2021 Volkswagen ID.4 Complaints

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE — Filed 07/21/2025

While 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.

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL — Filed 05/09/2026

The contact owns a 2021 Volkswagen ID4. The contact stated that while the wife was parking and into a parking space, the brake pedal was released and the vehicle suddenly accelerated forward and crashed into a concrete barrier. During the incident front and side curtain air bags did deployed. Driver sustained an injured sternum and bruses and lacerations to both hands. The front passenger suffered a bruised sternum. both rear passenger sustained mild neck injuries. No medical treatment was provided. No police reported was taken. During the incident the building railing was also damaged. The vehicle was towed to the local repair shop but not repaired. The cause of the failure was not determine. The manufacturer and local dealer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 50,095.

STEERING,STRUCTURE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE — Filed 03/14/2026

My 2021 ID.4 has experienced two separate incidents of sudden, unintended forward acceleration while parking. In both cases, I was maneuvering at very low speeds (less than 5 mph) and transitioning from a stopped position, or from reverse into drive, with the intention to move forward only a few inches. But instead of creeping forward as normal, the vehicle suddenly jerked forward approximately one foot. In the first of two incidents (approx. October 2025), it crashed into the car in front of me. In a second incident (3/14/2026), it crashed into an EV charging station. This is a safety concern and may be related to steering wheel capacitive touch controls, possible unintended activation of adaptive cruise control (ACC) or “resume” function, or erroneous or overly sensitive input from the steering wheel control module. No warning signs or messages appeared prior to the failure. Luckily, no one, including my young children, stood directly in front of the vehicle during either of the incidents; otherwise, they may have incurred serious bodily injury or worse. I was also luckily unharmed in both incidents. I am immediately taking the car to the dealership for a full inspection.

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,BACK OVER PREVENTION,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE — Filed 02/23/2026

I was slowing down to park the car when it lurched forward in high speed and smashed into the wall. The front collision warning never went off, and the emergency braking never came on. My foot was on the accelerator and lifting off to park at low speed like I do all the time, so it wasn't like I was trying to slam on the brakes and pressed on the accelerator by mistake. The car was serviced at the dealership less than a week ago, but VW pushed out an OTA update 2 days ago. I don't know if the OTA update has anything to do with this scary behavior, but I have not experienced anything like this before.

STEERING,SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC — Filed 12/04/2025

The contact owned a 2021 Volkswagen ID.4. The contact stated that while her husband was driving approximately 25 MPH, the brake pedal was depressed and there was a loud revving noise coming from the engine compartment. The vehicle then independently accelerated at full speed. The contact stated that her husband depressed the brake pedal several times, but the vehicle did not slow down, and the steering wheel locked, preventing the driver from steering the vehicle to safety. The vehicle then crashed into the back of another vehicle that was either stopped or was moving extremely slow. The contact’s husband sustained back, and neck injuries but had not sought medical intention. The insurance company informed the contact the that the other driver had since sought medical attention. A Police report was filed but was not available. The other vehicle was driven from the scene; however, the contact’s vehicle was towed to a tow lot where it was deemed a total loss. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 67,000.

SERVICE BRAKES — Filed 09/15/2025

My car is stopped and still due to heavy traffic . All of a sudden, while stopping, it starts moving and rolling away by itself. I try to stop it using the break pedal but it doesn’t stop.

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE — Filed 08/12/2025

I was pulling into street parking spot behind a parked car at a slow speed and braking to stop. I put my foot on the brake to bring the car to a complete stop but instead of slowing down the car accelerated straight into the vehicle in front of me. The rear end of the car in front of me was substantially damaged.

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE — Filed 05/27/2025

The vehicle accelerated without control and crashed into the wall between my garage and the adjacent laundry room. That day someone could have easily been seriously hurt or killed. The problem was investigated but could not been reproduced. The vehicle was inspected by a team of investigators from the Manufacturer, VW. No warning signs or abnormal situations prior the the incident. The vehicle was in our possession and driven for 3 years, about 55k miles, no issues ever. The driver at the time is an experienced driver and familiar with the vehicle operation for three years.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE — Filed 03/12/2025

I was driving my 2021 Volkswagen ID.4 Pro S on March 12, 2025, in Baltimore, Maryland, when I was involved in a motor vehicle accident. Although I maintained an adequate stopping distance from the truck in front of me, my forward collision warning, lane departure warning, and lane keeping assistance systems suddenly activated, causing my vehicle to make contact with the truck. My safety—and the safety of others—was compromised. My vehicle sustained front-end damage. This was not the first time these systems engaged without cause. I took my vehicle to Heritage Volkswagen Parkville (located in Carney, Maryland) due to unresolved recalls and these irregular system behaviors. The dealership claims that Volkswagen requires me to replace the tires, align the wheels, and install a new 12V battery before completing the recall work or troubleshooting the issue. I informed the service manager that the vehicle is unsafe to drive and that, under federal law, the dealership is obligated to complete the recall. He responded that the recall work cannot proceed until the tire replacement, alignment, and battery installation are completed. As of June 23, 2025, my vehicle remains at the dealership. I have unsuccessfully attempted to reach VW’s Customer CARE department. The vehicle is not safe. I believe VW is at fault.

