Volkswagen is recalling 22,524 ID.4 electric vehicles in the United States after the automaker identified a high-voltage battery defect linked to reports of thermal incidents, according to documents filed with federal regulators.
Until a permanent fix is developed, affected owners are being told to limit charging to 80 percent of battery capacity.
What triggered the recall
Reports on the recall describe more than twenty thermal incidents in the United States tied to SK Battery America packs, with cases dating back to late 2024.
Volkswagen filed the campaign with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration around the end of September 2026, with a formal letter to regulators dated early October.
Investigators are focused on thermal propagation, the process in which a single overheating battery cell can ignite neighboring cells inside the pack.
NHTSA recall filings tie the defect to manufacturing problems in SK Battery America cell modules, such as shifted electrodes that can overheat and trigger a fire risk.
A separate account of the timeline indicates the investigation began in June while reviewing reports of battery overheating.
In September, Volkswagen’s Product Safety Committee concluded that, given the potential safety consequences, a voluntary recall should be initiated even though the root cause had not yet been identified. Volkswagen identified 22 claims in the U.S. between January 2024 and August 2026 , although the filing does not specify how many involved actual fires. Volkswagen estimates that only about 0.1 percent of the recalled vehicles actually have the defect, around 22 cars.
The temporary fix
Volkswagen has not yet developed a hardware repair for the defective packs. According to Volkswagen’s safety recall report to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the root cause of the defect is still unknown.
Instead, the automaker is relying on a software-based workaround while engineers continue testing a permanent solution.
For now, owners are being asked to manually adjust their charging limits. Affected owners will receive warning stickers to remind them not to charge their vehicles above 80%, and some vehicles may also be configured to automatically cap the battery’s maximum state of charge at 80%.
The company has said the restriction is a precaution rather than an indication that every affected vehicle is at immediate risk.
Owners do not need to park the vehicles or stop driving while the recall is processed.
Scope and timing
Volkswagen Group of America is recalling 22,524 model year 2023-2026 ID.4 electric vehicles because the high-voltage battery may experience thermal propagation and catch fire. The recall covers vehicles produced from January 1, 2023, through February 1, 2025.
Owners are told to charge to no more than 80 percent until repaired. The recall number is 93EX, and the NHTSA recall number is 26V630.
The affected components include the high-voltage battery supplied by SK Battery America Inc. , and an estimated 0.1 percent of the roughly 22,524 U.S. vehicles is believed to carry the defect. A related recall covering 5,633 vehicles has also been published by Transport Canada, covering the 2023, 2024, and 2025 model years.
Owners can confirm whether their vehicle is affected through Volkswagen’s customer service channels or directly on the NHTSA website, where campaign numbers and VIN lookups are posted as they become searchable. Volkswagen said the first owner notifications are expected to be sent by November 27.
A model already on its way out
The recall arrives as Volkswagen prepares to phase out the ID.4 nameplate. Volkswagen unveiled the ID. Tiguan on October 9, 2026, a single electric SUV built to replace both the ID.4 and ID.5 when it launches in early 2027.
The two models it succeeds have sold more than 950,000 units combined, and Volkswagen says the new SUV offers a WLTP range of up to 600 km. The ID Tiguan will launch in North America, but timing is unconfirmed.
The battery issue adds to a string of recent EV safety actions across the industry. Rivian recently issued a recall for its R2 SUV after discovering that fasteners on its high-voltage battery pack might not be properly tightened, which can cause a loss of power while driving, with the company saying only around 14 vehicles may have been affected.
Volkswagen’s own charging infrastructure partners, including the expansion of branded fast charging networks, continue to scale even as automakers work through quality issues on existing models.
Meanwhile, production complexity at plants building multiple EV platforms, similar to the flexible manufacturing described at an Illinois assembly plant, has become a growing focus for automakers trying to catch defects earlier in the build process.
Volkswagen has not disclosed a timeline for when a permanent battery repair will be available to ID.4 owners nationwide.
