Incident: SOS System Failure in Audi A1 Cars: Software Glitch Impacting Information System

Published Date: 2021-09-14

Postmortem Analysis
Timeline 1. The software failure incident with the Audi A1, Skoda, and VW cars' SOS warning systems happened in March 2021. [Article 118571]
System 1. SOS warning system 2. Information system 3. Hands-free phone system 4. Various alarms 5. Audi A1, Skoda Karoq, VW Golf 6. Volkswagen Group cars' information system
Responsible Organization 1. Audi in Germany [118571] 2. Volkswagen Group [118571]
Impacted Organization 1. Audi, Skoda, and VW car buyers [118571]
Software Causes 1. The software cause of the failure incident was related to the SOS warning system failing, which then affected the information system in the Audi A1, leading to stalling, alarms going off, and the whole information system going down in the latest Volkswagen Group cars [118571].
Non-software Causes 1. The SOS system keeps failing, leading to the information system going down. 2. The car has started stalling and various alarms keep going off. 3. The dealer mentioned that as many as 15% of Audi A1s are similarly affected by the issue. 4. The dealer offered to buy back the car at a lower price, indicating dissatisfaction with the vehicle's performance. 5. The company has not offered a replacement for the faulty vehicle. 6. The dealer mentioned that technical updates are expected by the end of the month to potentially resolve the issue. 7. The customer has lost confidence in driving the car due to the recurring failures. [Article 118571]
Impacts 1. The SOS system failure in new Audi, Skoda, and VW cars led to the information system going down, along with the hands-free phone system, impacting the overall functionality of the vehicles [118571]. 2. The software failure caused the affected cars to stall, various alarms to go off, and the car to cut out, leading to a loss of confidence in driving the vehicles [118571]. 3. The software failure affected a significant number of Audi A1s, with as many as 15% of the vehicles experiencing similar issues, indicating a widespread impact on customers [118571]. 4. The software failure incident resulted in the affected car owners facing inconvenience, potential safety concerns, and financial losses, as the dealer offered a buy-back at a lower price than the original cost of the car [118571].
Preventions 1. Implementing thorough software testing procedures before releasing the vehicles to customers could have potentially prevented the software failure incident [118571]. 2. Conducting comprehensive quality assurance checks on the SOS warning systems and information systems of the vehicles during the development phase could have helped identify and rectify any software issues before the cars were sold to customers [118571]. 3. Ensuring prompt and effective communication between the local dealers and the headquarters in Germany regarding software fixes and updates could have expedited the resolution of the software problems in the vehicles [118571].
Fixes 1. Further technical updates expected by the end of the month may provide the necessary resolution [118571].
References 1. Audi 2. Skoda 3. VW 4. Portsmouth Audi 5. Flora Ellison 6. VW Golf owner 7. Consumer Champions, Money, the Guardian [118571]

