Volkswagen is recalling nearly 80,000 of its ID.4 electric vehicles in the U.S.—plus more than 8,000 in Canada—due to gauge clusters and infotainment systems that either unexpectedly reset or don’t start up in the first place. 

The issue, which likely covers some or all of the many flickering screens and sudden reboots that owners have reported and documented, can result in the temporary loss of active safety systems while driving. VW has already rolled out some remedies to this trouble-prone system. 

As VW notes, this issue can mean the loss of speedometer information and the rearview camera image, so it would mean they’re out of compliance with federal motor vehicle safety standards. 

2021 Volkswagen ID.4 – First drive, Portland OR

2021 Volkswagen ID.4 – First drive, Portland OR

2021 Volkswagen ID.4 – First drive, Portland OR

The issue affects about 1% of the 88,004 vehicles recalled (79,953 in the U.S., 8,051 in Canada), VW estimates—which would point to nearly 9,000 North American vehicles that might be experiencing the issue. Through February, VW already points to 354 warranty claims relating to the issue. 

The ID.4 recall remedy is a software update for a control unit and infotainment module that has already been introduced into production. Paperwork filed with the federal government indicates that, as of yet, it’s not available for the recalled vehicles, but when it is, the issue will require a trip to the dealership for the update, with owner notification starting as soon as July 12.

2021 Volkswagen ID.4 – First drive, Portland OR

The VW ID.4 has had a trouble-prone interface from the start while otherwise hitting the mark in most other respects. Green Car Reports experienced some of those issues, ranging from excessive screen latency to haptic controls that were momentarily unresponsive, in earlier versions of the ID.4.  

VW promised that many of these issues would be fixed with over-the-air updates, but they weren’t for some owners. A recent review of the 2024 VW ID.4 with its larger 12.9-inch touchscreen (included with the larger 82-kwh battery pack) showed us that with revamped infotainment hardware, those issues have been purged.