ORLANDO, Fla — Owners of an all-electric Volkswagen SUV are dealing with a nightmare. They turned to Action 9 after taking the car to their local dealership to have them check out a strange sound and months later they still don’t have the car back.
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Josh and Jennifer Cowan have been driving a loaner Volkswagen Tiguan for more than seven months after their car went in for repairs.
Josh Cowan said, “My wife’s first car was a Volkswagen. We’ve had three Jettas, a Tiguan, an Atlas, and so the ID.4 was a next good step.”
In January, the Winter Garden couple bought the 2021 all-electric Volkswagen ID.4 at CarMax in Clermont. They paid more than $32,000 for it out the door. It was low mileage and still under warranty. They were thankful for that because shortly after getting it the airbag light came on and they heard an odd noise while driving.
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“There was a clunking sound that happened every time you kind of turned a corner and accelerated,” Josh Cowan said.
After taking it in, he said they learned there was a motor mount issue, but that repair at his local VW dealership didn’t help. Then the transmission needed to be replaced. According to the Cowans, the dealership technician told them VW hasn’t supplied them with the correct tools to install a new transmission.
“So, there it sits. Now it’s been seven and a half months. There are two additional recalls on that car that have happened in the meantime that they don’t have fixes for,” Josh Cowan said.
There are problems with water getting into the door handles causing them to open suddenly. And there are software issues that can cause the dash display to reboot and keep drivers from seeing the speedometer or back up camera image. With those recalls, Volkswagen can’t sell the ID.4 right now.
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Michael Brooks, Executive Director of the Center for Auto Safety told Action 9′s Jeff Deal, “Having an open door driving down the highway can pose a threat to occupants, as well as people outside the car. That’s an enormous safety issue. Losing your speedometer while you’re driving, having no idea how fast you’re going, a pretty clear safety issue.”
Brooks believes a fix from VW will likely come early next year, but until then the cars won’t be sold.
Action 9 emailed Volkswagen’s Chief Communications Officer Cameron Batten, called and left messages for VW and reached out to Volkswagen on social media. Action 9 Consumer Investigator Jeff Deal received one message back on X asking for more information. But since Deal responded and supplied more information, VW hasn’t yet responded.
Jeff Deal also stopped by the local Volkswagen dealership where the SUV has been since April. He was told someone would call him, but so far that hasn’t happened either.
So, now the Cowans are waiting. The showed Action 9, WV offered them $3000 for their trouble, but said they believe taking the money would release VW from future claims. Right now, they still don’t know when the car could be fixed. They’re hoping Volkswagen will buy it for what they paid for it.
Josh Cowan said, “It’s frustrating, and we feel really let down by Volkswagen.”
In Florida, the Lemon Law only applies to new vehicles. Since they bought it used, they have no Lemon Law protection.
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