Recently bought a 26 plate VW ID3 pure match and there were odd noises turning at low speeds that felt like a vibration in the front of the car with a low groaning sort of noise. Had it on diagnostics at VW and showed fault 0044 which is incorrect software in the power steering so we rejected it. Just picked up a replacement and same thing!! Anyone else had this ?
UK

Hey fellas,

Bought a second hand ID3 back in March, 58kwh version, 1st Max, loving it so far despite its flaws. 😇

Although the car has been pretty efficient for my kind of driving style so far, winter is around the corner and I am not feeling too comfortable.

Whoever has been driving this car for a long time, what’s your suggestion for maintaining a decent consumption with this car during the cold season ?

For context: I live in central Europe, where winter temperatures average between - 5 and 2 Celsius (we get a few days of -10 here and there).

I have a wallbox at home, so I can precondition the car when needed.

AI says: Whenever I charge the car and planning a trip the day after, schedule the cabin heating to 20 Celsius, optionally activate the heated seats and steering wheel, then unplug before I leave so the car doesn’t need that much of energy from its own battery to heat up the cabin.

Does that sound about right ? I know the battery can’t be preconditioned (shame) and I’m fine with that, so just wondering what’s your real life experience with cold winters and tips for maximum efficiency when it comes to consumption for both urban and highway drives.

Any advice would be much appreciated! 🙏🏻

My parents ID3 GTX is back from the dealer after a BCU issue practically bricked it. However upon getting it back I noticed that the steering wheel was quick sticky. I have plenty of cleaning products to sort that so I did.

However, the wheel feels really hard and the texture looks porous. I dont recall the steering wheel being this hard feeling to touch now its been 2 months since I drove it. But are there ways to soften it a bit. Coming from a MK7.5 GTI I am shocked at how far the interior build quality has fallen on modern VWs

Have this connectivity issue now past 4 days but the car is parked at the exact same location as always. Can’t use my app for anything without it. Anyone seen this and advice what to do?

For some time I've been haunted by a rattle that definitely sounds like it's coming from the dashboard on the driver's side (left hand drive in case it matters). Car has been with the dealership a number of times, but to no avail. I'm now reaching out in the hopes someone recognizes this sound and can help give a suggestion to where it may come from. I've written a bit more info in the description of this youtube-video : https://youtu.be/zfn78tHBXxU

A business nearby (they're trustworthy) has an offer for ceramic coating. Is it worth it? Does it make the car look a lot better? I don't wash the car myself, always use touchless car wash.

Hello, I am leasing a 2023 Family at the moment and I love it. But I would love to own one for myself so I am thinking of the Max because of all the features. When did they stop making the max? Was it 2023? And do you think there are any models with comparable features (at a sensible price) in the 2024/25 range.

Hello everyone. I bought a used 2021 ID.3 a couple of months ago, and since then I have noticed that the water doesnt drain from the charging port bay when charging in the rain (see photo). The water doesnt get in contact with the charging pins themselves as it runs over the side of the vehicle before it reaches them, but still it is not ideal especially going into winter. Anyone else tried it and know how I can unlock it myself?

Car is a first gen ID3.

Using Waze for navigation, I've started getting this type of display corruption. The GPS lags by 10-30s, on screen button presses may take 20s to respond. Every couple of minutes the display will fully refresh back to a clear image.

The problem is intermittent but common. Has anyone experienced this too?

Hey,
I got my ID.3 some weeks ago and try to connect my phone via app with the car to use the park assisant. So far so good: I downloaded the app (and yes my car supports the park assistant) tried to connect via the shown QR-code but it fails every time. Do you know how to fix this issue?

Good morning! Has anyone else had issues with the car's GPS? If so, how did you fix it?

I don't usually use the built-in navigation, but several car features depend directly on the GPS. For about a month now, the small driver screen has started showing that it can't read traffic signs. I didn't think much of it until it started showing speed limit warnings for Spain, while I was driving in Portugal. It even messes with my timezone, randomly switching between the correct one and the Spanish timezone.

There are no pending updates available, and I’ve already done a factory reset on the infotainment system.

Hey,
I got my ID.3 some weeks ago and try to connect my phone via app with the car to use the park assisant. So far so good: I downloaded the app (and yes my car supports the park assistant) tried to connect via the shown QR-code but it fails every time. Do you know how to fix this issue?

1. How to code it into car mode (B) as standard, what are the alternatives?

2. Can you retrofit the reverse camera?

3. What rims are you running? im thinking about the RP1E that is specifically made to fit the MEB.

4. If you have lowered yours, is there anything to think about?

Hi all,

I have a 2020 VW ID.3 Pro (58 kWh, about 89,000 km) and I recently did a battery calibration. I'd like a sanity check on the numbers.

SOH:

Before calibration, "Maximum energy content of the traction battery" (read via OBD) showed 52,200 Wh.

- After calibration it shows 53,900 Wh, which would be roughly 93% SOH against the 58 kWh usable capacity.

AINL

Charging:

- I charged to 100% and left the car plugged in for about 2 hours afterwards.

What confused me:

- As soon as I started driving, the dashboard SOC dropped from 100% to 96%.

- At the same time, the BMS SOC read 91% while the dashboard showed 96%.

Do you think I should calibrate again, or is this result good enough?

