Complaints about the 2021 Volkswagen ID.4 peaked in 2023, with 99 filed
Owner complaints about this model year, by the year they were filed with NHTSA.
SUV, electric, RWD/Rear-Wheel Drive, built in Germany. Owner complaints on file from May 20, 2021 to Sep 26, 2026.
Owner complaints about this model year, by the year they were filed with NHTSA.
Owner complaints by component. Hover or focus a bar for the crash, fire, injury or death count.
Check a specific vehicle by VIN on NHTSA's site: a campaign may cover only part of a model year's production.
| Campaign | Filed | Subject | Component | Vehicles | Remedy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25V-120 | Feb 27, 2025 | Instrument panel may not properly display the transmission gear lever indicator | Powertrain | 60,490 | Software update |
| 24V-651 | Sep 4, 2024 | Door handles may allow water to enter the circuit board assembly, which can cause the doors to open unexpectedly | Structure | 99,064 | Software update |
| 24V-344 | May 15, 2024 | Due to a software issue, affected vehicles may experience center displays and instrument panel displays that do not boot, or that sporadically reset | Back-over prevention | 79,965 | Software update |
| 23V-312 | May 3, 2023 | Affected vehicles may have been manufactured with door handles that allow water to enter the circuit board assembly, which can cause the doors to… | Structure | 35,325 | Software update |
| 23V-040 | Feb 1, 2023 | Software programing may cause the high voltage (HV) battery management control module to restart or the pulse inverter to deactivate | Electrical system | 20,904 | Software update |
| 22V-858 | Nov 2, 2022 | Passenger air bag may be incorrectly folded | Airbags | 55 | Part replacement |
| 22V-162 | Mar 16, 2022 | Incorrect soldering of the flexible printed circuit assembled (FPCA), inside the high voltage (HV) battery, may cause an unreliable connection | Electrical system | 356 | Part replacement |
| 21V-852 | Nov 3, 2021 | Steering gear may have an incorrectly assembled or missing drive bushing | Steering | 1 | Part replacement |
| 21V-606 | Aug 5, 2021 | Rear seat belt automatic locking retractors may deactivate early, which can prevent the child restraint system from securing properly | Seat belts | 45,496 | Part replacement |
| 21V-607 | Aug 4, 2021 | Incorrect rear outboard seat belt assemblies without an automatic locking retractor (ALR) function may have been installed, which can prevent the… | Seat belts | 12,060 | Part replacement |
| 21V-413 | Jun 2, 2021 | Caps were installed on the headlight vertical aim instead of the horizontal aim, allowing for horizontal adjustment of the headlight beam | Lighting | 3,240 | Repair or modification |
The full text of every complaint filed with NHTSA about this model year, newest first. Complaints are filed by owners and are not verified by NHTSA; NHTSA removes personal details before publishing.
335 complaints on file, page 1 of 17.
The SOS/ GPS system in my car failed a few days after the warranty expired. So my car no longer knows where it is and if I press the SOS (Emergency Call) button (or if it was automatically triggered after an accident), it does not work and it does not summon help. I asked VW to cover all or part of the cost as "goodwill" for an important safety system and they refused. Failure of the SOS system (either the battery or the communication module) is a known common failure on VWs and on the ID.4 in particular. VW should recall these vehicles so that this important safety system works.
NHTSA complaint 11767116For approximately the past month, the steering-wheel controls for the vehicle’s Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) have intermittently become completely unresponsive while driving. When the vehicle is first started, the buttons work normally and can be used to activate ACC, adjust the set speed, and change the following distance. However, after several minutes of driving, the steering-wheel ACC controls suddenly stop responding. When this occurs, the driver is unable to reduce the ACC set speed or increase the following distance using the steering-wheel controls. This creates a potentially dangerous situation because the vehicle may continue traveling at a speed or following distance that is no longer appropriate for changing traffic or road conditions, while the driver has lost immediate access to the controls intended to safely adjust ACC. The problem is intermittent but has occurred repeatedly over the past month. Because the failure occurs while the vehicle is in motion and disables the driver's ability to make critical ACC adjustments, I believe this represents a significant safety concern that warrants investigation. Here's a link to a video of this occuring: [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint 11767062The contact owns a 2021 Volkswagen ID.4. While stopped at a light, the vehicle accelerated unintendedly. The contact frantically depressed the brake pedal with excessive force, but the vehicle continued to accelerate. The contact veered to the right to avoid the vehicle stopped ahead but crashed into the rear passenger’s side bumper. No warning lights were illuminated. The air bags failed to deploy. A Police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to an auto body shop. The contact sustained injuries to the left shoulder and arm. The driver in the other vehicle sustained unknown injuries. Both drivers required medical attention. The insurance company representatives were scheduled to inspect the vehicle. The failure mileage was 83,000.
