Software Glitch Might Disable the Brake Lights in Emergency Situations for Q3 Owners

If your parking brake is engaged in an emergency stopping situation, it probably means you’re having a bad day. But thanks to a software glitch in the 2016-17 Audi Q3, it could get a whole lot worse.

“According to Audi, there is a software error in the gateway control unit that causes the brake lights to fail. The automaker discovered the problem during internal testing in March 2016 and started working on a software fix.”

No brake lights with the parking brake engaged? That is a no-no for federal safety standards and, more importantly, a good way to increase your chances of someone ramming into your back bumper.

Audi considered issuing a “service campaign” instead of going through the recall process because they weren’t sure their electromechanical parking brake was subject to the same rules as a standard parking brake. Nothing says we value our customers like trying to weasel out of a recall over a technicality. Luckily, they smartened up.