Volkswagen class action lawsuit overview:
- Who: Plaintiffs Timothy Y. Chen and Robert Warren filed a class action lawsuit against Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft and Volkswagen Group of America Inc.
- Why: Chen and Warren claim Volkswagen sold certain ID.4 vehicles with a defective high-voltage battery that can catch on fire.
- Where: The Volkswagen class action lawsuit was filed in New Jersey federal court.
A new class action lawsuit alleges Volkswagen sold certain ID.4 electric vehicles with a defective high-voltage battery that can catch on fire.
Plaintiffs Timothy Y. Chen and Robert Warren claim Volkswagen is aware of at least six fires connected to the high-voltage battery in the affected vehicles.
“VW has admitted that the class vehicles contain ‘battery cells in certain high-voltage (HV) battery cell modules [which] may contain misaligned electrodes [and] in certain situations, a misaligned electrode in the HV battery cell may lead to a fire,’” the Volkswagen class action lawsuit says.
Chen and Warren want to represent a nationwide class and California subclass of consumers who purchased or leased a class vehicle.
The plaintiffs argue Volkswagen is guilty of fraudulent concealment and negligent misrepresentation and breached the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act and California’s Unfair Competition Law and Consumers Legal Remedies Act.
Lawsuit: Volkswagen issued three recalls for affected ID.4 vehicles
Volkswagen issued three recalls for the ID.4 vehicles affected by the alleged battery defect, the first in December 2025 — two years after the company first learned of a battery fire in one of the vehicles, the complaint alleges.
The Volkswagen class action lawsuit claims that VW’s warning to restrict charging undermined the central purpose of an electric vehicle because “an 80% charge limitation and an overnight charging restriction would limit the distance that owners could travel.”
The plaintiffs argue they would not have purchased or leased the affected ID.4 vehicles, or would have paid less for them, had Volkswagen disclosed the alleged battery defect earlier.
Chen and Warren demand a jury trial and request declaratory and injunctive relief and an award of statutory, punitive, exemplary, treble and compensatory damages for themselves and all class members.
In another Volkswagen lawsuit, a group of consumers claim Volkswagen and Audi vehicles equipped with the EA888 2.0-liter TSI engine have an oil consumption defect that causes carbon buildup.
Have you ever purchased a Volkswagen ID.4 electric vehicle? Let us know in the comments.
The plaintiffs are represented by James E. Cecchi, Caroline F. Bartlett and Kevin G. Cooper of Carella, Byrne, Cecchi, Brody & Agnello P.C. and Joseph H. Meltzer, Melissa L. Yeates, Tyler S. Graden and Jonathan F. Neumann of Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check LLP.
The Volkswagen class action lawsuit is Chen, et al. v. Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft, et al., Case No. 2:26-cv-05409, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.
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6 thoughts onVolkswagen faces class action over alleged ID.4 battery defect, fire risk
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I am leasing a 2023 VW ID.4 and got the recall notice about the battery, but my local dealer doesn’t have the capacity to correct the problem. I don’t know who does. I am driving around hoping I’m not a victim of this problem.
I leased 2025 id 4. I hope I don’t have issues !
We bought an ID.4 2021 AWD that had an open ‘service campaign’ from 2023 about an issue with the battery system. Service campaigns are effectively recalls and our car has been sitting in the shop now for almost two months without any clear movement on when it will be done and what other ‘service campaigns’ and issues we should expect down the line, while we’re paying for insurance, taxes and have two small kids and our daily schedules that are completely upended by not having a vehicle to drive us around. Perhaps a different lawsuit altogether, but VW needs to take responsibility for being very slow with these kinds of repairs and the fact they’re masquerading what are effectively recalls as ‘service campaigns’. Had we known this ‘service campaign’ had not been resolved, and is effectively a recall that would prevent us driving a vehicle for two months, we would not have bought this car.
We’re leasing a 2025 VW ID4 Pro S. Had the vehicle for two months and it just stopped working mid drive. Took the dealer two weeks to diagnose a faulty electric engine. Took another two months to get the part for repair. Asked for compensation and VW denied. It’s been such a terrible experience.
I bought a used id4 a few months back and I was told the 80% charge was to prolong the battery life. Along with the fact that not once was I told the recall was for a possible defect in the battery but it was just an update on the computer system. Vw that I got my car from made sure I knew nothing about the battery issue even though we bought the car nov 2025 so they knew about it.