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM — Filed 03/26/2024

On March 26, 2024 the VW Id.4 caught fire while being driven on freeway. The driver was able to pull over and escape from the vehicle as it burned but sustained burns to his left arm, hand and face. The vehicle was engulfed in flames and destroyed. An inspection of the vehicle and battery modules in October of 2024 by VW experts and experts for the driver determined that the fire started in one of the battery modules and was not due to external causes or road hazards. The remains of the vehicle and battery modules have been preserved.

STRUCTURE,BACK OVER PREVENTION — Filed 04/28/2025

I was pulling into a parking space and slowly moving forward to get to the front of the space. The car spurted forward about 2 feet with force and crashed into a cement based light standard. There was significant damage to the front end. No injuries. Airbag did not inflate. Vehicle is currently at body shop but no one has looked at the 'black box'. Geico rep and adjuster at the body shop have looked at the car. Safety was at risk due to crashing in to a solid object. Fortunately I was going slow when it accelerated and did not have enough time or space to cause injuries

AIR BAGS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE — Filed 01/02/2025

I was driving at 35 mph when the front doors began unlocking and locking rapidly three times, then both front doors fell open ajar, at the same time the screen went grey with a triangle ! icon as an audile alarm went off then the drivers side curtain airbag deployed forcing the steering wheel to the right causing the vehicle to collide head on into an electric utility pole. I tried to brake but was pushed by airbag from brake pedal. I was wearing a seat belt but suffered an burn from the airbag on right inner forearm that was impression of VW logo and has resulted in lasting scar, I had modest right wrist sprain and right shin contusion, abrasion. The vehicle rolled back in the road and was towed and later totaled by insurance. The automatic braking detection nor any other airbag deployed on collision.

STEERING,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE — Filed 01/23/2025

While stopped at a red light waiting to turn left, with foot on the brake, my car suddenly accelerated and lunged forward , plowing into the car in front of me with great force. I had to jam down the brake almost to the floor to get the car to stop. My foot was on the brake. There is no way I hit the accelerator. Even if I had, the AEB system is supposed to prevent me crashing at close range. I understand that this is a known issue related to the adaptive cruise control. The force of my car was so great that 3 cars in front of me sustained damage.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES — Filed 09/24/2024

I leased a car three years ago. This ID4 on May 15,2023 left me at a full stop in the middle of the highway. I then dropped it off to the dealer where they inspected it and saw it was a sensor/software issue, I think. They never actually disclosed the problem, nor held accountability. They insured me after almost two weeks of having to pay gas for a loaner car that they had fixed it and it was safe. After that incident and before my car had been in service countless times, all very inconvenient but not immediate safety issues, until the door handles. The door handles have been recalled twice before this last incident. My car was in there for over two weeks again back and forth. They broke my actual handles and had to go back in again, they claimed they were fixed. Now, almost 6monthankater I go to buy this lemon pre certified through the dealer and they tell me they can’t because it has two open recalls. They failed to say that the open recalls have been since May and are only now informing id4 owners that their doors may unlatch any any moment while driving and kill your babies and someone else’s on the road. Yet, they want me to either extend my lease, turn in the car and pay over mileage (even though I thought I was leasing to buy) or buy out the car not certified through a third party with two open recalls. I am being bullied into keeping a lemon. This car is a lemon and I want Volkswagen to take it off my hands waiving any over mileage and either giving me a new id4 that is safe or my 21,000 dollars I have paid into it. I am not the only one legally bound to these lemons. I demand a resolution for my consumer rights. I will speak to every news station out there until I seek justice for me and so many others.

