Volkswagen ID.Buzz's Bizarre Recall: Third-Row Seats Too Wide, Need to Be Modified

【PCauto】 Recently, Volkswagen has come under widespread scrutiny due to a peculiar recall of its 2025 ID.Buzz electric microbus sold in the United States, marking a unique case in automotive recall history.

The highly anticipated ID.Buzz electric microbus commands a hefty price in the U.S. market, with a starting price of $61,545, including shipping. This makes it not only the priciest model in Volkswagen's American lineup but also one of the most expensive passenger vans in the country.

The seat is equipped with two seat belts and two headrests and its width is sufficient to accommodate three passengers. According to documents from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the calculated width of the seat surface exceeds the maximum width allotted for two passengers, leading to a violation of federal safety requirements.

To address the issue of the seat being too wide, Volkswagen plans to install permanent "no-cushion decorative pieces" on the third-row seats of these vehicles.

This measure will restrict the actual seating surface width available for passengers, ensuring compliance with federal safety standards. It aligns the seat width with the existing configuration of two seat belts, thereby physically mitigating the risk of a third passenger occupying the seat without proper seatbelt protection.

Furthermore, Volkswagen is advising all ID.Buzz owners to avoid seating more than two passengers in the third row until the recall work is completed to ensure safety during travel.

The reason for this recall is indeed perplexing. On one hand, the regulations dictating the number of seat belts based on seat surface area raise many questions in practical application.

Passengers come in various figures, and defining the appropriateness of seat belt solely by seat width is debatable. On the other hand, as a globally recognized automobile manufacturer with a large and professional engineering team, it is puzzling that Volkswagen and its professional seating supplier, Faurecia, encountered such a fundamental oversight in the design and production process.

NHTSA documents indicate that Volkswagen only began investigating the "potential non-compliance" issue after being alerted by the supplier on February 12, raising concerns about their quality control processes.

Fortunately, as of now, there have been no reports of injuries or accidents related to this issue. However, it is easy to imagine the anxiety this recall has caused among Volkswagen executives. After all, the ID.Buzz is a pivotal model in Volkswagen's electrification strategy, and this recall could potentially erode consumer confidence in the product while also impacting the brand's image.