The Volkswagen Group battery recall has reached Audi. Volkswagen Group of America has filed NHTSA recall campaign 26V698 covering 9,048 2024-2025 Audi Q4 e-tron and Q4 Sportback e-tron SUVs. NHTSA's record says the high-voltage battery "may fail and cause a fire." No permanent repair exists yet, so owners are being told to charge to no more than 80% until one does.
This follows the Volkswagen ID.4 recall of 22,524 units earlier this month. The Q4 e-tron is a separate vehicle but the same kind of problem. The Next Web headlines it as VW's battery fire problem that "spreads." According to Electrek, the group-wide total now stands at 85,402 EVs globally as of Oct. 28, 2026.
Below is what the filings and reporting say, laid out as questions and answers.
What exactly is being recalled?
According to the NHTSA campaign record, the US recall covers 9,048 potential units of the 2024-2025 Q4 e-tron and Q4 Sportback e-tron. NHTSA received the report on Oct. 21, 2026. Audi's internal recall number is 93SK.
The Next Web reports that the affected vehicles were built between late 2023 and April 2025. AutoGuide says the battery packs in question went into a batch built primarily for the North American market.
What is the defect?
The root cause has not been identified. NHTSA's summary says only that the high-voltage battery may fail and cause a fire. Electrek quotes Volkswagen's statement to NHTSA as saying that "certain charging profiles combined with a state of charge over 80% may trigger thermal propagation." Thermal propagation is heat spreading from cell to cell inside a pack.
The Next Web reports that the cells come from SK On's plant in Hungary and that Audi is still looking for the cause.
AutoGuide reports that Audi became aware of the issue on Sept. 21, 2026. That is when Audi's Product Safety Committee received reports of thermal events in other VW Group vehicles that use the same battery architecture. Per Electrek, Audi says it knows of no claims, crashes, fires, injuries or deaths involving the Q4 e-tron in connection with this issue.
How does this reach 85,402 vehicles?
Electrek's count is global and uses Germany's KBA (Federal Motor Transport Authority) recall database:
- 72,668 VW Group EVs across three earlier KBA recalls, 9,881 of them in Germany. These cover the ID. Buzz, ID.3, ID.4 and ID.7 built 2022-2025, and the Cupra Born built 2022-2024.
- 12,734 Audi Q4 e-tron and Q4 Sportback e-tron vehicles added to the KBA database on Oct. 27, 2026. Electrek reports that just one of them is in Germany.
Together those make 85,402. The US NHTSA figure for the Audi recall is 9,048. The sources do not explain how the KBA's 12,734 Audi count and NHTSA's 9,048 count overlap, so the two numbers should not be added together.
What It Means for Drivers
For owners of an affected Q4 e-tron, the practical change is immediate and simple: charge to a maximum of 80% until the repair is available. This is the remedy guidance in the NHTSA record.
- Home charging: If you normally charge overnight to 100%, Audi's guidance is to stop at 80%. The recall concerns the vehicle's battery, not the home charging equipment. Check the owner's manual for how to set a charge target in your vehicle, and take any questions about your home charging hardware to a licensed electrician or the equipment maker's instructions.
- Public and DC fast charging: The 80% guidance covers all charging, not just home sessions. The NHTSA record does not exempt any charger type. Electrek reports that VW tied the risk to "certain charging profiles" combined with a state of charge above 80%.
- Dealer visit: Electrek reports that owners can take the vehicle to an authorized Audi dealer, which will run a battery diagnostic and, if needed, impose a temporary 80% state-of-charge limit.
- Range: Capping charge at 80% reduces the energy available per charge, so drivers planning long trips may need more frequent charging stops until the fix arrives.
Timeline, per NHTSA and AutoGuide:
- Sept. 21, 2026: Audi's Product Safety Committee receives reports of thermal events in related VW Group vehicles (AutoGuide).
- Oct. 21, 2026: NHTSA receives the recall report.
- Oct. 23, 2026: Affected VINs become searchable on NHTSA.gov.
- Oct. 27, 2026: 12,734 Audi Q4 vehicles listed in the KBA database (Electrek).
- Dec. 18, 2026: Interim owner notification letters expected to be mailed.
- Final remedy: under development, no date given.
Owners can look up their VIN on NHTSA.gov or call Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834, quoting recall number 93SK.
What about fleets and site hosts?
Operators running Q4 e-trons in a fleet or depot would follow the same 80% guidance for every affected vehicle, which may change how much range each vehicle can cover per shift. The sources describe no separate commercial guidance. Site hosts have nothing in the filings telling them to change their equipment. The instruction is aimed at vehicle owners.
What happens next?
Audi has said a remedy is in development. The next fixed date is the Dec. 18 interim letter mailing. Until Audi or VW identifies the root cause, it is not clear whether the final fix will be a software change, a hardware repair or a battery replacement. None of the sources say. ChargerFeed will update this story when the remedy is published in NHTSA's record.
