Class Action Audi Door Lock Lawsuit Filed Over Alleged Locking Mechanism Defect

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Audi of America has been hit with a proposed class action lawsuit that alleges the automaker knowingly sold vehicles equipped with defective electronic door-locking mechanisms, posing a significant safety hazard.

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The 28-page automotive lawsuit alleges that Audi has falsely represented that a laundry list of vehicle models are safe and reliable, despite being aware of the apparent defect since “at least 2019.” According to the complaint, the electronic door-locking mechanism and related software suffer from a defect that can intermittently prevent the mechanism from engaging or releasing during normal operation, which can lock drivers and passengers in or out of the car in “needlessly dangerous circumstances.”

Per the filing, the vehicles at issue in the Audi lawsuit (the “class vehicles”) include the following:

• 2019–2024 A6, A7, A8, S8, and Q8;
• 2019 and 2021–2024 e-tron Quattro;
• 2020–2024 A6 allroad, S6, S7, S8, e-tron Sportback Quattro, SQ8, and RS Q8;
•  2020–2021 A8 e Quattro;
•  2020–2022 RS 6, RS 7, A8 PHEV, e-tron Quattro, and e-tron Sportback Quattro models;
• 2022 e-tron S Quattro, e-tron GT, and RS e-tron GT;
• 2021–2022 A6 Avant, RS 6 Avant, and A7 PHEV;
• 2021–2024 RS 6 Avant and RS 7;
• 2021–2022 A7 e Quattro;
• 2022–2024 e-tron S, e-tron GT, and RS e-tron GT;
• 2025 A6 Sportback e-tron, S6 Sportback e-tron, Q6 e-tron, Q6 Sportback e-tron, SQ6 e-tron, and SQ6 Sportback e-tron;
• 2025-2026 A5, S5, Q5, Q5 Sportback, and SQ5 Sportback; and
• 2026 A6.

When the door-locking mechanism does not release, the filing says, a vehicle cannot be opened from the inside or outside, presenting a “serious safety issue” for drivers and passengers who may be “trapped in the vehicles after an accident or on a hot sunny day,” or who could be “locked out of the vehicles in potentially dangerous situations.”

On the other hand, the suit continues, when the mechanism does not engage, consumers are unable to lock their car doors, leaving the luxury vehicles and any contents therein “vulnerable to theft” if left in an unsafe location.

As a result of the locking defect, there is no reasonable way for drivers to ensure that the vehicles lock or unlock when needed, the lawsuit explains, and drivers are forced to “either consciously or subconsciously” make decisions with the understanding that the locking mechanism was likely to fail, a scenario the suit calls a “powerful and ongoing distraction.”

Audi has known of the door-lock defect since at least 2019, in part through aggregated information from dealerships, testing data, and consumer complaints, the case contends. The suit adds that Audi has also issued at least eight technical service bulletins related to “malfunctions” in the locking system, one of which states that “no repairs are necessary.” However, the suit argues that this statement is “obviously false.” 

Per the lawsuit, Audi had a duty to warn consumers about the door-locking defect but has failed to do so, and the manufacturer has not provided consumers with notice via a recall.

To make matters worse, Audi has not fixed the door locking mechanism issue in newer vehicle models. To the contrary, “the problem seems to be worse in the newest class vehicles,” and Audi has done “little, if anything,” to resolve the “glaring” safety concerns, the class action lawsuit alleges.

The lawsuit says that the plaintiff purchased an Audi in 2024 with “no forewarning” of the locking defect. The case says that the locking defect manifested shortly thereafter; in one “particularly alarming incident,” the inability to unlock the car left his infant son “trapped” in the back seat while the plaintiff was locked out of the vehicle, the complaint relays.

In addition, the case states that the “unreliability” of the locking mechanism has forced the plaintiff to factor the locking defect into normal driving decisions, “altering the use of his car and parking habits in anticipation of the extremely dangerous situation.” The plaintiff claims to have brought his vehicle to an Audi dealership to investigate the problem at least three times, but the lawsuit says the locking defect “continues to manifest.”

The Audi class action lawsuit seeks to cover all individuals in the United States who formerly or currently own or lease one or more of the class vehicles listed on this page.

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