My VW Id.3 died !!! 

“I was driving this Nissan LEAF for the last two days” Your car died of jealousy! 😆

Err, this car is brand new - why hasn't VW dealer collected and fixed?

You're remarkably calm considering how expensive these things are! You really do expect better than this.

Even an annoying situation like this can turn into a funny moment when Chris narrates it. Keep us posted with the fix.

You should put some pieces of carpet on your garage walls to stop any damage to the car doors.

That’s really bad news Chris, I hope you can get it resolved and working as quickly as possible! Hopefully VW will step up and help you quickly.

i would freak out! You take it with humor. Respect! Hope you get it fixed soon.

So sorry to hear you've had problems Chris. I hope VW fix it really soon for you. I love your videos and look forward to the next one. 🤜🏻

Exactly this happened my id3 two weeks ago. The car was towed to the dealer and they said there was nothing wrong with it. They claimed that VW said they had never heard of this error.

I'm dealing with an intermittent transmission failure. After searching for a long time, I found the transmission is ok, but the EGR and the variable geometry of the turbo are gone. Carbon residue after 90'000km. I almost envy you for the fact that your problem can be fixed with a software update :-) My next will be a BEV too. Sick and tired of ICE cars.

Similar issues with the Polestar 2. The HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) module drains the 12v battery.

2 weeks before I got my ID3, the battery on my Fiesta died. I didn't want to invest in a new battery, so I borrowed the booster from my boss and always started the Fiesta with it. After the ID3 was there, I gave the booster back to my boss and said "haha, I'll never need it again!" ... I hope that wasn't a lie. :D

Thanks for that and glad you got it sorted. I think I would have been a bit less mellow than you appeared to be. Also interesting that it is not only new Teslas that have issues.

Hard luck Chris, wise old saying don't buy the first years production wait till others find the faults!!

Hi Chris, I want to thank you for all your ID.3 videos as I purchased a second hand one which has done 1,600 miles a couple of weeks ago. I have some woes to report. After about 4 days of receiving BOB (that’s what I named it … I think BOB would like Walter), I connected the car to the we connect app and I immediately got two issues: Please check left dipped beam. Then I got Error, dynamic cornering light. At this point I am on holiday in Cornwall, UK so there was no dealer with availability. I kept driving it for the rest of the holiday and found the infotainment system started misbehaving. Sometimes it would not play music from apple air play and other times it would not allow me to change the background as it said something about the option not being available. I also got another warning pop up; Front assist availability is limited. I took it to Volkswagen Basingstoke on Monday this week and they ran the diagnostics and it came back that the left front light was faulty! So they replaced it and the sensor with another they had ordered in but that didn’t fix it. So later Monday they ordered another front light and light sensor and today on Tuesday they replaced it again and it fixed it and the errors all went away. So the dealer rang me up and I picked the car up Driving it home was fine. No warnings .. all good so far. Then I went out in the evening and the Front assist availability is limited warning popped up again. I stopped at a shop then got back in after shopping (about 5 mins) then drove off again and that warning didn’t appear. However further down the road I got a new warning: Electric drive not working correctly. Please visit workshop. (This one was alarming) So I have had a 2 month old car for 2 weeks and had 5 different faults and a front headlight replaced! This is such a shame as I love the car. Update: In the morning I took it back in first thing and cutting a long story short, it has a faulty drive train! So it has to go back to Volkswagen to get sorted which will take approx 12-14 weeks. I guess parts are an issue. At this point I could get a full refund, but I opted to be loaned a new brand new golf 8 until my ID.3 is fixed. If I have any more problems after that, I still have the option of a full refund as I will have this in writing. Here’s hoping BOB is fixed properly when he come back from his adventure and all will be well.

We all have to say thank you for beta testing this car.

