10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 3 / 0
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 3 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 0 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
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« Read the previous 20 complaints
VW issued a recall stating the following: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021 ID.4 vehicles. Software programing may cause the high voltage (HV) battery management control module to restart or the pulse inverter to deactivate. Recall consequence: A reset or deactivation may cause a loss of drive power, increasing the risk of a crash. Recall action: Dealers will update the HV battery management control unit and the pulse inverter control unit software, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed March 31, 2023. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 97ZZ. Since the notification in March, no dealer in the DC area has been certified to make the repair, and as of June 12, 2023, no shop in America is able to repair the issue due to a lack of parts.
- Silver Spring, MD, USA
On Thursday, May 25th, 2023, I got in my vehicle, turned on the ignition, and a yellow warning message came on the instrument cluster, "SOS Error: Emergency Call Function! Service Vehicle." The error remained in the vehicle even after turning it off and on again multiple times. The status light for the Emergency Call function also turned red and was no longer available.
- Ventura, CA, USA
I was notified that there were three safety recalls on my 2021 Volkswagon ID4, including one involving the battery and a risk of fire. The recalls were: 55N-1, 97ZZ, 93P7. I brought the car in for service at the Volkwagon service center in White Plains New York ("White Plains Volkswagon" service center at 410 Saw Mill River Rd, Elmsford, NY 10523) and was told they would address the issues. Three days later, the service center called to say that they were only able to address the 55N-1 issue and didn't have labor available to address the others and that we would have to take our car back. They also said they were unwilling to pay for a rental car or give us a loaner beyond the three days that already passed. We're on a waiting list to address the other safety recall issues but, in the meantime, I feel unsafe driving the car and I don't know why VW couldn't address the issues while the car was in their possession.
- Larchmont, NY, USA
During a trip driving home 3/31/2023 at approximately 11:00pm, the car's software system failed. The console that displays the digital speedometer was affected on the car as well as the infotainment system. The message on the console displayed a message "Warnings and Information not available. Drive with greater care!" The digital speedometer displayed three dashes through the rest of the trip home. All of the car's features including lane correction were offline. This car's software is not functional enough for the car to be driven safely.
- Gilbert, AZ, USA
Driver's door keeps unlocking while driving. Swung open several times while driving. Also, sometimes difficult to unlock driver's door from the outside. All this seems to be be related to error messages concerning Auto Hold (which this vehicle does not have) and Travel Assist not being available. All this began after my first one year scheduled service on 2/17/23. Taking in vehicle on 3/10 concerning these problems. I had made an appointment for an earlier date, but cancelled it because everything went back to normal. The dealer said if the messages were not active, I would be wasting my time. I called the VW Customer Service Number and reported my concern on 2/24. I am not driving my vehicle as it is not safe if the driver's door opens while driving.
- Charlottesville, VA, USA
Driver door cannot be opened from the outside or inside. It appears the latch, the central locking system, or the electronic switch to the latch, etc. failed. The is a major safety concern in an emergency to access the driver or to escape the vehicle. The current ingress and egress routes for the driver are through the front passenger door. The driver door has always operates in a "strange" fashion and reported to the dealer when it was new. Prior to the failure and oftentimes the driver door handle has to be pulled twice (from the inside even the door is unlocked) to open the driver door. The failure to open the door from the inside or outside has been documented in various internet discussion forums and can easily be searched. The vehicle is currently in the shop for diagnosis.
- San Jose, CA, USA
While driving the vehicle, error messages were displayed in the digital cluster indicating, among others, "electrical system not working, Safely stop vehicle", "I2V battery error", "Issue with all-wheel drive system", "Front/Travel Assist not working". In less than 10 seconds, the vehicle came to an unintended complete stop right as I was completing a left turn (to get the vehicle to the curb of the street) to park the car. A car was behind me and had to maneuver around me to proceed on its way. My daughter (in a child car seat in the back) and I were the only occupants and were at risk of a car collision because the car stopped moving in the middle of the road. I have now taken the car to a dealership for inspection. At the dealership, one of the representatives commented that this is not the first time they have seen this issue with this vehicle. I was less than a mile from my home when this happened. After 30 seconds of not responding, the car started operating normally as if nothing happened but still showed "electrical system not working, please service". I drove the car home. After about 30 or so minutes, I restarted the car and it operated fine and did not show any error messages. I have not been able to reproduce this issue but I have not driven it far (other than dropping it off at the dealership) due to fear of my safety.
