Volkswagen ID.4 jerking problems

Filed Oct 22, 2026 · Driver assistance, Electrical · CA · crash

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.

Filed Oct 17, 2026 · Electrical, Steering · GA

I am reporting recurring drive system and electrical system problems with my leased 2024 Volkswagen ID.4. This is the fourth occurrence of vehicle problems in less than two years, despite previous dealership repairs. On [XXX], after approximately nine months without problems, the vehicle again displayed fault warnings. The Volkswagen app’s Powertrain diagnostic section states: “Error: Drive system. Please service vehicle” and “Electrical system not working correctly. Please service vehicle.” The cause of this latest occurrence has not yet been diagnosed. I plan to take the vehicle to the dealership during the coming week. My safety concern is based on previous incidents involving unexpected shutdowns while driving. During one incident last year, I was traveling approximately 40 mph with my family when the vehicle suddenly jerked violently and came to a complete stop in the roadway. A battery overheating warning appeared during that incident. The vehicle subsequently remained at AutoNation Volkswagen in Buford, Georgia, for nearly a month for repairs. An earlier shutdown also required towing. The return of drive system and electrical warnings after previous repairs raises serious concerns about another unexpected loss of propulsion or sudden stop in traffic, which could result in a collision and endanger my family and other road users. I have videos, photographs, previous correspondence with Volkswagen, and repair records available to support this complaint. I have requested that Volkswagen reopen my previous case. I am asking the federal safety agency to review these recurring safety concerns. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Apr 27, 2026 · Body, Driver assistance · PA · crash

My 2021 ID.4 has experienced two separate incidents of sudden, unintended forward acceleration while parking. In both cases, I was maneuvering at very low speeds (less than 5 mph) and transitioning from a stopped position, or from reverse into drive, with the intention to move forward only a few inches. But instead of creeping forward as normal, the vehicle suddenly jerked forward approximately one foot. In the first of two incidents (approx. October 2025), it crashed into the car in front of me. In a second incident (3/14/2026), it crashed into an EV charging station. This is a safety concern and may be related to steering wheel capacitive touch controls, possible unintended activation of adaptive cruise control (ACC) or “resume” function, or erroneous or overly sensitive input from the steering wheel control module. No warning signs or messages appeared prior to the failure. Luckily, no one, including my young children, stood directly in front of the vehicle during either of the incidents; otherwise, they may have incurred serious bodily injury or worse. I was also luckily unharmed in both incidents. I am immediately taking the car to the dealership for a full inspection.

Filed Apr 2, 2026 · Acceleration, Driver assistance · CA · crash · 1 injury

The driver of my vehicle stated that my car suddenly lurched forward striking a cross passing vehicle. He did not accelerate and the emergency brake system failed to engage in advance of an obvious and avoidable crash.

Filed Mar 12, 2026 · MI · crash

The vehicle lurched forward as I was parking and hit a parked vehicle in front of me; it accelerated forward even though my foot wasn't on the accelerator. I have contacted VW and was told to take the vehicle to a VW dealer to be inspected; that is happening next week. I did not notice any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms prior to the accident. I had just installed the VW recommended software update 2 days prior.

Filed Feb 23, 2026 · Acceleration, Driver assistance · CA · crash

I was slowing down to park the car when it lurched forward in high speed and smashed into the wall. The front collision warning never went off, and the emergency braking never came on. My foot was on the accelerator and lifting off to park at low speed like I do all the time, so it wasn't like I was trying to slam on the brakes and pressed on the accelerator by mistake. The car was serviced at the dealership less than a week ago, but VW pushed out an OTA update 2 days ago. I don't know if the OTA update has anything to do with this scary behavior, but I have not experienced anything like this before.

