Autoblog and Yahoo may earn commission from links in this article.Two customers have filed a class action lawsuit against Volkswagen due to issues with the ID.4 electric SUV’s battery. The SUV was previously recalled for a fire risk linked to misaligned battery electrodes, and owners had to take precautions that included not charging the vehicle overnight. The plaintiffs claim that these and other inconveniences related to the battery have left them with a vehicle that can’t be used as intended or advertised. Here’s everything we know about the prior recalls and the related lawsuit.Related: VW ID.4 EVs Recalled For Batteries That Could Catch FireMultiple Recalls and Fire Risk Warnings2025 Volkswagen ID.4VolkswagenAccording to the NHTSA, Volkswagen has issued more than one recall and fire risk warning for certain 2023 to 2025 model year ID.4 crossovers. Here’s a timeline of these events.Recall 1Recall 2Recall 3DateDecember 1, 2025January 21, 2026January 21, 2026Units affected62967043,881Fire risk warningYesYesNoWarning not to charge overnightYesYesNoModel years2023-20242023-20242023-2025NHTSA campaign number25V83600026V02800026V030000In March, an even wider recall of almost 100,000 VW EVs took place, also for a battery-related fire risk. This was not limited to the U.S., as EVs not sold here were also implicated, indicating a larger-scale problem. VW first learned of an ID.4 battery fire in January 2024, when the vehicle was using a Level 3 DC charger. More fires were reported, along with battery thermal events when the vehicles were in motion. VW initially proposed that owners do not charge the batteries over 80% until they could be repaired. Furthermore, owners were advised not to charge overnight and not to use Level 3 DC chargers.AdvertisementAdvertisementBattery supplier SK Battery America traced the problem to misaligned battery electrodes, but also found a “second hardware issue from production” that could lead to a fire risk. In the bigger recall of 44,000 models, VW says dealers will inspect the batteries for free and replace the affected modules if needed.Related: Volkswagen Issues Two New Recalls for the ID.4 Over Battery Fire RisksThe LawsuitVolkswagen ID.4VWThe class action lawsuit was filed by California plaintiffs Timothy Y. Chen and Robert Warren. Chen leased a 2025 ID.4 and Warren leased a 2023 model. Both claim that the charging restrictions mean they can’t use their vehicles as intended."Without access to the fast charger, using an 11 kW Level 2 charger would take 6 hours and 15 minutes to 7 hours and 30 minutes to fully charge the 2023 VW ID.4,” says the lawsuit, which was shared by Car Complaints. They further claim that the use of the vehicle in the real world does not match VW’s advertising for them.AdvertisementAdvertisementWhile it’s not known what variants of the ID.4 the plaintiffs drive, earlier versions did not have the best range, with some only getting 209 miles from a full charge. Not being able to fully juice up the battery means owners could potentially be facing a range of way under 200 miles, until VW can rectify the issue.It’s another blow for an EV that saw first-quarter sales plummet by 95.6% in the U.S. this year.This story was originally published by Autoblog on Jun 2, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Autoblog as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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