint #11689510 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Saratoga Springs, UT

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

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 complaint #11652841 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Lebec, CA

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

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 complaint #11647884 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Lebec, CA

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

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 complaint #11648004 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Arlington, TX Crash

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

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 complaint #11625261 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Ridgewood, NJ

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:PROPULSION SYSTEM:TRACTION BATTERY

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 complaint #11618803 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Kailua, HI

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

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 complaint #11609263 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

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