Volkswagen ID.4 Recall Issued Over Reports of Doors Popping Open Unexpectedly

Federal highway officials have announced a recall of more than 35,000 Volkswagen electric vehicles, which are equipped with defective door handles that may be prone to opening unexpectedly while the vehicle is motion.

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced the Volkswagen ID.4 recall on May 3, after receiving reports of the EV doors popping open unexpectedly, which may increase the risk of injury to the occupants inside the vehicle as well as anyone outside of the vehicle.

While no injuries have been reported to date, the NHTSA has received approximately 28 reports of the vehicle’s doors self-opening without warning from June 2021 to April 2023. Officials warn that the malfunction can occur to any door while the vehicle is in motion, even at speeds below 9 miles per hour, allowing the door to open by itself unexpectedly.

According to the recall notice, the door handles do not meet the required specifications that are necessary to protect the door from water entry. Because the doors handles were not manufactured correctly to prevent water ingress, the circuit board that signals the door to open can malfunction, resulting in the activation of the open door command without warning.

The recall impacts approximately 35,325 model year 2021 through 2022 Volkswagen ID.4 vehicles distributed in the U.S. that were produced in the Zwickau (Germany) manufacturing facility from December 15, 2020 through December 12, 2022.

Volkswagen expects to notify owners of the recalled vehicles by mail starting June 30, 2023 and will provide free inspection and replacement of the defective door handles. Owners will not be reimbursed under the recall, however, an improved software update will also be provided, which will improve the standards of the vehicle’s door handles to prevent future malfunctions.

The action is an expansion of a prior Volkswagen ID.4 recall announced April 18, 2023, which affected approximately 15,989 2023 Volkswagen ID.4 vehicles produced in the Chattanooga production facility. Volkswagen reportedly received 10 warranty claims from January 2023 to March 2023, prompting the manufacturer to halt production out of the Chattanooga manufacturing facility on March 16, 2023, and issue a recall of the vehicles in April of 2023.

For more information, owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298 and reference recall number 57J5. They can also contact the NHTSA’s vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or visit their website at www.nhtsa.gov.