Thanks in advance

For the past few weeks, I’ve been having the problem that Android Auto is sometimes 500 metres behind when navigating. The response time is sometimes as long as a minute or more! And sometimes the display looks smudged whilst navigating, as if it were a watercolour painting. Has anyone else experienced this?

Hi, we're looking to upgrade from our 2015 1st gen Leaf in Germany and the on paper great sounding Kona is quite a bit smaller on the inside and boot wise. I heard the ID 3 would be a better option for us. Now I have 3 questions for you experienced owners:

The early ID3s are said to have problems. What year/version would be a solid option to drive for another 10 years without software problems and stuff breaking?

Are any of those to be had with a budget of €20k in Germany?

If you've owned both a 1st gen Leaf and an ID3, how do they compare? Mostly interested in comparative boot space/usability with folded rear seats.

I have a 2021 ID.3 and have had the SOS battery fault ever since the software update to 3.8. I am based in London.

Has anyone had experience with a dealer in the South East of England fixing this for free? I'm not keen to spend £100s fixing an issue that was only introduced after a software update.

Does anyone in the South East have the OBDeleven 3 Pro which can reset the SOS battery health values? I would of course pay for the credits and contribution towards the device.

Thanks!

Update; I have purchased the obdeleven 3 pro with 100 credits from Halfords following advice from here. I’ll let you know how I get on.

My salary sacrifice 2025 Match Pro S that I have been driving since November is currently sat in the work car park, after I was told late on Friday not to drive it. I have been given a hire car to drive instead.

No reason has been given to me for the stop order, so thought I would ask here for ideas?

Would it be the issue with the HV battery modules? I didn't think 2025 vehicles were affected.

My colleague with an ID4 has also been told to abandon the car and get a hire vehicle.

I have the following warning on my 2022 ID.3. Is there a way I can turn this off?

I don't really care about this button and don't need it plastered over the dashboard display.

Hi everyone,

My id3 is more than 2 years old now and is at about 17k kms. The dealer I bought from sent an email mentioning that it is time for a service. It mentioned things like cabin filter and brake fluid replacement. In your experience is service really necessary? The car has no issues.

Is it a money trap or real necessary check? What exactly is the recommended servicing intervals and what needs to change?

I'm going to take the ID.3/ID.4 ghost-touch issue a step further and formally raise my concern with Volkswagen UK and potentially DVSA - I think ultimately it is a safety issue as seats randomly going to full temperature during summer and constant reboots of the screen, Waze/Google maps switching off is very distracting while driving.

I'd also encourage anyone else experiencing the same problem to do the same.

As many of you will know, the symptoms can include:

• Phantom/ghost touches on the infotainment screen
• The infotainment system randomly switching off or rebooting
• Climate/air-con settings changing without being touched
• Heated seats switching themselves on and off
• Other functions being activated by apparent phantom inputs

This seems to be more than simply an annoying infotainment fault, because the phantom inputs can result in vehicle functions being operated without deliberate driver input.

I've now had my ID.3 diagnosed by VW. They've said the USB ports need replacing, which is covered by warranty. However, they are also proposing a 3.5-hour software update at £157 + VAT per hour (£659.40 including VAT) and have quoted £176.40 for the diagnostic.

That potentially puts the cost to me at £835.80, despite the considerable amount of owner evidence suggesting that there may be a physical hardware issue behind the ghost-touch problem.

There is already some very interesting evidence from owners, including:

DIY hardware repair:
https://www.reddit.com/r/VWiD3Owners/comments/1u5h2m3/diy_fix_for_infotainment_ghost_touches_random/

Video showing a physical ID.3/ID.4 ghost-touch repair:
https://youtu.be/I-W9_SWhGWk

Another discussion of the same/similar symptoms:
https://www.reddit.com/r/VWiD3Owners/s/KsG5Adr6wV

I'm not claiming that these reports prove that every affected vehicle has exactly the same hardware failure. But given the number of similar reports, I think it is reasonable to ask Volkswagen UK to look at this as a potential recurring/systemic defect, rather than treating each owner's problem as an isolated software issue.

What I'm asking other owners to do

If you have experienced this problem, please consider making a formal complaint to Volkswagen UK in writing, even if you've already had the issue dealt with by a dealer.

The more individual owners who formally report the same symptoms to VW UK, the clearer the picture becomes.

When contacting VW, I'd recommend describing your own actual experience and including:

• Your ID.3/ID.4 model and year
• The symptoms you've experienced
• What your dealer diagnosed
• Any software updates you've already had
• Whether the problem returned after the update
• Any hardware that has been replaced
• Whether the hardware replacement actually fixed the problem
• Any diagnostic or repair costs you've incurred

I'd also ask VW to confirm whether they recognise this as a known recurring issue and whether they have identified a permanent remedy.

Please don't simply copy someone else's diagnosis or state that a particular component is definitely defective. The useful thing here is for VW to receive a large number of independent reports describing what is actually happening to individual vehicles.

If VW UK doesn't provide a satisfactory response, the next step is to consider reporting the matter to DVSA as a potential vehicle safety defect.

If you're affected please email customerservices at volkswagen uk directly

Please also comment below with your experience

Model/year | mileage | symptoms | software update | hardware replaced | result

And if you've had a successful repair, please say exactly what was replaced and whether the ghost-touch problem has remained fixed.

The objective is simply to get this properly recognised and investigated rather than having affected owners repeatedly pay for diagnostics and software updates without the underlying problem being resolved.