Hi Chris, I have exactly the same problem as you, the only difference is that my ID3 is blocked at the dealership! I called for assistance, I saw the car restart with the booster but it was taken back to Volkvagen ... Thank you for your videos, they give me lots of information about my own car! Thierry from France (with the help of Google Translate because I do not speak English well)

My wife just got her id.3 today. But yesterday VW had a major SW f-up. All the dealers in Denmark couldn't get the new cars out of transport mode, so the cars couldn't be handed over to the customers. I bet some SW engineers worked overnight to fix the issue..... VW really has a steep learning curve on SW ahead of them. Still the car is a well made, solid, practical, comfortable car and my wife really loves it. Everything (but the SW) just works to perfection. The matrix headlights are phenomenal. Model 3 has very good headlights but the id.3 has even better. Personally I still prefer my Model 3 - but I get why she likes it so much.

The Leaf gets a bad rap, but its an ultra reliable EV. Maybe it was a sign.

is there no aux battery saver to prevent the 12v going dead. like in ioniq. 1 - does the aux battery only charge when driving but how far or how long does it take to charge back up. 2 - is there no other way to charge up the 12v eg connecting to home charger. turning on main battery in car on does not that charge the battery when just parked. how long does it take to charge up the battery. I ask these as my ioniq seems to use the aux battery saver any day not driven or do not drive for a long period.

11:35 "Maneuver braking" is when the car brakes automatically during low-speed parking maneuvers due to the Parking Sensors seeing an obstacle too close. It can be temporarily disabled from the Parking Sensors screen, there is a "Settings" wheel to get to the setting.

The same problem is been found in a E-up!! In Italy came a stock of e up with the same problem!!

I know the GOLF GTE had issues with some chargers keeping the 12v systems active while it was on a timer and not charging and this would drain the battery

My Harley Davidson gets a battery tender which when the bike is parked (ride on weekends) keeps the battery topped up. If I had to wait two or more weeks for a fix, I’d consider a trickle charger for the 12V battery. Two days idle is essentially a weekend’s time so a trickle charger may be inconvenient but worth the investment. Just a thought, Chris.

Great report. Thank you.

I have a tracker on mine which tends to give me advanced warning if the 12v is getting low. I also use a C-TEK MXS5.0 12v smart trickle charger to top it up where necessary or to recondition the battery.

It's also amazing how tiny a current will flatten a 12v battery.... Even a new/good battery.. just a few days.

this is really unfortunate. hope you didn't loose your great entusiasm for this car, it still looks amazing

Does anyone know which version of firmware is needed in the ID3 to fix the problem? That way we could preemptively book our cars in at the dealers for an update.

I too have the same issue, with my ID.3. After a couple of days not using the car the 12 volt battery was drained, and the car was totally dead. The key fob wouldn’t open the doors. On opening the ID.3 with the emergency key, the car was non responsive; no lights, no sounds, nothing! The car only came back to life after breakdown recovery, recharged the 12 volt battery. The main high voltage battery was still at over 70% charge. My VW dealership haven’t been able to identify any problems with the car. Stephen

You don't have to drive to top up the 12v battery, just have the HV system on in N or P.

Did you try switching it off and on again? Sorry, it's a reference to the "IT Crowd" TV show.

As always you are cool and informative. VW should give you a new battery and pay for the booster. Thanks for updating us. Respect!👍😁

“It can be solved with a software update, but the dealer has a 2 week waiting list”... how loud do we consumers have to shout? “LEARN FROM TESLA!”

I really enjoy you posting the good, bad, and the ugly of the ID.3. would be curious to know if the e brake warning went off as your drove and charged up the 12V battery

Maybe if they didn't leave these id3 the best part of a year parked up before they started selling them then they would not have issues with the 12v battery.

I have a VW ID3 that has traveled 2000 km and today the heat broke inside the car only cold air from the fan. But I managed to fix it so now I share with you how to do. Open the bonnet and find the starter battery on the right side. Take a 10mm tool and write off the minus pole. Then wait for 10 seconds and turn it on again. Now your heating fan works again :) Works safely on many more electrical faults on the car as well :)

Sorry to hear that you have electrical problems Chris . Hopefully the VW garage will fix it !