- Durham, NC, USA
The software system rebooted itself unexpectedly while driving. I could not see my dashboard information and the radio display was blank. Glitches have been progressively getting worse and I-??m afraid it might affect other components of the vehicle in time. VW dealership confirmed there have been issues but didn-??t offer any solution. No warnings were presented prior to every glitch.
- Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
At a red light, upon releasing the break to accelerate, the vehicle turned off. Meaning, the vehicle went from drive mode "D" to park "P" when I accelerated as the light turned green. This occured without prior warning that it would shift into "P". When I put my foot on the break to shift back into "D", then accelerated again, the vehicle went back into "P". It felt as if the "transmission" had given out. There was a light push (not quite a jolt) then it went into "P". After the third attempt, the vehicle finally drove as I accelerated. I was going through this process as quickly as possible since I had vehicles behind me in the busy streets of Down Town LA.
- Santa Barbara, CA, USA
1)The computer screen has delays or freezes or rear view camera not always activates. Generally problem with software which can cause safety hazard when I-??m driving an causes distraction if it-??s not working. 2)traction control turns on automatically almost on all curved exits or entrances to the highway. Major safety concern as it-??s affecting my driving - slows down vehicle, causing difficulty controlling the vehicle. 3)inaccurate battery reading, as it-??s keep showing different percentage, and keeps changing inappropriately while driving. I wanted to say it is safety concern because for ex: I went for road trip had 150 miles (approx 70%) but then I drove for 30 miles and have 40 miles left (approx 20%) left so now I-??m getting distracted from driving and need to find charging station. I know I can pull over and do that but the time when you notice and your reaction while driving can cause distraction. I will take pictures and also ask my wife to take it as well when possible and safe to do so. Please contact me for the future follow up regarding pictures at [XXX]. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
- Manteca, CA, USA
The rear window on our VW 2021 ID4, shattered while I was parked in a grocery store parking lot on Sunday, July 10, at approximately 7:30 am. The rear defrost had been turned on as I drove to the store. I shopped for about 15 minutes and came out of the store and sat down on the front driver seat, which starts up things like the radio and I believe the defrost again. This is when I heard an exploseion, got out of the car to see what had caused the vibration and sound, and looked to find that the glass was shattered inward and there was a hole as if a brick had been thrown through it. It was early in the morning and very few shoppers were in the parking lot, so I had a clear view of anyone running from the scene or hiding behind what few cars there were. There was no item on the inside or outside of the car that would have produced any kind of hole. The glass blew inward and a rear facing toddler car seat was impacted with small shards of tempered glass. There was no child passenger in that seat at the time of the shattering. The local dealership reviewed the window when I took it in, and I suggested to them that it might be defective defrost grid element, but they said they were not able to discern the origin of the problem, as I had cleaned up the shards prior to bringing in the car. The repair shop manager suggested it was a stray bb from a bb gun. I didn't see anyone close to the car in the parking lot, and the size and sound of the impact suggested more of brick at close range. Please see attached photo. I took a picture and showed it to the local dealership manager, and also sent a report to VW Corporate with a similar picture, (only cropped to fit their document size requirement). My insurance covered the repair service completed at our home on Thursday, July 14, and when they looked at the picture they definitely did not think that it was due to a bb from a bb gun. To your bullet points, I did not notice any warning message prior to the explosion.
