2014 Audi Q5 ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

The car has a known "oil consumption issue" that has led to engine failure that Audi has failed to take responsibility for. This is a 2104 Audi Q5. The car is in San Francisco and available for inspection. The car vibrates and can't be safely driven at highway speeds, if the engine suddenly lost power on the highway it could be a major safety issue for the driver and other drivers. The dealer has reproduced the issue and diagnosed it as needing new Pistons and Rings at 99,000 miles (but it has had this issue since in the 60,000 mile range, they just said keep adding oil). It has not been inspected by police or insurance representatives, just the dealers. I'm sure some warning lights came on, but could not say which ones or when.

Check engine light on and diagnostic test shows particular matter sensor malfunction. This is apparently under recall, but my VIN is not included

I am writing about an incident that happened to my wife while she was driving my car from Los Angeles, CA to Phoenix, AZ on June 16, 2021. My wife was driving the Audi Q5 at approximately 75mph and 125 miles west of Phoenix (near the CA/AZ border) when the car suddenly loss power. She stepped on the gas and noticed the speed gradually dropping. Fortunately, she had the presence of mind and barely had enough time to pull over to the shoulder. It was at this point that she called to tell me that the car would no longer start and the “check engine” and “EPC” light indicators were illuminated. This occurred at approximately 12:30 noon during a severe heatwave where the outside temperature was 117 degrees. I asked her to wait for 10 minutes to try to restart the car; the car would not restart. She called AAA Towing and was told the wait would be over one hour because of the rural location (Quartzsite, AZ). She ended up waiting a little over 3 hours in her car, without air conditioning, in 117 degrees for a tow truck driver to arrive. The car was towed to her sister’s house in Goodyear, AZ at a cost of $673. The next day, she had the car towed to the Audi Dealership in Peoria, AZ where it was diagnosed the car had suffered a fuel vapor lock due to the heat. The car has less than 28,000 miles on the odometer when the incident happened. Audi Peoria kept the car for a couple of days because the parts had to be ordered from Los Angeles. Ultimately, the repair bill from the dealership came to $1,983. I felt helpless and scared for my wife that I was not able to assist her as I was 3 hours away. What if my wife (or another driver) was unable to pull over to the side of the road? The chances of an accident are dramatically increased if the vehicle was stuck on the highway. As you can imagine, my wife has been traumatized by this incident and we are both fearful that this incident can happen again. Therefore, we request that NHTSA investigate this incident.

"FUEL PUMP" WHILE DRIVING HOME AFTER A ROAD TRIP ON THE HIGHWAY (IN THE LEFT FAST LANE) MY CAR SUDDENLY LOST POWER AND WOULD NOT ACCELERATE WHEN PRESSING ON THE ACCELERATOR. THE "ECP" WARNING LIGHT CAME ON AND I HAD TO EASE THE CAR TO A STOP ON THE LEFT SHOULDER. AFTER ABOUT 5+ MINUTES, I WAS ABLE TO START THE CAR AGAIN AND MOVE IT OVER TO THE RIGHT-HAND LANE WHEN THE CAR STUTTERED AND SHUT OFF AGAIN. THIS TIME I WAS ON THE RIGHT SHOULDER. AFTER ANOTHER FEW MINUTES, I WAS ABLE TO START THE CAR AGAIN AND CALLED AHEAD TO TAKE IT IN THE NEAREST AUDI DEALERSHIP (IN THE TOWN I WAS RETURNING HOME FROM). THE CAR HAD SEEMED A LITTLE HESITANT TO START. THE NEXT DAY (JUST BEFORE CLOSING), THAT AUDI DEALERSHIP'S DIAGNOSTIC TESTS DETERMINED THE ERROR CODE TO BE '2043758/8 PUNCH 2 & 3' WHICH REQUIRED REPLACEMENT OF THE FUEL PUMP. FOUR PARTS NEEDED: FUEL PUMP, CAP, WASHER AND 'REPAIR SET'. SINCE THIS DEALERSHIP COULDN'T EXPLAIN WHAT THE 'REPAIR SET' WAS NEEDED FOR - THE MOST EXPENSIVE PART - I CALLED OTHER AUDI DEALERSHIPS AND SEARCHED THE INTERNET FOR INFORMATION. NO OTHER SOURCE MENTIONED A 'REPAIR SET'. ALSO, ALL BUT ONE OTHER PARTS DEPARTMENT SAID THAT THE FUEL PUMP PART WAS BACKORDERED BY 1-2 WEEKS DUE TO MANY RECENT ISSUES WITH THE THIS PART. SINCE IT SEEMED THAT I WAS BEING TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF BY THAT FIRST DEALERSHIP, I PURCHASED THE 3 PARTS (PUMP, CAP & WASHER) AT THE ONLY AUDI DEALERSHIP THAT SEEMED TO HAVE THE PUMP (ABOUT AN HOUR AWAY FROM MY HOME TOWN) AND MADE A SERVICE APPOINTMENT AT ANOTHER DEALERSHIP NEAR THE TOWN I WAS VISITING. A CONVOLUTED PROCESS TO GET MY Q5 FIXED BUT DUE TO THE NUMBER OF REPORTED ISSUES WITH THE FUEL PUMP ACCORDING TO THE AUDI MECHANIC, THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH THE AUDI FUEL PUMP IN ADDITION TO FUEL PUMP FLANGE RECALL.