Audi stuck at 80% charge: why it's almost always a setting, not a fault

If your Audi stops at 80% and won't go further, the first thing to know is this: in nearly every case, the car is doing exactly what it's been told to do. A setting somewhere, in the car, the myAudi app, or an external smart-tariff service, is sending a stop command at 80%. This applies to both BEVs and PHEVs across the Audi range.

Real hardware faults that genuinely cap charging at 80% are rare. Let's find the setting first.

The three places the 80% limit usually lives

1. The car's own charging menu. Audi BEVs let you set a target state of charge (often labelled "battery care" or a percentage slider). 80% is a common default for daily use because it preserves battery health.
2. The myAudi app. It mirrors the car's target SoC, and you can also set location-based profiles: 80% at home, 100% elsewhere, for example. A profile created once and forgotten is a frequent cause.
3. An external smart-tariff service. Intelligent Octopus Go, Tibber, ev.energy, and similar apps can send their own stop commands when they decide the cheap window is over, when the grid is constrained, or simply when you've hit a target they're managing. The car obeys.

How to charge to 100% when you need to

1. In the car, raise the target SoC to 100% in the charging menu before plugging in.
2. Open myAudi and check the active profile for your current location. If a profile is set to 80%, either edit it or temporarily switch to a different profile.
3. If you use a smart-tariff app, pause the smart schedule for that session and let the car charge directly. Most tariff apps have a "boost" or "charge now" override.
4. Plug in and confirm the car is now targeting 100%. The dashboard should show the new target.
5. For most daily use, leave the limit at 80%. It really does help long-term battery health, and you only need 100% before a longer trip.

When it might actually be a fault

If the car ignores a 100% target across multiple sessions, across more than one charger, with no tariff app active, and with the myAudi app cleanly reinstalled, it's worth booking a service check. Before that, swap to a known-good cable like a Voldt Audi-compatible Type 2 charging cable to confirm an intermittent handshake isn't ending the session early and being misread as an 80% cap.

Bottom line

Raise the target SoC in the car, clear any 80% location profile in myAudi, and pause your smart tariff for the session. Real 80% faults are rare; settings causing it are not.