2023 Volkswagen ID.4 Steering Problems

Claim submitted to VW Customer Care on March 8, 2026. Current problems cited include: Doors malfunctioning; vehicle difficult to start and power off; steering and braking warnings; complete loss of power steering; compromised performance in significant lag between accelerator depression and vehicle response; electrical malfunction alerts (17); numerous dashboard warnings; distressing repetitive whining sound (not mechanical); persistent underperformance regarding vehicle range. On March 10, vehicle was towed to commence inspection at Bay Ridge Volkswagen Service & Parts – [XXX] . Further evidence of vehicle issues provided as accompaniment to VW Customer Care Claim via: [XXX] This current March 2026 concern follows on multiple service visits and loss of vehicle usage during April–August 2025 claims process. During this time, Brooklyn Volkswagen Service (now permanently closed) conducted an evaluation of the car, including documented video evidence of issues with the car – even beyond those which were the original cause for my concerns (e.g. they cited degradation of cables and wiring within the car’s hood due to their being made of edible soy wrappings). Link provided: [XXX] . Vehicle was ultimately released back to me with unresolved repairs (citing backorder of parts amongst other concerns that VW would not consent to resolving related to compromised bumper electronics) and interim repair offered to resolve compromise to vehicle airbag systems. The primary use of this vehicle is in transportation of my children. It is patently unsafe to drive. Given that the vehicle is subject to a federal safety recall without an available remedy I have requested a prompt determination of the vehicle repurchase / lease buy‑back and compensation for loss of use and incurred costs to support alternative transportation requirements until resolution under this claim. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

I was turning into a parking space on the street. I let my foot off the gas in order to brake.... as I did so the car LURCHED forward on its own about 2-3 feet running into the curb and damaging the wheel, the rim and the tire. I stomped on the brake, turned off the car, and restarted the car in order to finish parking (get out of traffic) and assess the damage. Thankfully nobody was hurt, although I am quite shaken up, losing confidence in the car... I have no idea what system malfunctioned.. the car went forward on its own with my foot off the accelerator. I've never experienced this before with this car or any other car. I drove the car directly to the service department at the dealership where they said they would inspect it and report it as well. I have not called the police. I have not alerted the insurance company. There were no warning lights before or after this incident.

I was driving with Travel Assis on, the car steered left into the center divider then swerved right into other lanes… I was unable to regain control of steering wheel or break to deactivate travel assist for about 10 seconds, the steering wheel felt stuck in the direction that Travel Assist was steering to.

On the morning of September 27, 2024 while stopped at a retail store in Wake Forest, NC, the 2023 Volkswagen ID.4 steering column module part #j764 failed without warning. The steering column locked up and would not unlock after many attempts. The vehicle’s drive systems were also impacted resulting in the drive units/gears to lock resulting in the car becoming inoperable until the unit is replaced. Contacted VW Customer Care on October 1 for repair assistance. At this time, VW believes consumers should be burdened with the cost to repair this failed critical component which is necessary for the car to function and operate.

When vehicle crosses an intersection it pulls vehicle into wrong direction. Mostly left to incoming traffic and I have to correct steering. Vehicle does not recognize road lines have stopped or different in an intersection

Steering wheel has capacitive touch control for cruise controls and other options. While turning in corners or exiting from highways unknowingly capacitive controls are getting activated and it sets the speed to highway cruise speed limit or previous cruise speed, creating a panic situation. It is a safety issue and potentially crashes. I have avoided 10 different instances so far. It has to be recalled for this issue and fix has to be done for this.

Steering wheel wrapping is prematurely peeling due to the material used. I’ve seen and heard many complaints about this. Cars are only a few years old.

