Volkswagen's EV battery recall spreads to Audi, and the fix so far is an over-the-air 80 percent charge cap

Volkswagen Group is running one of the odder recalls of the year. There is no new part to fit yet. Instead, affected electric cars are having their maximum state of charge cut to 80 percent by a software update sent over the air, and owners were given a deadline to opt out of it.

The fault: charge profile plus high state of charge

Volkswagen's description, as reported by Electrek on 20 October, is that certain charging profiles combined with a state of charge over 80 percent may trigger thermal propagation. That is the failure mode where one cell goes into runaway and heats its neighbours until the whole module follows. The cells in the affected American cars came from SK Battery America. In the United States the campaign covers 22,524 ID.4s of model years 2023 to 2026, and Electrek reported 22 related incidents logged between 18 January 2024 and 7 August 2026. The root cause has not been established.

Electrive reported on 21 October that the recall reaches 72,700 EVs worldwide, about 10,000 of them in Germany, covering the ID.3, ID.4, ID.7 and ID. Buzz built from 2022 to 2025 and the Cupra Born from 2022 to 2024. Volkswagen attributed the problem to manufacturing errors in cells supplied to it. Skoda's versions of the same platform were not included.

The remedy is a setting, not a part

Volkswagen told American owners they had until 21 October to opt out, failing which it would apply a temporary vehicle setting limiting charging to 80 percent, with the change showing in the mobile app on or about 27 October. Final recall letters are due on 27 November 2026. The workshop action, when it comes, is an inspection of the battery or of individual modules, and Electrive noted that the permanent repair has not been finalised.

Audi joins with the Q4 e-tron

On 27 and 28 October the campaign widened to Audi. Drive Tesla reported 9,048 vehicles in the United States, made up of 7,040 Q4 e-tron and 2,008 Q4 Sportback e-tron cars of model years 2024 and 2025, with cells from SK Battery Manufacturing Kft in Hungary. Electrek put the Audi total at 12,734 globally and the group total at 85,402. The Audi filing carries NHTSA campaign number 26V698 and Audi's own code 93SK, and Audi says it is unaware of any related claims, crashes, fires, injuries or deaths. Interim notification letters are expected on 18 December 2026. Audi's charge cap is narrower than Volkswagen's, applying to cars whose battery data is missing or flagged by a diagnostic check.

What an Indian owner should take from this

None of these cars are on sale in India. Audi India's electric range is the Q8 e-tron and the e-tron GT, and Porsche sells the Taycan here. High voltage battery recalls have already reached India, though. In December 2024, 31 units of the Audi e-tron GT and RS e-tron GT were recalled over high voltage battery cell modules, and 176 Porsche Taycans were recalled over battery cell irregularities that could cause an internal short circuit.

If you own an imported EV, the practical step is to check the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers voluntary recall list and your brand's own VIN lookup, because India has no public defect database on the scale of the American one and recalls here are reported by the manufacturer. Two things are worth separating as well. Charging to 80 percent for daily use is ordinary battery care advice for long calendar life. Charging to 80 percent because the maker has not yet found the fault is a containment measure, and it is not a substitute for the repair. If your car ends up in a campaign like this, take the appointment when it is offered.

Sources