2023 VOLKSWAGEN ID.4 Complaints

I brought my vehicle because of an electrical problem I lost power and my dash light came on saying electrical system malfunction, My dealership just informed me about some cables been chewed up by a mouse it’s what they claim. It’s the battery cables insulation in the bottom front part of the vehicle, after reading about the recall in the battery cables insulation wearing out from 2022 models you can clearly see that it’s the same problem in the same spot and in the same rear wheel drive model. They don’t want to take responsibility because there is no recall for my year yet, so they want me to pay $3000 out of pocket to fix it and I don’t even have a month that I bought this vehicle.

Per the existing recall on my vehicle, the driver’s side door handle has failed. It will unlatch at random times (including when driving at speeds between 1-20 mph), it will not unlatch when attempting to get into the vehicle, and the sensors have started to fail causing the car to believe the door is open when it isn’t which has caused the car to do an emergency stop on several occasions while it was in motion. This luckily hasn’t led to a collision yet but it easily could. I took the vehicle in to be inspected back in May 2023 when my dealership notified me they had the equipment to inspect the handle. They confirmed it had failed and told me at that time that they would order the parts needed to replace the handle but it might be a while as they were on back order. I spoke with them earlier this month (January 2024) and was lied to that the inspection in May wasn’t a real inspection and that they had just completed the inspection during my January visit. They knowingly deceived me that the parts were ordered in May and told me the car was still drivable and not a safety risk. This dealership knowingly put me at risk for 8 months and never bothered to communicate with me about the true status of the recall on my vehicle.

Driver car door intermittently pops open, while driving, when stopped, and when parked (not occupied). Car door locks intermittently stop working, meaning passengers cannot enter from outside, cannot open door from inside, doors do not unlock when key fob approaches. Also when this is happening, charge port shorts ie. disconnects/connects. When these issues are happening, defogger runs intermittently when parked, unless I enter car to manually turn off heating system. Turning off defogger with app does not stop defogging even when it says "off" in app. Seems tons of water is down in door... If the car is dry, if I roll the windows down then up, windows are COVERED with water. At times, front windows go down when trying to roll them up. Not safety, but internal ambient lighting system has two colors, one for dash, one for door lights. Door light color selection does not work, and doors only will show color of dash color selection.

As you pull to a complete stop, in the final speed between 2mph and 0mph, the brake will pull away from my foot and go straight towards the floor. The car will lurch forward and then come to a complete stop. This happens 2-4 times per month and the dealership can’t find any service codes. My wife won’t drive the vehicle.

I am writing to file a formal complaint with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) regarding a critical safety concern with my recently purchased vehicle, a VW ID 4 model from 2021-2023. Vehicle Information: VIN: [XXX] Make: Volkswagen Model: ID 4 Year: 2021-2023 Date of Purchase: January 5th, 2024 Incident Details: On [XXX], I experienced a hazardous incident involving sudden acceleration when releasing the brake pedal as I was coming to a stop and pulling into a parking space. Despite the fact that the pedal was not fully released, the vehicle accelerated forward, colliding with another vehicle at an approximate speed of 40-50 MPH. Shockingly, neither the airbags deployed nor did the safety automatic braking system engage. The incident raised significant safety concerns, especially considering similar reports from other VW ID 4 owners. Actions Taken: I promptly took the vehicle to VW Marin Dealership in San Rafael, CA, where their report claimed no issues with the vehicle. However, further research on my part revealed that this issue is prevalent among VW ID 4 models from 2021 to 2023. Attached to this letter, you will find pictures of both vehicles involved in the incident for your reference. Request for Investigation: I urge the NHTSA to thoroughly investigate this safety issue with VW ID 4 models from 2021-2023. The potential risks associated with sudden acceleration pose a serious threat to the safety of vehicle occupants and others on the road. Identifying and addressing the root cause of this problem is crucial to preventing future accidents and fatalities related to this faulty vehicle behavior. Your attention to this matter is greatly appreciated, and I trust that the NHTSA will take appropriate action to ensure the safety of all motorists. Sincerely, [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Since I purchased the car I had had difficulty with unlocking and locking the doors intermittently but had not yet had it looked by the dealer. I had the front passenger door repaired/replaced recently, and shortly after that the doors started randomly opening. For example, the trunk opened when I walked up to it, or the front drivers side door opened (not fully but partially, so still shut) while I was at the playground with the kids (I received a notification on my VW app that the door was open after we had been parked for quite a while. This progressed to the driver side door no longer locking. I decided the car was unsafe to drive when the drivers side front door opened while the car was in drive while I was stopped at a stop sign - so it started opening while I was operating the vehicle. Again, the door didn’t fully open, but I had to open the door fully to close it. I know VW recalled this car in the summer for this very reason, it seems like their fix either didn’t work or somehow was undone when the car was repaired.

