Last updated: 2026-10-10

Dodge Hornet vs Volkswagen ID.4: Reliability Compared

On reliability, the Dodge Hornet beats the Volkswagen ID-4 by a large margin. Severity decides it. ID-4 owners report sudden shutdowns and unintended acceleration with many crashes, while Hornet problems are mostly latches, battery drain, and driver-assist warnings.

How Do the Dodge Hornet and Volkswagen ID.4 Generations Compare?

Shoppers have a short lineup on the Hornet side. One US generation covered 2023 to 2025, and the 2025 model got a minor refresh, so the choice is between the original 2023 and 2024 cars and the refreshed 2025. The ID-4 has had two phases. The first generation ran from 2021 to 2024, with refreshes in 2023 and 2024. A second-generation facelift followed for 2025 and 2026, and a further facelift arrived for 2026. Its weakest years, 2023 and 2024, are the refresh years, so a newer update did not guarantee a cleaner car there.

Verdict

The Dodge Hornet is more reliable than the Volkswagen ID.4, scoring 59/100 vs 48/100.

A large gap favors the Dodge Hornet. Its complaint and recall load is much smaller, and its worst problems are mostly door latches, battery drain, and driver-assist glitches. The ID-4 has far more filings and far more recalls, and its complaints include sudden shutdowns at highway speed and unintended acceleration while parking, with many crashes tied to them. Neither car is clean. Both land in the mixed range, but the gap in how often serious problems show up is large, and that gap decides it.

Key Differences

  1. 1Dodge Hornet has 28 fewer total recalls
  2. 2Dodge Hornet scores 11 points higher in reliability

Category Scoreboard

2Dodge Hornet
—
0Volkswagen ID.4
Reliability ScoreTotal Recalls

Dodge Hornet vs Volkswagen ID.4: Which Is More Reliable?

Dodge Hornet vs Volkswagen ID.4 at-a-glance reliability comparison
MetricDodge HornetVolkswagen ID.4
Reliability Score59/10048/100
Years Tracked35
Total Recalls1341
Total ComplaintsRaw count — varies with sales volume86895
Year Wins30

What Are the Common Problems With the Dodge Hornet and Volkswagen ID.4?

Electrical faults lead for both cars, but they differ in kind. Hornet owners report failing door latches, a battery that drains when the car sits, and driver-assist systems that shut off with service messages. ID-4 owners report the whole car shutting down or refusing to leave park, sometimes at highway speed, plus frozen screens. The biggest split is crash risk. ID-4 has crash-linked reports in unintended acceleration, brakes, and power loss. Hornet has only single crash-linked reports, in electrical, rear camera recall, and forward collision, and none for speed control or brakes.

Dodge Hornet vs Volkswagen ID.4 common problem areas comparison
ComponentDodge HornetVolkswagen ID.4
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM27395
UNKNOWN OR OTHER7112
STRUCTURE260
POWER TRAIN249
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL—49
SERVICE BRAKES1038
STEERING731
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE623
AIR BAGS—13
BACK OVER PREVENTION82
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM—7
ENGINE5—
SEATS—4
WHEELS—4

Raw complaint counts aggregated across all tracked model years from NHTSA owner reports. Counts vary with sales volume.

How Does Dodge Hornet vs Volkswagen ID.4 Reliability Compare by Year?

Dodge Hornet vs Volkswagen ID.4 year-by-year reliability scores
YearDodge HornetVolkswagen ID.4Edge
202564/1002R / 1C59/1001R / 19CDodge Hornet
202454/1007R / 60C46/1008R / 44CDodge Hornet
202359/1004R / 25C42/10014R / 402CDodge Hornet

Best years to cross-shop: The 2023 Dodge Hornet scored 59/100 and the 2024 Volkswagen ID.4 scored 46/100 — the strongest shared model years that have been on the road for at least two years, where available.

Who Should Buy the Dodge Hornet vs the Volkswagen ID.4?

Pick the Hornet if you want the lower-risk choice and can live with a compact SUV. Its main trouble is nuisance and software-type faults: latches, a dead battery after the car sits, and radar or camera warnings. Check that every recall repair is finished, since owners describe long waits for parts. Among its years, 2025 rates strongest and 2024 weakest, though newer years have had less time to collect complaints. Test the doors from inside and out, and ask how the car handles a jump start. Choose the ID-4 only if you need the midsize space and are willing to accept more risk. Target 2022 or 2025, the strongest years, and avoid 2023 and 2024, the weakest. Before buying, confirm the door-handle repair is done, because parts backorders left owners waiting months. Try parking-lot maneuvers and low-speed stops, since lurching forward and hard braking before a stop are the serious complaints. Walk away from any car with open shutdown warnings.

Dodge Hornet vs Volkswagen ID.4: Common Questions

Is the Dodge Hornet more reliable than the Volkswagen ID-4?
Yes, by a large gap, though both sit in the mixed range. The ID-4 has far more owner complaints and recalls, and its reports include shutdowns at speed and unintended acceleration. The Hornet's complaints center on door latches, battery drain, and driver-assist faults.
Which has more recalls, the Hornet or the ID-4?
The ID-4 has more. Federal recall records show 41 across five model years, against 13 across three for the Hornet. The ID-4 has also been on sale longer, so it had more time to collect them, but its total is still much larger.
Does the Volkswagen ID-4 have unintended acceleration problems?
Owners report it. Cars lurch forward while parking or in drive-through lines, even with the brake pressed. This area has the most crash-linked complaints of any ID-4 problem. Some reports involve the touch-sensitive cruise control button being bumped. The Hornet has no comparable category.
What goes wrong most often on the Dodge Hornet?
Electrical faults lead. Owners describe door latches that fail, a battery that drains when the car is not driven daily, and a center screen that stays dark after a jump start. Adaptive cruise and highway assist also shut off with service-required messages, and dealers often cannot find a fix.
Which ID-4 model years should I avoid?
Avoid 2023 and 2024, which are the weakest years in the data. The strongest are 2025 and 2022. Whatever the year, confirm the door-handle recall repair was completed, since parts backorders left some owners waiting months.

Decided between Dodge Hornet and Volkswagen ID.4? Run a VIN check before you buy — uncover hidden accidents, title issues, and open recalls.

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How we score the Dodge Hornet and Volkswagen ID.4

Scores weight complaint severity at 35%, repair costs at 30%, recall impact at 20%, and the spread of complaints across systems at 15%, with complaint counts adjusted for US sales. Read the full methodology.

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