Battery replacements are starting

This "stress test" thing that dealer techs supposedly do strikes me as complete BS. Whether the cells are
well-matched or not, nothing is going to proactively ferret out a folded anode or destructive dendrite
formation until it's too late. There's nothing else you can tell about the individual cellblocks or the whole
thing, really. I suspect that several still-defective packs are being sent away with "you're fine" assurances.

_H*

 

Had my appointment this morning for the battery replacement. They didn't have a loaner available today and they said I could use their rental partner enterprise and get reimbursed later. I didn't want to put out my own money as they said they would order the battery when I leave the car and it could be a while due to shipping taking a long time (could be a month or more, they didn't know since it's out of their hands). So i declined doing a rental and will wait for a loaner and then swap my car for the loaner. If it takes a while after I drop the car off, I am going to ask Hyundai for some kind of reimbursement for my lease payments as well as gas $ if I get an ICE car. The service guy was super nice and accommodating.
Has anyone gotten any reimbursement for payments on the car from being without the car for an indefinite period?

 

Originally, when I scheduled to take my car in, they said I would have to pay the difference between what their agreement with Enterprise was (I think they allowed $35/day, but lowest from enterprise was like $45/day), and then Hyundai was supposed to reimburse me, but by the time I dropped it off, they said it was taken care of so I wouldn't need to pay anything.

I just picked up my car today after 3 weeks drop off. Seems to drive the same so I guess that's good. I'm just happy to be able to recharge to 100% again if needed.

 

I really don't understand why people are being asked to surrender their cars for so long when the swap takes at most a day.

 

Dealer said they aren't allowed to order the battery until I dropped it off. I asked them if I could take it back after they ordered the battery and they said they had to keep it.

My guess is they want to be able to replace the batteries as soon as they get them in and don't want it lying around?

 

> ..."Dealer said they aren't allowed to order the battery until I dropped it off ..."

What on earth is the rationale for that, when plenty of other shops have replacement packs
in stock ready to go into any car that gets scheduled in? They're going out of their way to
inconvenience you on a flimflam excuse, and need to be called on it. A pack is a pack is a
pack, it's not like it was machined out of solid unobtanium just for your car.

_H*

 

I agree.. would have been much less painful not having to drive a lawn mower for 3 weeks (Mitsubishi Mirage)

 

Oh wow, I feel bad for you! I got an Ioniq Hybrid when I dropped off my car today. I think most of what the service people do is follow Hyundai guidelines by keeping the Kona. I just wish the shipping was faster. I had opened a case with Hyundai after the buyouts were being denied but they just offered me $500. That seems a little low, honestly for all the hassle.

 

Brought my 2019 in for the 200 recall today. When I pulled in they checked my VIN number and told me I'm getting a new battery. I did not even get out of the car and they said they will call me when the new battery arrives. They ordered one so far and they are on backorder. The only other question they had was if my charge limit was set to 80% and it was confirmed. They sent me on my way in my Kona.
No estimated date for the battery arival / replacement.

 

Totally agree !! I was told the same thing - They "need it for about a month." !!!! Makes absolutely no sense. Curious as to the best HYUNDAI Contact info to complain about this - one that actually will get attention.

 

I think maybe you misunderstood me, I did not get out of the car they told me I needed a new battery and sent me on my way in my Kona. I did not have to leave the car there at all.

 

I was only commenting on the fact that others - me included - are being told we will eventually need to leave our car for a month ... Makes no sense to me either. Why the heck can't they just ORDER the battery and call me to come in for the replacement? IMHO

 

My dealer told me it only takes about three hours to replace battery. Says it is a rather simple job. They will call me when battery arrives and if I bring car in in the morning I can get it back that afternoon

 

This is just my assumption.. the batteries are coming in large packs.. and the dealers want to move them quickly since they probably need to store them inside in a cool environment. So in order to do that, they want to make sure the cars they are putting them in are ready once they get there. This is probably not Hyundai's call.. and probably varies dealer to dealer based on storage space for batteries and cars. I'd imagine if they don't have enough space on their lot to store a bunch of cars, they will call you back when they receive the batteries.

 

Ya, I think a firm "No" you can't have the car for a month would go a long way. I'd certainly want the dealer to justify the need.

 

finished mine a while back... came across this issue, well, somewhat. they had my car for one week and gave me a brand new Ioniq hybrid (10 miles on the odometer). one week after I asked about an update, they said they have not started yet at that time. I requested to return my car till they get the equipment, battery, and trained personnel ready. they called me a week after (and 600 miles on the Ioniq when returned) and it only took one whole day for them. they told me they had my car as the first one to get the battery replacement in my area.

they did not process/submitted all my recall till that time. now I wonder when I will get that $200 from Hyundai.

 

Got a call from the service manager, he said I need to bring the car back so that he can take a photo of the battery label. Told him they already did that in June, he said they need another photo of it. Brought it in today, the service manager took vehicle, put it on the lift and took a photo. I also questioned him about any special hardware or antifreeze required he said it is all shipped with the battery as a package. He said he should have the battery in about 2 weeks. Let's hope so, fingers crossed. And I went on my merry way.

 

Yes, and I sure hope they have it figured out now with the new batteries. After I get my replacement, I don't want to find out years later that there is still a problem.

 

To be clear, on Bolt side, the original battery fire recall ONLY included Bolts with Ochang, South Korea batteries (all '17 and '18 + subset of '19). Some '19s had US-made batteries and everything '20+ are US-made. AFAIK, NONE came from China.

But, then the bombshell hit on 8/20/21 where ALL Bolts, including US-made battery ones (mine is a '19 Bolt w/US battery so not recalled first time around) were recalled: https://media.gm.com/media/us/en/gm/home.detail.html/content/Pages/news/us/en/2021/aug/0820-bolt.html. Some more info at https://www.chevybolt.org/threads/fire-recalls-summary-and-timeline.39544/.

It was only on that day that GM actually said what the defects were: "In rare circumstances, the batteries supplied to GM for these vehicles may have two manufacturing defects – a torn anode tab and folded separator – present in the same battery cell, which increases the risk of fire." Prior to that, they wouldn't say (example at https://electrek.co/2021/07/23/gm-announces-recall-after-a-dozen-bolt-ev-fires-6-key-questions-we-need-answers-to/ (search for two defects)) and at best, previously said latent manufacturing cell-level defect, when the thought it was one defect.