NHTSA complaint: 2019 AUDI A6 — POWER TRAIN
I was slowing down to stop at a traffic light when a message was displayed on the instrument panel that says "Electrical System Malfunction" with a yellow battery icon. A few seconds later the same "Electrical System Malfunction" with a red battery icon. Then the vehicle came to a complete stop and was inoperable. There was almo smoke coming from the hood near the positive battery terminal. The smoke had an electrical smell to it. I had no opportunity to pull over and was stuck in the middle of a very busy road right at the stop line of the traffic light. My family and I had to exit the vehicle with traffic on both sides of us and get to the side of the road safely. There was no prior indication that there was a problem, this happened all within about 5-10 seconds and I had no time to try and pull over to safety. I have found other complaints about this vehicle that are similar (see under the reliability section on Consumer Reports). The dealer identified the issue as an "internal failure" of the generator and 48v battery system, but had no explanation as to why it happened nor can they guarantee it will not happen again.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration — Office of Defects Investigation