VW battery recall reaches 85,000 EVs as Audi Q4 e-tron is added: what UK owners should do

Volkswagen Group’s battery recall has grown to more than 85,000 electric cars worldwide, with Audi’s Q4 e-tron and Q4 Sportback e-tron now added, according to Electrek. The problem is the same across the group: some high-voltage battery cells may overheat when charged above 80%, with a risk of fire. In the UK, Volkswagen says selected ID.3, ID.4, ID.7, ID. Buzz and ID. Buzz Cargo models are affected, and it is capping them at 80% charge remotely until each car has been checked.

For UK owners, the practical message is simple. Keep your car at or below 80%, watch for a letter, and do not rely on the US headlines about opting out, which describe a different recall. The work is free, and Volkswagen says full range will be restored once it is done.

What has changed this week?

Two things. First, Audi has joined the recall. Volkswagen Group of America told the US regulator NHTSA on 23 October that 9,048 Q4 e-tron and Q4 Sportback e-tron models from the 2024 and 2025 model years are affected, and the German regulator, the KBA, added 12,734 Audis worldwide to its database on 27 October, Electrek reports. That takes the group total to 85,402 cars.

Second, the automatic 80% cap on US ID.4s took effect. InsideEVs reported that US owners had until 21 October 2026 to decline, after which Volkswagen would apply the limit on or about 27 October. That is the source of this week’s “opt out” headlines.

Recall	Models	Built	Cars
KBA 17137R (93MF)	VW ID.3, ID.4, ID.7, ID. Buzz	13 July 2022 to 6 June 2025	62,927
KBA 17101R (93MV)	VW ID.3, ID.4, ID.7, ID. Buzz	18 September 2023 to 27 June 2025	5,050
KBA 17103R (93W4)	Cupra Born	September 2022 to May 2024	4,691
KBA 17222R	Audi Q4 e-tron, Q4 Sportback e-tron	30 November 2023 to 26 June 2025	12,734
Total			85,402

Figures for the first three rows are from Car-Recalls.eu, the Audi row from electrive and the total from Electrek. Electrek and electrive describe the 72,668 VW and Cupra cars as a worldwide figure, of which about 9,881 are in Germany. The separate US recall of 22,524 ID.4s, built in Chattanooga with SK cells made in Georgia, sits alongside these.

Which UK cars are affected?

Volkswagen UK lists the ID.3, ID.4 and ID.7 under campaigns 93MV and 93MF, and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles covers the ID. Buzz and ID. Buzz Cargo under 93MF. In each case it is cars with high-voltage batteries made by one specific supplier between 2022 and 2025. Volkswagen does not name the supplier and has not published a UK total.

Not every car from those years is included. Volkswagen UK says a fault is not necessarily recognisable and that every affected car will be checked as part of the campaign. The Cupra Born is part of the German recall, but we could not find a UK notice from Cupra. If you own a Born built between 2022 and 2024, check your registration on the GOV.UK recall service or ask a Cupra retailer.

Is the Audi Q4 e-tron recalled in the UK?

That is not yet clear. Audi says most of the 12,734 recalled cars were built for North America, and electrive reports that the KBA lists just one in Germany. Subtracting the 9,048 US cars leaves about 3,700 in other markets, but nobody has said where. The cars use cells from a batch made by SK Battery Manufacturing in Hungary, according to electrive, and are built in Zwickau.

We could find no recall notice from Audi UK. If you own a Q4 e-tron built between late 2023 and mid-2025, check your registration on GOV.UK and contact an Audi centre if you are unsure. Audi says it is not aware of any claims, crashes, fires or injuries linked to the Q4 issue, and its US advice is to charge to no more than 80% until a fix is available. Following the same advice costs you nothing but some range. Our report on the updated Audi Q4 e-tron covers the current model.

Can UK owners opt out of the 80% limit?

Volkswagen UK’s recall page describes no opt-out. It says the factory is limiting maximum charge to 80%, mostly remotely, through an over-the-air update. For that to work, the car must be online, privacy settings must be off, and the ignition must be on for at least five minutes. If the charge limit slider will not go above 80%, the cap is in place.