9:46 interesting how the rear passenger door handle led is the last one to go dark 🤔

If the electronic parking brake fails, does the car just roll away in Park? Or is there redundancy -- like a parking pawl on an automatic transmission car? I know on the BMW i3 there's a parking pawl in addition to the electronic parking brake, whereas with Teslas, there is no redundancy -- only the electronic parking brake.

Glad you could revive your car! RU-vid‘s push notification saying that your id3 has died made me jump off my couch 😅 phew!

Excellent video. I experienced this terrific event yesterday morning. Last time I drove the car was saturday morning. i tested 3 V tension so I suppose that the battery had been undercharged since time. I really had no knowledge about this bug. The software is still the old version. Bought the car at the end of november. Very disappointed.

Thank you for making detailed aspects of the ID3. I love this ID3 and the fact that VW finally moved into electric vehicle future But really like that you love ID3, but still analyse its good and bad things with total fairness. Appreciate your wife's opinions also about it. Indeed these cars are initially for nerds like us :) :) Will continue to watch your presentations about it. Its natural for it to have initial flaws, coz if VW got an electric vehicle perfect from first model, that would be a miracle. Great job by VW and thanks for its initiative to move with full power into environmentally friendly mode! Cheers!!!

The headlights are a huge drain on the 12 volt battery. It should automatically turn off the headlights when the battery is low and the car is in park.

VW: We cannot fix your vehicle but we can tell you in excruciating detail just how damaged it is.

So, the 12 volt battery on my MiEV was dying this weekend and I could briefly resurrect it by plugging in the EVSE which also kicks on the 12 volt dc/dc. But you need a teeny bit of 12 volt left to get the contactor for the traction pack going. Also, if the booster works, just turn on the ignition which will enable the 12 charger, and remove the boost pack and leave it on for 10 minutes and you should have charged the 12v battery enough. Does not require actual driving, just time. Just like charging the car.

12V batteries: the 50€ single point of failure that can strand even a 500,000€ car! :)

Once this is fixed can you let us know hat specific software was installed? Maybe you can see what version you have before and after this fix ?

Also remember these cars were sitting at storage yards for a long time before delivery. Not healthy for 12v battery so try get a new replacement from the dealer

Same story here,first i had airbag failure yellow and dealer have to contact volkswagen for installation procedure ... they Saïd raplace nattere 12 v, don that and testen ,then everyting on steering Wheel callapsed so car was returning to dealer same workmethode ,now they replaced the J533 canbus unit thats the mainframe safety checker ,my car was 10 days away by second repair , the brought it yesterday to my house,so at night we wanted to make a test in id3 ,and error again light assist so today back to dealer have the car more days on the dealer than enjoying it , maybe you can tell volkswagen contact about this, have lost my trust in the car en volkswagen

Sorry to see that you have a problem, not good! It is a shame it cannot be fixed with an Over The Air update.

Sorry to hear about your problem but it seems easily to be fixed in an update. Cool to see your reaction to this issue - - > no problem. Can you tell me what software version is in your car and when it will be fixed? Is it in the main update next year? I will get my ID.3 on October 30th. 😊

Great informative video. Do you have any info on the differences between the interior of the id3 and the e-gulf? I have heard that the e gulf is actually nicer with a more upscale feel to it, ie less hard plastic than the id3.

No issue with the kona if you tick the right box. I left it 4 weeks last summer, no battery drain.

Can’t help with electrics but the narrow garage, that I can help with. If you want to make sure the car doors don’t get scratched getting in and out. Just stick some thin, (10mm will do) foam sheet to the wall/s, where the front & back doors would touch the walls. I use exercise mat in two garages. I also carry a cut-off strip in the trunk/boot, roughly 15cm wide x 90cm long. So if I open the trunk/boot lid in a low roofed area, such as a multi-storey car park. I can protect the lid from impacting the roof. It need to be long enough, so you hold one end with one hand, while opening the lid with the other. I learned the hard way, when a friend opened my boot of a new car, the lid hit the kayaks we were carrying. The kayaks were fine but the lid’s paint got chipped.

