ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, POWER TRAIN, STEERING
Vehicle Information: Year / Make / Model: 2022 Volkswagen ID.4 VIN: [XXX] Current Mileage: ~58,000 miles Affected Component(s): Electrical System, Power Steering, Structure: Door Assembly (NHTSA Recall 24V-651 / VW Recall 57J9) Incident Description: Immediately following a car wash, the vehicle suffered a catastrophic electrical and CAN bus network failure. A cascade of sensor and system failure warnings illuminated on the dashboard, total loss of power steering occurred, and the vehicle entered a restricted limp mode limiting speed to under 1 mph, rendering the vehicle completely inoperable. This issue is identical to the safety defect described in NHTSA Campaign 24V-651 (VW Recall 57J9), wherein water intrudes past exterior door handle seals and shorts out the vehicle's electronic control network. Door handles became inoperable. Safety Hazard: Sudden, complete loss of power steering and propulsion creates an immediate crash hazard and leaves vehicle occupants stranded in potentially dangerous locations without critical vehicle control functions. Dealer / Manufacturer Refusal to Repair: Upon delivering the vehicle to an authorized Volkswagen dealership, both dealership staff and Volkswagen of America refused to perform the recall repair or waive diagnostic fees. They claimed the recall remedy had already been performed over 12 months prior and argued that any warranty on the recall repair had lapsed. Volkswagen corporate is actively refusing to remedy an unresolved, recurring federal safety defect that renders the vehicle unsafe to operate. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
A center brake light module burned up, contaminating the passenger compartment with toxic fumes and making the vehicle undriveable. The fumes caused burning throat, headache, and nausea with potential worse long-term health implications. Volkswagen replaced the faulty unit but has refused to mitigate the toxic fumes or replace the vehicle under warranty. A web search indicated this isn't an isolated problem with at least this vehicle model and year.
POWER TRAIN, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
PRIMARY SAFETY DEFECT — SUDDEN STOP IN ACTIVE TRAFFIC: The vehicle suffers from severe, uncommanded electrical/drive-system shutdowns. While driving in live traffic, the ID.4 panics, flashes error alerts on the display, and abruptly stops within seconds. This sudden, violent stopping in active lanes creates an extreme safety hazard, leaving the EV dead in traffic with no warning and creating an immediate, severe risk of high-speed rear-end collisions, loss of control, and serious occupant injury. SECONDARY SAFETY DEFECT — ELECTRICAL & CHARGING SYSTEM FAILURE: Immediately upon picking up the EV post-warranty service on Aug 31, 2026, the dash displayed persistent error messages: "Your Charging Socket is not working." A VW Master Tech/Engineer at the dealership evaluated the vehicle, witnessed the failure, and explicitly warned that driving long distances poses a severe risk of complete vehicle disablement and becoming stranded on public roads due to total charging failure.REPAIR HISTORY & DAYS OUT OF SERVICE (OOS): The safety issues first occurred around Feb 2025 (towed to dealer). Since then, I returned the EV to the authorized dealer (Jim Ellis VW Kennesaw) at least 5 separate times for the same unresolved flaws. The vehicle has been OOS for warranty repairs for over 90 cumulative days, including 60+ continuous days during the last visit. Dealer diagnostic logs confirm central control unit (CCU) replacements and extensive electrical repairs, yet the hazardous conditions remain uncorrected. MANUFACTURER RESPONSE: VW Group of America acknowledged this history under cases 07530936, 07526164, 07386099, 07334984, and 07709898. VW offered a $4.5k cash settlement, which I rejected as insufficient to address the extreme safety risks. VW has since refused a repurchase, ended negotiations, and closed the case without resolving the defect. This EV is dangerous and unroadworthy. My family and I have lost all confidence in this car.
STEERING
This July (2026) I found the power steering to fail on two separate hot days, a similar issue also occurred in July of 2025. Using an OBDII reader it appears that it may have been related to a torque sensor.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
The issues I am having are exactly the ones that were subject to an earlier recall. NHTSA: 24V344 and Volkswagen 919A. From the text of that recall: "Due to a software issue, affected vehicles may experience center displays and instrument panel displays that do not boot, or that sporadically reset. This can result in loss of speedometer inforation or loss of rearview camera image. As such, these vehicles fails to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard numbers 101, "Control and Displays" and 111, "Rear Visibility." Displays that do not show critical information, such as vehicle speed or the rearview camera image, increase the risk of a crash." These symptoms are recurring in my vehicle and I have video documentation. Volkswagen is refusing to deal with me because "their diagnostic tools do not show any error message."
