VehicleVerdict

2021 Volkswagen ID.4 problems

Verdict · NHTSA data

One of the years to avoid

With 531 complaints filed to NHTSA — about 3.3 times the median ID.4 year — the 2021 model ranks #2 of 6 ID.4 years for complaint volume. It lands on the years-to-avoid list. Complainants reported 46 injuries in total across these filings.

Electrical System leads the complaint categories with 168 reports (32% of the total). In government crash testing it earned 5 of 5 NCAP stars overall.

531

NHTSA complaints

11

Recalls

2

Investigations

66

Crash-involved

1

Fires reported

46

Injuries

0

Deaths

5

NCAP overall · of 5 stars

How does 2021 compare to other ID.4 years?

ID.4 NHTSA complaints by model year, 2021 highlighted817 complaints2021: 531 complaints2022: 242 complaints2023: 817 complaints2024: 85 complaints2025: 45 complaints2026: 0 complaints
ID.4 NHTSA complaints by model year, 2021 highlighted. Red bars are years to avoid.

See all ID.4 years to avoid →

What are the most common 2021 Volkswagen ID.4 problems?

ComponentComplaintsShare
Electrical System16832%
Driver Assistance7815%
Other6512%
Brakes357%
Body & Structure357%
Speed Control316%
Fuel System224%
Engine183%
Transmission173%
Steering173%
Tires & Wheels143%
Airbags112%
Lighting92%
Latches & Locks41%
Visibility & Wipers41%
Suspension20%
Seat Belts10%

Does the 2021 Volkswagen ID.4 have recalls?

11 NHTSA recall campaigns on file. Recall repairs are free at franchised dealers.

25V120000TransmissionFebruary 27, 2025 · 60,490 units

Defect

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021-2023 ID.4, 2022-2023 Audi Q4 e-Tron, and Q4 e-Tron Sportback vehicles. The instrument panel may not properly display the transmission gear lever indicator. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 102, "Transmission Shift Lever Sequence, Starter Interlock, and Transmission Braking Effect."

Consequence

Failure to display the gear position may result in a vehicle rollaway if the parking brake is not engaged, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy

Dealers will update the brake control unit software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 14, 2025. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298 or Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 97H3. Audi's number for this recall is 454R.

24V651000Body & StructureSeptember 4, 2024 · 99,064 units

Defect

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021-2024 ID.4 vehicles. The door handles may allow water to enter the circuit board assembly, which can cause the doors to open unexpectedly.

Consequence

A vehicle door that opens unexpectedly while driving increases the risk of injury.

Remedy

Volkswagen dealers will inspect and replace the door handles as necessary, and update the vehicle software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on December 27, 2024. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 57J9. This recall expands previous recall numbers 23V-312 and 23V-213. Vehicles previously repaired under 23V-312 and 23V-213 will need to have the new remedy completed.

24V344000Electrical SystemMay 15, 2024 · 79,965 units

Defect

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (VW) is recalling certain 2021-2023 ID.4 vehicles. Due to a software issue, affected vehicles may experience center displays and instrument panel displays that do not boot, or that sporadically reset. This can result in loss of speedometer information or loss of rearview camera image. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard numbers 101, "Control and Displays" and 111, "Rear Visibility."

Consequence

Displays that do not show critical information, such as vehicle speed or the rearview camera image, increase the risk of a crash.

Remedy

Dealers will update the vehicle software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on December 20, 2024. Owners may contact VW customer service at 1-800-893-5298. VW's number for this recall is 919A.

23V312000Body & StructureMay 3, 2023 · 35,325 units

Defect

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021-2022 ID.4 vehicles. The affected vehicles may have been manufactured with door handles that allow water to enter the circuit board assembly, which can cause the doors to open unexpectedly when the vehicle is subject to high lateral forces at speeds below 9 mph/15 kmh.

Consequence

A vehicle door that opens unexpectedly while the vehicle is in motion increases the risk of injury.

Remedy

Dealers will update the vehicle software, and inspect the door handles as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 19, 2023. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall are 57J5 and 57J8. This recall was replaced by recall number 24V-651

23V040000Electrical SystemFebruary 1, 2023 · 20,904 units

Defect

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021 ID.4 vehicles. Software programing may cause the high voltage (HV) battery management control module to restart or the pulse inverter to deactivate.

Consequence

A reset or deactivation may cause a loss of drive power, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy

Dealers will update the HV battery management control unit and the pulse inverter control unit software, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed March 31, 2023. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 97ZZ.

22V858000AirbagsNovember 2, 2022 · 55 units

Defect

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021 ID4 vehicles. The passenger air bag may be incorrectly folded. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."

Consequence

An incorrectly folded air bag may not protect the occupant as intended during a crash, increasing the risk of injury.

Remedy

Volkswagen will replace the passenger air bag module, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed February 14, 2023. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number to this recall is 69EH.

22V162000Electrical SystemMarch 16, 2022 · 356 units

Defect

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021 ID4 vehicles. Incorrect soldering of the flexible printed circuit assembled (FPCA), inside the high voltage (HV) battery, may cause an unreliable connection.

Consequence

An unreliable battery connection may cause a stall, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy

Dealers will replace the battery cell modules, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed December 6, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 9302.

