Volkswagen has ordered dealers to stop selling its ID.4 electric vehicle (EV) while the automaker searches for an answer to a problem that has triggered two safety recalls.
The problem? The doors keep popping open on the road.
VW’s First EV SUV in the U.S.
The ID.4 is the brand’s first electric SUV and the first in a new series of Volkswagen electric cars in the U.S. VW will follow it with the high-profile ID. Buzz, a modern interpretation of the classic VW Bus.
The ID.4 is a midsize SUV our editors like for its roomy cabin, reasonable price (when applying the $7,500 federal EV rebate), and a quirky LED light at the base of the windshield that communicates basic information in the driver’s peripheral vision and makes it feel a little like a Hollywood conception of a robot car with a spunky personality.
Now that VW is adding a ChatGPT-based voice assistant to many cars, we’re hoping that effect feels even stronger.
VW Knows the Problem, Not the Solution
But, in documents filed with the federal government’s car safety agency, VW says it knows of at least 135 incidents of doors popping open. They always happen while the car is turned on.
Volkswagen knows what the problem is. In both recalls – one last April affecting about 16,000 cars and a second last week involving nearly 100,000, the company says that water leaked through a faulty seal and shorted out a circuit in the electronic door handles.
But it doesn’t have a solution ready. So, the company has told dealers to stop sales.
Stop-Sale Order, No Stop-Driving Order
It hasn’t told people who already own ID.4s to stop driving them. In a document provided to dealers, the company says, “If the recall condition is present in the vehicle, occupants may notice an audible clicking noise (similar to the sound of a vehicle door being locked/unlocked). Should this occur, customers are advised to contact an authorized Volkswagen dealer without delay to have the vehicle inspected.”
But it doesn’t tell dealers what to do if the vehicle fails inspection. The company, it says, is “working diligently to make the recall remedy available as soon as possible.”
Andrew Savvas, VW’s head of U.S. sales, told industry publication Automotive News that the automaker is aiming to have a remedy in place by the start of 2025.
We see a few stop-sale orders a year as automakers encounter problems that take time to solve. Just this week, Toyota announced plans to resume sales of its Grand Highlander SUV as soon as it completes airbag repairs.
Sales of that model have been halted for three months and won’t resume immediately. Toyota plans to fix the already-sold models in owners’ driveways before repairing those still on sales lots. VW is likely to follow a similar process.
Furloughs Just as Union Contract Negotiations Start
The move forces Volkswagen to furlough some 200 workers at the Chattanooga, Tennessee, plant that builds the ID.4.
Workers at that plant voted to unionize in April. Negotiators from Volkswagen and the United Auto Workers have just begun their first contact negotiations.
In a statement, Volkswagen says it is supporting the furloughed workers “by supplementing unemployment from the state of Tennessee so they will still receive 80 percent of their base compensation and will continue to be covered by all current benefits during this time.”
But the timing hurts the union – negotiators must now attempt to win new protections for workers who are home, shut out of their jobs, and surviving on reduced pay.
