Advice to get dealer to replace EV battery under warranty

[bruuster]

I have a 2017 A3 E Tron plug in hybrid. When I bought the car in 2019 I was getting 21 EV only miles. Now I only get 11.
I brought it to the dealer and they "re-balanced the battery pack" said to drive for 500 miles. Still the same range (as I expected).
I have a log of mileage range since I bought it showing the degrading of range.

How can I get the dealer to replace the EV battery under warranty? They keep saying it's within spec.

 

[hunter]

recently got EV battery replaced in 2018 A3 etron 54000mi. symptoms were

• estimated range = 18mi, actual range <11mi (no hvac or seat heaters), 7/8 bars after full charge, when down to 3-5mi then acceleration to merge: changes over to hybrid.

Dealer kept claiming normal degradation, but never gave capacity measurement. after about four trips, dealer contacted TACS (audi usa engineering support) I think they were able to enable a more complete battery diagnostic which showed that the battery capacity was low. Then they admitted it needed to be replaced. After a few more visits to dealer, they got the new battery installed (first group had a bad module). Now estimated range is 26-28mi, actual about 21mi (no hvac).
If possible get the measured capacity from the dealer test. my dealer never provided that key information after repeated requests.

 

[bruuster]

Thanks for your info. I posted in another thread and on Audiworld that in Feb. 2023 the EV battery was replaced and I get the same results as you have. Only took 2 times at dealer.

I’ve seen others post the same issues. Seems like this is happening to the A3 E Tron more frequently as they get 5-7 years in age.

 

[arne]

Similar story in the beginning stages here. My 2016 A3 that I've owned since new has suffered serious and sudden battery degradation over the past couple of months. Local Audi dealer is working with TACS now, but it looks like a new battery pack is likely.

 

[bjfred]

On the third time reporting 'Drive System Error' and charging problems (the battery would charge to 13miles and noted 30 minutes mores continuously during an overnight charge), an attempt was made to 'rebalance' and then required 5 consecutive days of 'testing'. I don't what this all means but I am happy to report that the battery will be replaced this week under warranty. I am pleased with the outcome.

 

[Fcwdmdpedo]

Very helpful. How long is the battery pack under warranty?

 

[dnattig]

If the car was originally delivered to California and is labeled "tzev", then the battery (and other hybrid components) has a 150,000 mile warranty.

If it wasn't originally a California car, I don't think it's any longer than the regular 60k mile warranty.

 

[Fcwdmdpedo]

Very helpful. How long is the battery pack under warranty

 

[Fcwdmdpedo]

I only have 44,000 miles on my 2016 A-3 etron. Is there a 10 year on battery or is it just related to mileage.

 

[Levetron]

I believe the warranty is 8 years or 100k miles.

My battery was recently replaced under warranty. It no longer charged to full (the last bar was never lit) and range decreased by at least 40%-50%, maybe more. I had screenshots of a charging station’s display after charging an empty battery to “full”. The meter read 3.6 kWh whereas the battery capacity should be 8.8 kWh.

When the degradation became very noticeable a few years ago, I started to complain about it at the dealership during regular services. They always said something like the battery was OK or the range just naturally decreases in cold weather. This time, to my surprise, they said they would keep the car for another day to do more tests and a day later they called back and said they will replace the battery under warranty.

I am sure it helped that I had the last bar not lighting up and I also shared exact information about the maximum charge the battery could take. I also wonder if the dealership was less busy and actually had the time to investigate this thoroughly. I suggest to anyone who has battery issues to persist. Keep complaining and collect evidence.

I have to say I am very pleased Audi did come through in the end. I can use the car again as intended. I am driving short-range errands without using any gas, or go farther using ICE.

 

[jacuzzisweets]

i had questions about how a warranty would be handled when i got a pre-owned 2018 e-tron. i bought it at the end of 2021 from an audi dealership and it had about 50,000km. before the purchase, i requested a battery assessment, which they did for free - said it had never been done at their dealership - and it was at 94%. after doing a bit of research, acceptable degradation is about 2% of total battery life per year, so it seemed within a healthy range.

the dealer rep couldn't give me any specific criteria that would allow for a warranty claim. i figured it would be determined by whether the amount of degradation exceeded normal spec, but there was really no clarity.

i'm experiencing similar issues to others here, of inability to charge to full, and greatly reduced electric range, which is only about half of what i started with when i bought it just over two years ago. glad to hear peoples' experiences here.

 

[Spot]

I've complained about degradation to our Audi dealer many times over the years -- it had gotten down to getting 12 miles -- never got anything besides the standard brush-off . They checked it, but did not replace, for the battery housing recall.

But last week we got a "Drive system fault" error, do not pass GO, do not collect $200. We took it to the dealer, it's now sitting in quarantine due to a leak/short from the EV battery, and we have a loaner; they've told us to be prepared to keep the loaner for a. while. just to diagnose.

The car was a 2016 model, and has 145k miles on it. Dealer said batter replacement under warranty is a possibility. We'll see.

 

[Levetron]

People, keep trying. Collect evidence about the battery capacity and complain, complain, complain. Maybe find a new dealership that seems less busy and/or more willing to investigate and do the repair. It is possible!

