- Volkswagen will limit the maximum charge of some ID.4 models in response to a battery fire recall issued earlier this year, according to documents filed with NHTSA.
- The automaker is still working out exactly why the batteries combust, but limiting the charge to 80 percent or less reportedly helps minimize the risks.
- Car and Driver reached out to Volkswagen for confirmation of the report. We will update this story when we learn more.
Volkswagen is planning to send out an over-the-air update to 22,524 ID.4 customers that would limit the maximum charge of their vehicle to 80 percent, recall documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) show. According to the documents, the batteries in the associated vehicles could catch fire if certain charging conditions are met while the vehicle is at over 80 percent state of charge.
This isn’t the first recall related to battery fires that Volkswagen has issued for the ID.4 this year. That came back in January and covered nearly 44,000 models stretching from the 2023 to 2025 model years. Car and Driver reached out to Volkswagen for confirmation that the two recalls are related. We will update this story when we learn more.
To keep the cars from combusting, Volkswagen will send out an over-the-air update to the cars that can receive it, setting the charge limit to 80 percent. The automaker will also send out warning stickers to be placed on the car, warning owners not to charge beyond that point. According to the recall documents, the charging limit is intended to be a temporary solution, while Volkswagen works out a more permanent fix. The reason for the temporary fix, according to the NHTSA documents, is that Volkswagen still isn’t entirely sure why the batteries are catching fire.
While there’s no smoking gun that warns owners their ID.4 could be impacted by the recall, the NHTSA documents show that customers may experience degraded range or performance if the recall conditions are present. Dealers have already been notified of the issue, while owner notification isn’t scheduled until late November. According to a report from InsideEVs, Volkswagen’s OTA will have already been in place for nearly a month at that point.
Jack Fitzgerald’s love for cars stems from his as yet unshakable addiction to Formula 1.
After a brief stint as a detailer for a local dealership group in college, he knew he needed a more permanent way to drive all the new cars he couldn’t afford and decided to pursue a career in auto writing. By hounding his college professors at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, he was able to travel Wisconsin seeking out stories in the auto world before landing his dream job at Car and Driver. His new goal is to delay the inevitable demise of his 2010 Volkswagen Golf.