NHTSA complaint 11765819Incident Summary VW ID.4 Loss of Power/Stall Date: Monday, September 7, 2026 Location: Highway (3-lane), traveling ~45 mph Vehicle: Volkswagen ID.4 Sequence of events: While driving at approximately 45 mph, multiple warning messages appeared in rapid succession: ESC Error "Electrical system not working correctly" "Front Assist is not available" Error Rear Traffic Alert Error "12V power supply. Safely park the vehicle! See owner's manual." The vehicle lost accelerator power and came to a stall on the highway. Driver performed a reset/restart of the vehicle. Vehicle moved approximately 100 meters before stalling again, with the same set of error codes reappearing. Prior history: Safety concern: Loss of propulsion and multiple critical system failures (ESC, electrical, driver-assist systems, 12V supply) occurring simultaneously while in highway traffic represents a significant safety hazard — both from the stall itself and from the affected safety systems (ESC, Front Assist) being disabled.
NHTSA complaint 11763357Faulty sensor under passenger seat will cause the airbags to go off while someone is in the passenger seat, buckled. Will go on and off intermittently. Alert on dash will illuminate and overhead notification of passenger airbag shutting off flashes.
NHTSA complaint 11762627After periods of rain or driving in wet conditions, when parking on an incline, the vehicle will not release the automatic parking brake without hard physical input to the accelerator causing a loud bang from the rear axle - this has happened numerous times over the past year
NHTSA complaint 11758693The vehicle developed a charging/electrical/high-voltage battery problem. Level 3 charging stopped first, then charging later stopped on all levels. The vehicle was taken to an authorized Volkswagen dealer on 08/06/2026. The dealer referenced high-voltage battery/module and charging-system issues, including fault/code information involving P0BBD00 / J840 / 008C and campaign/action history involving 93P7 / 97ZZ. The dealer quoted a very expensive repair involving a high-voltage battery/module condition and charging-system components. The unresolved safety concern is that the dealer/manufacturer have not provided a clear written answer on whether the vehicle can be safely charged, operated, towed, released, or repaired elsewhere while the high-voltage battery/module condition remains unresolved. They also have not clearly answered whether the charge-door / charge-port / connector-lock / socket / AX4-J1050 issue is separate from the high-voltage battery/module condition or whether it caused or contributed to the no-charge condition. The underlying diagnostic output, measured values, DTC/freeze-frame data, campaign/action history, technician notes, and written safety/repair-path explanation have been requested but not provided in the form requested. I am concerned the vehicle may have an unresolved high-voltage battery or charging-system defect and that prior/current campaign handling may be relevant.
NHTSA complaint 11757937The infotainment screen and heads up display screen are constantly going black and rebooting, causing a loss of the speedometer for up to a minute at a time. Occasionally, the entire vehicle loses power and the accelerator does not work for a few seconds. The shop says it is the 5F control module, which was described by the dealership as handling one half of the high voltage current, as well as controlling the infotainment screen. If this module is responsible for half of the high voltage current, I don't understand why they claim it is not covered by the 8 year/80,000 warranty on the high voltage battery and related components.
NHTSA complaint 11757755On board navigation has been lost since 1/26/2024 and shows me driving across lakes, rivers or 300 miles away from where my current location is. VW has continued to blamed Verizon wireless but that excuse is tired now 2.5 years later. This issue breaks the speed limit sign display so I have seen it showing a 70 MPH speed limit on a 25 MPH residential road or a 25 MPH speed limit on a 70 MPH freeway. Not to mention it is entirely useless if you get lost where you don't have poor cell service which did happen to me once back when this problem started. The Verizon blame is tired.
NHTSA complaint 117577272nd time in under a month where the entire display system has gone blank while driving (this time at a slower speed but still to the point where speed, vehicle info, displays, etc all went black) - this is a serious safety issue when you lose all vehicle information while driving. This requires a recall for a fix asap before someone is seriously injured.
NHTSA complaint 11755421In the process of parking, vehicle was stopped in the parking spot and vehicle suddenly accelerated to a high speed and crashed into a brick column. Air bags did go off. The warning sound and diagram that indicates you may have gotten too close to the curb in front did not go off. Police were called and inspected the vehicle before it was towed.