Also, treat your batteries well if it is not too late or if you do get a new pack. I wondered how the battery degraded so bad. I used to plug the car in at the end of the day (level2). The car was fully charged in about 2 hours and then it was just sitting there for another 10 hours or so. That is the worst thing one can do. We now have an EV and I understand charging a bit more. Do not charge to full (charge to 80%), or only charge to full just before you leave. Also, try not to completely drain the battery or let it sit with the fully discharged battery for a long time.

I realize it is super difficult to do these things, and I am surprised that Audi did not provide some kind of automatic protection mechanism to help owners. Yes, if you bought one of the higher trims, you may have a timer function built in. I do not. Now when I get home, I plug the car in using level 2 charging and set a timer to unplug it after an hour or so. In the morning, I plug it back in when I am getting ready to go. Another way to do it would be to use level 1 charging and charge to full slowly overnight, but then a quick recharge during the day would not be possible.

Good luck!

 

[Carc]

People, keep trying. Collect evidence about the battery capacity and complain, complain, complain. Maybe find a new dealership that seems less busy and/or more willing to investigate and do the repair. It is possible!

Also, treat your batteries well if it is not too late or if you do get a new pack. I wondered how the battery degraded so bad. I used to plug the car in at the end of the day (level2). The car was fully charged in about 2 hours and then it was just sitting there for another 10 hours or so. That is the worst thing one can do. We now have an EV and I understand charging a bit more. Do not charge to full (charge to 80%), or only charge to full just before you leave. Also, try not to completely drain the battery or let it sit with the fully discharged battery for a long time.

I realize it is super difficult to do these things, and I am surprised that Audi did not provide some kind of automatic protection mechanism to help owners. Yes, if you bought one of the higher trims, you may have a timer function built in. I do not. Now when I get home, I plug the car in using level 2 charging and set a timer to unplug it after an hour or so. In the morning, I plug it back in when I am getting ready to go. Another way to do it would be to use level 1 charging and charge to full slowly overnight, but then a quick recharge during the day would not be possible.

Good luck!

With no management tools it was up to Audi to make 80% charge the default - or do whatever required to meet their warranty commitment. A 2022 report showed Tesla batteries retaining 88% of their charge at 200k miles FWIW.

 

[idk2016]

Similar story in the beginning stages here. My 2016 A3 that I've owned since new has suffered serious and sudden battery degradation over the past couple of months. Local Audi dealer is working with TACS now, but it looks like a new battery pack is likely.

I still get alerts for this thread. It recently picked up due to the challenges,or experiences current owners are posting.

I got rid of my 2016 within year one under a "lemon law" because I noticed Li-ion issues with the actual BMS,and ECU/ECM . Where the etron didn't even know it had the 4 different drive modes, pictured. These disappeared off the screen, thus unusable. Thankfully I took pictures,or I would appear crazy. Having a detailed scan of the etron also helped as it showed the various related error codes.

Range, I would say from 6 - 12 months when I drove it in EV mode,I noticed the battery initially delivered the "rated" N.Am. range of about 50km/31 miles; I saw around 46km/28 miles. As the months went by, the BMS/ECU became more erratic in "ideal" conditions where the Li-ion should be happiest. PHEV consumption was becoming an issue as the rated range became way off,compared to the very early ownership where it was excellent.

PHEV etrons only accepts L2 charging, thus Audi can't even blame "over use" of DCFC CCS.


The current BEV etron apparently has issues after speaking with owners. These complaints are familiar given my PHEV etron experience.

 

[dlinkA3]

With no management tools it was up to Audi to make 80% charge the default - or do whatever required to meet their warranty commitment. A 2022 report showed Tesla batteries retaining 88% of their charge at 200k miles FWIW.

Charging to only 80% for an Audi PHEV with an 8.8kWh battery is not necessary, especially since Audi created a very large buffer, leaving more than 25% of the battery without access to charging to protect it. Also, charging to 100% using a level 2 EVSE is not damaging, unlike doing the same with a DC fast charger that sends the power to the pack at a much higher rate and begins to slow the charging at 80%. Level 2 charging is never that fast and it does not damage the battery pack. If Audi personnel have told you that it does, or you are using Tesla guidelines (for DC fast charging), neither is reality with slower level 2 charging.

Our first BEV was always charged to 100% (LiFePO4 chemistry) and it maintained 110 miles of range for all 4 years of our ownership and 40K miles. How can a cheap 2012 EV battery pack be that much more durable with double the miles in half the time? The Lishen LiFePO4 battery pack from China was a much higher quality product, unlike what many pundits claim about products from China.

We have ONLY used level 2 EVSEs at no more than 16 amps, because that is all that our 2017 A3 Sportback e-tron is able to accept. We are still less than 22K miles and have dropped to a maximum of under 70% of new state of charge, often dropping to between 40-65%. There is absolutely NO REASON why our battery pack, which has been used so little over 7 years, should be in such a decline. What I have discovered online from experts in the field is that Audi used lower quality lithium Ion pouch packs, rather than the higher quality that other manufacturers used. They have since upgraded to better quality battery manufacturers, but that leaves the first adopters with poor quality battery packs on our PHEVs.

