Hyundai Kona Forum banner

2019-2020 EV Battery Recall

106K views 471 replies 42 participants last post by  oragex 
#1 ·
In Korea, Hyundai announced the recall to fix battery cell problem.

The recall is for Kona between Sep. 2017 and Mar. 2020.

I'm not sure that this recall can fix battery ingnition..

Here the link of the news. In Korean.

 
#3 ·
Some in the USA might get a recall too. New battery replacement. stay tuned

 
#4 ·
Apaprently the exact nature of the issue has not been agreed between LG Chem and Hyundai yet.

Latest from Hyundai Australia is that they are waiting to see if their stock / sales are impacted or not...
Hyundai Australia awaiting guidance on Kona Electric fire recall - EV Central

More information regarding the recall is available here...
 
#10 ·
Reuters reports: Hyundai said in a statement on Monday it “is in the final stages of filing a voluntary recall notice with the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) for U.S. Kona EVs and will start the process of informing owners of these vehicles.” . The Reuters article further mentions that the recall is expected to be in the form of a software update, battery inspection, and, if deemed necessary, battery replacement.
 
#11 ·
If anybody sees the recall notice on the ntsha.gov site, post the link. I will monitor it as well. This is disquieting, to say the least. I have a garage under the house, if the car catches on fire
we have major trouble, the whole house is at risk of burning down. Is there any risk mitigation you guys are aware of? E.g.: some people mentioned that not charging to 100% is safer. Is this a superstition / speculation?
Then there was the recent battery management software update Hyundai already pushed out, aimed better balancing the individual cells. It is unclear if the recent press is talking about this software update, or there will be yet another software update?
 
#13 ·
Is there any risk mitigation you guys are aware of? E.g.: some people mentioned that not charging to 100% is safer. Is this a superstition / speculation?
Then there was the recent battery management software update Hyundai already pushed out, aimed better balancing the individual cells. It is unclear if the recent press is talking about this software update, or there will be yet another software update?
Limiting charge to 80% where possible is certainly a sensible plan for the meantime. From forum chit-chat the BMS update seemed more about checking the cell voltage balance and isolation resistance more frequently rather than any change to the existing balancing protocol. In theory the car would alert you to an issue, or perhaps to 'command central' for those who have the app.
If it's of any help, one early report from Hyundai in Korean indicated that no examples in SK with the BMS update had yet to exhibit the issue. That could a matter of timing of the update v.s. probability but the risk so-far seems lower in any case.
 
#22 ·
I will call them and check. I would be surprised if they had batteries readily available here in the US for the swap already.
I imagine the dealer techs also need to be trained on the inspection and swap procedure.

A couple of interesting asides: the 2019 Kona ev does not show the recall
on the NTSHA website, but when you read the recall text, it clearly states that all Kona EV-s are involved, 2018-2020.

I wonder how effective is this "Do not charge to 100% capacity" guidance is. Is a 90% limit sufficient? Or an 80%? I am currently only charging the car to 80% anyway, because I do not need the full range. Hyundai is vague and imprecise as usual. They are recommending this practice buy do not spell out whether this is sufficient by itself, or what level of charge is safe ( If this even makes any difference at all). Also, it seem that 3 parties that are investigating (Hyundai, LG Chem and the Korean equivalent of the NTSHA) currently do not agree on what the actual root cause is.
 
#23 ·
I would love to see a detailed, candid explanation of what causes the battery overheat and fire, and why and how any proposed remedies would work.
In all honesty, this is worse than the VW dieselgate. At least in the VW case, we did not have life and property in jeopardy.
 
#24 ·
Checked with the dealer.
The mail notification campaign will not start until Nov/December this year.
But they are aware of the recall, and doing the service already if you ask for it.

I have it scheduled Monday. They provide a free loaner if you need one.
I will post how it went once it is done.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top