Electrical system and exterior lighting issues among the top complaints received by the NHTSA from vehicle owners
Electric vehicles are no longer new, but are slowly taking over the roadways. The 2019 Audi e-tron made waves because it was one of the first electric SUVs to hit the market. While Audi claims that the newest models are “engineered to go the distance,” customers can’t stop complaining about the faulty electrical system and defective exterior lighting.
Click on other model year to view more problems: 2021 2022
One would think that an electric car would have a fully functional electrical system, but that doesn’t seem to be the case with this EV.
One Edmunds user states, “We have had literally dozens of issues with this car and in less than a year is has spent almost 3.5 months at the dealership. Some of the issues were temporarily resolved via a software update, but there have been numerous other failures (safety system, tail lights, tailgate, driver assistance, etc.) that remain issues or took forever to fix. Audi service has been poor and claims that for some reported issues there is nothing wrong.”
The problems get even worse from here. NHTSA Campaign Number 19V434000 illustrates a recall affecting the electrical system. It turns out that moisture can get into the high-voltage battery system because there is a faulty seal on the charging socket. When moisture infiltrates this area, a short-circuit is caused, which also increases the chance of a car fire. In all fairness, owners are being warned with a warning light and message that reads “Electrical system: fault.” At what point do car manufacturers start installing these types of warning lights? It seems like something that would only be needed if the company was expecting electrical system failure. At this point, the only distance this EV is designed to go is to the repair shop.
| Complaint Category | Number of Complaints |
|---|---|
| Electrical System | |
| Unknown Or Other | |
| Fuel/propulsion System | |
| Power Train:automatic Transmission:control Module (tcm, Pcm) | |
| Engine | |
| Service Brakes | |
| Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking | |
| Vehicle Speed Control | |
| Air Bags | |
| Electrical System:propulsion System:traction Battery |
Whether a person is driving during the day or night, the exterior lighting is required to remain safe. Yet, it’s another system that seems to be too complicated for Audi to get right.
Here is another Edmunds review to consider. “I wish I could give this zero stars. We bought the etron on 12/31/19. We had the back tail light assembly go bad in the first 2 weeks of having the SUV. I understand that even new parts go bad, however Audi has no parts in the USA for this vehicle. It took 2 1/2 weeks to get a new one. Then 2 weeks (2/13/20) after we were rear ended and Audi still has not provided all the parts to fix the vehicle.
There were about 10 parts that were needed to fix it. It is currently 3/18/20 and there is no end in sight. We have no idea when we will be getting it back. Meanwhile they are still making us pay for a vehicle we can’t use because they (Audi) can’t provide parts for their vehicle. Shocker one of the parts is the back tail light assembly.”
Audi isn’t oblivious to troubles. In fact, Service Bulletin #A9120422058647_1 talks about several customer concerns with the exterior lighting. Some problems that require replacement include taillight failure, the LED strip near the trunk lid flickers and part of the taillight remains on even when the ignition is turned off. These issues are reminiscent of when something electrical falls into water and starts to short-circuit. Basically, the e-tron is just a big, expensive electrical toy that doesn’t work right.
We've fixed thousands of lemon problems. Message or call 877-795-3666 today.
Think you have a lemon? Sit back and let the experts work out your lemon case at no cost to you. The law makes Audi pay legal fees. You may be able to get your lemon out of your life. Every year, auto manufacturers buy back, replace or pay cash settlements to thousands of ‘lemon’ owners like you.
Brian Jones spent more than 30 years working as an ASE Certified Master Tech and Parts Specialist at multiple dealerships. Brian has become an authority in the industry, traveling across the country to consult for car dealerships and contributing his expertise as a writer for several major automotive publications. In his spare time, Brian enjoys working on pickup trucks, muscle cars, Jeeps and anything related to motorsports.
See more posts from Brian Jones
What about wiring that rodents eat. Ours has had suspension failure, A/C failure etc.due that poor engineering decisions