Volkswagen Group has reportedly alerted its dealers across the US and Canada to pause from selling its ID.4 fully electric SUV. The automaker says the doors on some of the electric crossovers could potentially open while the vehicle is moving slowly. There's not yet a solution for the issue.
Editor's Update: Volkswagen provided us with the following statement:
"ID.4 Door Handle
Volkswagen has notified NHTSA of a voluntary safety recall affecting approximately 16,207 MY 2023 VW ID.4 vehicles.
Due to quality control issues at a supplier, parts that did not conform to our specifications were delivered to the Chattanooga plant. Among other issues, the part may allow moisture to enter the electronic board integrated in the door handle. In turn, this may allow the vehicle door to open unintentionally while driving or the vehicle door may no longer be opened from the outside and/or inside.
We are not aware of any accidents or injuries related to this defect.
Volkswagen will notify owners of the affected vehicles on or before May 26, 2023. Owners will be able to schedule an appointment with an authorized dealer who will inspect and repair the vehicle if necessary as parts are available."
Various reports of the Volkswagen ID.4 EV's doors opening on their own started surfacing as early as January 2023. About a month later, Volkswagen reportedly spoke to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) about the concern. Moreover, VW supplier U-Shin Ltd. began to work on an analysis of the potentially failing door parts.
Since then, the automaker issued a recall based on initial findings of 10 ID.4 SUVs with doors that may come open on their own. All were produced at the company's factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
At this point, Volkswagen has noted that some 16,000 ID.4 electric SUVs produced at the factory in Tennessee may have the potential issue with the doors. VW said that the door handles may stop working properly thanks to water making its way in.
The automaker added that this could “cause a situation where a vehicle door could open unexpectedly.” VW reportedly issued a stop-sale related to the door concerns on April 3, 2023. The notice for the stop sale indicates that there is not yet a fix ready to solve the problem.
This comes along with a number of recalls on the Volkswagen ID.4, a few of which are highlighted in the articles above. That said, VW isn't alone when it comes to mounting issues and recalls in the industry. With many brand-new EVs coming to market, there continue to be bugs and issues to work out.
This is a developing story. Once more information becomes available about the stop sale and/or recall, we'll either update this story or provide a follow-up. In the meantime, we've reached out to Volkswagen for a comment on the matter.
