On Tuesday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said that Volkswagen would need to recall 98,806 all-electric crossovers over an issue with the doors. The matter is effectively an expansion of a 2023 recall impacting the 2021-2022 VW ID.4. The recall now encompasses vehicles from the 2023 and 2024 model year.
As with the earlier recall, the problem pertains to a design flaw that allows water to seep into the circuit board assemblies housed within the door handles. Apparently this can cause the vehicle to unseal the doors, allowing them to be flung open when there’s enough force placed upon them. This can be done by an unwitting passenger leaning on them or even a modest amount of lateral g-force produced when turning.
Electronic door handles always seemed incredibly silly, as they added needless levels of complexity to what should be one of the simplest components of a vehicle. While a slick gimmick, inclusions like this are just going to pad the final price of a vehicle and be something you’ll need to have replaced. We’ve also seen electronically controlled doors creating problems for reviewers when a vehicle malfunctions — creating an unnecessary safety issue.
Let’s just say that Volkswagen isn’t the only automaker building EVs that had to be recalled because the electronic door handles were acting up.
Obviously people don’t want to be locked inside of a vehicle against their will, nor do they want said door swinging open in the middle of their journey. As recalls goes this one is fairly embarrassing, especially since the manufacturer was being tipped off about the problem as early as 2022. Volkswagen had received reports of two incidents in the United States that year and launched an internal investigation. Additional complaints came in over successive months and a recall notice was issued by the NHTSA in May of 2023.
The affected cars came from the Zwickau plant in Germany, meaning that VW may not have properly address the issue or that models that went into production inside the United States are suffering from the same problem. However, vehicles built in Chattanooga, Tennessee, were said not to be impacted by the earlier recall.
Dealers will inspect and replace the door handle and update the vehicle software for free as part of the recall. Owners are expected to be notified by November.
[Images: Volkswagen Group]
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