- San Francisco, CA, USA
1. I picked up new ID.4 from the dealer on 10/01/2021. On 10/02/22, Electrical System Malfunction messages appeared on the infotainment, telling me to take it in for immediate repairs. The problem was taken care of. I was not told what was wrong. 2. On 11/10/2021, while pulling into a parking space in a lot at a cemetery, the car bolted forward and became unresponsive. I could not stop it, I could not steer it. It felt like it was driving itself. I destroyed a bench, some bushes, and some of the turf. The car had to be towed to a VW dealer affiliated collision center. The car was there for over two months and was returned to the dealership for "further diagnosis". In the end, I was told that it had been "driver error", and I was assured the car was 100% safe to drive. I was never told what was done. The insurance payment for the damage was over $9000. 3. On 06/02/2022, I had the same acceleration issue. This time I was pulling over to a curb in a residential neighborhood (25 mph speed limit). I was using mode "B", regenerative braking. My foot was not on the accelerator. The car bolted forward and hit a parked Ford F150 in the backend. The force was so great, that the F150's rear end was lifted off the ground. You would think that crash would have stopped the ID.4. Instead, the vehicle swerved to the left, shot across the street and ended on a stranger's front yard, destroying his tree and landscaping. The car suddenly stopped, stuck in the landscape rocks. The vehicle then just shut itself off and became totally unresponsive. My wife was slightly injured, even though she had her seatbelt on. She could not open the door to get out and climbed out the driver's door. The car was towed to the dealer, insurance claim was filed. Preliminary estimates of damage- ID.4, F150, landscaping is over $17,000. My wife is petrified about riding in the car. I want VW to repurchase or terminate my lease. The car has only 6000 miles!
- Scottsdale, AZ, USA
Electronic Stability Control ESC activates briefly under certain conditions that are completely normal. Smooth dry pavement. It happens for me very predictably on a specific curve on a 2-lane road. Vehicle speed is about 30, the curve in the road is very gentle, nothing extreme. Drive through this curve and ESC activates (flashes). It also happens very predictably at a T intersection where I stop and then turn right. During the turn the vehicle is cresting a hill. I have video of this happening. Also many other owners have complained about the same issue in situations like freeway off-ramps. ESC activating for no reason at all could distract the driver and cause an incident. There's a rapidly flashing amber warning in the driver display and the car's handling changes suddenly. How do we know that ESC won't activate more aggressively in some certain situation that doesn't warrant ESC.
- Eugene, OR, USA
The information touchscreen is faulty and constantly needs to be touched multiple times. This is distracting and makes driver look away from road to double check if pushing correctly. This applies to ALL functions controlling everything from temperature, ride control, entertainment, navigation etc. There are times where I need to touch an area from 1-5+ times for response. The system is registering a touch because there is an audible sound when you he'd, but no response from system. This can be verified by thousands of users complaining about it on https://www.vwidtalk.com/forums/volkswagen-id-4.30/ VW has promised an update for over a year. It is very dangerous and i have wandered from lane trying to rectify
- Chapel Hill, NC, USA
When driving in reverse my vehicle does not have a clear view based on the rear lights installed. The lighting design does not light the area behind the vehicle sufficiently and poses great risk of hitting child or object behind vehicle. Rear camera is essentially rendered useless during nighttime driving and or parking.
- Oakland, CA, USA
The back up camera lighting is so poor it poses a danger at night. Backing up at night even in well lit areas poses a threat to those around the car. If you apply the brakes this emits some light but if not braking the screen is almost black so it is difficult to see if you are on the road/driveway and if an object was below the camera would pose a threat to life or damage to the vehicle.
- Lexington, KY, USA
I was driving the car when a loud high pitched sound started coming from the vehicle. I am not a doctor, but the noise was probably loud enough to cause damage to human ears. Today, I picked up the car and was told "Contacted VW Techline. They been made aware of several other similar cases and engineering in Germany is looking into it. No resolution available at this time. Told to call VW Customer Care. I have been on hold for over 45 minutes. Called executive office and was transferred to Voice Mail.
- Melbourne Beach, FL, USA
- Penacook, NH, USA