Solving the VW ID.4's Biggest Problem: Real Steering Wheel Buttons

In this episode of VWIDTalk, Jan and Wes tackle that problem by showing how they swapped those finicky touch controls for satisfying, old-school physical buttons. Whether you’re tired of accidental inputs or just miss the tactile feedback, this transformation brings newfound confidence to every drive.

Using Jan's feasibility checklist for mods, Wes shows how the steering wheel button swap is mechanically plug-and-play, electrically compatible (with small modifications), and mostly works out-of-the-box.

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For those who'd like to see the transcript, here it is, cleaned up via AI and edited by a staffer: Intro

Wes:

Hey everyone, welcome back to the VWIDTalk Podcast. We’re Wes and Jan, and we’re glad you’re here. If you’re passionate about Volkswagen or EVs, make sure to subscribe. You can also find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Overdrive, and of course, right here on YouTube.

Wes:

Jan, if you had to name the most frustrating or commonly complained-about thing with the ID.4, what would it be? I can think of two or three big ones.

Jan:

I’d say the most confusing one for some people is just that it’s electric. No, you can’t put gas in it. But seriously, I think the two most bothersome things are the touch-sensitive buttons—especially on the steering wheel—and the limited window switches.

Wes:

Exactly. You’ve been passionate about the steering wheel buttons, and I feel the same about the window switches. The ID.4 only has two window switches, and journalists complain about both all the time. I love the car, but these two features are definitely weak points.

Wes:

So, Jan and I each tackled one of these issues. Jan took on the harder challenge. I did a lot of research on mine, and we were mostly successful in retrofitting real steering wheel buttons into our ID.4s. We’ll dive into the details later, but today is a quick overview.

Wes:

On your left, you’ll see a “before” shot of the standard ID.4 with capacitive touch buttons. On the right is my ID.4 with real push buttons taken from a VW Atlas. And yes, they work. I’ve already had several more relaxing drives because of them.

Jan:

Same here. Thanks again for sending me the buttons. I installed them a couple of days ago and have had a few drives. I’m amazed I can now change the volume without looking—it’s all muscle memory. Same goes for skipping tracks or adjusting following distance. It’s so much easier.

Why Real Buttons?

Wes:

If you don’t own an ID.4, you might not understand the frustration. A lot of auto journalists have criticized the touch buttons, and I thought I’d get used to them. For the most part I did—until I didn’t. While driving, I’d accidentally brush them and change the radio station. Sometimes it happened even without touching—just from my hand moving near the wheel.

Wes:

On two occasions, I even accidentally activated cruise control, which caused the car to accelerate. That’s dangerous. So here are the main reasons we switched to real buttons:

1. No accidental input—no surprise audio changes or cruise control activations.
2. Tactile control—you can feel your way around the buttons without taking your eyes off the road.
3. Better feedback—you know when a button has been pressed thanks to the physical click.

Jan:

Exactly. Sometimes the haptic feedback on the capacitive buttons just isn’t enough. These physical buttons are way more intuitive.

Feasibility

Wes:

Let’s talk about feasibility. Jan put together a chart, and here’s the breakdown:

• Mechanical fit: Direct swap. You just need a new trim piece and the buttons. Screw them together and slide them in—no modification needed.
• Electrical fit: Plug-and-play. Use the existing wires. Unplug the old ones, plug in the new.
• Software adaptations: Only a few tweaks are needed.

The hard part is removing the airbag. We’re not going to show how to do that. If you’re unsure, have a professional handle it. If the airbag deploys accidentally, it could cause injury and is expensive to replace.

Also, while we have this mostly working, it’s still a work in progress. The old buttons use the LIN bus; the new capacitive ones use CAN. We haven’t found a set of physical push buttons that communicate over CAN. When connected, the CAN pins make the horn go off constantly—not ideal. So we removed the CAN pins for now.

If you know of a set of physical push buttons that work over CAN, please leave a comment. The 2025 Tiguan and new GTI use push buttons, while the Golf R still uses capacitive ones because VW couldn’t get the "R" mode to work with physical buttons.

We’ve linked to the VWIDTalk discussion thread below and will continue to post updates.

Trim Removal

Wes:

Let’s move on to trim removal. The buttons we retrofitted have a different shape, so you also need to replace the silver trim piece around them. It fits perfectly into the steering wheel, but you can’t reuse the old trim.

You don’t have to remove the steering wheel from your car—I only did that to show it more clearly. Use firm, even pressure with a plastic trim tool. Start at the bottom where the plastic is thicker and pry slowly to avoid breaking anything. That way you can reuse or resell it later.

The new piece from the Atlas has specific cutouts for volume and track change buttons, and all the mounting points are in the same place. Just align, press, and it snaps into place.

A Word of Caution

Jan:

There’s a tiny wire inside the steering wheel—probably 30-gauge—that detects if your hands are on the wheel. Be extremely careful not to break it. If you do, you’ll have to replace the entire steering wheel.

Also, make sure you plug that wire into the new buttons before pressing them into place. I forgot that once, had to take everything apart again.

Conclusion

Wes:

This is a very satisfying mod. Jan and I are both really happy with the result. It improves usability and looks completely stock—like it came from the factory. It’s not prohibitively expensive either. Parts alone might run you $200–$300, maybe $400 if we put together a kit.

It’s mechanically and electrically compatible with only minor modifications and some simple software adjustments. The only significant downside is the airbag removal, which requires caution.

We’ll keep working on this and sharing updates on the VWIDTalk forum.

Jan:

And don’t forget to subscribe so you’ll hear about our next mod—replacing the two window switches with a set of four.

Wes:

Wait, you can’t do that—yet.

Jan:

That’s for the next episode.

Wes:

All right, we’ll patiently wait. Thanks again for tuning in. Follow us on VWIDTalk, check the discussion link for this specific mod, and share your ideas or questions so we can keep improving together.

Jan:

Thank you so much. Bye.

Wes:

Thanks, everyone.