VW halts sales of some ID.4 EVs due to risk of doors opening while in motion

Volkswagen AG has asked its dealers in the US and Canada to halt the sales of select ID.4 electric SUVs because the doors might fling open while the vehicle is in motion, and the German carmaker doesn’t yet have a fix for the problem. Door handles of nearly 18,000 of these vehicles are malfunctioning because of water seeping in. This can “cause a situation where a vehicle door could open unexpectedly" at low speed, Volkswagen said.

First reports of ID.4 driver and passenger doors opening surfaced in January, prompting supplier to analyze the failed parts. This led Volkswagen to discuss the issue with the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) the following month. The carmaker then identified a total of 10 ID.4s with the self-opening doors made in Chattanooga.

Volkswagen is still working on the repair of the issue and will notify users when it finds a fix for the same.

In a separate development, Volkswagen also issued a recall of its 1,43,000 Atlas SUVs in the US because a faulty sensor on the front passenger side can switch the airbag system off under certain conditions. Until the issue can be rectified, the carmaker is advising owners to avoid letting people ride in that seat.

The document filed with the NHTSA informed that the problem is sporadic. The affected vehicles include all model year 2018 through 2021 Atlas and model year 2020 Atlas Cross Sport SUVs.

The carmaker says that it is unaware of any injuries that might have resulted from the problem. Though Volkswagen hasn't yet figured out how to fix the problem yet, it has said that once the fix is figued, the repairs will be done free of charge.