Fp90

Hi all,

we have been looking at various different cars to replace our existing lease and the e-tron is one of them. However, various forums, videos and comments lead me to think the car has one too many issues. I know this might sound funny, but we like the car so much we’re looking for justification to go through with our purchase (lease).

I am aware of the lightbar issue, should I be asking my dealer to order this piece in advance considering almost all of you have had this issue?

what else should I look out for?

As we know, it’s not a “cheap” car and I would HATE to be stuck going back and forth to the dealership driving loaners. My build date shows 11/19. Hoping that gave Audi sometime to wrong some errors from the earlier builds.

Your advice and input would be much appreciated.

(We are cross shopping this with BMW X5 but we like the idea of transitioning into an EV)

A4 Phil

Get the car that you enjoy driving. If you can drive an X5 and be satisfied after the etron, then don't dismiss it.

As for the light bar. It is either going to break and be replaced or it won't. There is obviously an issue that Audi has pretty much admitted to, however, I seriously doubt that they will 'pre' order you a replacement bar.

This is a new car model. You are going to get a few wacky issues. If you want to eliminate a few of those growing pains, you can grab a '20 sport back. Those have 'a few' of the initial growing pains ironed out and you get an additional 25 miles range to boot.

There are lots of threads here which cover transitioning from ICE to BEV and I am not going to assume to know your living situation. But consider when and where you will be charging. If that hurdle is reasonable, then your transition will be easier than you expect. If that hurdle is more akin to filling up at a petrol/gas station, then BEV is a little more difficult than you would imagine.

As for range anxiety. I have found that it goes away, but only because BEV has changed the way I drive. Now I drive charger to charger on long trips. Drive gets broken into two to three hour chunks, instead of just driving for distance in an ICE. It is probably safer as well. But it is different. (I am a pandemic buyer so I have not done too many long distance trips yet). I have not yet driven to an area that lacks chargers. I am sure that will be challenging. And I am moving to an area with VERY few chargers so I may update this take soon.

sunbeltetron

Have owned one for about 5 months.
Have only been to the dealer twice - once for software update and once for lightbar warning (they replaced the lightbar hardware even though it looked fine to me -since I was getting the warning signal)

I have never experienced some of the other issues you might see mentioned on this forum - rattles from the interior, leaking sunroof (and I live in a very rainy area).

The car is very good.

The high-speed DC charging network is mediocre and (hopefully) will improve as more users drive demand for more reliable service.

mtberman

Get what you want as long as it’s not an Alfa or a Jag. Forums reveals the few people with the worst experiences who are justifiably vocal. Thousands of others with no problems typically remain silent. There’s a thread here that asked if anyone was having the same problems as the OP, and almost all the replies were otherwise quiet members saying they’ve had no problems.

I had a 2004 Prius that was a total lemon. Even after my terrible experiences, and there were many, Toyota sold plenty more. I talked on forums with others with similar defects, who did lemon law buybacks, who endured multiple recalls and service campaigns, etc. Prius fans, who otherwise knew little about cars, drowned out our concerns

Despite the problems experienced by me and many others with 2004-2006 Priuses, the quality/reliability ratings remained high. The high defect rate didn’t matter because owners were fanatical. I’ve seen the same thing with Tesla now, where the car is praised endlessly for its “tech” but objectively lacks so many Tech features the Audi includes. If “tech” is a car with an iPad instead of an instrument cluster, and a fart noise generator, I will pass. But that’s me.

I hope you love whatever you decide to get.

WetEV

I'm a long term EV driver, and I suspect I understand why the like for the eTron. EVs are just so smooth, responsive, quiet and fun to drive. Expect your face to hurt for a while due to the usual case of "EV grin". However, first I'll try to talk you out of an electric if you don't "fit the profile" of someone that will be long term happy in an electric car.

1) Do you have home charging available? Ideal case would be a 50 Amp outlet already installed in your garage, a good case would the breaker box is a few feet away from where the car is parked. Older house you might want to chat with an electrician before you buy, you want a "NEMA 14-50" installed. Historic house with only on-street parking would be a reason not to buy, unless you have reliable and plentiful workplace charging or something similar.

