2023 and 2024 Volkswagen ID.4 recalled over flammable fabrics

Volkswagen is recalling 23,883 examples of the ID.4 to stop into VW dealers to fix a potential issue with the sunshade. Production of the electric crossover from the 2023 and 2024 model years installed a fabric roller sunshade for the panoramic roof that might not be fire-retardant enough to meet specs outlined in the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard book that deal with the "Flammability of Interior Materials." VW discovered the issue during internal tests, the carmaker says it hasn't received any complaints or notifications of injury. The tests revealed an unacceptable variability in the fabric burn rate, sometimes burning quicker than allowed by the regulations. The danger is that if a fire breaks out inside the vehicle, injury could result from having the fabric burn too quickly.

The fabric supplier's in-house tests had always resulted in passing grades for legal compliance. After much discussion, VW decided that "due to inconsistent test results, a noncompliance recall was decided." The fix is a stop at the dealer to have flame retardant applied to the sunshade. 

In paperwork filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, VW says it's not sure about the cause of fire variation in its own tests. To resolve the issue in ID.4s built after August 1, 2023, the roller sunshade was flipped, oriented so that its exterior surface now faces inside the vehicle. For some reason, this resulted in "consistently better performance" during tests. 

Dealers have been notified, the automaker said it plans to send letters to owners starting January 5, 2024. Owners with questions in the meantime are advised to get in touch with Volkswagen customer service at 800-893-5298 and mention internal recall number 60G3. They're also welcome to contact the NHTSA Vehicle Safety Hotline at 888-327-4236 (TTY 800-424-9153), or go to www.nhtsa.gov, and look up campaign 23V750000.

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