Filed Nov 10, 2025 · Acceleration, Driver assistance · GA

Subject: Serious Safety and Electrical Problems – Request for Buyback or Replacement Dear [Manufacturer Name or Dealer Name], I leased my vehicle in January 2025, and since the very beginning I have experienced multiple serious problems. Right after taking the car from the dealership, it had an electrical failure — it completely shut down and had to be towed by a tow truck. After that incident, the vehicle has constantly shown computer warning messages such as “switch control deactivated,” “key not recognized,” “rear motor malfunction,” and other system errors. I have taken the vehicle to the dealership several times, and they always said it was due to a recall, but they never gave me a permanent solution. They kept telling me the vehicle was safe to drive. However, on Saturday, November 8, 2025, while I was driving with my family, the vehicle suddenly stopped, started jerking violently, showed a “battery overheating” error, and then accelerated by itself. I immediately called the dealership and took the car there. It is currently in their possession. This vehicle is extremely dangerous for me and my family. I am requesting that the manufacturer or dealer take full responsibility for this issue and proceed with a buyback or replacement under the Lemon Law and warranty protection.

Filed Sep 9, 2025 · Acceleration, Electrical · CA · crash

I was turning into a parking space on the street. I let my foot off the gas in order to brake.... as I did so the car LURCHED forward on its own about 2-3 feet running into the curb and damaging the wheel, the rim and the tire. I stomped on the brake, turned off the car, and restarted the car in order to finish parking (get out of traffic) and assess the damage. Thankfully nobody was hurt, although I am quite shaken up, losing confidence in the car... I have no idea what system malfunctioned.. the car went forward on its own with my foot off the accelerator. I've never experienced this before with this car or any other car. I drove the car directly to the service department at the dealership where they said they would inspect it and report it as well. I have not called the police. I have not alerted the insurance company. There were no warning lights before or after this incident.

Filed Jul 17, 2025 · Driver assistance, Engine · CO · crash

The incident occurred on May 24, 2025, while preparing to park the 2023 VW ID4. I had two occupants in the car with me. At the time of the incident, I was moving very slow with my foot on the brake, just about ready to stop and put the car in the park position, when the ID4 suddenly violently lurched forward. The car went over a cement parking stop continuing forward on to a sidewalk and then hit a building. I tried to stop the vehicle as quickly as I could. No collision lights, none of the usual sensors, and no automatic Collison braking came on. The only braking was by me. If someone would have been walking in front of the car at the time of the incident there would have been serious injuries, or deaths. Had the car had more room to accelerate before it hit the building, I think myself & my passengers could have been injured. The vehicle was taken into VW dealership who had the car for five weeks. The car was inspected by a VW engineer, final report states driver pressed the accelerator causing the vehicle to go forward at 54% acceleration. I expressed to the VW dealership that the car DID lunge but that I did not touch the accelerator. I had 2 passengers that can also verify that there were no warning lamps, sensors, or symptoms prior to the incident and normally the front sensors start beeping when you get too close to anything! After this incident I started to do some research and found on a VW Vortex forum that this type of incident has happened to numerous owners of ID 4's. Some of the writers to the forum had the exact same incident as mine, stating they were pulling into a parking spot ready to park and the car lunged. I also found it was happening to Audi owners a sister company of VW. My greatest concern is the frequency of this incident and the company's refusal to take any responsibility which was also widely reported on line. We had owned the VW ID4 for 2.5 years and never had anything like this happened before.

Filed Mar 18, 2025 · Body, Driver assistance · 10,544 miles · CA

The contact owns a 2023 Volkswagen ID.4. The contact received notifications of the federal safety agency Campaign Numbers: 24V651000 (STRUCTURE) and 25V120000 (POWER TRAIN, SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC), 24V344000 (BACK OVER PREVENTION, EQUIPMENT, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM); however, the parts to do the recall repairs were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact stated that while driving 5 MPH, the vehicle stalled, with unknown warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer however, the dealer was unable to diagnose the vehicle. On another occasion, the vehicle started to make a grinding sound and jerked abnormally. Additionally, the contact stated that on another occasion, after shifting into reverse, the display screen turned off unintendedly. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 10,544. Parts distribution disconnect.