Software Taxonomy of Faults

Category Option Rationale
Recurring one_organization, multiple_organization (a) The software failure incident has happened again at one_organization: The article mentions that in March, there were problems reported by new Audi, Skoda, and VW car buyers with their SOS warning systems. The SOS system keeps failing, leading to issues with the information system, stalling of the car, and various alarms going off. The article also highlights that the same problem has been experienced by other customers, such as Flora Ellison with a Skoda Karoq and a VW Golf owner [118571]. (b) The software failure incident has happened again at multiple_organization: The article mentions that the SOS problems were initially an irritant but have escalated in the latest Volkswagen Group cars, affecting the whole information system and hands-free phone system. This indicates that similar software failure incidents have occurred in other Volkswagen Group cars as well [118571].
Phase (Design/Operation) design (a) The software failure incident in the articles seems to be related to the design phase. The issues with the SOS warning systems in new Audi, Skoda, and VW cars are described as stemming from software problems that affect the information system and cause the car to stall. The article mentions that the problems are expected to be resolved with further technical updates by the end of the month, indicating that the root cause lies in the design or development of the software [118571]. (b) Additionally, the article mentions that the SOS system failures and other software-related issues are affecting the operation of the vehicles, leading to alarms going off, the car cutting out, and loss of confidence in driving the vehicle. This indicates that the software failure incident is also impacting the operation of the vehicles [118571].
Boundary (Internal/External) within_system (a) The software failure incident described in the article is within the system. The problem is related to the SOS warning system in new Audi, Skoda, and VW cars, which leads to the failure of the information system, stalling of the car, and various alarms going off [118571]. The issue is specifically mentioned to be related to software, and the company is working on providing technical updates to resolve the problem, indicating an internal system issue.
Nature (Human/Non-human) non-human_actions, human_actions (a) The software failure incident in the Audi, Skoda, and VW cars was primarily due to non-human actions, specifically related to software issues within the SOS warning systems and information systems. The article mentions that the SOS system keeps failing, leading to the information system going down, along with the hands-free phone system. The problems were described as irritants that came and went, indicating a recurring issue not directly caused by human actions [118571]. (b) However, human actions were also involved in attempting to address the software failure incident. The article mentions that the local dealer attempted to fix the problem but stated that it cannot be resolved until Audi in Germany provides a software fix. Additionally, the dealer offered to buy back the affected cars at a lower price, which was perceived as a derisory offer by the car owners. The car owners were advised to collect evidence, such as photos and a timed log of the failures, to potentially take legal action if necessary [118571].
Dimension (Hardware/Software) software (a) The software failure incident described in the article is primarily related to software issues. The reported problems with the new Audi A1, Skoda, and VW cars involve the SOS warning systems failing, which then affects the information system, causing stalling, alarms going off, and the whole information system going down [118571]. The article mentions that the dealer cannot fix the problem until Audi in Germany provides a software fix, indicating that the root cause of the failure lies in the software of the vehicles.
Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) non-malicious (a) The software failure incident described in the article is non-malicious. The issue with the SOS warning systems in new Audi, Skoda, and VW cars is attributed to a software problem that causes the system to fail, leading to various alarms going off and the information system being taken out. The article mentions that the company is working on technical updates to resolve the issue, indicating that the failure was not due to malicious intent but rather a software glitch or fault [118571].
Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) poor_decisions The software failure incident related to the Audi, Skoda, and VW cars' SOS warning systems appears to be more aligned with the option of 'poor_decisions' rather than 'accidental_decisions'. The incident highlights that the SOS system failures in the cars are persistent and have escalated to the point where the entire information system is affected, leading to stalling and various alarms going off. Despite being a known issue dating back to 2017, the company seems to have not adequately addressed the problem, with dealers expressing uncertainty about how to fix the issue. The fact that a significant percentage of Audi A1s are affected suggests a systemic problem that may have been exacerbated by poor decisions in software development or deployment [118571].
Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) development_incompetence, accidental (a) The software failure incident described in the article is related to development incompetence. The Audi, Skoda, and VW cars are experiencing problems with their SOS warning systems, information systems, stalling, and various alarms going off due to software issues. The article mentions that the local dealer cannot fix the problem until Audi in Germany provides a software fix. Additionally, the article highlights that as many as 15% of Audi A1s are affected by similar issues, indicating a widespread problem that should have been addressed by the development organization [118571]. (b) The software failure incident can also be attributed to accidental factors. The article mentions that the SOS problems were initially an irritant that came and went, but in the latest Volkswagen Group cars, the whole information system goes down along with the hands-free phone system. This suggests that the failures were not intentional but rather accidental consequences of the software issues [118571].
Duration temporary The software failure incident related to the Audi, Skoda, and VW cars' SOS warning systems seems to be temporary in nature. The article mentions that the SOS system keeps failing, taking out the information system, and causing the car to stall, along with various alarms going off [118571]. The company is working on technical updates expected by the end of the month to provide a resolution, indicating that the issue is not permanent but rather caused by specific circumstances that can potentially be addressed through software updates.
Behaviour crash, other (a) crash: The software failure incident described in the article involves a crash behavior where the SOS system in the Audi A1 keeps failing, leading to the information system going down and the car stalling [118571]. (b) omission: The omission behavior is not explicitly mentioned in the article. (c) timing: The timing behavior is not explicitly mentioned in the article. (d) value: The value behavior is not explicitly mentioned in the article. (e) byzantine: The byzantine behavior is not explicitly mentioned in the article. (f) other: The software failure incident also involves various alarms going off in the car, indicating a disruptive behavior beyond just the crash of the SOS system [118571].

IoT System Layer

Layer Option Rationale
Perception None None
Communication None None
Application None None

Other Details

Category Option Rationale
Consequence property, delay, non-human, theoretical_consequence (a) death: There is no mention of any deaths related to the software failure incident in the provided article [118571]. (b) harm: There is no mention of physical harm to individuals due to the software failure incident in the provided article [118571]. (c) basic: There is no mention of people's access to food or shelter being impacted due to the software failure incident in the provided article [118571]. (d) property: The software failure incident impacted people's material goods as the car owners experienced problems with their new Audi A1, including the SOS system failure, stalling of the car, and various alarms going off, leading to a loss of confidence in driving the vehicle [118571]. (e) delay: People had to deal with the inconvenience of the software failure incident as the car owners faced issues with the SOS system, information system, and hands-free phone system, affecting the usability of the vehicles [118571]. (f) non-human: Non-human entities, specifically the affected vehicles (Audi A1, Skoda Karoq, VW Golf), were impacted by the software failure incident, leading to malfunctions in various systems within the cars [118571]. (g) no_consequence: There were observed consequences of the software failure incident, including the malfunctioning of various systems in the affected vehicles [118571]. (h) theoretical_consequence: There were potential consequences discussed, such as the company expecting customers to wait for a software update to potentially resolve the issues, and the suggestion of seeking a full refund or taking legal action if the problem persists [118571]. (i) other: There is no mention of any other specific consequences of the software failure incident in the provided article [118571].
Domain information, transportation (a) The failed system in the articles was related to the transportation industry, specifically affecting new Audi, Skoda, and VW car buyers with issues in their SOS warning systems and information systems [118571].

Sources

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