2023 VOLKSWAGEN ID.4 — FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL

I was easing slowly into a parking space, with plenty of room on both sides (no cars); there was a shopping cart at the front of the spot to my left. I was probably straightening the steering wheel back to the center. The car took over, accelerated suddenly to a very fast speed, jumped a high curb, and stopped hard in the lot's main drive. The front right wheel clipped a tree through the mulch. No safety features engaged. There was significant damage to the vehicle, and the impact badly bruised my right hand. I am very safety conscious, easy on the pedals, and cruise into stops. We have used the travel assist but not the cruise control function (which may have been set when the car was in transit). Several similar cases are reported on social media, with the leading theory being the accidental engagement of haptic steering wheel controls. A police officer took a report, but it has not been made available. I filed a report with the manufacturer and look forward to your investigation.