Volkswagen ID.4 Sales Stopped Due to Faulty Doors That May Pop Open
Volkswagen has to recall its ID.4 electric crossover for the fifth time in six months. Simultaneously, dealers in Canada and the U.S. have received a stop-sale order.
Close to 18,000 units built at the Chattanooga assembly plant in Tennessee may have door handles that can allow water inside the door assembly and onto the circuit board, causing a short. This might "cause a situation where a vehicle door could open unexpectedly when the vehicle is subject to high lateral forces at speeds below 9 mph" (15 km/h), Volkswagen's Defect Notice says.
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The automaker became aware of this issue in January and alerted the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in February. It’s now announcing a recall but has yet to find a remedy, hence the stop-sale order.
Transport Canada says the number of affected units on the north side of the border is 1,455.
Earlier this year, Volkswagen recalled some 2021 ID.4 vehicles due to a software problem that could cause the high-voltage battery management control module to reset or the pulse inverter to deactivate, resulting in a loss of power to the wheels. More recent models, including all of those built in the U.S. since last summer, are not affected.
The ID.4 is an extremely important product as the leader of Volkswagen’s electric offensive in North America. It will be followed next year by the ID.7 sedan and ID. Buzz van, the latter to be featured prominently at the upcoming Montreal Electric Vehicle Show (April 21-23).
