Volkswagen recalls nearly 23K ID.4s for battery fire risk
Dive Brief:
- Volkswagen Group of America has recalled nearly 23,000 ID.4 electric SUVs over fire risk stemming from a potential defect in the vehicle’s high-voltage battery pack, according to documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
- The recall population includes model year 2023-2026 ID.4s produced between Jan. 1, 2023, and Feb. 1, 2025. The automaker estimates 0.1% of recalled vehicles have the battery defect.
- The final remedy has yet to be developed, but interim owner notification letters are expected to be mailed Nov. 27. Until vehicles can receive the remedy, owners are advised not to charge their vehicle’s battery above 80%.
Dive Insight:
Lithium-ion batteries, such as those used in the ID.4, can in rare cases experience thermal runaway, an uncontrolled and self-heating reaction in a battery cell that can spread to adjacent cells and lead to a fire.
Although EV fires are statistically unlikely, insurance data suggests claim rates of non-crash fires in EVs are similar to those of gas-powered vehicles, according to a February 2024 report from the Department of Energy. But thermal runaway is still recognized as a potential risk for lithium-ion batteries.
Volkswagen has been investigating battery fires in ID.4 SUVs since at least 2024 and has issued multiple recalls related to thermal events since then.
In January, Volkswagen Group of America issued two recalls for over 44,000 2023-2025 ID.4s for the risk of battery fires. The second more urgent recall was for 670 ID.4 EVs and included a more urgent, park outside warning immediately after charging due to fire risk. The two recalls followed a December 2025 recall of 629 ID.4s, also due to the risk of battery fire.
At the time, the battery defect was traced to misaligned electrodes during manufacturing, which was confirmed by Volkswagen’s Georgia-based supplier SK Battery America, but the automaker continued to look into the issue.
As part of the automaker’s initial investigation and ongoing review of the problem, in June of this year, Volkswagen said that specific battery isolation-resistance values and the extent of a vehicle’s use of fast charging could potentially be related to the battery fires.
As a result of those findings, Volkswagen’s Product Safety Committee ordered a field study and examination of high-voltage batteries in Volkswagen EVs that had not been included in previous recall campaigns.
On Sept. 21, the automaker’s product safety committee reviewed results of the field study and determined that in some cases, a combination of certain “charging profiles” with charge percentages over 80% could lead to thermal propagation within the battery pack.
The committee then reached out to its supplier SK Battery America for additional information related to battery production. It also ordered additional analyses of charging behavior and how an 80% maximum charge limit could be implemented in the interim.
Two days later on Sept. 23, the committee reviewed the response from SK Battery America and determined that the root cause of thermal events was still unknown. Still, based on available information and the increased safety risk, Volkswagen of America elected to issue another recall for the ID.4.
Because the root cause has not been determined, a final remedy has not yet been developed. Owners will also receive warning stickers to place on their vehicles to remind them of the maximum charge recommendation of 80%. However, some of the ID.4 vehicles may be able to receive an over-the-air software update that will limit the vehicle’s maximum charge to 80%, depending on its configuration and online connectivity, per the recall report.
Between Jan. 18, 2024, and Aug. 7, 2026, Volkswagen received 22 claims in the U.S. related to the battery in ID.4 vehicles.
In April, Volkswagen ended production of the ID.4 at its plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, for the U.S. market, but existing inventory continues to be sold at dealers.