Volkswagen owner claims steering wheel buttons caused crashes – report

Volkswagen of The decision to introduce haptic controls on the steering wheel not only caused headaches for owners and journalists, but was also blamed for a number of accidents.

Publishing technology Ars Engineering At least 13 crash reports have been filed with the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), many of which involve Volkswagen vehicles hitting objects while parked.

All of the accidents reportedly involved Volkswagen ID.4 electric SUV, with the owner claiming the vehicle’s cruise control system was reactivated shortly before the incident.

On the ID.4 and some other Volkswagen models produced since 2019, the cruise control buttons on the steering wheel are touch-sensitive rather than physical – a light touch of the control button can activate the system at the last set speed.

While most of the 13 reported crashes occurred at relatively low speeds while the driver was parked, three of them resulted in passenger injuries, while one did not trigger the black box or deploy the airbags, despite significant damage to the electric vehicle’s battery.

Ars Engineering A Volkswagen representative said the company has “received a small number of complaints,” while NHTSA has yet to open a formal investigation into the alleged defect.

Volkswagen has begun to backtrack on its move to haptic controls, with company boss Thomas Schäfer declaring by the end of 2022 It will return to push buttons. Some new models have received more traditional switches.

Mr Schäfer even said that the tactile steering wheel gearshift lever as well as the capacitive climate control sliders “definitely did a lot of damage” to the brand’s image in the eyes of loyal fans.

“We had disappointed customers who shouldn’t have been disappointed,” Mr. Schäfer said. Car last year.

“So we spent a lot of time – systematically – to understand all the functions that customers typically touch when using the car.”

Although models like the new generation Tiguan and upgraded Mk8.5 Golf has returned to more traditional steering wheel controls, with no such changes announced for the ID.4.

The Volkswagen ID.4 launch in Australia has been delayed several times and is now expected to take place in Q4 2024 (October to December inclusive).

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