Volkswagen ID.4 Problems — All Years, Common Issues & Reliability

The contact owns a 2023 Volkswagen ID.4. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 26V030000 (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM). The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, there was an abnormal sound coming from underneath the vehicle. The contact stated that while charging the vehicle at a charging station, there was an abnormal, exploding sound coming from underneath the vehicle. The contact stated that the failure had occurred while in a drive-thru. The vehicle was safely driven to the residence. The dealer was contacted to schedule an appointment and informed the contact that there was no part available for the repair. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was contacted and advised to reach out to another dealer for the recall repair. Tracy Volkswagen (2605 Auto Plaza Way, Tracy, CA 95304) was contacted and the contact was informed that there was no part available to repair the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was 19,200.

We took this vehicle in for a previous recall for defective exterior door handle. The previous one worked fine, but was replaced do the the recall. The new handle broke within days of being installed. We have requested to have it replaced numerous times by the dealer who says that parts aren't available. It has been more than six months. We are worried about it failing and being unable to enter or exit the vehicle.

The contact owns a 2023 Volkswagen ID.4. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V344000 (Back Prevention, Equipment, Electrical System); and the vehicle was taken to the dealer where the recall repair was performed; however, the vehicle failed to start and became inoperable after the repair. The dealer determined that the emergency call module needed to be replaced but at the vehicle owner’s expense. The contact declined to pay for the repair and contacted the manufacturer, who referred the contact to another dealer for a second opinion. The vehicle remained with the first dealer because the vehicle was undrivable, and because the second dealer was 2 hours away. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer offered no help in covering the cost of the repair. The contact stated that the recall repair had failed to prevent the failure and caused the vehicle to become inoperable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

On April 1st I had my windshield replaced due to a crack in the upper central portion of the windshield. When the glass place took the windshield off my car they found a burnt section in the headliner. The glass place reported it immediately to the Volkswagon dealership and asked the device person at the dealership to come look at the burnt headliner before they placed the glass back. The service person at the dealer did go and look at the car so the glass people finished installing the windshield but took pictures prior to installing the new glass. The dealership then reach out to me and asked to bring the car in ASAP. The car was dropped off a few days later for the service department at the dealership to look into the burnt headliner. After the dealer has had the car for 10 days VW Corp is refusing to conduct a full investigation to determine the issue of this burnt area. Concerned this car is a fire risk and unsafe due to wire issues or overheating elements around the windshield. The risk and issue is completely hidden in the car and not easily known about or identified during an event. Could put my house in jeopardy if fire starts while in my garage. Manufacture/dealership has inspected the car. Insurance is determining if they will inspect the vehicle or not. No warning lights or any indication this area was hot or hot even to burn the headliner.

Car has been in and out of various VW dealers since purchase at the end of August 2023. Car was purchased new. Immediately began receiving emergency “stop driving vehicle” messages on driver display. VW on call service advised if the car drives, I can operate it and no further action is necessary. Various Electical errors including charge 12V battery, infotainment screen going black or resetting while driving, no display while in reverse, car losing power on highway, car alarm going off while driving, if hazard lights are used, they do not shut off unless the car is off and driver is out of the car for at least ten minutes, interior lights flash on and off (this is a safety issue as is if incredibly difficult to see while driving at night, car has been in shop three times for this, no repairs, the car battery drains incredibly quickly; usually get about 2kWh in town driving, charging errors; charger not recognized, or car displays it is charging, but when complete, it didn’t charge, windows don’t respond to the controls, door handles don’t always work to open the doors; often have to access the car from passenger side (these have been replaced and still don’t work), emergency braking system doesn’t function, car ghost breaks (no objects ahead, clean sensors, driving and brakes slam on), multiple leaks in vehicle including headlights, rear driver tail light, and the light on top of the back hatch, car loses connection to emergency system, infotainment screen doesn’t respond to finger touches and must be reset, to initiate OTA updates, fuse needs to be pulled. I barely drive the car, and it’s my only vehicle. It’s not safe (lighting issues ongoing, alarms, safety features don’t work, can’t get into the car) and not reliable for travel as charging is hit or miss (at commercial charging stations and home charging station), and the battery life is extremely short, even in perfect conditions using cruise control in eco mode, the car only travels about 130 miles.

I brought my car to the Volkswagen garage because there was a problem with the software, mainly the GPS was off. The location shown was 1 mile away. After 10 days in the garage, I asked if I could take it back and the case remained open because the problem was not resolved. I was pulling back my car in front of the house to unload groceries and it did not stop, damaged the garage door. Several people complained about this problem on the web, when the car is in reverse, and it seems that a software update can fix it.

This is a supplemental report to my previous filing regarding a 2023 VW ID.4 battery fire. On May 28, 2025, while being operated, the vehicle suffered a catastrophic thermal event. White smoke emanated from the front compartment followed by active flames. The vehicle was a total loss. Critical Safety Finding: A subsequent forensic examination conducted on October 29, 2025 (File 27739-01) by a certified fire investigator confirmed that after the initial fire was suppressed, the vehicle reportedly caught fire an additional time while being held at a tow/storage facility. Component Failure: The fire originated in the front compartment area. The failure is consistent with the "thermal runaway" risks identified in Recall 26V030, involving defective battery cell electrodes. Safety Risk: The multiple ignition nature of this failure poses a lethal risk to occupants, emergency responders, and tow/salvage facility operators. The fact that the vehicle reignited twice in storage, long after the initial suppression, suggests that current safety protocols or the scope of the existing recall may not fully address the volatility of this specific battery defect. Inspection Status: The vehicle was inspected by the manufacturer’s engineers and an independent forensic investigator. However, the manufacturer and the insurer are currently withholding the Photographic Report and Technical Field Report from the consumer. These records are vital to understanding the severity of the "multiple -ignition" event and should be subpoenaed or requested by NHTSA investigators to ensure the recall remedy is sufficient to prevent secondary fires in storage environments.

