The material of the roller sunshades may not consistently meet performance requirements.
Volkswagen has recalled 100% of ID.4 electric vehicles in the U.S. due to the flammability of interior materials, according to NHTSA documents.
Volkswagen will recall 23,883 ID.4 vehicles, all of which are estimated to have the defect. The documents state the material of the roller sunshades may not consistently meet the FMVSS 302 performance requirements.
“The burn rate of the material may sometimes be beyond the maximum allowable limit. In the unlikely case of a fire inside of the vehicle, this may increase risk of injury to the vehicle occupants,” according to the safety recall report.
The chronology of events shows on Nov. 1, Volkswagen’s Product Safety Committee decided to issue a noncompliance recall “out of an abundance of caution, due to inconsistent test results."
FMVSS 302 is the standard for flammability of interior materials, meant to “reduce the deaths and injuries to motor vehicle occupants caused by vehicle fires, especially those originating in the interior of the vehicle from sources such as matches or cigarettes,” according to the Legal Information Institute.
The issue will be remedied for free as dealers will apply a fabric flame retardant onto the material of the roller sunshade.
Any ID.4 vehicle produced on or after Aug. 1, 2023, will not be subject to the recall. Volkswagen has already solved the issue with the sunshade roller by reorienting the material in a manner that will offer correct fire protection.
The ID.4 has been subject to a few recalls in the past. Two in April resolved doors opening during driving and helped address a stalling issue, and another in January took care of an electrical issue with the 12-volt battery that could have resulted in a battery fire.
