2023 Volkswagen ID.4 Speed Control & Cruise Problems

1. The car accelerates erratically when it is charged to 90 to 100%. This just plain dangerous. 2. The battery is charging to 100% when it set to charge to 80%. I learned that there is a recall for this vehicle due to the battery overheating and possibly catching on fire. However as of yesterday, there are neither diagnostics available to show whether the recall actually applies to my car, nor is their a repair available. Given the nature of the recall, this puts me in the untenable situation of not trusting my car battery - to not overheat and to not catch fire. I brought the car into VW Glenwood Springs and asked them to diagnose the problems. VW Glenwood neither charged the car to 100% nor did they drive it other than around the block. Therefore they did not experience the problem - and of course could not give me any answers. They said that car is safe to drive! I can attest that this car is not safe to drive.

Date/Time of Incident: 1/29/36 at approximately 5:44 PM Location: Small school parking lot Vehicle: 2023 Volkswagen ID.4 On 1/29/36 at approximately 5:44 PM, I was pulling out of a parking space at low speed in a small school parking lot in my 2023 Volkswagen ID.4. As I began to move, the vehicle suddenly accelerated on its own, the steering would not turn left, and the car did not respond to braking, moving at an abnormal rate of speed over a very short distance. Prior to this, there had been no warning messages or alerts, except a routine notification to service the car in 1,000 miles. The collision involved three vehicles: my VW, the main car I hit, and a rental car. My car spun and veered sideways, the parked SUV on the right was pushed sideways, forming a rough “H” pattern, and the rental car went up onto a rail ramp where children walk. My grandson observed the car’s tires spinning at impact, and he hit the seat behind me. Without the parked cars, the vehicle would have continued directly toward the school building, creating a very serious risk of fatal injuries to parents, staff, and children. Injuries: Myself — pain and emotional trauma; grandson — soft cast on foot/leg, crutches, pain; his mother — pain. The vehicle is awaiting Volkswagen guidance for inspection. Likely involved systems include Speed Control, Fuel/Propulsion System, and Electrical, but the exact cause is UNKNOWN. The incident has been reported to State Farm (claim #0596B819B), Volkswagen (Case #07294060), and police.

On October 04/2025 The vehicle was parked and stationary when it suddenly accelerated forward on its own. The brakes were completely unresponsive. I had a passenger in the front seat, and both she and I are certain that I was pressing the brake, but the car did not slow down at all. Within a few seconds, the vehicle gained speed, and I lost control. There was no space to maneuver, and I could do nothing but brace myself against the seat and watch my rear passengers. The vehicle continued forward and crashed into a tree directly in front, causing damage to the right side of the bumper, and a large rock in front also received the impact. The airbags did not deploy. The two rear passengers struck their heads during the impact and sustained bumps, and my dog was also affected in the collision.This accident occurred despite the car having a recent annual inspection and software update. The sudden acceleration is not the only issue I have experienced with this vehicle. I have had additional safety concerns. The doors would lock, unlock and open by themselves while driving on the freeway. On May 2024, my dog was trapped inside when the doors locked automatically with my keys inside the car. I had to ask a police official in my neighborhood for a phone to call roadside assistance, and it took several hours to get my dog out of the vehicle.

It is very easy to inadvertently touch the "SET" button for the cruise control. The button is capacitive so a very light touch activates the button, and it is on the outer edge of steering wheel spoke, meaning a light brush while turning the wheel activate the button. When maneuvering at slow speeds (such as in a parking lot) this results in the car accelerating, uncommanded, and without warning, up to the minimum speed of the cruise control.

Cruise control / resume cruise can inadvertently be activated due to the haptic touch pads on the steering wheel. On multiple occasions when exiting a highway after using cruise control and while turning the steering wheel, my hand inadvertently brushes against the RESUME haptic touch pad, causing the vehicle to immediately speed up to my last preset cruise speed. This is a constant issue as I use my vehicle daily for work purposes, and has caused multiple near-accidents. Per my dealer, Volkswagen does not have a fix for this. This is a non-issue in my other VW vehicle, as it has button instead of haptic touch on the steering wheel. Haptic touch should not be on a steering wheel.

The speed indication that syncs with posted speed limits does not work, it either posts an incorrect speed or no speed at all. VW indicated this only affects some vehicles and they have no fix. It’s extremely dangerous if I see the limit as 70 mph on the car and then 1 mile later see a sign indicating I’m in a 35 mph zone

When driving at low speed in a parking log, vehicle began to accelerate suddenly. Driver was able to brake to avoid collision. Seemed to be due toaccidental touch of capacitive touch RES button on left side of steering wheel, which resumed previous ACC speed. ACC had not been use for several days prior, but system remembered previous high speed and tried to resume.

The contact owns a 2023 Volkswagen ID4. The contact stated that while driving into his driveway at 20 MPH, his jacket brushed against the resume button for the cruise control, and the vehicle launched forward, causing him to crash into the curb on two occasions. While at a car wash, the contact brushed against the resume button, and the vehicle lunged forward, startling the car wash worker. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who dismissed his concerns and informed him that the type of failure was not possible. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 14,000.

Buttons on steering wheel can be accidentally activated when you move your hand over buttons. Very dangerous.

For the second time in this car, I experienced sudden acceleration while parking (turning right). I had to slam the brakes to prevent hitting a parked vehicle, causing whiplash. No warning or safety features engaged. See NHTSA crash incident report 11593929. There are sufficient similar reports to warrant an investigation and hold VW accountable.

Whole assist package malfunctions on daily basis making the cruise, lane assist, front collision warning, sign recognition not possible to use.

