Volkswagen is recalling 1,042 rear-wheel drive Volkswagen ID.4 electric crossover vehicles in the US (42 in Canada) due to a faulty 12-volt battery charging cable that could cause a fire in their vehicle.
According to documents submitted by VW to NHTSA, it is estimated that only 3% of recalled vehicles are affected by the issue. Reports revealed that the 12-volt battery jumper wires had more kinks than they should have. It is thought that the problem may come into contact with the steering arm shaft in the future, causing the cable insulation to wear off.
In such a case, a short circuit may occur and cause a fire in the vehicle. This has resulted in 140,000 Chevrolet Bolts being recalled just last month due to the risk of fire due to seat belt components.
So if there was no fire incident, how did Volkswagen detect this problem? On December 8, 2022, a dealer noticed a “manufacturing deviation” during a pre-delivery inspection. This issue has been reported to the centre. Less than a week later, to find out what went wrong, authorities launched an internal investigation for the VW Chattanooga assembly plant where the ID.
According to some reports from the supplier, VW decided to recall that the cables did not meet specifications, just 13 days after the defect was discovered.
Affected cars are RWD variants of the ID.4, produced in Chattanooga between October 18 and December 15, 2022. Dealers promised to inspect, repair and replace the 12V cable between the cable and the steering wheel at no cost to the owners.
