NHTSA complaint #11422846

Owner complaint summary

Driver was with 2 passengers (3 young females) driving in a new 2021 Audi Q5 (less than 5 months old and less than 6000 miles) at about 70 mph on Garden State Parkway in NJ. A brake malfunction warning light appeared on the dashboard and within 5 seconds the car completely shut down in the middle lane of the parkway (in a black car at 10pm). This was the first notification or warning--nothing in the prior minutes or days. The driver was unable to restart the vehicle after several attempts and was unable to drift to the shoulder of the parkway. The SOS button in the vehicle didn't work and hazards didn't appear to be working either. Several cars driving at or above the 65 mph speed limit were braking and swerving at the last second to avoid collision and several cursed at the vehicle (as they were unable to see the vehicle in the darkness). Passenger in front seat called 911 to request assistance to provide a roadblock as it seemed imminent that the vehicle was going to be hit. 911 operator said safest place was to remain in the vehicle given the vehicle location and the speed of other drivers. The radio briefly turned back on and then turned off. Nothing else was working. When the tow arrived, the driver notified the individuals that the front hazards were working but the back hazards were not. The vehicle was towed to the local Audi Service Center. Eleven days after Audi accessed the vehicle, a report was received which said that the vehicle had an "elec[trical] malf[unction]" and that they "found car would not turn on and no communication to any control units. [They] performed hard reset to gate way control unit[,] found fuse blown for control unit[,]  replaced fuse [and] still same concern found[.] [G]ateway control unit internally faulty causing car not to start[.] [R]eplaced and recoded control unit [and] cleared faults and test drove car[.]" The report also notes that 3 weeks after the car was leased, the vehicle owner indicated that the car was stalling out.