Volkswagen bulletin SM 51-2025
What it saysThis special notice is to inform dealers to return the parts listed and only order the successor parts going forward. NHTSA’s full summary ↓
Volkswagen filed this with NHTSA as a manufacturer communication dated Oct 14, 2025, received Nov 10, 2025, about the electrical system. It names 4 model years (2023–2026). A manufacturer communication is not a safety recall: it is the manufacturer telling its dealers how to diagnose or repair a condition, and whether the work is paid for depends on the warranty in force. Quoting the number at a service desk can save a diagnosis.
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What the bulletin says
Source: NHTSA's summary of the manufacturer's communicationThis special notice is to inform dealers to return the parts listed and only order the successor parts going forward.
Document filed under this number
| Document | Kind | Dated | NHTSA id | At NHTSA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SM 51-2025 | Other | Oct 14, 2025 | 11025424 |
What the document itself lists
Part the bulletin names
| Part number | Description | Qty | Find it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1EA-803-594 | — | — |
Read by machine from the document NHTSA serves (1 page), read Sep 30, 2026. A part number is shown only where it matches Volkswagen’s own catalogue shape, an operation only with its code and time, and a description only where the reader got it whole; anything it could not settle is left out, and the PDF is the record. Times are the manufacturer’s warranty allowances, not a quote. Listings and prices on eBay Motors are the seller’s.
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The summary is NHTSA’s abstract of the document, as filed under 49 CFR 579.5. One communication is usually filed as several documents — the bulletin, a dealer notice, an owner letter — and the number on any of them finds this page. A PDF link is shown only once NHTSA’s own server has been seen to serve that document; the rest are checked over the following nights. Quote the number at a service desk; it is what the dealer’s system is keyed on.
Model years it names
Source: as the manufacturer filed themA vehicle page’s bulletin list shows the newest few communications filed against that model year; the count there is every one.
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What owners reported
Source: NHTSA complaint databaseOwners of the 4 model years this bulletin names have filed 552 complaints with NHTSA since 2015. 280 of them name Electrical System — the same broad component group this bulletin is filed under. NHTSA groups complaints coarsely, so that means the same area of the vehicle, not necessarily the same fault.
On the 2023 Volkswagen ID.4, the 28 owners who gave an odometer reading for Electrical System reported it at a median of 12,800 miles. That figure is one model year’s, not the whole range this bulletin covers — medians from different model years are not averaged.
To start, have requested the vehicle paperwork many times and the dealership has failed to give me a copy. The real problem started when i took my EV to get checked as the battery was not lasting long, they said it was normal, took it again as it stopped charging on type 1 and 2 chargers, they now said it was the Onboard charging module.
2024 Volkswagen ID.4 · Electrical System · filed with NHTSA Oct 6, 2025 · ODI 11691532
On Saturday, February 4, 2023. At approximately 7am. I entered the vehicle to warm the car. (It was a cold day). I tried to exit the vehicle, but I could not exit the driver's side door. It was not opening. I tried many times via the door handle and the key fob. Neither worked.
2023 Volkswagen ID.4 · Electrical System · filed with NHTSA Mar 20, 2023 · ODI 11512796
The car's position as shown on the navigation screen and as determined by the car's internal GPS was off by several hundred miles. While driving on the highway using adaptive cruise control, the car would frequently decelerate rapidly from 60+ mph to 30 or less.
2024 Volkswagen ID.4 · Electrical System · filed with NHTSA Jul 8, 2025 · ODI 11672066
In depth: 2023 Volkswagen ID.4 electrical problems →
A complaint is one owner’s account, not a defect finding, and a bulletin is not a recall. Nothing here says this bulletin was issued because of these complaints, or that the repair it describes fixed them. Complaint files on this site begin in 2015.
More bulletins about the electrical system
Source: same model, same component group113 other manufacturer communications filed against the Volkswagen ID.4 under the same component group (electrical system), newest first. The eight newest are listed; the rest are on the Volkswagen list.
| Number | Kind | Dated | NHTSA’s summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| V9324012073298_4 | Service bulletin | Sep 30, 2026 | range reduction / battery cell replacement |
| V9326032083367_1 | Service bulletin | Sep 23, 2026 | Steps to take if DTC P0AA500 (DA:008C) |
| 5.6 | Service bulletin | Aug 31, 2026 | Battery charger control unit software update |
| V9326052081829_2 | Service bulletin | Aug 17, 2026 | Diagnosis of low insulation resistance in the High-Voltage (HV) wiring. |
| V2724012073810_7 | Service bulletin | Aug 13, 2026 | Battery Checking Procedure before replacement |
| V9326052081829_1 | Service bulletin | Jul 20, 2026 | Diagnosis of low insulation resistance in the High-Voltage (HV) wiring. |
| VOS-26-42 | Service bulletin | Jul 15, 2026 | This is a notice for software changes with the ODIS diagnostic program to correct the communication during vehicle programming function: A… |
| VOS-26-39 | Service bulletin | Jun 26, 2026 | This is a notice for software changes with the ODIS diagnostic program to correct the communication during vehicle programming function: A… |
Quote the number at the service desk. It is what the dealer’s system is keyed on.
Every manufacturer communication NHTSA holds for Volkswagen, by the number printed on the letter.
Common questions
Source: NHTSA, 49 CFR 579.5Is Volkswagen SM 51-2025 a recall?
No. A manufacturer communication is a manufacturer communication filed with NHTSA under 49 CFR 579.5; a safety recall carries an NHTSA campaign number (two digits, a letter, six digits) and a federal duty to repair for free. Check the vehicle’s recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls, or on its page here.
Is the SM 51-2025 repair free?
Not automatically. A service bulletin describes how to diagnose or repair a condition; who pays depends on the warranty in force, any extension, and the dealer. Quoting the number can save a diagnosis either way. Every Volkswagen warranty extension on file lists the ones Volkswagen has filed.
Which vehicles does SM 51-2025 cover?
The manufacturer filed it against 4 model years: 2026 Volkswagen ID.4, 2025 Volkswagen ID.4, 2024 Volkswagen ID.4, 2023 Volkswagen ID.4. Whether one particular vehicle is affected is a matter of its VIN and its build, not its model year alone.