NHTSA complaint 11753759The contact owns a 2021 Volkswagen ID.4. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V651000 (Structure); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the repair. The contact stated that the infotainment system glitched and turn off intermittently causing the safety information and systems to become inoperable. The contact received notification of software update for the infotainment system. The dealer was contacted and confirmed that parts for NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V651000 (Structure) was not yet available. The dealer informed the contact that the software update would be performed over-the-air. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the issues and referred the contact back to the dealer for assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 67,000.
NHTSA complaint 11751552The contact owns a 2021 Volkswagen ID.4. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V651000 (Structure); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that the infotainment system glitched and turn off intermittently and the safety information and systems were inoperable. The contact received notification a software update for the infotainment system. The dealer was contacted and confirmed that parts to do the recall repair for NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V651000 (Structure) was not yet available. The dealer also informed the contact that the software update would be performed over the air. No repair was performed. The manufacturer was made aware of the issues and referred the contact back to the dealer for assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 67,000.
NHTSA complaint 11751550While stopped at traffic light, and with foot depressing brake pedal, vehicle started to move forward on its own. Foot was fully depressed on brake and vehicle still rolled forward, almost causing accident. Extremely dangerous and seems to be a very common issue with this vehicle.
NHTSA complaint 11751055My 2021 Volkswagen ID.4 Pro S has unexpectedly lost propulsion and come to a complete stop while being driven on at least three separate occasions. When this occurs, the vehicle jolts, stops moving, and cannot be placed into Drive or Reverse. I am only able to shift it into Neutral. After the first incident, I took the vehicle to a Volkswagen dealership the following morning. The dealership stated they could not reproduce the problem or identify any faults. The same failure occurred twice in one day this week. During one of those incidents, the vehicle lost propulsion and stopped in the middle of a busy street, creating a serious safety hazard because I was unable to move the vehicle out of traffic. Immediately before and during the failure, the vehicle displayed multiple warning messages, including: Error: Drive system. Please safely stop the vehicle. Electrical system not working correctly. Please service vehicle. Error: Electronic Stability Control (ESC). Front Assist is not available. Lane Assist is currently not available. Rear Traffic Alert is currently not available. Park Distance Control is not available. Error: Auto Hold. These warnings appeared at the same time the vehicle lost propulsion. The vehicle stalled without warning while driving and became undriveable. This is extremely concerning because it can occur suddenly in traffic, placing the driver, passengers, and surrounding motorists at risk of a crash. The vehicle is currently at the Volkswagen dealership for inspection, and I am awaiting their diagnosis. Because this dangerous condition has now occurred multiple times, I am concerned there is a serious defect affecting the vehicle's drive system or electrical system.
NHTSA complaint 11750851The previous recall to fix the screen issue did not work. Both screens, the infotainment and instrument cluster, continue to randomly go blank and reboot. This removes the backup camera and speedometer for a period of time while driving.
NHTSA complaint 11750747While driving on main road at approx 45 mph, information display screens both simultaneously went black - this left me without any information such as speed, range, vehicle performance etc. upon restart system was telling me my seatbelt was unfastened (was not), adaptive systems unavailable etc. system corrected itself approximately two minutes later.
NHTSA complaint 11750560The airbag error light has been coming on in the dashboard in the last few weeks. Sometimes it stays on for the whole trip, sometimes it intermittently comes and goes. If an airbag is disabled due to this error, that's a safety hazard. I found several reports of almost the same issue on this car online. Here are few: [XXX] [XXX] Looks like a systemic failure with the vehicle. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint 11743626While reversing out of a parking space, my 2021 Volkswagen ID.4 automatically braked and stopped abruptly. Immediately afterward, the vehicle accelerated forward unexpectedly. I pressed the brake pedal, but the vehicle did not respond and crashed into a retaining wall. A forensic analysis of the vehicle’s event data showed the accelerator was at 100% and the vehicle was traveling approximately 22 mph at impact. The airbags deployed, the vehicle was totaled, and both occupants sustained injuries. I believe the vehicle experienced a serious malfunction involving the braking and acceleration systems.
NHTSA complaint 11739175The Led unit of the DRL has over heated and melted the plastic of the diffuser of the DRL light. I still have the original parts to have them inspected, There were no warning lights on the dashboard to tell there was something wrong
NHTSA complaint 11738254Technical service bulletins and other notices the manufacturer sent to dealers. A bulletin is not a recall; the 60 most recent are listed.