 

[dlinkA3]

I still get alerts for this thread. It recently picked up due to the challenges,or experiences current owners are posting.

I got rid of my 2016 within year one under a "lemon law" because I noticed Li-ion issues with the actual BMS,and ECU/ECM . Where the etron didn't even know it had the 4 different drive modes, pictured. These disappeared off the screen, thus unusable. Thankfully I took pictures,or I would appear crazy. Having a detailed scan of the etron also helped as it showed the various related error codes.

Range, I would say from 6 - 12 months when I drove it in EV mode,I noticed the battery initially delivered the "rated" N.Am. range of about 50km/31 miles; I saw around 46km/28 miles. As the months went by, the BMS/ECU became more erratic in "ideal" conditions where the Li-ion should be happiest. PHEV consumption was becoming an issue as the rated range became way off,compared to the very early ownership where it was excellent.

PHEV etrons only accepts L2 charging, thus Audi can't even blame "over use" of DCFC CCS.


The current BEV etron apparently has issues after speaking with owners. These complaints are familiar given my PHEV etron experience.

Interesting the range that you believe you received with your 2016 A3 Sportback e-tron. Our 2017 NEVER was over 22 miles. It remained between 18 and 22 miles for the first couple years, depending on the outdoor temperatures. It is now 2024 and we are down to 13-15 miles of range over the past 6 months. We hit 16 miles once, but Audi USA claims that they don't warrant battery range, only that the battery will be replaced if it fails. Interesting, because California Law states that PHEV battery packs are covered for 10 years 150K miles. Nissan already had to replaced packs which dropped well below 70%, but Audi told us...."Buy a new Audi". Not going to happen. They should cover a pack which is rapidly declining after only 22K miles and 7 years.

 

[bruuster]

Interesting the range that you believe you received with your 2016 A3 Sportback e-tron. Our 2017 NEVER was over 22 miles. It remained between 18 and 22 miles for the first couple years, depending on the outdoor temperatures. It is now 2024 and we are down to 13-15 miles of range over the past 6 months. We hit 16 miles once, but Audi USA claims that they don't warrant battery range, only that the battery will be replaced if it fails. Interesting, because California Law states that PHEV battery packs are covered for 10 years 150K miles. Nissan already had to replaced packs which dropped well below 70%, but Audi told us...."Buy a new Audi". Not going to happen. They should cover a pack which is rapidly declining after only 22K miles and 7 years.

The Audi dealer is giving you the runaround about the battery range. As you can see in my earlier posts, the range is the determination. Be assertive with the dealer. The second time I took the A3 in I told them that I'm not bringing the loaner back until the battery is replaced. 2 weeks later they called me and said your car is ready.

 

[Levetron]

Charging to only 80% for an Audi PHEV with an 8.8kWh battery is not necessary, especially since Audi created a very large buffer, leaving more than 25% of the battery without access to charging to protect it. Also, charging to 100% using a level 2 EVSE is not damaging, unlike doing the same with a DC fast charger that sends the power to the pack at a much higher rate and begins to slow the charging at 80%. Level 2 charging is never that fast and it does not damage the battery pack. If Audi personnel have told you that it does, or you are using Tesla guidelines (for DC fast charging), neither is reality with slower level 2 charging.

Our first BEV was always charged to 100% (LiFePO4 chemistry) and it maintained 110 miles of range for all 4 years of our ownership and 40K miles. How can a cheap 2012 EV battery pack be that much more durable with double the miles in half the time? The Lishen LiFePO4 battery pack from China was a much higher quality product, unlike what many pundits claim about products from China.

We have ONLY used level 2 EVSEs at no more than 16 amps, because that is all that our 2017 A3 Sportback e-tron is able to accept. We are still less than 22K miles and have dropped to a maximum of under 70% of new state of charge, often dropping to between 40-65%. There is absolutely NO REASON why our battery pack, which has been used so little over 7 years, should be in such a decline. What I have discovered online from experts in the field is that Audi used lower quality lithium Ion pouch packs, rather than the higher quality that other manufacturers used. They have since upgraded to better quality battery manufacturers, but that leaves the first adopters with poor quality battery packs on our PHEVs.

My experience with charging the A3 is that the charging speed comes down to a trickle for the last 10-20 minutes as if the battery was reaching its full capacity. That’s exactly what happens at the very end when I charge our VW ID.4 to 100%, but that dramatic slowdown does not happen when I charge to 80%. I hope you are right and there is a large buffer to protect the A3 battery, but it the does not behave like one that is only charging to 80% or so. I will continue to be careful and at least not let the car sit with its battery full for a long time. Regardless, there really is no reason why the level of degradation should be so bad.

 

[Spot]

The dealer reports that they are changing the battery, under warranty. We're glad for that, we really like the car aside from the degradation, and it range works well for our use case. So we'll start fresh from here!

I don't know whether it was my history of complaining (with tracking evidence even, I brought in a spreadsheet once) or the recent "do not drive" error message that got it done, or the sum of both of those, or an evolved experience of handling the issue by audi.