2) Are your daily range needs compatible with the car's no-worries range? Take the EPA range number and divide by about two. Think about the worst day you can imagine, fasting blood draw, meet someone for breakfast, commute, drive to lunch, back to work, to home, to shopping, dinner, etc. Use a map website to add up the miles. If the result of the first is greater than the second, then you never every have to even think about range on a daily basis. You will have range anxiety at first, everyone does, but after a day or two like that you will realize you don't need to be anxious, or worried, or even think about range on a daily basis. If your worst case day is a little beyond the no-worries range, but the typical day isn't, then you might want to see if there is charging at some of the stops. If you are driving more than the no-worries range on a typical day, I'm going to suggest you might want to consider something else.

3) Are most of your miles local? Home charging is so much nicer than gas stations. Finding charging on the road can be less pleasant. Charging stations are less reliable that we would like, are slower than gas stations, and might not be where you want them, and you will need to stop more often. If the majority of your charging is at home, you will like it better. If lots of road miles, I'm going to suggest you might want to consider something else.

Trips can be somewhat different as you must stop for charging. Somewhat slower than driving straight through with a gas car. Depending on where you want to go, there might be good charging, or there might not. I5 from Canada to Mexico is pretty good. South Dakota and Wyoming is very empty. It's possible to go almost everywhere if you are willing to take a lot more time to get there, but you might be charging for hours at RV parks and such. I suggest playing with ABRP for the trips you might want to take. See the following examples:

https://abetterrouteplanner.com/?pla...0-7dff7501c7c4

I do not recommend this trip, unless you like adventure:

https://abetterrouteplanner.com/?pla...8-9f53d5cd8d78

Couple of notes on ABRP: 1) estimated cost is the "no contract" price. You get 100kWh with the car, and once that is gone if do you take enough long trips you might want charging plans which will lower the cost. 2) Trips longer than a day you would prefer to get a hotel with charging stations.

jskcowboy

I just got my E-Tron few weeks ago and I"m enjoying my experience so far. One has to assume some risk when owning a car. My choices came down to Model X or E-Tron. I chose E-Tron because long range wasn't important factor and E-Tron was much more luxurious compared to the model X.

drcollie2

I had far more warranty issues with my BMW X4 (seven in total over three years) than my Audi E-Tron (zeron in 7 months). No car is perfect, just realize that VW Group is investing billions - not millions - in EV platforms so they are out to do it right. Early Adopters take a risk. I'd buy my E-Tron again in a minute, I really enjoy it. I'd buy another BMW, too. However you get spoiled rapidly by not having a gas-engined vehicle as long as you don't take routine long-distance trips.

DMcDnald

If you want the E-tron, the lease option may be a safer way to go. That was my original plan before I opted out. I do think the E-tron is a beautiful car. The X5 e has very good all electric range and I've found the PHEV option to be a viable one, especially if your trips are in the 20-30 mile range and you keep the battery charged. I have a 2020 Q5 e Prestige and I really like it. Most of the trips are short, so we use mainly EV and have put very little gas in the car. I will drive in in battery hold mode from time to time just to exercise the ICE a bit.

Good luck with your decision.

Houstonmobilian

Once you drive a full EV, you won’t want to drive a gas fuel vehicle and even Plug in hybrid. I used to have Cayenne E Hybrid. Let me tell you. That vehicle felt so heavy once the gas kicked in. Totally ruined the Pure EV driving sensation. Like others mentioned, depending on your lifestyle and needs, if you need the range, then you should opt for Tesla. Otherwise E-tron is a nice balanced car to have. Yes. We liked it so much that we purchased the second E-Tron in 5 days! Good luck on your purchase!

fsedaei

Mine is 11/19 too, prestige purchased 4 months ago and love it. So far 2k miles into and I love it. with absolutely no issues yet.
At the same time, can't deny this is a new experiment for VW. not surprised to see more issues compared to well established models.
I had 2 different conversations with AudiUSA support over chat and email, and was really satisfied with how they handled my questions/concerns.

And yes, for me EV experiment is nothing to back off from. Not sure if you share the same enthusiasm for them too.
Good luck.