Advanced electronics are great – but not in a snowstorm. Was it the weather conditions that put the Audi e-tron out of action this evening? Fortunately, I was able to get there in a car without advanced electronics. The Hyundai i10 is in many ways a cool car, but not today. - Audi e-tron, on the other hand...
The day the electronics failed
I had my bike locked in a bike shed at work, but the electronic card reader for the door lock had died. Dense snow drifts, moist air and changing temperatures put the electronics out of action. It was going to get worse. While I was trying to find out when the bus left, my wife called. Her Audi A3 e-tron had gone completely "bananas". The dashboard flashed and honked, the red oil light was on and the screen told of serious engine problems. There were no mechanical problems. It was the electronics that failed. The worst part was that she couldn't turn off the ignition and lock the car. She couldn't leave it like that, and the tow truck couldn't come for two hours. They had a lot to do today.
E-tron with electronics problems
I have owned several modern family cars from the Volkswagen group. Under such conditions, it happened that they went into emergency mode without warning. Then it was just a matter of jumping over to the shoulder of the road, turning off the engine, putting on the hazard warning lights, calmly counting to ten and starting again. Pure routine. My guess is that when the car's central control system (software) stops, everything fails - including the error logging. Then all you have to do is resort to the "Swedish button". Cut the power. The problem with the e-tron is that there is no "Swedish button".
Small Hyundai i10 on the way!
With a woman in distress and an e-tron with serious electronics problems, I had to ditch the bus home and find a suitable car to come to the rescue. I had just returned the weekend's Toyota ProAce to Hertz car pool. Next to it, stood a red Hyundai i10. It was supposed to be the ambulance. The transition from ProAce to i10 was quite a big one. From feeling towering on the road, I suddenly became very small, - even compared to normal cars.
The snowfall had caused chaos in the traffic. On the Ringveien, things went awry. On the way out of the parking garage, I had to drive around a newer Golf with hazard lights. On the move, I couldn't tell if it was a GTE (Volkswagen's "e-tron") or an e-Golf. A little further away there was a bus with its emergency lights on. A really bad day for electronics, I thought.
While I was on the phone with my wife, her Audi had miraculously come back to its hooks. After half an hour it worked again. I asked her to start the gas engine and drive a few leisurely laps in the parking lot.
Crazy?
As I drove the little Hyundai, I thought how liberating low-tech this vehicle is. In the snow, I amused myself by "throwing" it into 90 degree turns and giving it gas. It felt like it was turning around on its own little axis without losing momentum, just like in a computer game. This is a surprisingly fun car, without being overwhelmed by electronics. I could have called the Hyundai "crazy", but in the stress and drive to help my wife, "crazy" wasn't the right word. Rema 1000 expression "The simple is often the best" fit better.
No problems for the Teslas
As I approached my wife's workplace I glimpsed her cosmos-blue e-tron in slow motion around and around the parking lot. On the way home, I saw another Golf parked on the side of the road with its hazard lights on. I was surprised that only cars from the Volkswagen group had been stopped. Why no Tesla? They are packed with all kinds of electronics! But the Teslas obviously had no problems at all this evening. On the contrary. I saw how easily they made their way through the snow. What a grip!
"No, the have we never heard of…”
I imagine that's the kind of thing people say in the car industry to avoid a bad reputation. I have experienced it in the past, - about technical errors that have been common, but only known within the dealer environment. You don't get to know that customer. You must know someone at the workshop. Møllerbil is a serious dealer. The mechanic who checked the error log found no information. The car was checked twice. Each check took less than half an hour.
As a car blogger, I allow myself to speculate
It took me a few seconds to find a forum page online for owners of the e-tron's sister model, the Golf GTE. A man had his car winched onto the tow truck after experiencing exactly the same thing as my wife. Other owners reported similar experiences. When Møller checked our car, they probably found nothing new - and just reported another case of a known fault to the factory. - And should anyone be wondering... Of course Norwegian Audi dealers are aware of this problem!
Is the Volkswagen group out on thin ice again?
Headlines about that "E-tron has electronic problems" would hardly have come conveniently after the diesel scandal. The management at Volkswagen has declared that they are betting on electricity. The E-tron project is the spearhead that will catch the world's eyes. Tesla was there a few years ago. At the time, many were skeptical of the technology and thought the project would fail. It didn't – at least not technologically. Should the "e-tron" fail now, the future for the Volkswagen Group undoubtedly looks bleak.
On my way to Møllerbil Vest (Oslo) I spotted the new A1. It has a 1,0-liter TSI engine of 116 HP with S Tronic – perhaps the simplest powertrain Audi can deliver at the moment. The design language does not look that much like the Hyundai i10, but in terms of size it is in the middle between the i10 and the A3. The new A1 actually looks very good! If the e-tron project does not stumble at the start, the Volkswagen Group is going to roll out electric car-based powertrains on a large scale. Then it is not impossible that it might be offered in the new A1, too?
New e-tron – new problems?
In the middle of the room was Audi's new all-electric e-tron model. It was still covered and was not to be uncovered until 6 o'clock in the evening. It undoubtedly looks beautiful, but the question the world is asking is whether the quality of the advanced technology is good enough. If not, the emergency pockets are going to be tight for the winter.
If I ever open the bike shed, they can borrow my bike 🙂
Same symptoms in the new Audi e-tron!
Found an article on tek no. Audi e-tron owner Øyvind Stensby learned that his Audi e-tron went completely bananas. The reason, according to Audi, is that it had been on slow charging for more than 12 hours. They recommend ignoring the messages, locking the car for 3 minutes and trying again. Anyone had similar experiences?
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