2022 Volkswagen ID.4: What to check before buying
Owners have filed 126 complaints with NHTSA about this car, most about the electrical, acceleration and cruise control, and transmission. The 9 checks below target those problems, in the order you would do them at the car.
2022- Owner complaints
- 126
- Recalls
- 7
- Crashes reported
- 15
- 9 injuries
Your inspection sheet
Tick items off on your phone at the car, or print it. Ticks stay on this device.
0/9 checked
2022 Volkswagen ID.4: inspection sheet
Paperwork and questions
Before you go, or before you touch the car0/3
Walk-around and cabin
Engine off, key in hand0/1
Cold start, engine bay, and underside
Ask the seller not to warm the car up first0/2
Test drive
At least 20 minutes, with some highway0/3
These checks are specific to this model year. For tires, body panels, fluids, and the other basics every used car needs, use the general inspection guide.
Check the odometer against these mileages
Owners report these failures starting around the mileages below. A car inside one of these ranges deserves a closer look at that part, or records showing it was already fixed.
Premature front tire wear
9,600–30,000 miles
Why these checks: what owners reported
NHTSA complaints for the 2022 Volkswagen ID.4, grouped by the part owners named. Open a row to read what goes wrong.
Electrical44No crashes
Door locks click and cycle on their own, and doors unlock or open while the car is moving. The center screen and instrument panel go black or reboot over and over, which takes out the speedometer, rearview camera, climate controls, and driver aids. Some cars lose all electrical power and will not restart. One report describes a fire while the car was parked in a garage. Cars sit at dealers for months, repeat module replacements do not always fix the problem, and owners describe recall repairs held up because parts are not available.
Acceleration and cruise control105 crashes
The car surges forward at low speed while pulling into a parking space, sometimes with the driver pressing the brake. Five reports involve crashes into curbs, bollards, barriers, or a storefront. Several owners link the surges to the touch-sensitive resume button on the steering wheel, which can be brushed during sharp turns. Others report adaptive cruise turning on without a command, its set speed jumping to 100, or the car refusing to go above 27 mph on the highway. Dealers often cannot reproduce the problem.
Transmission8No crashes
Drive power drops suddenly on highways, ramps, and in stop-and-go traffic. A wave of warning lights appears, assist systems shut off, and the car crawls or shifts to neutral, leaving the driver to coast to the shoulder. Restarting the car often clears the fault temporarily. One report describes power limited to a fraction of normal after charging, nearly causing a crash during a left turn. Others note reduced power at lower charge levels and a car that became hard to control in snow when its systems shut down.
Brakes72 crashes
The car lurches forward while braking into a parking spot, hitting curbs and parked cars. Two reports here are crashes, including one where unintended acceleration sent the car off the road and injured two people. Some cars show a "Brake Booster is Limited" warning, the pedal goes hard, and stopping takes heavy force. One out-of-warranty owner was quoted $2,800 for a brake booster. Pressing the brake while adaptive cruise is slowing the car can reduce regenerative braking, so the car feels like it surges ahead.
Body and structure6No crashes
Doors sporadically refuse to open from inside or outside, and the driver door can unlock or pop open on its own, including at highway speed. Owners say the problem continues after dealer repairs. Most reports here are about recall repairs that cannot be completed because parts are backordered, leaving cars waiting for months. Some owners also report doors clicking in car washes and the instrument panel going black for several minutes before rebooting.
Automatic emergency braking52 crashes
Real hazards go unnoticed while phantom ones trigger hard braking. Under adaptive cruise, the system fails to react to a car cutting into the lane, and in another report the car accelerates toward stopped traffic after the vehicle ahead changes lanes. False automatic braking while backing out slowly has caused whiplash. A temporary camera fault can disable all driver aids. These reports include two crashes and four injuries.
Wheels and tires41 crash
Original Bridgestone Alenza tires wear out far too early. Front tires lose chunks from the tread edges, and dealers call tires unsafe at around 13,000 to 20,000 miles, sometimes below 3/32 of tread. Rear tires wear bald at both edges. In one separate report, a front wheel assembly came off while driving, causing a crash and an injury after earlier dealer alignment work.
Airbags41 crash
The airbag warning light comes on, sometimes turning on and off repeatedly. In some cases it appears after an over-the-air software update. One dealer diagnosed a failed airbag module, said the system would not work in a crash, and could not get the backordered part. Another report describes a crash with no forward collision warning and no automatic braking.
In owners' own words
Excerpts from complaints ID.4 owners filed with NHTSA, as written. Listen for the same symptoms on your test drive.
