2021 Volkswagen ID.4 Steering Problems

My Id 4 Pro S has this problem more going back almost 3 years with 8k miles when first reported to the dealership and [XXX] [XXX], [XXX],[XXX]. The correspondences are there as proof. Dealership never fixed this issue or diagnoses this properly since it only happens in wet weather or rainy mist or rain. The issues is the front tires in the front wheel wells make a thumping sound when backing up and moving forward with the wheels turned in any direction and a crunching sound with the car shaking. I am concerned for my safety and VW will not fix the issue. They had it twice in servicing, did not wet the underside to create the wet symptoms so they dismissed the issue. It does not rain much here and I presumed all the over the air updates and 2 day mega update leaving my vehicle would resolve the issue only to find out now with the new rain the problem is still there. This is a manufacturer defect and was reported when my vehicle was under full warranty . Now they are giving me excuses and wont address the problem or diagnose this properly and want to charge me for there manufacturers defect . I only have 22,675 miles on the vehicle now and it is garaged all the time so this is not from wear and tear since it occurred at 8000 miles and was reported twice before. I have multiple case numbers on this and VW will not take responsibility to fix this defect, and malfunction . They had stone walled me and passed this off as no issue. I have videos of the issue on drop box I can sent to you if requested . See drop box videos. [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] 2 Videos here from [XXX]. Please help ! INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

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.

The car completely stopped without warning. The dashboard lit up with all the lights and informed me that the I need to pull over. There was no time to pull over as the car completely lost all power. The car was traveling on the freeway. It would not start back up and I needed to call 911 for help. The tow truck could not get the car started and the CHP needed to run a traffic break to get it towed off the road. The dealer could only find an NV-energy management alarm triggered and said it was ok to drive again. The next day driving on [XXX], when returning to my car the car said the vehicle electrical system had an error and I could not power it on. I requested a tow and the car is currently at the service department. Of note is when the car was pulled off the freeway I was able to start it and drive it home like nothing happened. Again on [XXX], the car once at the dealership was able to be powered on and driven. There were no warning lights on the car after that. If the car would have stopped while travel at 65MPH, I think there could have been a major crash and it puts the safety of me the driver as well as the other drivers around me as great risk. I have never felt uncomfortable traveling on the highway until this happened. I would never expect a car to completely shut off while travel on the highway with no way of pulling over to the side of the road. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

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.

Vehicle had a complete failure due to electrical issues and was brought to dealership. It was apparently due to recall issues which were repaired. The vehicle was returned 2 weeks ago. Today, shortly after exiting a highway, while traveling approx. 15-20mph then vehicle completely shut down. It stopped suddenly and unexpectedly and went into neutral. I could not put the car back into drive or park. The dash indicated electrical issues, airbag issues, collision sensors, brake issues and said “vehicle must not be towed”. Vehicle is currently at dealership.

I have had two episodes in which the Lane Keeping Assistance put me at risk of running into a barrier on the freeway. Both happened when traveling in a middle freeway lane that split to an off-ramp (three lanes splitting to two groups of two lanes). In the first, I was taking the left ramp. The car, I think wanting to keep the lane line on my right close, suddenly steered me back to the right and toward the dividing barrier. I was able to overcome it and stay on my planned route but it was close. In the second, there was a car to my right in the right-most lane. I was taking the right exit and used my turn signal to indicate this. As I started to take the exit, turning the wheel to the right, the car forced the wheel back to straight because it thought I was trying to steer into the car to my right (in the next lane, also exiting), and again steered me toward the barrier splitting the ramp from the freeway. I was able to overcome the wheel, but again it was close. In both cases, I think the car is doing what it is designed to do (i.e. nothing is broken) but the design is dangerous. I have talked to the dealer about this problem - they have acknowledged the issue and said a new car would not have this problem. No warning lamps or messages appeared.

The steering wheel controls on our 2021 Volkswagen ID.4 are haptic. That means that if you brush them with your fingers or hand with light pressure, they can activate. When leaving a neighborhood street, I turned the steering wheel approximately 180 degrees to pull out from a parking spot next to the curb. Upon releasing my grip a bit on the steering wheel (to let it rotate back to 'straight') my right thumb grazed the cruise control activation button (which is normally on the left side of the steering wheel). Since I had been using cruise control earlier in the drive, the cruise control resumed and the car accelerated without my providing any pedal input. Luckily I realized what had happened and pushed the brake pedal to cancel cruise control. The cruise control was set to 15 mph. I am thankful it was not set to something higher, like 65 mph. I don't know how fast the car would have accelerated in that case.

While driving with cruise control on (60 to 70 MPH) after almost an hour the steering suddenly becomes very loose. There is essentially no response in the center of the steering wheel location but can still steer when turning the wheel a few degrees left or right. After turning off the cruise control the steering response becomes normal again. This has happened in August this year and haven't noticed it again until this last weekend (12/17/2022). The previous incident happened several time in a row when I would turn the cruise control off and then back on. I was on the highway going 70 MPH. One incident in the summer and one in colder weather. After the first incident the dealership could not determine a cause when test driving it but it's not something that can be duplicated. It appears randomly and is quite scary.