On occasion the car moves backward when I have it in Drive, and forward when I have it in Reverse. It commonly happens when doing a tight, 3 point turn. I noticed the issue shortly after I purchased the car in Mar '23 and first brought the car to the dealer for inspection after the 2nd time it happened in Jan '24. I've brought the car in many times for this and they cannot duplicate it or fix it (4 service records attached). There's no warning lights or error messages. I can visually see the gear shifter is in Drive, but when I put my foot on the accelerator the car moves backwards. It's the same when I visually see the gear shifter in Reverse, but the car moves forward. This has put my safety, the safety of my passengers, and the safety of people standing nearby at risk on multiple occasions. On one occasion, I was navigating a tight, multipoint u-turn, as I was trying to turn around between 2 large trees. My nephew stood outside the car waiting to get in. When I had enough clearance between the tree in back of me, and the back of my car, I put the car in Reverse to backup a few feet so that my nephew had enough space to open the passenger side door and get in. However, even though I had put the car in Reverse, it unexpectedly moved forward nearly pinning my nephew between the front of my car and the tree in front of me. I shouted at my nephew to step away from the car. I looked at the gear shifter again to ensure that I was in fact in Reverse, and then I tapped the accelerator gently to see if I could inch back away from the tree in front of me, but the car continued to move forward nearly hitting the tree. I had to put the car in Park, remove my seat belt, open the driver's side door, and step out of the car to get the car to "turn off" and "restart". When I got back in the car, and attempted to Reverse again, it worked as expected. I didn't log exact dates each time it happened, but I did first bring it to dealer for this problem on 1/4/24, with 8070 miles.

Unknown the car after finishing loading it at a public charger. The entire board went out. and now the screen is frozen without having access to see the reverse camera and the radio is on

My cars backup cameras have never worked properly and the dealer keeps changing me $485.00 to run a complete diagnostic every time I take it in. My car will erratically pulled to the right for no reason and caused the right front tire to blow forcing me to have it towed to the dealer and they had to replace both front tires which cost me $900.00 to replace. The car locked up the brakes and turned it to the right causing me to sever my left outer thumb which has cost me over $700.00 so far and is going to require me to have 4+ hours of surgery on my thumb by a surgeon and they haven't given me the cost of the surgery yet but it is estimated at over $7,000.00 and I am left handed and doesn't allow me to use that hand to hold the steering wheel or anything else.

I was driving the freeway and suddenly I lost control of the steering wheel for a few seconds. My car suddenly went left & right by itself & I could not control it. I didn't turn on the lane assistance mode. It was terrifying since I drove the freeway all the time & had never happened. This could be very dangerous when the freeway is busy. I would have been hitting another cars. I heard many people reported the same issue.

The lane assist function on the vehicle routinely pulls the vehicle off the road when accelerating uphill. Driver has to fight with the steering wheel to keep it from being pulled out of the lane and off the road. This occurs regularly on clearly marked roads, both on freeways and two lane rural roads.

On December 29, 2022, I took delivery of a brand new 2023 ID.4 Pro S AWD with 20 miles on the odometer. The vehicle was showing a 12V battery warning the following day. I drove it for about 80 miles that day to ensure that the 12V battery is charged in case it was not properly looked after during transport and at the dealer. The next day, the vehicle was inoperable and immobilized. The 12V battery has failed and the accessory voltage dropped to 8V. Power steering stopped working, headlights were not working and it was not possible to put the vehicle in neutral. I called a tow truck via the Volkswagen roadside assistance. In preparation for the tow the operator attempted to boost the 12V battery from a portable jump starter. This was necessary to put the vehicle in neutral so that it can be moved. While doing that the vehicle became fully operable again and the operator encouraged me to drive the vehicle myself instead of getting it towed. I agreed and drove it to my garage where I put the 12V battery on a tender / battery charger. The following day the vehicle was again completely inoperable and it was now blocking my garage where is was difficult to access. I continued to charge the 12V battery for another full day. Now the vehicle turns on again and can be driven. However, there is a plethora of warnings including one that states that 12V battery supply is limited and the vehicle needs to be driven with care. I scheduled an appointment with a Volkswagen dealer for the following day. In summary, I took delivery of a brand new vehicle that almost immediately became inoperable. Given that it's very difficult to impossible to get the vehicle on a tow truck without the 12V accessory voltage powering its electronics the manufacturer should have taken precautions so that the battery cannot fail in such rapid and unpredictable fashion. There needs to be a way to put the vehicle in neutral in emergency situations such as this one.