While driving on the rt 84 near Hartford CT on July 13th the screen for the car went black and was not usable for some time until it restarted/reset, during this period there was no access to ADAS settings and the parking camera and sensors would not have been usable. This disruptive crash also makes for a dangerous situation where navigation guidance is suddenly no longer available.
Filed with NHTSA, July 2024
All is sudden I hear clicking noice from doors that make scary to drive the car with Kids. Couple of times it unlocked the rear passenger door. I had to to pull over to close and move. It’s been 2 years there are no software updates and center console struck, not responsive , some times reboot automatically, some times we need to force restart and rear camera doesn’t appear.
Filed with NHTSA, January 2025
While driving on the highway the car suddenly slowed down refusing to go faster than 27mph. Regardless of how hard I pushed the accelerator. Very dangerous. Almost caused an accident. Continued for 10miles till trip ended.
Filed with NHTSA, December 2022
Was coming to stopped traffic, suddenly car accelerated quickly and rear ended car in front, which then hit 2 cars in front. Event data recorder showed the acceleration; not sure what happened. Car has haptic button for adaptive cruise control and ? Engaged on resume button left side of steering wheel. VW says not a manufacturing defect. Fortunately no injuries - air bags did not deploy.
Filed with NHTSA, November 2024
When pressing on the brake pedal while while the car is using ACC and slowing down for traffic ahead the car lessons the amount of regenerative braking applied. This dangerous situation occurs whenever added breaking is needed for slowing traffic beyond what the car is automatically applying for ACC. The reduction in vehicle breaking when depressing the pedal makes a collision more likely, and makes the car feel like it's lurching forward.
Filed with NHTSA, February 2023
How the 2022 compares with other ID.4 years
Complaints for this year next to the average for the other model years, area by area.
The 2022 ranks third for owner complaints among 5 ID.4 years, well under the average of the others. Newer years have had less time to collect complaints, so compare like with like.
- Electrical4488
- Acceleration and cruise control1010
- Transmission810
- Brakes78
- Body and structure614
- Automatic emergency braking55
Where the 2022 fits in the ID.4's history
Redesigns and mid-cycle updates change what can go wrong.
The 2022 is the second model year of the ID.4's first generation (2021–2024).
Volkswagen updated the ID.4 for 2023, so a 2022 does not have those changes.
What changed for 2023 (not on a 2022)
- New 62 kWh battery option
- Redesigned center console
- 12-inch infotainment system
Recalls to confirm (7)
Recall repairs are free at any Volkswagen dealer, but the seller may never have had them done. Check each campaign number against the VIN.
25V120000TransmissionFeb 2025
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.".
Risk: 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.
Fix: 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 and structureSep 2024
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.
Risk: A vehicle door that opens unexpectedly while driving increases the risk of injury.
Fix: 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.
24V344000Backup cameraMay 2024
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.".
Risk: Displays that do not show critical information, such as vehicle speed or the rearview camera image, increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: 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.
23V436000Backup cameraJun 2023
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2022 ID.4 vehicles. The replacement infotainment central control unit (CCU) installed in the vehicle during a repair contains incorrect software that can cause the rearview camera image to be delayed or deactivated when reversing. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility.".
Risk: A rearview camera with a delayed or deactivated image may reduce the driver's rear visibility, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will update the software, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed August 18, 2023. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 93S7.
23V312000Body and structureMay 2023
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.
Risk: A vehicle door that opens unexpectedly while the vehicle is in motion increases the risk of injury.
Fix: 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.
22V823000Backup cameraNov 2022
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2022 Golf R A8, Audi S3, RS3 Sedan, Q4 E-Tron SUV, A3 Sedan, and 2022-2023 Volkswagen Golf GTI, and ID4 vehicles. The rearview camera image may be blank or unresponsive when the vehicle is placed in reverse gear or when the park function is manually activated. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility.".
Risk: An inoperative rearview camera display can reduce the driver's rear visibility, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the rearview camera, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed to Audi owners February 14, 2023. Volkswagen owners will receive an owner notification letter once remedy parts become available. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298 and Audi's customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are (Volkswagen) 91EK and (Audi) 91EL.
22V764000Backup cameraOct 2022
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2022 ID4 vehicles. The rearview camera image may be delayed or deactivated. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility.".
Risk: A rearview camera with a delayed or deactivated image reduces the driver's view of what is behind the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will update the vehicle's software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 17, 2023. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 91EG.
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