Not too long ago, Audi was in the news for a technical reason regarding the naming of their vehicles. Audi dealerships and vehicle owners at the time complained about not being able to properly identify Audi models due to a change in their naming scheme. As a result, Audi was forced to revert to their old naming scheme. This time around, Audi is in the news for a recall. The recall involves yet another technical issue, rather than a mechanical one.
According to Cars.com, over 44,000 Audi’s are being recalled for a fault in the gauge cluster. The fault is as a result of a software issue in which the instrument panel. This includes the speedometer, which could fail while in operation. Losing vital information, such as speed, while driving is a big safety concern, hence the recall. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration documents that the recall applies only to vehicles in the 2021 model year, involving models across Audis line-up including the A6 / S6 Sedan, A6 Allroad, A7, A8, S7 / RS7, S8, Q7 / SQ7, Q8 / SQ8 / RSQ8 and the RS6 Avant. Hence, if you have any of the aforementioned 2021 Audi models, you may need to find the nearest Audi dealership.
A Solution to The Problem
Luckily for Audi, despite the 2,285 customer complaints related to the driver displays blanking out, there have been no recorded crashes due to the software failure. The cause of the issue involved the failure of a particular cable going to and from the digital display. Audi has quickly put a fix in place. A software update has been made that allows the system to recognize a power fluctuation in bad cables. This will trigger a warning notice advising the driver to have the system checked out. Dealerships are already being notified for the recall, while specific owner notifications will begin on or before May 30.
As the world shifts from mechanical to more electrical vehicle systems, technical and software recalls are bound to keep occurring. Luckily, most of these issues can be solved with a single software update from the comfort of a vehicle owner’s garage. What are your thoughts on the myriad of technical recalls in the automotive world lately?