As I was driving, the infotainment screen went black and Apple CarPlay stopped playing. As this happened, the driver’s information screen still worked but changed to grey scale colors. After about 4 minutes of the infotainment screen being black, the driver’s info screen also went black. This continued for about one more minute when both screens rebooted on their own.

I left my office at about [XXX] on [XXX] Thursday for home, traffic was moderate, approaching the long weekend. I reached home at 5:29 pm, opened the garage and started parking the vehicle inside the car. All of a sudden, the car just took off and randomly accelerated and the next thing I found was that the vehicle landed and stopped right inside the house on the small island by the garage entrance, which is about 9” higher than garage floor, into the house with the front metal door and right side of the wall and bathroom door all shattered in front! On my left, I saw my wife in (by kitchen stove) in total panic and my [XXX] mother- in- law shouting to my wife. “What happened?!”, and my [XXX] grandson crying and closing his ears from the loud sound! Instinctively, as I realized I would not be able to exit the vehicle from where it was lodged, I reversed the vehicle back into garage where I could come out. As I switched into reverse gear (which this vehicle requires you to press the brake to be able to switch from drive to reverse), the vehicle again just accelerated with force. This time, damaging the garbage can in the garage, left garage door vertical track, drywall and outside brick wall, as the brakes were not engaging. If I had not steered my car right or left, I would have landed in the living room of the house across the street. Therefore, I steered to the right to remain on the street (in hindsight, this may not have been the best choice – in case there was another vehicle or resident walking on the street). As my vehicle was in reverse, going towards the street perpendicular to mine, it knocked down the street sign pole onto my property, ran over the curb, grass, and landscaping stones on my lawn. Finally, the vehicle stopped two feet away from my living room window and 3-4 feet above street level, under a tree on my front lawn, crashing against a big landscaping rock. When the vehicle stopped, it took me at least 30 seconds to rea INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The contact owns a 2023 Volkswagen ID.4. The contact stated while driving at 5 MPH, the service brake independently activated and steered in the opposite direction in which the vehicle was being steered. The vehicle independently accelerated and crashed into the rear of a parked vehicle. The parked vehicle was damaged to the rear of the vehicle. The contact's vehicle was damaged to the front center of the vehicle. The contact's adult daughter and adult friend were passengers in the vehicle when the failure occurred. The contact stated that no injuries were sustained. No Police report was filed. The contact stated that the driver of the parked vehicle confirmed that the contact did not have control of the vehicle when the failure occurred. The contact's vehicle was taken to the dealer, however the contact was requested to pay a diagnostic fee. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 12,000.

While driving on the freeway at approximately 65 MPH using adaptive cruise control (ACC) the steering column display changed from MPH to kilometers per hour (KPH). See attached photo and description. The change of cruise control setting distracted the driver and caused confusion since the ACC speed setting changed from 65 MPH to 104 KPH. It took a minute for the driver to realize the units of measure caused this change. The dealer has not confirmed this failure, since it is intermittent and has provided not resolution. Several communications to Volkswagen customer service provided no solution.

The contact owned a 2023 Volkswagen ID4. The contact stated that while parking the vehicle and attempting to remove the key from the ignition the vehicle erroneously accelerated forward driving over a curb and crashed into a traffic pole. The vehicle continued to accelerate forward into an intersection and crashed head-on into a second vehicle. During the crash, both vehicles were destroyed. The driver sustained a left arm laceration from the air bag deploying. The front passenger sustained a left arm laceration and abdomen contusion. The dog located in the rear passenger seat sustained an eye injury. All required medical treatment. No injury was reported from the second vehicle. A police report was taken at the scene and the vehicles were towed away. The cause of the failure was not determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were not contacted. The failure mileage was 4,000.

The contact owns a 2023 Volkswagen ID.4. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle independently accelerated. The contact stated that the brake pedal was depressed, however, the vehicle failed to stop as intended. The contact stated that the vehicle rear-ended the contact's other parked vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle crashed into the contact's residential iron fence and the fence was damaged. In addition, the vehicle crashed into the contact's home and damaged the 6ft window. The contact stated that the failure occurred while the contact was parking the vehicle in the contact's driveway. The contact stated that the front end of the vehicle was damaged. In addition, the rear end of the parked vehicle was damaged. There were no injuries sustained. No police or fire reports were filed. The contact stated that the vehicle was previously taken to the dealer for a service appointment on May 30, 2024. The vehicle remained at the contact's residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 2,800.

I was easing slowly into a parking space, with plenty of room on both sides (no cars); there was a shopping cart at the front of the spot to my left. I was probably straightening the steering wheel back to the center. The car took over, accelerated suddenly to a very fast speed, jumped a high curb, and stopped hard in the lot's main drive. The front right wheel clipped a tree through the mulch. No safety features engaged. There was significant damage to the vehicle, and the impact badly bruised my right hand. I am very safety conscious, easy on the pedals, and cruise into stops. We have used the travel assist but not the cruise control function (which may have been set when the car was in transit). Several similar cases are reported on social media, with the leading theory being the accidental engagement of haptic steering wheel controls. A police officer took a report, but it has not been made available. I filed a report with the manufacturer and look forward to your investigation.

My ID4 windshield chips very easily and in fact i have had it for less then 1 year and small rocks on freeway damaged windshield and had to replace it out of my pocket. Even after getting new windshield it’s chipping again. The glass is hazardous as i am afraid it will break easily when compared with other cars. Cars speedometer turn off due to VW software glitch while driving so in the middle of freeway drivers would have no idea on speed and can cause accidents.

Twice after picking up the vehicle from the dealership for a recall or service I've stopped at the light near the dealer. On seeing green in accelerate and mid-way through the turn power will fail. I release the accelerator pedal once or twice and power returns.