— Audi has filed a motion to dismiss an e-tron battery recall lawsuit which alleges Audi won't properly repair the vehicles.
Georgia plaintiff Dwight Kelly purchased a 2019 Audi e-tron Quattro and Georgia plaintiff Marcus Horton purchased a 2023 Audi RS e-tron GT.
Both owners assert the high-voltage lithium-ion batteries in their cars may short circuit, lose power and catch fire.
The lawsuit alleges Audi e-tron battery recalls in 2023 and 2024 failed to fix the problems.
The Audi e-tron battery class action lawsuit includes these vehicles:
- 2019-2022 Audi e-tron Quattro
- 2020-2022 Audi e-tron Sportback Quattro
- 2022-2024 Audi RS e-tron GT
- 2022-2024 Audi e-tron GT
Motion to Dismiss the Audi e-tron Battery Lawsuit
According to Audi, the e-tron battery class action lawsuit "consists primarily of conclusory and speculative allegations which fail to plead the required facts" to establish the claims.
Audi points out how the battery recalls are under the supervision of the federal agency charged with that role, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The plaintiffs demand that Audi be forced to conduct a “comprehensive program” to repair, replace or buy back the e-trons from all customers, but Audi alleges their demands are preempted by the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Act. Audi says NHTSA is responsible for safety defects, not a judge, lawyer or plaintiff.
Audi asserts neither plaintiff claims to have ever experienced a problem with his e-tron's high voltage battery at any time, much less within the 8 year or 100,000 mile battery warranty. And neither plaintiff claims to have ever stopped driving his e-tron due to the batteries.
According to the motion to dismiss the lawsuit, Audi says plaintiff Kelly does not claim to have ever taken advantage of the recall remedies, such as the inspection of his e-tron battery, a free interim software update or the free advanced diagnostic software.
And while the plaintiffs complain the recalls advise them to limit battery charging to 80%, Audi says neither plaintiff claims to have ever had to do that.
And Audi references the owner's manuals which "explicitly recommend 'setting the charging target at 80%' for 'daily usage' in order to 'extend the service life of the high-voltage battery.'”
The automaker also alleges for plaintiff Horton, his e-tron automatically transmits the high voltage battery data to Audi and he is only advised to limit the charging to 80% if notified his e-tron’s data show a battery module should be replaced.
But the plaintiff allegedly has never been notified of a battery problem or that his charging should be limited or that his battery needs replaced.
As for plaintiff Kelly, Audi says claims for breach of express and implied warranty and negligent misrepresentation should be dismissed because they were not brought within the four year statute of limitations for his e-tron.
Other claims should allegedly be tossed because the plaintiffs never had battery problems and never took their e-trons to Audi dealers for repairs during the warranty periods.
Both plaintiffs also contend their Audi e-trons are "unmerchantable" even though the vehicles have not had any problems.
The Audi e-tron battery recall lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia (Atlanta Division): Dwight Kelly, et al., v. Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
The plaintiff is represented by Caplan Cobb LLC, and Gibbs Law Group LLP.