What 2 owners told NHTSA about the 2024 Audi SQ8

I am reporting a serious safety defect involving the door locking and electrical systems in my 2024 Audi SQ8. On two separate occasions the vehicle experienced a complete electrical malfunction. During the first incident, I and my child were trapped inside the vehicle. The doors would not open from the inside and the vehicle would not start. After the first incident, the vehicle was taken to an Audi dealership for inspection and repair. I was informed that the issue had been identified and repaired. Despite those repairs, the same safety issue occurred again. During the second incident, which was captured on video, the vehicle would not start despite repeated attempts. The vehicle malfunctioned again after the dealership had already stated the problem was fixed. Dealership personnel acknowledged that they could not guarantee the problem would not happen again. I was also provided a video demonstrating a manual emergency exit procedure because the electronic door locking system could become inoperative again. The dealership showed how occupants would have to use a mechanical override to exit if the electronic system failed again. This defect creates a significant safety risk because occupants can become trapped inside the vehicle unable to exit during an emergency. The inability to start the vehicle combined with failure of the electronic door locking system could delay escape in the event of a fire, collision, medical emergency, or other hazardous situation. The vehicle has been inspected by an authorized Audi dealership multiple times. The problem was reproduced by the vehicle itself on multiple occasions, and I have video evidence documenting one of the incidents. Because of these repeated failures and the safety risk posed to me and everyone on the road I no longer feel it is safe to drive it.

NHTSA ODI 11743086

Our electrical system is going craze. The electronic door handles will lock us in and out of the car, the instrument cluster will black out for periods, safety sensors go off at random, other screens in car will black out leaving controls in operable, and wireless car charger will heat the phone so hot that we have been burnt. We have take to the dealer several times. Some visits they claim they can not duplicate. They have replaced two of the door handles but they still at random do the same thing. There have been numerous system updates done to the car but it does not seem to help. We are told that the solution for these problems have not been developed yet by the manufacturer. There are no warning signs as to when these items will fail, it just happens at random. We do not feel safe driving the car as all the safety components are tied to the electrical system such as steering, braking, lighting, etc.

NHTSA ODI 11726024