[CarZin]

In the process. I had cell number 11 dead. The car has been in the shop since last Thursday. Expecting it back tomorrow. Then I can report. I have concerns this is a design flaw or bad quality control on batteries. Never seen this volume of complaints for a relatively small car volume. I suspect a lot of people don’t even know something is wrong. Just upset on the poor range.

Hi CarZin, I am having exactly the same problem with my e-tron 55. Started with a full range of 225 miles when new and now 2 months later, struggling to get over 150 miles on full charge. Also having the same issue with the 80% power mode you mentioned. Some days i have option for full power (boost mode) and others just 80%.
Did you get yours sorted in the end?

 

[HJAutos]

I was starting to think it was just due to the mainly motorway journeys that I do but after reading your thread, I have now booked it in to my local dealer to investigate. I would be interested to hear the outcome once you get yours back if you dont mind. Many thanks. John

 

[zabaroptik]

I was starting to think it was just due to the mainly motorway journeys that I do but after reading your thread, I have now booked it in to my local dealer to investigate. I would be interested to hear the outcome once you get yours back if you dont mind. Many thanks. John

I think we all have similar issues. My car has been in the dealership now for 40+ days. They initially told me it would be fixed this week, then they called me Monday and told me it would probably be the middle of the week and then they text me yesterday, saying that to complete all the safety checks it would be end of next week. Rather than just replacing some cells, they have told me they are replacing the whole battery. Audi America also called me yesterday and asked me how happy am I with the service I am receiving, that was a fun conversation!

 

[HJAutos]

Spoke to the local dealer and they are going to get their "e-tron specialist" to call me tomorrow to discuss. Thanks for the info so far guys. Good to know i'm not going mad!

 

[CarZin]

Still don't have the car. They say they are putting the battery back in, but don't know if that means I get the car tomorrow or next week.

 

[fojaker]

It's posts like these that make me leery of pulling the trigger. When you charge the car to a certain level, let's say 100%, does the car estimate how many miles of range you would get with that 100%. I'm coming from a Tesla and we usually measure our cars by how much range is estimated at 80%, 90% or 100%.

 

[omegafiler]

It's posts like these that make me leery of pulling the trigger. When you charge the car to a certain level, let's say 100%, does the car estimate how many miles of range you would get with that 100%. I'm coming from a Tesla and we usually measure our cars by how much range is estimated at 80%, 90% or 100%.

Depending on where you look, the vehicle will tell you battey charge percentage as well as range. The range estimate is based on charge and recent driving efficiency. It's only an estimate, but it's there. The NAV is a bit more useful when setting a destination, as it takes a lot more variables into consideration when showing expected range.

Also, I always suggest keeping these type of posts in context. For example, there are 3 users with issues in this thread. While I certainly feel the pain, as I've had my share of vehicles in the shop for extended stays, remember that no vehicle is perfect. And you do have a warranty for a reason.

With that said, you don't want to ignore this stuff either. It's one of many useful data points in making your informed vehicle purchasing decision. Just don't let the forum effect sway your decision too much, otherwise you'll never buy anything and enjoy these excellent vehicles.

 

[CarZin]

I would state that the range estimate is also confirmed to be based on battery condition. When I lost the cell, the range at 100% had gone down to about 120 miles. The irritating thing is that means the car knows something is wrong, but won't tell you. Probably because they (Audi engineers) made the assumption that when this happened, it would be part of normal battery degradation, not a failure. They need to update the car software to detect and display both.

 

[CarZin]

In addition: The means that periodically, you will need to charge to 100%, drive it to the halfway point, and see if the miles you were able to drive match your short term efficiency numbers. In my case, I should have been able to drive about 120 miles to get to the 50% point. I was reaching the 50% point at around 50-55 miles. I knew there was a problem. As batteries age, this number will naturally come down, but it shouldn't be dramatic and quick.

 

[omegafiler]

Good points @CarZin.

With Audi only using about 88% of the battery pack, I wonder how many cells will have failed, by the time you start to notice. In theory, if you're just experiencing gradual cell degradation versus a total cell failure, I would expect it to be quite a while before you see an impact on the range. Assuming the computers properly balance everything. If not, then you'd potentially have cells not getting used, which would accelerate failure.

In either case, if Audi doesn't trust the battery pack beyond 88%, they need to fix that. Otherwise, they need to open that up 100%. Put some notices suggesting proper charging practices and let the driver benefit from the full capacity they paid for.

 

[CarZin]

Well, in my case, only one cell failure was enough to cripple the cars range. I can’t imagine that cost to replace a cell. Hopefully I’ll have that soon (so I can know in the future)

 

[Jpowers]

So I am another Etron owner who is experiencing the exact same problem. Thank you for putting this information in an online forum where I could figure out rather quickly what was going on with my vehicle. Unfortunately, I live in Alabama and there’s about seven of us that own e-trons here and as a result, we don’t have the technicians that you probably see in bigger cities. With that being said, maybe if I go to them with the information you’ve provided on the battery problem, they might call up the right people and it won’t take as long to diagnose and fix.
Although I’ve had issues with my tail light and will have it replaced for a second time as soon as the part comes in from Germany. I’ve been waiting for two months. I just hope the battery issue isn’t gonna take this long.
Is It worth my time to call Audi USA?

 

[Jpowers]

Also- this all started after my car came back from the dealership where it was having updates. The Audi USA rep told me one update was for an issue with the Boost. Did anyone else start seeing this battery issue after recently taking the vehicle in for updates or other work?

 

[CarZin]

My problem happened after the most recent update but I had barely driven it so I can’t say it was the cause.

 

[CarZin]

Little update: Picked the car up on Thursday of last week but had a little procedure that wouldn't allow me to drive the car for a couple of days. I just took it for a short 20 mile drive. Averaged 3 miles per kWh. Car read 93% capacity left after the 20 miles. So dramatically improved. It will probably be this weekend before I can take it for a proper drive.

 

[Hsiu]

Little update: Picked the car up on Thursday of last week but had a little procedure that wouldn't allow me to drive the car for a couple of days. I just took it for a short 20 mile drive. Averaged 3 miles per kWh. Car read 93% capacity left after the 20 miles. So dramatically improved. It will probably be this weekend before I can take it for a proper drive.

Can you share what dealer did and replaced to fix the issue?

 

[CarZin]

I can. Later today I will scan the document and upload it.

 

[VivaNepal]

This is an interesting thread and I suspect we will see more posters. I have the same issue. 80-90% charge would indicate 180-190 miles but all of a sudden (not gradually) the range dropped to 120 miles at 90% charge. Audi dealer said that all batteries measure the correct voltage output and that it's my problem. No change in driving habits since we purchased car. What did your dealer do to confirm decay rate per cell or module? I believe that there are 432 cells (12 cells per module x 36 modules) and 4 cells form a group = 108 cell groups. With 33% drop in range, I suspect that 36 cell groups (144 cells or 12 modules) are bad. This is significant if true. Sorry to nerd out but please let me know if this makes any sense. Love to hear

 

[CarZin]

Are you still able to cycle into the overdrive mode? Does your power gauge show 100%? You need to charge to 100, drive until you get to 50%, and tell us your average kWh per 100 miles and how far you drive to get to 50%