Audi Class Action Lawsuit Alleges Start/Stop Defect

Volkswagen and Audi AG have been hit with a class action lawsuit by a vehicle owner who claims the automatic start/stop system in their vehicles have a deleterious effect on the brakes, steering and acceleration.

The allegedly affected vehicles are the Audi 2017-2020 A3, 2017-2020 A4, 2017-2020 A5, 2017-2020 A6, 2017-2020 A7, 2017-2020 A8, 2017-2020 S3, 2017-2020 S4, 2017-2020 S6, 2017-2020 S8, 2017-2020 TT, 2017-2020 TT S, 2017-2020 Q5, 2017-2020 Q7, 2017-2020 Q8 and 2017-2020 SQ5.

Plaintiff Michael Pitts, a resident of Florida, says he purchased a 2018 Audi A6 for about $54,000. He claims he still owns the vehicle and has 19,000 miles on it. 

Pitts says he did not know at the time of the purchase that the vehicle came equipped with a start/stop system that was defective and did not function properly. He says Audi’s unfair, unlawful and deceptive conduct in marketing, manufacturing and selling of the vehicle with the stop/start system has caused him out-of-pocket loss, future attempted repairs and has diminished the value of the vehicle.

In his Audi class action lawsuit, Pitts maintains the engine in his vehicle shuts down before it comes to a complete stop, causing the power steering to be difficult to use. Pitts also states that at the same time, the brake pedal becomes heavy and the brakes do not operate in the same manner as when the engine is running.

“When restarting from a stop, Plaintiff’s Affected Vehicle lurches forward and the power steering does not immediately engage, making it difficult to steer the car. In addition, the car will not accelerate as expected initially, but then blasts forward,” the Audi class action lawsuit says.

Pitts claims the start/stop defect nearly caused him to have an accident. He states that on June 30, 2020, he approached an intersection where he had a green light. While traveling about 2 mph, the engine turned off and he lost his power steering and power brakes, Pitts claims. 

The plaintiff maintains that he was fearful his Audi would be hit by oncoming traffic and he credits luck that he was not injured during the two to three seconds that he had no control of his vehicle.

Pitts says he brought the vehicle to an Audi dealership because of the start/stop defect and told the service department he was having trouble with the system.

He claims he was told the car was learning his driving pattern and that he should “not worry about it.” Pitts states the service department did not inform him of any defects in the start/stop system and would not undertake any repairs of the system.

“At the time that he was researching and purchasing his Affected Vehicle, Audi never told Plaintiff about the Start/Stop Defect, so Plaintiff purchased his Affected Vehicle on the reasonable, but mistaken, belief that his Affected Vehicle would be reliable, dependable and safe,” the Audi class action lawsuit goes on to say.

Pitts says none of the advertisements he reviewed or representations he received contained any disclosure that his Audi did, in fact, have a defect or that the car manufacturer would be unwilling to repair the defect.

If Audi had disclosed the start/stop defect, Pitts states, he would have received the disclosures and either would not have purchased the Audi or would have paid less for it.

Pitts goes on to state that Audi owners have been complaining about issues with the start/stop system in Audis for many years.

He points to a class action lawsuit filed in July 2017 that alleged that the start/stop system improperly prevented the engine from restarting if the driver happened to unbuckle their seat belt while at a stop.

That Audi class action lawsuit stated that when the driver lifted their foot off the brake, the car would not restart and would instead roll forward with no power steering and no brake booster; the driver would not be able to restart the vehicle until they had fully stopped it, placed it in park and hit the push-to-start button.

Pitts alleges that on April 28, 2017, Audi issued a Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) that alerted its dealers about the complexity of the start/stop system and that customers may have complaints about how the system operates.

“The Start/Stop Defect in the Affected Vehicles is dangerous to drivers, vehicle occupants and innocent bystanders. A vehicle that has its power steering and brake assist inoperative while the vehicle is coming to a stop or initiating movement from a stop, and fails to accelerate when demanded, is simply unsafe to operate,” the Audi class action lawsuit says.

Do you own an Audi with a start/stop system? Leave a message in the comments section below.

The plaintiff is represented by Gregory Y. Porter, Benjamin L. Bailey and Jonathan D. Boggs of Bailey & Glasser LLP and Steve W. Berman and Thomas E. Loeser of Hagens Berman Sobol & Shapiro LLP.

The Audi Start/Stop Class Action Lawsuit is Michael Pitts v. Volkswagen Group of America Inc., et al., Case No. 1:20-cv-00768, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

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