I was charging at Electrify America charging station for approximately 20 minutes when suddenly I felt the ID.4 shaking and then seconds later I was surrounded by smoke coming from outside and beneath the ID.4. The ID.4 was not turned on and was completely stationary. I unplugged the vehicle. During this time I made a best effort to not inhale but it happened so quickly that it was unavoidable. The smoke smelled really toxic and tasted like chemicals. I felt nauseous and woozy afterwards. I called 911 to report the smoke coming out of my ID.4. Call was made at 6pm, seconds after the smoke started pouring out. The vehicle was releasing extreme amounts of cloudy thick white smoke and it completely engulfed the ID.4 itself. There was also an orange/pink-like liquid pouring out of the left side of the vehicle from the bottom. The fire department came and from what they told me, they cut a "cut loop" to prevent the battery from continuing to get more power. They told me the cells in the battery were continuing to release energy and heat to the point that it was melting the carpets in the ID.4's floor. They hosed it down for over 2 hours until the battery was cooled off enough and safe to be towed to a safe area. There had been no warning leading to this. The car did not alarm of any issues.

Car is developing a paint chip even on the top of the hood since the car was purchased. According to google search, some of white and gray colored made in the USA Id4 card have the paint issues.

Following the recent winter update, I noticed several faults during the weekend prior to the major incident described below: ​Child Lock Malfunction: The car entered "child mode" and the rear door could not be opened from the inside or outside until I exited and re-entered the vehicle. ​Driver-Side Control Failure: The driver-side door controls stopped functioning. They only reset after I exited and re-entered the car. ​Alarm Malfunction: The alarm triggered unexpectedly while we were exiting the vehicle. ​Incident Report: 12/22/2025 While taking my daughter to Taekwondo (TKD) practice, I positioned the vehicle to back into a parking spot. I shifted into reverse, and the backup camera activated. As I always do, I checked my mirrors and the camera to ensure the path was clear. The vehicle did not provide any proximity beeps as it usually does when near an object. ​When I released the brakes, the vehicle did not move. I pressed the accelerator, and the car suddenly jumped forward, striking two parked vehicles. Thankfully, it was only a "fender bender" and no one was injured. ​Following the collision, the ID.4 screen became unresponsive for a moment, and the vehicle refused to power down when I lifted my weight from the seat. I had to get back in, close the door, fasten my seatbelt, unfasten it, and exit again before the vehicle finally turned off. I reported the incident to my insurance, and the damage to all three vehicles was covered. ​Follow-up: 12/23/2025 During a test drive the following day, I noticed the parking sensors would activate and beep as I approached intersections. This would only last a few seconds, but the screen would indicate an obstacle in front of the car when the path was clear. ​I took the vehicle to the dealer, but they were unable to replicate the faults. They reset the computer but claimed they did not have access to the specific fault codes. I took the car to a repair shop for bodywork, but it still exhibits minor software "quirks".

The contact owns a 2023 Volkswagen ID.4. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 26V030000 (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The local dealer was contacted and confirmed that the part was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact stated that the vehicle had experienced reduced range and reduced performance due to a failure associated with the recall, and the vehicle had stalled on several occasions and had to be towed to the local dealer. Additionally, while driving, the rear passenger’s side door erroneously opened while a passenger was seated next to the door, and the infotainment screen was unintentionally reset, and the screen went blank. The cause of the failures was not yet determined. The failure mileage was 9,000.

I am submitting this complaint as a follow-up to three prior NHTSA complaints regarding this same vehicle: Complaint #11714848 (submitted 2/1/2026) Complaint #11714852 (submitted 2/1/2026) Complaint #11716040 (submitted 2/5/2026) These prior complaints document a progression of serious electrical, charging, and vehicle control issues that have worsened over time. Initially, the vehicle experienced widespread software and electrical failures affecting core driving and safety systems, including loss of power while driving, unintended system activation, blank instrument displays, and failure of safety-related features such as the SOS emergency system. These issues escalated to include severe charging system failures, inability to reliably charge the vehicle, dramatically reduced range, and intermittent propulsion loss. On February 4, 2026, the vehicle became completely inoperable, displaying multiple critical warnings including “Drive system error,” “Electrical system not working correctly,” and inability to start or move the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the dealership on February 5, 2026 for repair. I have now been informed by both Volkswagen and the dealership that they have been unable to identify or implement a repair for these issues. Despite this, they plan to return the vehicle to me without performing any substantive repairs. I have been told that diagnostic fault codes have been cleared and that the vehicle is now considered “safe” to drive. However, no root cause has been identified, and no repairs have been made to correct the underlying defects that led to loss of power, system failures, and complete inoperability. The issues previously reported remain unresolved and include: Loss of power while driving Dashboard and infotainment displays going blank while driving Vehicle shifting into park unexpectedly Cruise control activating without driver input Charging system failures preventing reliable charging Repeated warnings indicating unsafe oper