Dive Brief:
- Volkswagen Group of America has recalled nearly 61,000 electric ID.4 SUVs and Audi e-tron models where the gearshift indicator may not display the neutral position, increasing the risk of a rollaway if the parking brake is not engaged, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
- The problem is related to software for the vehicles’ brake control unit. The recall covers 2021-2023 ID.4 SUVs and 2022-2023 Audi Q4 e-tron and Sportback models built between March 2022 and October 2023.
- Dealers will perform a free software update to fix the gearshift error, which is covered under warranty. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed by April 25.
Dive Insight:
VW discovered the gearshift indicator problem in August 2024 after receiving five potentially related field reports, all of which were outside of the U.S. market. If the driver is unable to identify the correct gear position when exiting the vehicle while the electronic parking brake is not applied, the risk of a vehicle rollaway or a crash is increased, according to the NHTSA report.
From August through November of last year, the automaker evaluated potential scenarios to determine the factors that could trigger the condition. Additional evaluations of the vehicles were conducted from November 2024 through February.
Although VW acknowledged that the problem could be difficult to replicate, it was confirmed to be a software error in other internal tests, according to the NHTSA. All of the recalled EVs were equipped with an older software version.
As a result of its findings, VW and Audi product safety committees elected to recall the EVs on Feb. 19. An estimated 1% of the vehicles are suspected of having the fault.
Owners of the affected vehicles who haven’t received the update are advised to check that the parking brake indicator light is illuminated when parked or when exiting the vehicle to mitigate rollaway risk.
