Volkswagen AG has ordered dealers in the U.S. and Canada to stop selling its ID.4 electric SUV because its doors might open while in motion, and the German carmaker doesn’t yet have a fix for the problem.
Nearly 18,000 vehicles built at its Chattanooga, Tennessee, factory may have door handles that are malfunctioning because of water seeping in, according to a stop-sale notice dated April 3. This can “cause a situation where a vehicle door could open unexpectedly” at low speed, VW said.
First reports of ID.4 driver and passenger doors opening surfaced in January, prompting supplier U-Shin Ltd. to analyze the failed parts, and VW to discuss the issue with the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration the following month. The carmaker, which has issued a recall, identified a total of 10 ID.4s with the self-opening doors made in Chattanooga.
A repair for the issue isn’t yet available, according to VW’s April 3 notice.
Volkswagen is pushing hard to increase its US market share with a portfolio of SUVs and boosting its production footprint in North America. The carmaker has plans for more than 25 new electric models in the US by 2030 and a new factory in South Carolina to produce electric trucks and SUVs under the Scout brand.
It’s also set to build its first battery plant outside of Europe in Canada.
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