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.

1. I picked up new ID.4 from the dealer on 10/01/2021. On 10/02/22, Electrical System Malfunction messages appeared on the infotainment, telling me to take it in for immediate repairs. The problem was taken care of. I was not told what was wrong. 2. On 11/10/2021, while pulling into a parking space in a lot at a cemetery, the car bolted forward and became unresponsive. I could not stop it, I could not steer it. It felt like it was driving itself. I destroyed a bench, some bushes, and some of the turf. The car had to be towed to a VW dealer affiliated collision center. The car was there for over two months and was returned to the dealership for "further diagnosis". In the end, I was told that it had been "driver error", and I was assured the car was 100% safe to drive. I was never told what was done. The insurance payment for the damage was over $9000. 3. On 06/02/2022, I had the same acceleration issue. This time I was pulling over to a curb in a residential neighborhood (25 mph speed limit). I was using mode "B", regenerative braking. My foot was not on the accelerator. The car bolted forward and hit a parked Ford F150 in the backend. The force was so great, that the F150's rear end was lifted off the ground. You would think that crash would have stopped the ID.4. Instead, the vehicle swerved to the left, shot across the street and ended on a stranger's front yard, destroying his tree and landscaping. The car suddenly stopped, stuck in the landscape rocks. The vehicle then just shut itself off and became totally unresponsive. My wife was slightly injured, even though she had her seatbelt on. She could not open the door to get out and climbed out the driver's door. The car was towed to the dealer, insurance claim was filed. Preliminary estimates of damage- ID.4, F150, landscaping is over $17,000. My wife is petrified about riding in the car. I want VW to repurchase or terminate my lease. The car has only 6000 miles!

Power steering yellow light on

While backing out of the drive way, electronic console of the car went black, we lost control over steering and accelerator functions and potentially brakes (unsure) while car was still moving. This happened at low speed (5-10 MPH). The instrument panel showed message to call service immediately. To regain control, we pressed the start engine button, which allowed us to again control the car. The call service message disappeared.

Pulling into a parking space, using reiterative braking (B Mode). When applying brakes, car bolted and could not be controlled. It jumped a curb and drove straight toward a building. Brakes would not respond. Steering would not respond. I managed to steer the car avoiding the building but taking down a bench and ripping up the turf in front of the building. Car made a complete u-turn before coming to a stop. At that point, all electrical systems shut down, including the outside mirrors--they retracted. There was damage to exterior of the car-- a torn side molding and scratches and minor dents from bushes and the bench that was destroyed. The infotainment completely shut down. when I finally was able to restart the car, the systems came back on slowly, one at time. The car was towed by VW Roadside Assistance to a collision center for body repairs. It will be towed to the dealership after body repairs to diagnose the problem. I did not want to drive the car, not knowing if it is safe to drive. I had to file an insurance claim for the damage to the car and to the property that was damaged in the process. No other cars were damaged.

Warning indicator came on several times, brake and steering problems.

The contact owns a 2021 Volkswagen ID4. The contact stated while coming to a complete stop with the brake pedal being depressed, the vehicle lunged 3-5 feet forward. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated while driving 40-45 MPH, the steering wheel swerved unintendedly, causing the vehicle to veer towards the opposite lane of traffic. The contact was able to regain control of the steering wheel and continued driving. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the gear shifter remained stuck in park(P) and failed to move after several attempts. A message indicating a major electrical failure was displayed. The vehicle was towed to the dealer to be diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 11,657.

We have owned the ID.4 for there years and have had to put up with many recall issues that seam to take years in order to be resolved, it took VW over a year to resolve the random door opening issues, the car still sends messages the it is opening and closing the doors indiscriminately (at any time of the night or day). Now the infotainment screen started showing multiple errors, apple CarPlay works whenever it wants, on whatever phone it chooses, the screen goes blank frequently on its own, maps and car's GPS is useless, child lock errors, range calculations are erratic making it difficult to plan to trips. The over the air updates have seam to make the problem worse. Now we are waiting for another over the air update, the roll out has been extremely slow. Again it been three years and still no resolutions. We paid good money for this car, we were never late on a single payment. VW brought this vehicle to market without being properly tested, we have been paying money to Beta test a car for them and they have been allowed to slow walk repairs. The dealers cannot offer any solutions because VW of North America does not have any permanent solutions. The only solutions offered is trade in your car and we will sell you another car with less problems, of course if you trade in the car you loose thousand of dollars, if you sell the car you loose thousands of dollars, if you keep the car you have to deal with a Defective Vehicale and continue paying for it. How can this be allowed to continue. We need Help.