Several months after VW was sued in the United States over claims the capacitive steering wheel buttons of the ID. 4 pose a safety risk, the company has filed a motion to dismiss.

A case like this can gather momentum long before it reaches a courtroom, so VW is trying to shut it down before it turns into a long, expensive tangle.

Read: VW Drivers Say They’re Terrified Of Touching Their Steering Wheels, So They’re Suing

The class-action lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, argues that drivers can inadvertently trigger Adaptive Cruise Control with a light pass of the hand over the steering wheel’s capacitive controls.

The two plaintiffs named in the lawsuit say they are “terrified and hesitant” to drive their vehicles because of this risk.

What Does VW Say?

While no doubt inadvertently engaging a vehicle’s Adaptive Cruise Control system could be a little unnerving, VW has noted that neither of the two plaintiffs has had to stop driving their vehicles because of the alleged fault.

One plaintiff, Janice Beecher, says she brushed the ACC button while pulling into a parking space, claiming the ID.4 then accelerated and struck a tree. VW counters that Beecher never stated she applied the brakes during the incident.

The company adds that although Beecher reported the issue, the ID.4’s event data recorder did not capture any sign that the event occurred.

As for the second plaintiff, Omar Hakkaoui, he says his wife damaged their ID.4 after it suddenly accelerated in their driveway. However, according to VW, Hakkaoui has not claimed that his wife touched the ACC controls on the steering wheel.

The German automaker argues that the class action’s warranty claims fall short and that the plaintiffs have not clearly identified the defect they believe affects the electric crossover.

It also maintains that the lawsuit should not go forward as a class action because the plaintiffs live in Massachusetts and Connecticut and cannot represent owners who live outside those states.

Electric cars have become a central part of Volkswagen’s global strategy, with a wide mix of models sold across Europe, Asia, and beyond. In the States, though, the lineup is far narrower, limited to just the ID.4 and the ID.Buzz. Even so, the ID.4 has taken on a critical role for the brand, climbing to Volkswagen’s third best-selling model in the country during the third quarter of this year.

Read: VW ID.4 Gets A Stealthy Blackout But Something Bigger Waits In The Shadows

In the third quarter, VW managed to sell a total of 87,705 vehicles in the US, consisting of 73,444 SUVs and 87,705 passenger cars. The company’s most popular model proved to be the Tiguan LWB, shifting 22,050 units, a 4 percent increase from Q3 last year. In second place was the Atlas, with 19,105 examples finding new homes, marking a 2 percent increase.

A Sharp Rise For The ID.4

Slotting into third place was the all-electric ID.4. Q3 sales hit 12,470, a dramatic 176 percent jump over the 4,518 sold in the same period last year. That single quarter accounted for a sizeable portion of the 22,125 ID.4s delivered nationwide so far in 2025.

Needless to say, the surge didn’t happen by chance. Like several other automakers, Volkswagen benefited from a rush of customers eager to secure their EV purchase before the federal EV tax credit expired on September 30.

Although the 2025 ID.4 did not qualify for the incentive, unlike the 2023 and 2024 models, it was available with the $7,500 rebate if leased. Now that the government’s incentive is no longer available, it’s likely there will be a decline in demand through the remaining three months of the year.

Where The Numbers Land

Looking at the year as a whole, the ID.4 ranks as VW’s sixth best-selling new vehicle in the States with 22,125 units sold. This positions it behind the Atlas (51,181), the Tiguan LWB (48,951), the Jetta (48,610), the Taos (40,524), and the Atlas Cross Sport (24,282).

In Q3, VW also managed to sell 2,469 ID.Buzzes, roughly 50 percent of all the examples it has sold through the entire year through September.

Correction: An earlier version of this story mistakenly referred to third-quarter sales as September sales.

VW US Sales 2025