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE — Filed 04/18/2024

I had backed in to a parking space in a parking lot. To exit, I shifted the car into Drive, gently touched the accelerator (which should have accelerated the car to 2 MPH) and turned the steering wheel about 90° clockwise with my left hand to straighten the wheels. In doing so, the base of my left thumb inadvertently pushed the Set button on the cruise control, causing it to set to 15 MPH, its minimum setting, and the car to rapidly accelerate. I jammed on the breaks but wasn’t able to stop in time to avoid colliding into the side of a passing car. Because my right knee was locked in my effort to stop my car, the force of the impact was transferred to my hip and, though nothing was broken, I ended up spending two days in the observation unit of my hospital followed by eight days in residential rehabilitation. At the time, I had no idea what had caused the car to suddenly accelerate, seemingly without any input and certainly without my intent. It wasn’t until several months later that a similar acceleration event occurred, fortunately not resulting in an accident, and I was able to determine the cause. This problem is not the result of defective parts but of design. I believe the cruise Set button should not be located so close to the steering wheel rim and should not be raised as it is, but the safety issue could also be resolved in software by not allowing the cruise control to engage at very low speeds.

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE — Filed 03/17/2024

On [XXX] approximately [XXX], I was in the drive-up line for Starbucks. The drive-up line was very slow so we waited for about 1/2 hour and I ended turning off my engine. I had plenty of room at least between 2-3 feet between myself and the car in the front. Then the line moved so, I put the car in Drive and covered the brake. I tapped the Gas/electric pedal and the car accelerated from 0 to 30 and lunged forward and I hit the car in front of me and they were pushed into the car in front of them. No one was seriously hurt, but police were called and ambulance arrived and found no injury - so there wasn't a police report. I was completely shocked that this happened so fast and I wasn't able to stop my car. So, when I hit the people in front of me. Their car was a Ford Mini-van older model. I dented their bumper, but see attached photos of damage to my car. I went on a VD owner website to see if other volkswagen owners had any acceleration problems and I was surprised to find so many people affected by acceleration issues. I decided to call Volkswagen headquarters and a case was opened. Volkswagen set up a data review with a Volkswagen technician. I dropped off the car at the dealership in Ventura. I was not provided with a report from the Data retrieval. I just received a letter from the case manager, Sarah that they did not find anything unusual. After reviewing the letter, they had the wrong date of my accident. The accident occurred on [XXX], and Sarah said the accident was on April 8, 2024. Of course, they did not find anything??? I will enclose their letter and when I asked about the report or speaking with the technician, I was told that they do not give copies, nor provide information. On the website for Volkswagen ID4 owners, there are many claims of acceleration problems, This vehicle is an self-driving electric car. There is a recall for a software issue, that has not been established yet if it is related to acceleration. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE — Filed 06/18/2024

I was driving on a highway using the cars adaptive cruise control, when the car suddenly without warning slammed on the brakes. This caused me to be rear ended by a car behind me. The automatic emergency braking system had triggered without any hazard in front of me. Although there had not been a warning light of a malfunction, the car had previously activated phantom emergency braking. Previously the car on several occasions the cars AEB system activated but only briefly applied the brakes before quickly disengaging and the AEB warning went away. However, this time the brakes fully activated causing the car to stop abruptly from 50-60mph to a stop. I have not yet reported the issue to the dealer and no one has yet inspected the vehicle. Although no one was hurt, this issue could have caused very serious injuries and did cause significant damage to my vehicle and the other vehicle.

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE — Filed 06/05/2024

The first time I was stopped at an intersection. Luckily there was no one in front of me as the car, without warning, accelerated at full throttle. Although my foot was on the brake, and I was braking as hard as I could, the car continued to lunge forward. It finally stopped and I backed up to my original position in the intersection. The second time it happened I was pulling into a parking spot in a busy shopping center. Without warning, the car accelerated out of control, and, although I was braking as hard as I could the car continued to accelerate forward. It jumped the curb, crossed the sidewalk, and hit a large commercial postal mailbox knocking it off of its base in the concrete. There was significant damage to the vehicle but luckily in both cases no one was injured. Had anyone been on the sidewalk in that shopping center they would have been killed. It is a miracle no one was injured or killed.

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE — Filed 05/17/2024

I drove an ID-4 down south and preparing for right turn. Suddenly, the car was accelerating to a very high speed with the accelerator not being pressed (spontaneous acceleration). I tried hard to press the brake, but no effectiveness. Instead of turning a 90-degree angle to the west direction, the car only turned 45 degrees toward southwest, hitting the safety island and jump over the island, then crossing the eastbound road, climbing up the curb and the left side of the car hit the street tree. The car then snaked along the sidewalk and grass toward west before it stopped. The car then is pulled to the body shop (Caliber in San Jose). 1) Accelerator and brake are both failed. The car spontaneously accelerates itself and cannot be stopped even pressing the brake paddle 2) In the collision, my left shoulder and neck got hurts. 3) Not yet. The car is in the body shop. 4) The car is in the body shop. Police has seen the car. 5) No. It happened suddenly.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE — Filed 04/23/2024

