Volkswagen has just confirmed the recall of more than 35,000 ID.4s. As in early April 2023, these vehicles are affected by a design issue on the doors, which can potentially open at low speeds.
If Volkswagen is still far from equaling Tesla in this area, recalls have been linked over the past six months at the German manufacturer. Indeed, we have just learned that the brand has just proceeded the recall of more than 35,000 ID.4s in the United States.
As the report from the NHTSA (the American federal agency in charge of road safety) specifies, all the vehicles concerned were manufactured at the German site of Zwickau for the American market, between December 2020 and December 2022.
Doors can open at low speed
According to the manufacturer, these electric SUVs must imperatively go to the dealership due to a serious problem on the security doors. Indeed, some door handles may have been manufactured with components that do not correspond to the brand’s standards. Result, sealing problems may occur. “The part may allow moisture to enter the electronic board at the door handle”, says Volkswagen.
And you will understand, this water infiltration can trigger short circuits and cause the door to open when the car takes turns at low speed (less than 15 km/h). According to NHTSA, these defective door handles were manufactured by a Czech supplier: WITTE Automotive.
A similar problem decreed in April 2023
If this malfunction reminds you of something, it’s normal. In April 2023, Volkswagen recalled 16,000 ID.4s for the same problem, with the difference that the cars concerned were produced at the Chattanooga site (Tennessee, USA). Note in passing that Volkswagen has decided to transfer the manufacture of IDs. 4 destined for the American market in this factory in July 2022, after a substantial investment of 800 million dollars.
According to the NHTSA, Volkswagen’s partner garages will inspect the doors of the affected cars free of charge and replace them if necessary. A software update will also be rolled out. to modify the parameters of the integrated electronic board. For memory, this is therefore the 5th recall in six months for Volkswagen’s ID.4.
In January 2023, a limited number of electric SUVs were recalled for a fault in the 12V battery charging cable. A month later, a bug in the battery management software forced Volkswagen to issue another recall of more than 20,000 ID.4s.