NHTSA Complaint #11466552 — 2021 AUDI E-TRON

E-Tron with 9300 miles, received Electrical Malfunction: Contact Service. Audi service said to bring vehicle in. On way to dealer, warning changed to Electrical Malfunction: Pull over safely and then, before being able to do so, the vehicle jerked and died while in traffic. Fortunately, I had decided not to take the freeway and had enough momentum to coast to the side of the road, but the experience certainly stressed my nerves, especially since I could have chosen to be on the freeway in heavy, fast, multilane traffic. Dealer said it was a coolant leak into the front motor which killed the electrical motor. Subsequently discovered from research this has been happening since the 2019 model year in E-trons, and is likely related to a faulty gasket. I have not received my car back from repair so cannot yet confirm that this was the cause in my case. But a properly designed electric vehicle should not allow coolant to get into an electrical motor. Having a vehicle stop in traffic is a definite safety risk. In addition, I don’t know if Audi has redesigned the faulty parts to prevent this from reoccurring.