After Porsche recalled 31,689 units of the all-electric Taycan for brake hoses that may crack and leak fluid onto the road, Audi issued a recall over the very same problem. According to documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a grand total of 9,653 examples of the e-tron GT have been recalled in the United States market.
Affected vehicles include e-tron GT models produced for 2022 through 2024 between March 26, 2021 and June 12, 2024. It goes without saying that RS e-tron GT is affected as well, with production dates ranging between March 18, 2021 and June 12, 2024. From the aforementioned dates, it's pretty clear that said problem does not affect the model year 2025 facelift.
The front-axle brake hoses are supplied by Ebern-based Valeo Powertrain Systems Driveline. Headquartered in France, the Valeo Group is one of the world's largest automotive supplier. Audi was informed by Volkswagen Group brand Porsche about leaky hoses in September 2023, prompting the lesser marque to investigate.
Simulations of brake hose routing followed suit in October 2023, but for some reason or another, Audi waited until May 2024 to start implementing corrective measures. One such measure is the switch to an optimized front-axle brake hose, as in hoses with an increased bending radius.
In the event of complete failure of the front-axle braking system, the rear was found to remain completely functional. Audi isn't aware of any incidents related to the recall condition, but did receive two warranty claims in the United States market. Dealers are to replace the old front-axle brake hoses with the improved hoses at no charge to affected customers, who are to be informed by first-class mail on or about August 16, 2024.
Photo: Audi
In production since 2020 at the Bollinger Hofe plant in Germany, the e-tron GT launched in the United States for model year 2022 with a starting price of $99,900 for the quattro Premium Plus or $139,900 for the RS version. The 2024 model is understandably pricier, with Audi charging at least $106,600 and $147,100, respectively.
No pricing information is available for the mid-cycle refresh in this part of the world as of June 2024, but we do know that Audi wants big money for it over in Europe. Think €126,000 from the outset, €147,500 for the RS e-tron GT, and €160,500 for the RS e-tron GT performance.
The latter price converts to $171,450 at current exchange rates, which is a bit ludicrous for a four-ringed performance car without a free-breathing V10 mounted in the middle. Then again, remember that Europe has something called value-added tax. There's no such thing in the United States, where the 2025 models are certain to undercut their European siblings in MSRP.
RS e-tron GT performance currently holds the title of most powerful series-production Audi of them all. It's rated at 680 kW or 912 horsepower, with Audi quoting a 0-100 time of 2.5 seconds compared to 2.8 for the RS e-tron GT, and 3.4 for the base S e-tron GT. In American vernacular, 100 kilometers per hour is 62 miles per hour.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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