Volkswagen’s ID.4 electric crossover is being recalled in the United States after a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) investigation confirmed a software bug in the battery management module . This problem can lead to a sudden breakdown of the vehicle.
Therefore, nearly 21,000 copies of the ID.4 must be recalled south of the border, all manufactured in Germany between May 26, 2020 and January 20, 2022. Transport Canada has not yet issued a recall of his side, but it’s obviously only a matter of time.
The software bug in question first surfaced in July 2021, according to documents submitted by Volkswagen to NHTSA. Shortly after, the company had concluded that there was no significant danger for the drivers, since the direction and the brakes of the vehicle were not affected.
Photo: Frederic Mercier
However, in January last year, a supplier warned Volkswagen that the pulse inverter software was also problematic. It is these two factors that threaten to interrupt the current transmitted to the electric motor.
For affected customers, a simple remote update will not suffice and a visit to a Volkswagen dealership will be required to install corrected software for both the battery management module and the pulse inverter.
Newer ID.4s, including all those manufactured in the United States and marketed as 2023 models, are not at risk as they use the new software.