At first glance, Audis and Subarus don’t have much in common. Audis tend to cost more over the long term than Subarus. But Audis tend to have nicer exterior styling, higher-quality interiors, and road handling. The two brands share little in common beyond their superior AWD technology, which bests many rivals. However, the companies now have a recall in common that affects more than 200,000 vehicles.

Audi and Subaru

The Volkswagen Group owns Audi, along with several other high-end brands. Audi vehicles are renowned for their high-quality German engineering, and many car enthusiasts seek them out precisely because of the high degree of luxury, comfort, and precision driving they offer.

Subaru is the most well-known product of the Japanese Subaru Corporation. They’re highly regarded for their reliability, cargo capacity, and outdoor capabilities. Many of their target consumers appreciate the outdoors and are active. Subaru’s AWD holds great appeal for these consumers, and the company tailors its AWD offerings to the different powertrains on its various cars for optimal performance, as per Torque News.

Audi’s are also well-known for their AWD. Known as Quattro, Audi’s AWD system has multiple variants tailored to different powertrains. But besides these similarities, Audi and Subaru are fairly dissimilar vehicles.

The Audi and Subaru recall

However, unfortunately, certain models of both brands are being recalled. As per Kiro 7, both recalls stem from potential vehicle power loss, albeit for different reasons.

Audi recalls 289,000 vehicles because of a potentially serious design flaw. Apparently, water spilled on the back seat can make its way into the car’s computer. If it does, the computer might shut down and decrease engine power mid-drive, leading to a potential crash. Audi’s recalled vehicles include 2021 and 2022 Q5 and SQ5 Sportbacks, along with some Q5 and SQ5 models dating back to 2018.

Subaru recalls 200,000 vehicles because one of its transmission components, the drive chain, can break and reduce power, increasing a driver’s crash risk. So Subaru is recalling some 2020 Outback and Legacy vehicles, as well as some 2019 and 2020 Ascents. The issue is with the transmission control computer, which the company will reprogram. They’ll also check the drive chain for traces of damage and replace it if necessary. The company will mail letters to affected vehicle owners by February 7th and have a fix in place by April.

More about the Audi recall

As for Audi, the plan is to start getting the word out to affected vehicle owners by mail on February 24. Recalled vehicles will be provided with a cover to protect the computer that dealers will install. Dealers will also add an underbody seam for further protection.

So far, Volkswagen has noted that they have not received any reports of crashes or injuries resulting from this design flaw. But they’re doing the right thing by preempting what could be a fatal occurrence from something innocuous, like a spilled drink.

While Audi is absorbing the costs of the recall, they’ll doubtlessly be offsetting that with sales of the anticipated updates of the E-Tron: the standard 2022 Q4 e-tron, the Q4 Sportback, and the new e-tron GaT sedan, the latter of which has gotten solid early reviews. New models of the A6, A7, and A8 luxury sedans are also due in 2022, which should have Audi fans salivating. With this new lineup, Audi doesn’t need to sweat a recall.