Risk of Battery Fire in Audi’s First Electric Vehicle Prompts Recall in the United States

According to an online news report at theverge.com, Audi has voluntarily recalled the E-Tron, the manufacturer’s first completely electric vehicle given the risk of battery fires.  The German company has indicated that the recall covers about 540 E-Trons across the nation, which represents half of what Audi sold since the car was launched in April of 2019.*

Audi is recalling their first all electric vehicle, the E-Tron, given the potential risks of car fires.  According to Audi, a glitch in the wiring harness in models affected by the recall can result in moisture to seep into the individual cells of the battery, which could cause a fire.  No fires or injuries have been reported thus far, however, Audi has indicated that there have been five incidents where a “battery fault light” was turned on due to the buildup of moisture.

Audi notes that it expects to repair all of the affected vehicles by August of 2019 however, it will continue to sell the vehicle during the recall, per CNET.

At this juncture, there is no solid evidence that electric vehicles become subject to a car fire at a rate that is different than regular combustion vehicles.  However, the topic of electric car battery fires has prompted greater scrutiny as more electric vehicles become increasingly prevalent on the nation’s roadways.  First respondents are now receiving training as to how to handle electric car battery fires since they are not able to be extinguished using traditional methods.

Recently, Tesla car fires have become subject to scrutiny where the CEO of the company, Elon Musk, pushed back on the coverage of these issues.  Other automobile manufacturers, including Jaguar and EV startup NIO have experienced car fires in their electric vehicles.  Jaguar has specifically recalled its first electric vehicle, the I-Pace, over a braking issue.  That recall has affected about three thousand I-Paces sold in the United States.

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Source:https://www.theverge.com/2019/6/10/18659983/audi-etron-recall-battery-fire-risk