James’ Guide to the ID.3 SOS battery warning

1. 22 May 2026 I report the fault in writing to my usual Volkswagen retailer and ask for the part to be ordered ahead, so it can be fitted alongside other work. I quote Volkswagen's public statement.
2. 28 May The retailer says the part can't be ordered without a diagnosis visit first.
3. 1 June I open a case with Volkswagen UK Customer Care (06768737), asking for confirmation that the replacement is free and for the part to be ordered against my VIN.
4. 2 June Customer Care reports that the retailer won't order without inspecting the car, suggests a closer retailer, and "temporarily" closes the case while assuring me it "will remain noted against your vehicle".
5. 2 June I book a diagnosis with a second retailer through the Volkswagen app. It's quoted at £115. I ask twice how it will be billed, given the accepted fault. No reply.
6. 10 June I escalate to a manager at the retailer by finding her details through her replies to online reviews. The assistant aftersales manager replies the same day, says he's contacted Volkswagen, and offers to waive the diagnostic charge.
7. 23 June Diagnosis: the backup battery (part A16) is the only fault. The replacement is quoted at £211.20. The retailer has submitted claims to factory goodwill and to my extended warranty; both are refused, and I'm told I'll have to pay.
8. 23 June I escalate formally to Volkswagen UK, asking it to honour its public statement, and mention The Motor Ombudsman.
9. 24 June Customer Care replies, describing Volkswagen's own published statement as "online information".
10. 29 June After a call, I send Customer Care the statements, with links and screenshots.
11. 29 June to 4 August Nothing. The adviser has moved roles and the case is reassigned without telling me.
12. 4 August A call from Volkswagen UK: the brand will pay.
13. 6 August A Customer Relations Manager confirms in writing that the repair was "approved for coverage directly by Volkswagen", and that "retailers have now been made aware of this matter internally".
14. 11 to 13 August Volkswagen UK declines any goodwill gesture for my time and costs, and says the repair wasn't processed through the refund coding in the technical bulletin, but "authorised directly by Volkswagen following review of the circumstances".
15. 8 October The repair visit. On the morning I'm told the battery is on back order, despite being assured one had been put aside. It's found and fitted the same day. The invoice reads: "Replaced SOS backup battery A16. *covered by Volkswagen customer care". Nothing to pay.

Both statements were posted in the Volkswagen ID. Drivers Club group on Facebook by the verified Volkswagen ID. account, as a group administrator. I’ve kept screenshots of both, and I’d suggest you save your own.

18 July 2025 (post), shortly after 3.8.1 rolled out:

The costs for the verification of the malfunction notice appearing after the over-the-air update are not at your expense. Volkswagen will cover the check of the backup battery/ SOS-module and the repair including the replacement of the backup-battery by the workshop.

5 February 2026 (post), explaining the cause:

The ID. Software 3.8.1 update overwrites the measured SoH, causing the algorithm to fall back to a fixed replacement interval of 5 years.

The same post says that, as a result, the warning appears “regardless of the actual condition of the battery”, that Volkswagen is “working on a software-based solution to re-establish the actual SoH-measuring”, and, under “Who covers the costs?”:

Volkswagen will cover the costs for the replacement of the backup battery through its authorized service partners.

What’s not in either statement is just as useful. There’s no cut-off date, no condition about being in warranty, no condition about where the car has been serviced, and nothing about the dealer deciding. If anyone tells you otherwise, ask them to show you where.

What Volkswagen UK told me in writing (6, 11 and 13 August 2026):

• “The issue was raised to the brand, acknowledged, and approved for coverage directly by Volkswagen. This means the brand has agreed to cover the cost of the repair.”
• “Retailers have now been made aware of this matter internally. If another customer experiences the same issue, they should report it to their nearest retailer, who can contact us for clarification if needed.”
• “Retailers have now been provided with internal guidance on this matter.”
• The repair “was authorised directly by Volkswagen following review of the circumstances, rather than through warranty or factory goodwill channels.”

This is what Volkswagen UK told me in June, and it’s what other owners are hearing now. It’s half true.

Goodwill is retailer-led. A retailer decides whether to put its own goodwill budget towards a repair, and Volkswagen UK is right that it can’t make a retailer do that. That’s where my claim was refused: the retailer tried goodwill, didn’t want to spend it, and told me to pay.

But goodwill is the wrong route for this fault. In my case the repair wasn’t funded by goodwill or warranty at all. It was “approved for coverage directly by Volkswagen”. That is a decision Volkswagen UK made, after I escalated, and the retailer then did the work. Volkswagen UK also told me that retailers have been given internal guidance and can contact it “for clarification”.

So the useful questions to put to your Customer Relations Manager are:

1. Will you raise this to the brand for a decision on direct coverage, as was done for case 06768737?
2. What internal guidance have retailers been given on this fault, and will you confirm to my retailer that it applies to my car?
3. If the answer is no, please give me your reasons and a final response in writing.

If your adviser says they can’t make technical or funding decisions, that’s fine: ask who can, and ask for it to be passed to them.

