NHTSA Complaint #11288922 — 2018 AUDI A5

AUDI PRE SENSE, THE NEW TECHNOLOGY AUDI USES FOR PREDICTIVE SAFETY. I HAVE EXPERIENCED SEVERAL AUDI PRE SENSE BRAKING MALFUNCTIONS. THE AUDI PRE SENSE IN MY VEHICLE WILL ABRUPTLY & VIOLENTLY COME TO A FULL STOP, WITH NO OBSTRUCTIONS OR HAZARDS ANYWHERE NEAR THE VICINITY OF THE CAR. FIRST OCCURRENCE HAPPENED ON 405 HIGHWAY HEADING NORTH ON OCTOBER 27, 2018 AT APPROXIMATELY 11:30 PM, DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 60 MPH. THE ROADS WERE CLEAR NO DRIVERS ANYWHERE IN MY VICINITY. THE ROAD WERE WET FROM HEAVY RAINFALL EARLIER IN THE EVENING. THE CAR COMES TO A VIOLENT SUDDEN STOP, RED HAZARD TRIANGLE APPEARS ON THE DASHBOARD, THESE TWO THINGS HAPPEN SIMULTANEOUSLY, THE SEATBELT ENGAGES & I'M SLAMMED FORWARD. THE BRAKES EMIT A LOUD GRINDING & CRUNCHING SOUND. IT TAKES SEVERAL SECONDS BEFORE I CAN BEGIN TO DRIVE AGAIN AS THE CAR IS LOCKED UP. THERE WERE NO OBSERVABLE OBSTRUCTIONS IN THE ROAD FOR IT TO MAKE THE CAR EMERGENCY BRAKE. WHEN THIS HAPPENED IT FELT LIKE I HAD HIT SOMEONE/SOMETHING, THAT WAS HOW VIOLENT THE STOP WAS. IT IS TERRIFYING AND DANGEROUS. ONCE I WAS ABLE TO DRIVE AGAIN, MY CAR DID NOT GO OVER ANY HAZARDS OR OBSTRUCTIONS AS THE VEHICLE THINKS THERE WAS, THERE WERE NO OTHER VEHICLES OR PERSONS IN MY VICINITY, THE ROAD WAS SMOOTH AND CLEAR. THE PRE SENSE HAS A MALFUNCTION RESULTING IN A BRAKING RESPONSE FAILURE. I TOOK THE CAR TO AUDI SERVICES AND THEY KEPT THE CAR FOR 2 WEEKS, RECALIBRATE & RESET THINGS. I DROVE THE CAR FOR 8 MONTHS WITHOUT INCIDENT ONLY TO HAVE THE SAME THING REPEAT. THIS SAME ISSUE HAS HAPPENED 3 OTHER OCCASIONS WHILE REVERSING. AUDI MAINTAINS THAT PRE SENSE IS WORKING AS IT WAS DESIGNED & THERE IS NO FLAW. THEY WILL NOT WORK ON THE CAR ANY FURTHER. IF THIS HAPPENED DURING A TIME WHERE OTHER VEHICLES WERE AROUND, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A GRAVE DANGER TO ME & OTHER PASSENGERS. AUDI IS KNOWINGLY & WILLINGLY SENDING UNSAFE VEHICLES ON THE ROAD.