Volkswagen Group of America filed a safety recall with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on April 15, 2026, covering 18,853 Audi e-tron electric SUVs over a brake system defect that could impair normal braking.
A screw connecting the brake pedal to the brake booster may not have been tightened to spec, potentially leaving drivers with only emergency braking

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Volkswagen Group of America filed a safety recall with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on April 15, 2026, covering 18,853 Audi e-tron electric SUVs over a brake system defect that could impair normal braking.
The recall includes 14,102 units of the 2019 to 2024 Audi e-tron and 4,751 units of the 2020 to 2024 Audi e-tron Sportback. These vehicles have brake booster parts made at a screwdriving station run by the Frankfurt supplier AUMOVIO Germany GmbH before improvements were made in May 2024.
The defect involves a fastener that connects the input rod from the brake pedal to the actuator rod on the brake booster. A problem at the supplier’s factory may have caused this connection to be tightened incorrectly. If the fastener comes apart completely, the regular brakes would stop working, and the car would have to rely only on its emergency brakes. This greatly raises the risk of a crash.
Before the fastener fails completely, drivers might notice sounds after pressing the brakes or find that the pedal stays down instead of returning to its normal position.
As of April 9, 2026, Audi reported no crashes, injuries, deaths, or U.S. customer claims related to this defect.
This recall expands on an earlier action. In August 2024, the Audi Product Safety Committee approved a previous recall (NHTSA number 24V-621) after finding production issues from 2019. Between January and March 2026, Audi got two returned parts that were not included in the earlier recall and found the same problem on three components after checking them. This led to a review of which vehicles were affected and a new recall decision on April 8, 2026.
No parts need to be replaced. Technicians will check the fastener inside the brake booster and tighten it to the manufacturer’s specifications if needed. Audi will reimburse owners who already paid for repairs related to this issue.
Dealers were informed on April 17, 2026. Owners should receive notification letters by June 12, 2026. Vehicle identification numbers were added to the NHTSA recall database on April 17.
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