I had something similar in my Ioniq. It seems that the charging is so slow that a failing hatch sensor that left the light in the trunk on will drain the battery by leaving the light on. Unfortunately the whole charging electronic is driven by the 12V battery :-D ... Anyway I had a charger from my old Audi available and as soon as the electronics was back the drive battery charged the 12V (I unscrambled the hatch sensor before of course!).

It's a very long time ago that I was into electronics - but this seems something like the crudest piece of even analog kit could cure - basic low voltage power supply permanent hooked up to main battery and trickle charging 12V - when drops below threshold. Amazing this can occur -especially the time thay have had to develop and test. Anyway - thanks for report , though this is not good to hear. At all

Glad you got it going, remember to charge your 12V booster kit

Thank you for your money and taking your time to beta test this.

Hello, I have an ID3 and I want to turn off the central locking which locks all doors when I drive more than 15 km / h. Is it possible right?

Does the ID.3 not recharge the 12V battery periodically when parked? I know my Kia e-Niro does it. There's a light on the dash which flashes when it's topping up the 12V.

Hi Chris, I Have a 2019 Kia Soul EV and the only way to keep it's 12 volt battery up is by regularly driving it, or charging the main drive Highvoltage battery. My new 2020 Kia Soul EV (64KWH) has a 12volt battery keeper in the setup screen, the system will start the 400VDC to 12VDC converter to top up the battery when necessary, check you manual to see if you have that option.

I see a few people here suggesting that you can charge the 12v battery from the hv battery by placing the car in N or D. Is it possible to do that without first having had to boost the 12v battery?

Just saw this dead Id3 dead video. Hopefully it’s a glitch that gets corrected soon. Has this been an issue with other owners?

Thanks, great video 😊❤️👍☺️

Is there any way of knowing which id.3s have the issue? I often don't drive mine for a couple of days but so far have had no issues. But I'm now very nervous about going away on any long trips with the car :(

If you need to connect the booster again, connect only positive clamp to the battery, and then the black one somewhere on the metal chassis. Then you don't have to reach for the hard to get negative terminal, and you also keep potential sparks away from the battery (which can produce a small amount of flammable H2 gas). When disconnecting, black clamp should be removed first (again to avoid sparks around the battery).

Does the car have a charge indicator for the 12 v battery?

Old school door handles! so nice to have :D

Hi, I have the same case with my e-Golf zwo year ago After Picking Up in Dresden. After the Update ist works up to today fine. You have a garage, this meins That you can leg the car in Drive ready Mode and leg the 12V battery charge from the driving battery. Turn the liegt from Auto into of and take the time for the charging. The erforscht schuld disappear After a time of driving.

Cycle the parking brake with the switch to reset basic settings should take care of the warning

Hallo, wie ist der Status? Ist das Problem erledigt? Update beim Händler erfogreich?

to recharge 12 V battery by HV battery when 12 V battery is going to drain (for whatever reason), is a standard/optional feature of other cars like Kona Elektro. Should be standard in all cars ...

it was bad ... hope it went well for you with the update

That’s a properly old school booster..! Those power-bank sized ones not available in the parts store you went to, I guess...

In spite of your problems, it's still a lovely car. One thing I would be tempted to do, is fix some cheap carpet/rubber/ floor vinyl to the walls of your garage. It's a bit tight in there and it would be a shame to damage the edges of your door.

VW was always going to have this problem, it’s just a repeat of the Taycan 12V problem that’s still not fixed! In fact, still not acknowledged as a problem by Porsche, let alone fixed!

That's bad luck ☹️, I hope your dealer can get this repaired asap. My client's Volvo XC90 hybrid 12V system failed and left him four times on the road. That happened during 8 months and the dealer couldn't repair the car and told that they must send it to Sweden and it will take few months to get it back... They offered him some beat up S40 for a loaner 😂. He got mad and sold the Volvo on that spot. But my brother has a diesel V70 Volvo that has worked quite well.

Is it possible for the large battery to charge the 12V battery if needed?