I brought my 2023 Volkswagen id.4 Pro S EV to the Volkswagen dealer where the vehicle was purchased new earlier this year. This service visit was for the routine 10,000 mile inspection. Upon leaving the appointment, I drove out of the exit driveway of the dealership and made a left turn across a 5 lane road. Shortly after pulling out into the road (at approximately 15-20mph driving in "B" regenerative mode) all acceleration ability ceased despite my foot depressing the acceleration pedal. I had no ability to accelerate for about 3-4 seconds, leaving the car drifting in the middle of my turn. It wasn't until a few moments later after pumping the pedal that the acceleration ability returned. No warning lights or other changes were observed. I called the dealership about this, and after about a week they responded with "I spoke with the EV technician, he noted that because we plugged in the scanner to do the 10k service, it may have reset the basic settings of the E-motor. He noted it is normal for that to happen as when the engine dies and comes back on, it's the vehicle resetting the basic settings again. So it should not happen again." Meanwhile, I posted about my issue in an id.4 owners forum online and received 25 responses stating others had experienced the same concerning problem after a service visit. If VW dealers are releasing serviced vehicles to customers knowing what they are about to experience (momentary loss of acceleration upon first drive after visit), this represents a serious safety hazard. Fortunately, in my example, I was in a low-traffic scenario where the momentary loss, while panic inducing, did not cause me to impede traffic. However, if the road had been busier, my sudden and unexpected deceleration could have easily caused an accident. I feel very strongly that I am lucky nothing happened to me, and I also feel that the nonchalant responses from the dealer AND VW's corporate Instagram help chat were alarming and inappropriate.

30848 miles 1/5/24 – Drove to Cedar City UT for an appointment after picking the vehicle up. The elevation is 5846 feet and the weather was about 20f. While going uphill on the interstate I started to receive messages about the headlights not working. Electrical system not working correctly error message came back. The left headlight was going on and off on its own and an error "fault vehicle lighting". "Please check left front turn signal." "Error dynamic cornering light." Heat can be turned on hi but doesn't warm the vehicle up. Heated seats don't seem to be working even when on 3. There is also a burnt electrical smell entering the vehicle. Vehicle was parked outside Findlay VW St. George service and won’t be checked in until 1/8 as they are closed on the weekend.

30722 miles 12/12/23 – Vehicle continued to give the parking sensors error even after ensuring they were cleaned. The error will go away intermittently and then come back. Also got an error about parking assist not working. These errors never occurred before the 30000-mile service. Vehicle started giving electrical system errors and 12v battery errors again and had to be towed to Findlay Volkswagen St. George. The vehicle was in the shop 24 days, and I only received one email response from Pam Mahony-Coufal that the tech was still working with VW on the issue, and she would let me know when they were done. Texts and emails to check the status were met with no response. When I asked about a loaner, vehicle service manager Bryan said there were none available, and if there were one, it can’t be taken out of state. That poses a challenge for me since I live in Nevada and the dealership is in Utah. The dealership stated they found melted relays and replaced them. The vehicle was road tested 8 miles and returned to me 1/5/24.

29987 miles 11/3/2023 – I brought my vehicle to Findlay VW Henderson NV for the 30,000-mile service, the 12V electrical issue, and the door handle recall. Andrew Lammers, the service consultant told me they’d check everything out while my vehicle was in the shop and before releasing it back to me. I received a call about a week later that there were parts hold. On 11/17 I was advised my vehicle was ready. I was told the 12V battery, high voltage system, and electrical were tested and were okay. 4-wheel alignment, front assist, and lane assist systems were also recalibrated. I was assured I shouldn’t have any electrical issues any longer. I picked my vehicle up 11/18, one day after I was notified it was finished.