VW ID.4 set to resume sales, production with door-handle fix

• Leaky door handles halted ID.4 production and deliveries in September
• With replacement parts ready, VW is soon restarting production
• Fixing customer cars and dealer stock is the priority

Volkswagen on Friday reported some disappointing U.S. delivery numbers for the year for what had been set to be its mass-market electric vehicle. It sold 17,021 ID.4 EVs in the U.S. in 2024—down 55% versus 37,789 sales in 2023.

Partly, the issue was simply that the ID.4 lineup wasn’t on sale for much of the year—first with a pause as refreshed 2024 models rolled in, then with a recall that stopped production and deliveries.

VW also on Friday confirmed that the ID.4 is back on track. It has enough replacement door handle hardware to restart deliveries of its ID.4 and fix a backlog of vehicles in dealer stock—and, within the next few weeks, to resume production at its U.S. plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

VW issued the recall of all 2021-2024 ID.4 models in September, amounting to 98,806 vehicles, as it ramped up a remedy for defective door handles that might cause the EV’s door to open unexpectedly. The recall effort has since been expanded to include 99,064 vehicles in the U.S. plus 20,790 vehicles in Canada. 

At that time, VW also issued a stop-sale for the ID.4, covering both new and pre-owned vehicles in dealer inventory, and it stopped production of the model in both Zwickau, Germany, and Chattanooga, Tennessee. 

Concerns focused on the design of the door handle itself, and a part that couldn’t effectively keep out water. According to recall documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), water could enter the door handle, reaching a printed circuit board and causing “communication issues” between the handle and control unit. That might result in a clicking noise that VW said in those documents was similar to what the door makes when it’s normally unlocked.

VW has already sent letters out to owners, and it’s shipping a redesigned door handle out to dealerships, which will be using them not only to perform the recall fixes but get deliveries of their own stock restarted once again. “The priority is to get existing cars repaired and to get cars that were sitting on dealer lots into the hands of customers,” said Volkswagen spokesperson Mark Gillies. 

Under the recall, dealers will inspect and replace the door handles as needed, and update vehicle software. VW stressed that under federal rules, the recall must be completed before delivery. 

The 2024 Volkswagen ID.4 is a top-seller and up until now received a series of meaningful improvements resulting in quicker acceleration and more range, plus speedier new infotainment hardware and a much-improved interface. The interface had especially soured the experience for some early adopters (it recalled 2021-2023 models for those screen issues). Considering the ride, handling, and packaging advantages this model has had all along, the ’24 now feels like what it was supposed to be at launch. 

All 2024 VW ID.4 models have qualified for the full $7,500 EV tax credit—bringing the base $41,160 price effectively to $33,660 for some), while the 2025 VW ID.4 has missed the cut, as of yet. But the 2025 ID.4 gets ChatGPT functionality that sets the stage for a next-generation in-car voice assistant.