ID3 battery recall class/group action

[ancef_glorfindel]

Hi all,

I have had an absolutely dreadful experience as an early adopter of an ID3 in the UK.

My car has been back and forth to VW-accredited centres eight times, and the recall still has not been completed. In the meantime, the car's performance has been severely impacted by decreased range, slow charging speeds, and frequent software crashes and glitches (ever since an unsuccessful attempt at the software update).

I've tried very hard to resolve the issues with both my retailer and VW head office but have made unacceptable progress over the past 18 months. Today, despite the issue not being resolved, VW and my retailer have formally declined my request to reject my vehicle and have confirmed they're unwilling to offer any support moving forward. I lodged a complaint with the Ombudsman around 6 months ago, but the case is yet to be reviewed.

I am therefore considering legal action and wonder how many other VW owners impacted by the recall are feeling the same way.

One thing is certain - I will never buy another VW!

[sidehaas]

Personally I feel that, while the recall has been a significant hassle due to supply chain issues and lack of competent centres that VW should have managed better, VW have actually behaved very well in offering the recall in the first place. In my case, and I believe the vast majority, there is/was no noticeable impact of the battery cell problem on real world range, it was simply identified by the software at the 3.2 update. The delta in cell voltages (I measured it with an OBD) was no more than is considered fairly normal on some EVs. Any noticeable impact as a driver would have been several years down the line. So I think in identifying it, doing a pretty costly fix and supplying a courtesy car throughout, they behaved pretty well. At the time my car was done a month ish ago, it also seemed that parts supply was improving significantly. It took 5 weeks from me having the car recovered to it being fully finished and ready to pick up - longer than I'd like, but not on a par with the 3-6 months that I know some people have waited.
None of this takes away from your own experience, which sounds bad, but I can't see anything warranting a class action.

[ancef_glorfindel]

It's good to hear that you had a better experience, but as you note, mine was very different.

I had a warning light for a year indicating a drive train fault (after the initial failed attempt at recall), severely limited battery range, still have frequent software crashes (again, not an issue until the first attempted recall), and terribly slow charging speeds.

And I wasn't given a courtesy car, so was without a car for around 6 weeks with the repeat visits. I wonder which of our two experiences is more typical? I agree that if I had had your experience, it wouldn't warrant class action.

[jamilayz]

Hi,

I am only getting around 118-133 on a full charge and pretty slow charging. Is this normal?

VW ID3 First Edition.

The acoustic sound system has not been working since 12/02/2024, as the dealership is still making excuses not to fix it.

I asked for a battery health check, which they refused to carry out because they said the battery levels needed to be around 10% or less.

What should I do as had this car since August 2023 but have experienced nothing but problems.

Thanks.

[sidehaas]

The GOM isn't much of an indicator of battery health. It's more dependent on your driving style and heating. You may also be seeing the result of the mile/km conversion bug in the app. You'll only get a sensible idea of range by actually driving a long journey, but in the meantime, check if the car is predicting the same as the app.

What is the fault in your vehicle health report?

[DumfriesDik]

If you times it by 1.6 you get about the right mileage for a 58. ie 118*1.6=189 miles this is an app 'feature'.

You do only get 7kW on a home charger or are you talking rapid?

[Midgex]

Hi,

I am only getting around 118-133 on a full charge and pretty slow charging. Is this normal?

Do you charge to 100% often?
It isn't recommended and the last part of it is noticeably slower than the 20-80% charging.
It is useful if you have a journey that you can comfortably do on 100% but not on 80% and don't want to stop, of course.

[Up the jumper]

My experience has been pretty good. I got the car in March 22. First recall (12v Battery, 2.4 software) took 2 days - although they said it might and supplied a courtesy car to cover. Shortly after that I got v3 OTA. No issues. Early march this year at 2 year inspection they did both the battery check and upgrade to v3.2. Again took longer than expected (3 days) but had a courtesy car provided.

I get approx 180m on an 80% charge - obviously varies....last 2 trips of any distance I was returning 4+m/kwh (and I drive "normally").

Only issue I have with the car is it has developed a squeak - I think from the pano roof - which is most noticeable on cornering (ie when the car is twisting). It is annoying, but not a "problem".

So to answer the question about others experience, and allowing for the fact that dissatisfied folk tend to make the most comment, I would be cautious in assuming either mine or ancef_glorfindel is typical!

[MotMot]

There’s some info on here or speakEV about the pano roof squeak. Fairy liquid is the fix apparently…