21V852000SteeringNovember 3, 2021 · 1 units

Defect

Volkswagen Group of American, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling one 2021 ID.4 vehicle. The steering gear may have an incorrectly assembled or missing drive bushing.

Consequence

An incorrectly assembled or missing drive bushing may cause a loss of steering control, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy

A dealer will replace the steering gear, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed November 5, 2021. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 48Q7.

21V606000Seat BeltsAugust 5, 2021 · 45,496 units

Defect

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021 Volkswagen ID4, Audi A4 Allroad, A4 Sedan, A5 Cabriolet, A5 Coupe, A5 Sportback, A6 Allroad, A6 Sedan, A7, A8, E-Tron Quattro, E-Tron Sportback Quattro, Q3, Q5, Q5 Sportback, Q7, Q8, RS5 Sportback, RS5 Coupe, RS6 Avant, RS7, RSQ8, S4 Sedan, S5 Cabriolet, S5 Coupe, S5 Sportback, S6 Sedan, S7, S8, SQ5, SQ5 Sportback, SQ7, SQ8, and 2021-2022 S3 Sedan vehicles. The rear seat belt automatic locking retractors may deactivate early, which can prevent the child restraint system from securing properly. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."

Consequence

An unsecured child restraint system can increase the risk of injury during a crash.

Remedy

Dealers will inspect, and replace as necessary, the middle-rear seat belt assemblies, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 27, 2021. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298 and Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are 69CR (VW) and 69CS (Audi).

21V607000Seat BeltsAugust 4, 2021 · 12,060 units

Defect

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021 ID4 vehicles. Incorrect rear outboard seat belt assemblies without an automatic locking retractor (ALR) function may have been installed, which can prevent the child restraint system from securing properly. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."

Consequence

An unsecured child restraint system can increase the risk of injury during a crash.

Remedy

Dealers will inspect, and replace as necessary, the rear outboard seat belt assemblies, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 27, 2021. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 69CQ.

21V413000LightingJune 2, 2021 · 3,240 units

Defect

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021 ID.4 vehicles. Caps were installed on the headlight vertical aim instead of the horizontal aim, allowing for horizontal adjustment of the headlight beam. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."

Consequence

Adjusting the horizontal headlight beam can increase glare, reducing visibility for the driver and increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy

Dealers will remove the caps from the vertical aim and install them on the horizontal aim, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 18, 2021. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 9406.

Consumer complaints filed with NHTSA

Representative excerpts, cleaned of personal information. These are consumer statements, not verified defects.

Pulling into a parking space, using reiterative braking (B Mode). When applying brakes, car bolted and could not be controlled. It jumped a curb and drove straight toward a building. Brakes would not respond. Steering would not respond. I managed to steer the car avoiding the building but taking…

Complaint filed with NHTSA · Electrical System · November 10, 2021 · crash

When driving in reverse my vehicle does not have a clear view based on the rear lights installed. The lighting design does not light the area behind the vehicle sufficiently and poses great risk of hitting child or object behind vehicle. Rear camera is essentially rendered useless during nighttime…

Complaint filed with NHTSA · Driver Assistance · January 9, 2022 · crash

When driving in reverse my vehicle does not have a clear view based on the rear lights installed. The lighting design does not light the area behind the vehicle sufficiently and poses great risk of hitting child or object behind vehicle. Rear camera is essentially rendered useless during nighttime…

Complaint filed with NHTSA · Other · January 9, 2022 · crash

I was pulling into street parking spot behind a parked car at a slow speed and braking to stop. I put my foot on the brake to bring the car to a complete stop but instead of slowing down the car accelerated straight into the vehicle in front of me. The rear end of the car in front of me was…

Complaint filed with NHTSA · Brakes · August 12, 2025 · crash

I was pulling into a parking space and slowly moving forward to get to the front of the space. The car spurted forward about 2 feet with force and crashed into a cement based light standard. There was significant damage to the front end. No injuries. Airbag did not inflate. Vehicle is currently at…

Complaint filed with NHTSA · Body & Structure · April 28, 2025 · crash

2021 Volkswagen ID.4 — common questions

Is the 2021 Volkswagen ID.4 reliable?

NHTSA data argues against it: 531 complaints put the 2021 model at #2 of 6 ID.4 years. It is one of the ID.4 years to avoid.

What are the most common 2021 ID.4 problems?

According to NHTSA complaint data, the leading problem areas are electrical system (168 complaints), driver assistance (78 complaints), other (65 complaints).

Does the 2021 Volkswagen ID.4 have recalls?

Yes — NHTSA lists 11 recall campaigns affecting the 2021 Volkswagen ID.4. Recall repairs are free at franchised dealers; check the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to confirm the work was done.

Is the 2021 Volkswagen ID.4 under NHTSA investigation?

NHTSA opened 2 investigations into this model year; all are now closed.

Which Volkswagen ID.4 years should you avoid?

Based on complaint rates and open investigations, the ID.4 years to avoid are 2023, 2021. The cleanest record among ID.4 years belongs to 2026.

How safe is the 2021 Volkswagen ID.4?

In NHTSA's NCAP crash testing, the 2021 Volkswagen ID.4 earned an overall rating of 5 out of 5 stars.

Related

Based on NHTSA ODI data through June 2026. Complaints are consumer-reported and unverified. Updated July 5, 2026.

Compiled by Sharon Ben-Moshe, Founder.