Problems · NHTSA complaints

2023 Volkswagen ID.4 problems

Owners filed 466 complaints about the 2023 Volkswagen ID.4 with NHTSA between Nov 2022 and Oct 2026. The most-cited component is electrical system (232).

Complaints
466
Filed with NHTSA
Crashes
56
Reported by owners
Fires
7
Reported by owners
Injuries
33
People reported injured
Deaths
0
Reported to NHTSA
01 —By component

Complaints by component

One complaint can cite several components
  1. Electrical system232
  2. Forward collision avoidance76
  3. Structure61
  4. Vehicle speed control57
  5. Back over prevention48
  6. Service brakes36
  7. Power train32
  8. Engine26
  9. Fuel/propulsion system23
  10. Lane departure21
  11. Equipment20
  12. Visibility/wiper18
  13. Steering13
  14. Exterior lighting12

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.

Data from NHTSA Complaints API · synced Oct 28, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
02 —Trend

When complaints were filed

Does it get worse with age? Complaints per calendar year filed
View as table
Model yearComplaints filed per calendar year
20222
202394
2024182
202594
202694

Mileage at failure isn’t a structured field in NHTSA complaint data, so we don’t chart it. Some owners mention it in their reports below.

03 —Owner reports

Top problems in owners’ words

Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first

Electrical system

232 reports12 crashes5 fires6 related recalls
“I was stopped in a friend’s driveway in front of her closed garage door to drop her off after an outing. The front sensor had not been alerting me to how close I was to any objects several times the same day. Before my passenger exited, the car suddenly lurched forward and smashed into my friend’s garage door, buckling several panels on the garage door and scraping the paint off the front of my car. I have contacted the dealership to have the car inspected and I’m waiting for an appointment. No police report has been filed. No injuries occurred. There were no warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms (aside from the front sensor not alerting me when I was close to objects in front of me) prior to this incident.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Oct 22, 2026Electrical system, Back over prevention, Forward collision avoidanceCrash reportedODI 11773085

Forward collision avoidance

76 reports31 crashes
“Failure to stop, auto continued forward. I veered right to avoid heading collision with a tree. I veered right but was unable to prevent colliding with the tree, scraping the bark. The vehicle then spontaneously accelerated and I had to slam my foot on the brake to make it stop. This caused $8900 of damage to the body of the vehicle. The repairman at the collision shop expressed concerns with the brakes, and recommended the car be taken to the dealer to have the brakes checked..This EV has been reported as having this issue since 2021, for models 2021-2024; VW fails to install a safety recall. this problem. The car is a safety risk. I can’t drive it anymore because I fear a repeat of the incident. I injured my right shoulder with the sudden stop of the vehicle after the spontaneous acceleration. This vehicle poses a safety risk and I have to get rid of it, I can’t drive it for fear of a repeat of the malfunction.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Oct 18, 2026Structure, Wheels, Forward collision avoidanceCrash reportedODI 11771885

Structure

61 reports2 crashes2 related recalls
“The failure involves the driver’s side door latch/lock assembly and emergency access system. Specifically, the mechanical emergency keys for the door did not function, and the door later did not fully close or seal due to two loose bolts near the lock. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. This created a safety risk because I was unable to manually unlock the vehicle in an emergency when electronic systems could fail. Additionally, while driving, the driver’s door was not fully sealed and allowed wind into the cabin without triggering any warning alert, raising concern that the door was not securely latched. The issue was reproduced and confirmed by multiple authorized Volkswagen dealerships. In December 2025, a dealership confirmed that neither set of emergency keys worked. After replacement keys also failed, a faulty door lock cylinder was identified and replaced in March 2026. In April 2026, a new issue arose where the driver’s door was visibly not flush with the frame. A dealership technician identified and tightened two loose bolts in the door lock, which resolved the issue. The vehicle has been inspected by authorized Volkswagen service…”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled May 4, 2026StructureODI 11735544

Vehicle speed control

57 reports21 crashes
“I have experienced this situation two times this past week in a parking lot. I pulled out of a space and was only going 2 to 3 miles an hour and the car lunged forward quickly and then stopped. Luckily nothing was in front of me.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Sep 22, 2026Vehicle speed controlODI 11766045

Back over prevention

48 reports5 crashes3 related recalls
“While entering a parking lot at a low speed, with my foot already firmly applied to the brake due to the close proximity of a parking space, the vehicle suddenly accelerated on its own unexpectedly. Despite continuous pressure on the brake pedal, the vehicle proceeded forward, struck another parked vehicle, and continued moving for approximately two additional seconds before coming to a stop on its own. Additionally, no forward collision/crash warning alert was activated prior to impact, and the airbags did not deploy during the collision.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled May 17, 2026Unknown or other, Back over prevention, Forward collision avoidanceCrash reportedODI 11738431

Service brakes

36 reports17 crashes1 related recall
“I have experienced braking issues with my 2023 ID.4. It would randomly require me to put press the brake pedal all the way to the floor and would still roll past stop lines, and near miss with cars in front of me. It happens more often when the road is wet and raining weather. I was told by two VW service centers that my breaks were normal and they found nothing wrong with the car as they couldn't replicate the issue. After doing some digging online I found out other ID.4 owners had to go to multiple service centers working with offsite EV team to have a proper diagnosis for the problem. They found that the ABS module was offline so the Brake Booster was not functioning. The scary part is that there was NO lights or errors indicating this. The biggest issue at the VW service centers are lack of EV knowledges, tools for proper diagnosis, and overwhelm by too many complaints from owners. My lease was ended and I returned the vehicle to VW informing them of faulty part/breaking issues with no warnings. The scary part is that there could be many people driving these cars that can have this happen randomly without ANY warning. I was lucky that I did not cause harm…”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Aug 15, 2026Service brakesODI 11757162
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Oct 28, 2026

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.