60,490 Electric Vehicles Recalled for Software Issue
Volkswagen and Audi have announced a recall of 60,490 electric vehicles due to a potential software issue that could affect shift-lever indicators on instrument panels.
The recall includes the 2021-2023 VW ID.4 and the 2022-2023 Audi Q4 E-Tron and Q4 E-Tron Sportback electric crossovers, all of which share the VW Group’s MEB platform. These vehicles may not display the letter “N” for “neutral” on the instrument cluster when shifted into that position, as reported by the NHTSA.
If the vehicle is left in neutral without the parking brake engaged, there is a risk of it rolling away. Additionally, there could be instances where the vehicle is inadvertently left in Drive when parked or shifted to Neutral while in motion.
Dealers will address this issue by installing updated software for the brake control unit, which has already been implemented on newer vehicles, at no cost to owners.
Owner notification letters will be sent out by both Volkswagen and Audi starting April 25. Owners can schedule a service appointment for the software update or contact VW’s customer service at 800-893-5298 or Audi’s at 800-253-2834 for more information. The recall reference numbers are 97H3 for VW and 454R for Audi.
Notably, VW recently dealt with a significant recall involving the ID.4 model, where 98,800 units were recalled due to doors potentially opening unexpectedly caused by water leakage onto door-handle circuit boards. Sales and production were temporarily halted, but have since resumed after a fix was developed.