The opt-out that many outlets reported was part of the US ID.4 recall, and even there Volkswagen recommended keeping charge at 80%. In the UK, the advice is the same either way: do not charge above 80% until the recall work is done.

What should UK owners do now?

Volkswagen UK and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles give the same steps:

1. Check the cap is on. Try setting the charge limit above 80%. If it stays above, the remote update has not reached your car.
2. If not, switch on Battery Care Mode yourself. In the app: Battery and Charge, then Battery management, then the settings icon. On the infotainment screen: Charging, then Settings. Volkswagen says this is good practice in all cases.
3. Keep driving and charging normally below 80%. AC home charging and DC rapid charging both remain possible.
4. Watch for a yellow warning lamp. If one appears, contact a Volkswagen retailer or Van Centre promptly.
5. Wait for your letter. Volkswagen will write when appointments can be booked.

If a car shows signs of fire, Volkswagen’s advice is to stop, park outdoors if possible, switch off, get out and call the emergency services.

How much range do you lose at 80%?

This is our own estimate, not a Volkswagen figure. We took official WLTP combined range figures and multiplied them by 0.8. For the ID.4 we used the 2025 model year span on Volkswagen UK’s ID.4 page, which covers batteries of 52kWh, 77kWh and 79kWh but does not pair each range figure with a battery. For the ID.7 Pro S we used the UK launch figures reported by electrive. The estimate assumes range falls in proportion to charge, which is a simplification, and we do not know which battery sizes are most affected. Earlier cars in the recall window may have slightly different official figures.

Model	Battery	WLTP range at 100%	At 80%	Range lost
ID.4 (2025 model year), shortest range	Not stated	222 miles	178 miles	44 miles
ID.4 (2025 model year), longest range	Not stated	351 miles	281 miles	70 miles
ID.7 Pro S Match fastback	86kWh	437 miles	350 miles	87 miles
ID.7 Pro S Match Tourer	86kWh	425 miles	340 miles	85 miles

WLTP figures are laboratory results, and real-world range is usually lower, especially at motorway speeds and in cold weather, so the miles you actually lose will be smaller in absolute terms but the share stays at a fifth. You will lose more in practice if you also keep a buffer at the bottom of the battery. For most daily driving that is unlikely to matter, because many owners already charge to 80% at home. It will matter on long winter journeys, where you may need an extra rapid charging stop. Our guide to electric cars and cold-weather range explains why winter cuts range.

How serious is the risk?

Volkswagen UK says there are no confirmed cases of personal injury but there have been individual cases of property damage, and warns that a fire could cause serious or life-threatening injuries. The KBA, as electrive reported, called its recall precautionary and said there were no reports of property damage or injuries. The two accounts differ, possibly because they cover different markets.

In the US, Audi’s filing for the Q4 e-tron says “certain charging profiles combined with a state of charge over 80% may trigger thermal propagation”, electrive reports, and InsideEVs reports that Volkswagen estimates the defect affects about 0.1% of the recalled ID.4s, or fewer than 25 cars. The root cause has not been identified, which is why the 80% cap is an interim measure rather than a fix.

What is the permanent fix?

Volkswagen UK says some owners will be asked to bring their car in for a physical battery check, which takes about an hour at an authorised retailer, and others may get a software solution. Battery modules will be replaced where necessary. All work is free, and Volkswagen says the original charging capacity and range will be restored afterwards. It has not given a date.

Does this affect buying a used ID.3 or ID.4?

Ask the seller whether the car is in the recall and whether the work has been done, and check the registration on GOV.UK yourself. A car still waiting for its fix is limited to 80% until then, so value it on that range. Our used EV buying checklist and guide to getting a battery health certificate cover the wider checks. The ID.4 is due to be replaced by the ID.Tiguan in 2027.

Our view

This recall is getting bigger, but for most UK owners the day-to-day change is small: the car still drives and charges, just to 80%, and the fix is free. The thing to avoid is confusion. The opt-out stories are about the US. In the UK, keep the cap on, switch on Battery Care Mode if the update has not arrived, and wait for Volkswagen’s letter. Audi Q4 e-tron owners have no UK notice yet, so check the registration and stick to 80% until Audi says otherwise.