- Owners awaiting recall fix for months finally get relief
- Look for deals as VW tries to reignite interest in the crossover EV
Volkswagen says the ID.4 is back on sale in the U.S. after a three-month hiatus.
The compact electric crossover was pulled from production in September and sales were halted after hundreds of customer complains of faulty door electronics that resulted in latches failing and doors opening unintentionally.
Volkswagen identified the problem as inadequate waterproofing of the ID.4’s flush-fit, electro-mechanical door handle assemblies. Water incursion caused electrical failures that resulted in doors opening while the vehicle was being driven.
After receiving more than 300 ID.4 door handle warranty claims for the problem, VW in early September issued a recall of almost 100,000 ID.4s from the 2021 through 2024 model years. The company also stopped production of U.S. models at its plant in Tennessee and halted sales across the country.
The automaker says that it now has corrected the issue and will resume ID.4 production in the U.S. and provide its dealers the parts necessary to repair the recalled models and any inventory remaining on their lots in the aftermath of the stop-sales order.
The company hasn’t said how much the recall cost, but between the beginning of the year and September it had been selling an average of about 2,000 ID.4s a month in the U.S.
VW said it intends to offer “highly competitive” lease deals in a bid to jump-start interest in and boost sales of the ID.4., which has suffered from numerous issues involving electrical, infotainment system software and other components since its introduction as a 2021 model.