How many id3 videos do you want to make? Battery Life: yes

Struggling to understand the problem. Is this right... "bus" draining 12v battery more than it should so it went flat. But does the drive train battery not charge the 12v battery when it gets low? I just assumed it would.

Thanks Chris for another honest real world, 'tell it as it is' post. Glad you can laugh if off like you do... saying that, maybe it would have been a different story if Mrs Battery Life had been the one to discover the car flat as a pancake? Your many videos helped us decide some time back to go for the Kia Soul EV instead of waiting for the ID3. Your recent videos are still confirming that decision to be correct! As you know, nearly all of your 30 wish list improvements on the software, are already implemented on the Kia... as is of course the improved regen strength and control. If the ID3 had real switches, rock solid software, and 7 year warranty/free data usage (like the Soul EV), then it would be a different story entirely... but so far, absolutely no regrets going Kia! (from a previous 6x VW /Skoda owner). As an aside, I think 'soft' regen is something you are generally going to find designed into rear wheel drive EVs (as a precaution) to improve power lift off stability in poor (icy) conditions. Yes, I know you and I would likely look at the weather and switch to minimum regen, but just think of the other 'turn it on and drive' owners... it would be like watching a bunch of RWD BMW drivers... a slipping and a sliding (hilarious)!

Chris you are going to find this sort of thing being early adopter, hope you get the update soon to fix, guess you will keep booster charged up. 2 days to drain the 12V not good though VW should have that sorted before delivery.

It doesn‘t make sens to drive the car if the 12 V battery is down because E-Cars has no alternator. E-cars use a DC-to-DC step down converter from the 400 volt traction battery to recharge the 12 V battery. It‘s sufficient to start the car and switch into park mode and wait 30 minutes until 12V battery is recharged.

I actually wonder if electric/hybrid cars can boot from a 9v battery.

My dad had this on his Kona because he doesn't closed the trunk properly. I bought a powerbank with 12V outlet for this case. And the 12V battery is also been charged when you charge the car at home on AC.

One thing you could try if the update doesn't work is to connect a float battery maintainer to your 12V battery. These are between 0.75A and 1.5A, just enough to trickle charge, but not over charge your 12V battery. Not that you should have to use one, as they should fix the software problem, but in case it lingers fir repair. I use one of these on my ICE car when driving my EV most of the time.

whats wrong with the ID.3, another one broken again...?

Without the fault, is the ID3 supposed to maintain the 12v battery off the high voltage pack automatically when the car is left standing? I’m only aware of the Korean brands doing this so far.

Same thing happened with me new Hyundai Ioniq EV. My 15 old mx-5 has never failed to start and I needed to use it to jump start my EV 😱

Wow.....one would think that all these "minor" bugs would have been sorted out before the official launch....why then do they do the long term and road tests before launch date? Did this not reveal any of these issues?

The 12V battery don’t charge with regen?

I have a 37-year-old Citroën CX and I get frustrated with it when the battery doesn’t last for 6 weeks without using it. Looks like there’s nothing new under the sun. I don’t miss new cars or tech ;o)

Chris, both the Kia E-Niro and the Hyundai Kona have a setting that allows the main battery to charge the 12 volt battery. Without this set, the 12 volt battery will run down. Maybe the ID3 has a similar setting? I also think that the cars were sitting for months in fields and Leipzig airport after they were made. This surely resulted in the 12 volt batteries draining?

What’s the voltage of the 12V? Can you measure it?

Alter Verwalter wie ruhig der Kerl bleibt, Respekt.

as for me it's strange that need drive to change 12v battery :) I think it also changes when you stay in d or r mode.

Only a bug could (or a default battery) could cause this problem. My ID3 even parked during 3 hours on saturday, with loud music ON and 2 phones charging, recharged the 12v battery with "N" on. No other problems whatsoever.

I have same problem with my id3, installed 0570 software but same problem, how about yours ? @battery Life

This was a great Nissan Leaf commercial! So reliable but you will never take it on a road trip so it will always be your backup car.