I owned a 2022 Volkswagen Golf GTI and a 2023 Golf R, with my ownership of the latter ending in a lemon law dispute. While the problems with my R weren’t related to the touch-based controls for, well, everything, I did find them annoying. I didn’t sue over that annoyance, but two New Jersey owners have, alleging that the ID.4’s capacitive steering wheel controls are defective and too sensitive.
The suit says that the controls can unintentionally activate adaptive cruise control with “a mere light brush of the hand over the steering wheel’s haptic controls.” And here I was complaining about the heated steering wheel button. One owner in the suit said her ID.4 accelerated when parking after she brushed the sensor, causing more than $14,000 in damage to her car’s undercarriage and injuring her hand.
While there are only two owners named on the suit, they gathered complaints from other UD.4 owners, which cover issues like unintended acceleration, emergency braking issues, and injuries.
Volkswagen has pledged to fix the problem in future vehicles, but it doesn’t do anything to help the thousands of owners who already have a vehicle. The suit’s plaintiffs aren’t trying to avoid responsibility, acknowledging that they could have brushed against the button, so it will be interesting to see what, if anything, Volkswagen does to address the issue.
[Images: Volkswagen]
Become a TTAC insider. Get the latest news, features, TTAC takes, and everything else that gets to the truth about cars first by subscribing to our newsletter.