These are reports from UK owners on the SpeakEV forum between November 2025 and June 2026. They’re owner reports, not verified, but the pattern is clear.

Two things stand out. The fair price if you pay yourself at a main dealer seems to be around £215; much higher quotes usually mean the whole module rather than just the battery. And the outcome depended far more on the retailer and on persistence than on anything about the car. One owner summed it up: “it appears to depend on the dealer”.

Owners are still being quoted a diagnostic fee plus a few hundred pounds in October 2026, and being told the decision lies with the dealer. That’s why I’ve written this.

• The part: the backup battery, designated A16, inside the Online Connectivity Unit, control unit 75 (part number 3G0915089 on my car). The battery is serviceable separately; the whole unit shouldn’t need replacing.
• Fault codes on my car: B1916 F2 and F4.
• The warning: “Emergency call is restricted. Please visit a workshop.” with the amber SOS light. Volkswagen UK’s own warning-light page calls eCall the “legally required eCall Emergency System” and says no emergency call can be placed.
• Software: my car was on 3.8.1 when the warning appeared. As of October 2026, Volkswagen UK’s software page lists 3.8.3 as the current version for 3.x cars, and 5.4 for later cars. I can find nothing saying either restores the real health measurement that Volkswagen promised in February 2026, so don’t assume an update will clear it.
• Technical bulletins: owners have cited a Technical Product Information bulletin numbered 2078716 (versions /1 and /2). Volkswagen never named a bulletin to me and I haven’t been able to verify it, but it’s worth asking your retailer which bulletin they’re working from.
• Recalls: there’s no recall, service action or customer satisfaction campaign for this in the UK, the EU or the US that I can find. The ID.3’s UK recalls (R/2021/409, steering, and R/2023/072, passenger airbag) are unrelated.
• Other models: owners report the same warning on the ID.4 and ID.5 and ask about it on the Skoda Enyaq, which share the platform. I haven’t seen Volkswagen confirm which models are affected.

A note on “resetting” it. Some owners in Germany report clearing the warning by using a diagnostic tool such as OBDeleven to reset the learned values and battery history in control unit 75, without replacing the battery. I didn’t do this and don’t recommend it without proper advice. This is a safety system: a reset hides the warning but tells you nothing about whether the battery would actually work in a crash, and it may make it harder to have the fault recognised later. If you’re tempted, talk to a specialist first.

This is a summary to help you ask the right questions. It isn’t legal advice.

Start with the retailer and Volkswagen UK. Volkswagen’s complaints procedure goes: the retailer first, then Volkswagen UK Customer Services (where a Customer Relations Manager may be assigned), then The Motor Ombudsman.

The Motor Ombudsman. Volkswagen Group UK is accredited with The Motor Ombudsman. Once you’ve complained, the business has eight weeks to give you a final response; you then have a year to take it to the Ombudsman. It’s free and doesn’t stop you going to court. Phone 0345 241 3008. My strongest point would have been the handling, not the money: a case closed while still live, weeks of silence, and an adviser calling Volkswagen’s own statement “online information”.

If you bought the car on finance. On hire purchase or PCP, the finance company is legally the supplier of the car. Under section 23 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015, a supplier who repairs faulty goods has to do so at its own cost, within a reasonable time and without significant inconvenience to you. Complain to the finance company; if you’re not happy with its final response you can go to the Financial Ombudsman Service, which is also free. Settling the agreement doesn’t remove the claim. You generally have six years from delivery to bring a claim (five in Scotland).

If you bought it outright, the same Act applies, but against whoever sold you the car.

Is it an MOT problem? eCall is required on cars type-approved in Great Britain under the assimilated version of Regulation (EU) 2015/758, which also requires the car to warn you if the system can’t make a call. I can find no eCall item in the current MOT inspection manual for Great Britain, so as far as I can tell it isn’t an MOT failure today. The EU has added a backup battery check to roadworthiness testing from 2028, but that’s EU law made after Brexit and doesn’t apply in Great Britain.

Extended warranty. Don’t count on it. Volkswagen’s All Component Cover booklet excludes “Batteries of all kinds” under worn and perishable items, which is how my claim was refused. Some owners have had it covered this way anyway, so it’s worth asking, but it isn’t the route Volkswagen’s statements point to.

Change the words in square brackets. Keep it polite and short; the point is to get a clear answer in writing.

1. To the retailer, before or when booking

2. To Volkswagen UK Customer Care, if the retailer refuses

3. Asking for a final response

Volkswagen UK Customer Care: 0800 333 666 (Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm, Saturday 10am to 4pm), the customer care form, or by post to Volkswagen UK, PO Box 9004, Leeds LS1 9WA. Contact page.

The Motor Ombudsman: 0345 241 3008, themotorombudsman.org.

Volkswagen pages: emergency call system fault; ID. software updates; UK complaints procedure.

Owner discussion: SpeakEV, “SOS error compensation from VW”; id3forums.co.uk, “3.8 update”.

Law: Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 23; Regulation (EU) 2015/758, article 5 as it applies in Great Britain.