2025 Audi A6 Sportback E-Tron

Defect. Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2025 SQ6 E-Tron, SQ6 Sportback E-Tron, Q6 Sportback E-Tron, A6, A5, A6 Sportback E-Tron, Q6 E-Tron, S5, and S6 Sportback E-Tron vehicles. The automatic locking retractor may fail to engage when a child seat is installed using the seat belt. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) numbers 208, "Occupant Crash Protection" and 209, "Seat Belt Assemblies."

Risk. An improperly secured child seat can increase risk of injury during a crash.

Remedy. Dealers will inspect and replace the right and left rear seat belt assembly as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed February 16, 2026. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 69D8. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on December 23, 2025.

Defect. Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2025 GTI, Golf R, Audi A5, A6 Sportback E-Tron, S5, S6 Sportback E-Tron, 2026 Q4 Sportback E-Tron, and Q4 E-Tron vehicles. The torsion bar in one or both front seat belt retractors may have been damaged during production.

Risk. In a crash, a damaged torsion bar in a retractor could fail. If this happens, the seat belt may not properly restrain an occupant during a crash, increasing the risk of injury.

Remedy. Dealers will replace one or both front seat belts, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed October 30, 2025, and October 31, 2025. Owners may contact Audi at 1-800-253-2834 or Volkswagen at 1-800-893-5298. Audi's number for this recall is 69UM; Volkswagen’s number for this recall is 694T. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will be searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning September 26, 2025.

The contact owns a 2025 Audi A6 Sportback E-tron. The contact stated that while his wife was attempting to exit the vehicle through the rear door, the door failed to open as needed. Additionally, the contact was unable to unlock or gain access to the vehicle via the phone key and keyless entry features. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent and had also occurred on a 2025 Audi Q6 E-tron vehicle he currently owned. The vehicles were taken to the dealer, and the contact was advised that a software update was required to correct the issue; however, the update was not currently available and was expected to be released in the third quarter of the year. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unavailable.

While driving my vehicle, I approached a four‑way stop and began crossing a four‑lane road. The road consisted of two lanes traveling in one direction, a median, and two lanes traveling in the opposite direction. As I proceeded through the intersection and passed the median on my left, the vehicle suddenly lurched and made a noise. The sensation was similar to abruptly hitting the brakes, but my foot was not on the brake pedal. Immediately after the lurch, multiple warnings appeared on the dashboard. The messages displayed were: “Driving dynamics system: malfunction! Limited functionality. Please contact service.” “All wheel drive: Malfunction. Please call service.” The abrupt deceleration combined with the system failures created an unsafe scenario that could have caused a crash had there been nearby traffic.