Volkswagen ID.4 Incident

The customer/driver of the subject vehicle notified Volkswagen Group of America (VWGoA) of an incident that occurred while traveling on the highway with travel assist (SAE L2 system) activated. According to the customer, they unexpectedly lost control of the vehicle in which it veered to the right, impacting the concrete wall / sound barrier. Prior to impact, the customer stated they were driving in a marked construction zone, in the left lane, and it had recently began raining with the surface of the road noted as wet, but not pooling. To the left of the customer was a concrete median barrier, dividing the highway, and to the right was the right driving lane, then a narrow shoulder with construction barrels and the concrete wall / sound barrier. The frontal impact between the vehicle and the sound barrier resulted in the airbags deploying and then the vehicle coming to a rest in the right lane of the highway. There were no reported injuries, no additional road users involved, and police were notified and provided a report as well as a citation to the driver. The vehicle was towed from the scene and is currently in possession of the insurance company. VWGoA plans to further investigate this matter and will submit subsequent reports accordingly. Update Report 8/15/2024: VWGoA conducted an inspection of the subject vehicle and information from the airbag control module (ACM) identified a speed of 70 to 68mph from -5.0 to -3.5 seconds precrash. After -3.0 seconds, the report reflects ABS and ESC activity all the way until 0.0 seconds suggesting a loss of control, possibly from the weather event reported by the customer or driver inputs. The front radar module was no longer with the vehicle at the time of the inspection and no EDR or ASM (Assist System Monitor) data was able to be obtained. The precise cause of the crash could not be determined, but no manufacturing shortcoming was identified.