Volkswagen owners claim steering wheel buttons are causing crashes – report

Volkswagen’s decision to introduce touch-sensing haptic steering wheel controls has not only caused owners and journalists headaches, but it’s also been blamed for some crashes.

Technology publication Ars Technica reports at least 13 crash reports have been filed with the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), many of which involved certain Volkswagen vehicles hitting objects while parking.

According to the report, all of the crashes involved the Volkswagen ID.4 electric SUV, with owners claiming the car’s cruise control system became reengaged in the moments leading up to the incidents.

On the ID.4 and a number of other Volkswagen models built since 2019, the steering wheel cruise control buttons are haptic, rather than physical – with little more than a light brush against the control potentially resulting in the system engaging at its last set speed.

While almost all of the 13 crashes reportedly occurred at relatively low speeds when drivers were parking, three of them resulted in occupants suffering injuries, while one didn’t trigger a black box recording or airbag deployment, despite significant damage to the EV’s battery.

Ars Technica reports a Volkswagen representative said the company is “aware of a small number of complaints,” while the NHTSA is yet to open a formal investigation into the alleged fault.

Volkswagen has already started to walk back its move to haptic controls, with company boss Thomas Schäfer announcing in late 2022 it would return to push-buttons. Some new models have already received the more traditional switches.

Mr Schäfer even went as far to say the haptic steering wheel switchgear, as well as touch-capacitive climate control sliders, “definitely did a lot of damage” to the brand’s image among its loyal fans.

“We had frustrated customers who shouldn’t be frustrated,” Mr Schäfer told Autocar last year.

“So we’ve spent a lot of time now – working through really systematically – on what all the functions are that a customer usually touches when using a vehicle.”

Though models such as the new-generation Tiguan and facelifted Mk8.5 Golf have gone back to the more traditional steering wheel controls, no such change has been announced for the ID.4.

The Volkswagen ID.4’s Australian launch has been delayed multiple times, and it’s now due in the fourth quarter of 2024 (October to December inclusive).

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