There are a lot of concerns around electric vehicles and fires, but we’ve never heard of this one before. Volkswagen has to recall 23,883 ID.4 electric crossovers from the 2023-2024 model years because their sunshades might not be sufficiently fire retardant.
It’s not that the shade for the panoramic sunroof is likely to burst into flames, it’s just that if there is a fire, the “burn rate of the material may sometimes be beyond the maximum allowable limit,” VW wrote in documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Now, of course, you wouldn’t want to drive in a car made of kindling, but the specificity of this recall, and the fact that VW specifies that the material doesn’t “consistently” meet performance requirements, makes this all feel a little unfortunate for it. But rules are rules.
Read: Mercedes Recalls 7 GLCs Because Their Windows Might Fall Out
Volkswagen says that it first learned about this issue in May, when it performed an internal “Conformity of Production” test and found that the sunshade might not satisfy regulations. It reached out to its supplier, Automotive Mexico Body Systems, with which it conducted lab tests.
Naturally, the material had been tested before the ID.4 went into production, and that time was found to satisfy fire retardant requirements. Its more recent analysis found inconsistent results, though, so Volkswagen says it doesn’t yet know what’s at the heart of this issue. However, it claims that on August 1, it reoriented the material in production, so that the exterior side now faces the interior, which apparently resolved the issue.
Meanwhile, for 2023-2024 ID.4s that are already in the field, it has launched a recall, and will start reaching out to owners on January 5. They will be asked to return their vehicles to a nearby dealer, where a flame retardant fabric will be applied to the roller sunshade. Volkswagen is not aware of any injuries or incidents related to this issue.
