Some owners of the VW ID.4 in the United States blame the capacitive switches on the steering wheel for several accidents. The touch -sensitive keys that use minimal contact points could accidentally lead to a sudden acceleration of the vehicle, especially when parking.
According to reports, ID.4 owners have noticed that the switch for adaptive speed control in particular leads to unintentional accelerations. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has already received at least 13 such accident reports.
Volkswagen reacted and explained to be aware of the few complaints, but not to have any concrete plans to fix the problem. There is currently no formal examination by the NHTSA.
For some time, VW has been installing capacitive touch panels instead of physical buttons in the multifunctional steering wheels, starting with the Golf and now also with the electric cars. Despite initial enthusiasm, there is increasing customer criticism. According to Thomas Schäfer, head of the car division, Volkswagen is planning a return to real keys, but the time is still unclear. While something has already changed in the combustion models, the electric cars remain unchanged for the time being.