The contact owned a 2021 Volkswagen ID.4. The contact stated that while driving on a highway at a moderate speed, traffic came to a sudden halt. The vehicle's forward avoidance collision feature was activated; however, the feature did not perform at full capacity and hesitated to fully stop. The contact repeatedly pumped the brake pedal; however, the vehicle independently accelerated and crashed into the vehicle ahead which resulted in a five-vehicle accident. An unknown red warning light appeared on the instrument panel during the failure. The air bags deployed upon impact. Upon air bag deployment, the contact sustained burns to the left thumb and chest; additionally, the contact experienced soreness to the cervical spine, neck, both knees and ankles. The driver of the vehicle which the contact directly hit also sustained a sore neck but neither driver sought medical attention. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where the vehicle was deemed a total loss. Before the accident, the contact stated that a software update was performed on the vehicle which changed the vehicle's driving performance. The contact also noted that while driving at 70 MPH after the software update was performed, the vehicle independently accelerated without depressing the accelerator pedal. The contact was not certain if any warning lights appeared on the instrument panel during the failure. The dealer nor the manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER — Filed 10/13/2023

I was slowly driving down a lane in a parking lot. The parking spaces were perpendicular to a wall. I start to turn the steering wheel and slowly tap my brakes since the car was already going at a slow speed. All of a sudden, the car lunges forward and crashes into the wall beyond the parking slot. The airbags blow up and, after impact, my mom who is in the passenger seat complaints about severe chest pain. Soon the ambulance is there to take my mom to the hospital (she is eventually diagnosed with two broken ribs and a fractured cervical bone). I stay at the scene to talk to the police about what happened (the police gathered information from bystanders and took many pictures). I am in shock about the incident and trying to figure out what happened. I research the topic on the Internet and find out that there are others who have complained about sudden and unexpected acceleration in this car model. In fact, there is a class action lawsuit which explains that the overly sensitive cruise control (haptic, touch sensitive control on the steering wheel) can be accidently triggered and cause the sudden acceleration. Thank you for looking into this safety problem.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM — Filed 09/02/2023

The contact owns a 2021 Volkswagen ID.4. The contact stated that while his wife was opening the driver's side rear door, she was shocked by an electrical discharge. The contact stated that his wife's hand hurt for several days, however she was not burned by the discharge. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer or independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 22,000.

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM — Filed 04/26/2023

Yesterday, April 26th, 2023 the above vehicle was involved in a serious accident, possibly related to the safety recall for the high voltage cell module. My wife was driving the vehicle on her way to work, as she did for the past 2 years. Sometimes she gets coffee for herself and a coworker, so that day she turned into a parking lot of the last MacDonalds before her job. She pulled up to the drive thru lane as she did many times before. She was not distracted by the phone, and her radio was turned off. There was nobody else in her vehicle, and her thought was on the coffee order. As she was pulling up to the 2 vehicles in front of her, something horrible happened in the next 3 or 4 seconds. Her vehicle accelerated suddenly, hit the car in front of her, bounced off to the right, and kept accelerating for the next 50 feet before hitting a semi truck with such a force that the front end of her vehicle is completely obliterated and the semi truck frame was broken. Thankfully, nobody got hurt seriously, and there was no fire. The first question from the Police officer was whether she hit the accelerator pedal by mistake. She responded that she did not hit the accelerator pedal, and does not understand what happened. She was shocked by the sudden fury of her vehicle, and stated that she was unable to stop it. I believe what she is saying, because there was no reason for her to stomp hard on either pedal as she was coasting slowly, and with the vehicle's regenerative braking you only have to tap the brakes gently. If she tapped the wrong pedal by mistake, the acceleration would not be so violent. To do what the vehicle did in such a short distance, the driver would have to stomp forcefully on the pedal and keep it floored all the time. There was no need to do that, and she never even attempted to do such violent acceleration anywhere. There is a real possibility that the vehicle did an unintended full force acceleration caused by defect in the recalled module. GEICO has it

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM — Filed 11/18/2022

Instrument cluster on driver's steering wheel overheats. The heat is enough to cause a burn.

STEERING,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES — Filed 06/21/2022

6/21/22 When I was pulling into a parking lot space, the car suddenly accelerated and the steering wheel turned uncontrollably, I could not stop the car, the brakes didn't respond at all. The car was driving by itself, I couldn't do anything to stop it, until I ran into two parked cars where it finally stopped; thank god no injuries. The car was undriveable, and was towed away, I'll have it inspected by the body shop and see if it can be repaired. This was a terrifying experience not being able to control the car, the car pretty much went into run away mode. I hope this gets reported to VW and an investigate gets conducted to find the root cause it as this could happen again to anybody.