What is the "final" fix for the battery fire recall?

Yes I just picked mine up this week and didn’t hear a word about any of this .. how can you tell when your battery pack was made ?

 

Sure enough it's right there where you said it would be. April 20, 2020. Thanks so much. Looks like I'm in the clear (this round at least)

 

Well

 

I drive relatively little and rarely charge past 80%, so I'm not exactly pushing the limits of things.

 

Question is how long it will take for them to replace all those batteries.. Could be years..

 

Hmm.. in the article, it said the BMS update limited our charging to actually 90% of the battery. I don't recall this happening, as I think I've charged to 100% without noticing any range degradation. Did others notice anything?

 

No, I have charged a few times now to 100%, after getting all the BMS updates.

 

Unless yours fails, then a lot sooner.

But so what, the longer it takes, the longer your new battery will last. That's esp important for those who don't have life time warranties.

 

A Canadian report of the recall is at https://canada.autonews.com/recalls/hyundai-will-replace-battery-systems-11b-global-ev-recall. LG is saying that the problem is not caused by the cells themselves but because "Hyundai misapplied LG's suggestions for fast-charging logic in the battery management system", which would perhaps explain the BMS recalls but not the battery replacement unless Hyundai suspects damage may already have been caused to some in-service batteries. The recall applies to vehicles built between 2018 and 2020. At a guess, those built after March 2020 may be in the clear, but we wait for more info.

There's an interesting number buried in this report. Others on this board have said the cost of a new battery is $30K. The link above says the recall involves 82,000 vehicles, of which 76,000 are Konas, with the rest being Ioniqs and a few city buses. The estimated cost of $1.1 billion should include the labour for replacement and the costs associated with reusing or recycling the old batteries. It works out to an average cost of around $13,500 per vehicle.

 

That seemed like the problem from the start. Battery damage is cumulative and takes place over time. It's also the reason most manufactures recommend the 30-80% rule and why batteries with active cooling last so much longer.


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The Kona is my daily driver but I have a couple of sports cars I prefer for road trips. I have L2 at home so I've used a DC charger exactly twice, mostly to see how they work, and only to 80%. I'm not worried about my place in the update queue.

 

I didn't notice reduced range from the updates.. Still charging to 100% and 4.17 volts per cell..

 

I fast charge A LOT.. No issue at all after over 135 fast charges.. This is my estimated range right now..

 

Given the significant time it will take to carry out this campaign I would not be surprised if Hyundai take some advantage of their goodwill and impose an interim SoC restriction as GM have done with the Bolt. It would make sense from their perspective to minimise any further bad news and liability.
EDIT: apparently this is already the case in S. Korea, 90% max.

It will be interesting to see what GM comes up with for the Bolt since their BMS may be different.

 

Luckily, there is no OTA updates.. If there is an update to limit charge to 90%, I won't do it.. I go on road trips from time to time and need the full range occasionally.

 

That raises a question (that may be a stupid one): is the 90% limitation only for DC fast charging or does it also include L2 charging on home chargers?

 

There was no qualifier on that directive reported in the news, apparently for S.Korean owners. As with the previous actions for campaign 196 taken early last year, it will take at least a week for our respective country's importers to formulate their position and notify us. In my case it was a phone call about a week later.

I'm still puzzled by this statement which is included in many of the dozens of reports today.