Battery Recall for Canadian Kona Owners

Havent received our gift card yet, got the mail confirming card was coming May 25. I did Email Huyndai to let them know I was not happy with the US getting buybacks while we heard absolutely zero, I received this reply:

"Thank you for contacting Hyundai Canada. We apologize for the delay in our response.

We're sorry to hear of the inconvenience you've faced with the reduced charging capacity on your 2019 Kona. We trust you've visited your Hyundai dealership to confirm the reduced charging capacity and claim your $250 gift card.

Unfortunately we do not have a date when the recall fix will be available as yet. We request your patience while we work on having the fix released as soon as possible.

We trust you find this information helpful and thank you for choosing Hyundai."

I feel so much better now.....

I have kept my car at the recommended 80% and had to use a fast charger at Petro Canada the other day to get enough juice to get home (thanks Hyundai, that cost me money again) The car had no problem charging for 20 minutes at 73kw and it never cycled on or off. I have all the current software updates that Hyundai has spooled out.

 

But, of course, they do have a solution. Canadians are getting batteries. Just not you. Perhaps they should be more specific in their non-response?

 

I am having no luck finding an email for Hyundai Canada on their site. Could you pass it along? Thanks.

 

[email protected]

Hope that helps!

 

I had nearly the same wording on my email from them, just a stock response I guess

 

Many thanks. Letter sent.

 

Although on a technical level limiting charge level would presumably slow down dendrite formation, I'd certainly agree that it's only a guess on everybody's part and you can imagine that it takes only one employee looking to score points in the many lagers of management no-doubt present at Hyundai USA to say "if 90% is good then 80% must be better".

In hindsight I'd suggest that it was a bad move on Hyundai USA's part as all it did was increase the range loss and perceived loss of value, plus the unnecessary gift card put the icing on the cake by appearing that they were buying owners off rather than the appreciative gesture that it was.

 

Hyundai Canada offered a non answer. When was your vehicle reduced to 80% ? US owners have already posted having received their gift cards in one day for some. Very unacceptable attitude at Hyundai Canada.Hyundai Motor Company Korea should issue a consistent message globally to repair a disaster it entered into with LG.

 

I was planning to email Hyundai Canada but thought I would try phoning first. To my surprise, an agent came on the line within about a minute. After asking me for all my particulars, including VIN and odometer reading, I asked just when I could expect to have my battery inspected and/or replaced. He said that they did not yet have an ETA for when replacement batteries would be coming from LG. When I persisted by asking if this would likely be days, weeks or months, he said he really did not know. I guess this means months. Sigh.....

 

I wrote a very detailed email to Customer Relations. I gave my details, VIN, build date, the fact that my "check EV system" light has been on for 3 weeks and that my car has been exhibiting unusual charging activity as reported via Bluelink.

The response could have been (and probably was) written by a robot. They ignored everything I said and told me how to reduce my charging levels using Bluelink. A cut and paste job if I've ever seen one. Pointless.

 

Bumped into a Kona electric owner,they said they're being asked by their dealership to bring their vehicle in this month.NO date for a battery swap provided when they contacted their dealership,plus no letter from the manufacturer. This level of non answer is fascinating in Canada when you look at posts by members such as @Wildeyed , @Rickker , where the latter was told by Hyundai the Li-ion replacement's a LG?!

As an aside, one Bolt EV owner I know won't reduced their battery to 90% . So far, they haven't had reduced charging,or range issues.

 

Hello,

Four weeks ago, my Kona failed its “tests” at the DC fast charging station and refused to charge. It would still AC charge and occasionally DC charge but at an incredibly slow rate.

Two weeks ago the car refused to go into gear when I started it in the morning so I had it towed to the dealership.

For two weeks I’ve been in a rental paid for by Hyundai while they ran all kinds of diagnostics on the battery. I received a call from them yesterday that a new battery was being shipped and would be installed next week. There was no offer of a buy-back or any other proposal - just that a new battery would be installed next week.

It appears that they may be replacing them as the cars become “bricked”.

 

Quite a "recall", eh?

 

Just had a very interesting and pleasant chat with a fellow at Transport Canada recalls division. I asked some questions and learned a few things.

Hyundai Canada told the government that they were going to replace the battery. The only resolution for the recall as it stands is battery replacement.

If Hyundai wants to change the remedy to something else they must inform Transport Canada BEFORE doing it. They can't just tell consumers to come in for a software update and summarily "close" the recall on that vehicle.

If they wish to change the remedy Transport Canada CAN challenge it but would likely only do so if they have complaints on file.

So we all need to complain. Search "Transport Canada Defect Complaint Form" look for the link down the page and file it electronically. Easy peasy. We need to report it as a "safety concern" not just a consumer complaint about lousy Hyundai efforts. I personally reported "fire" as a concern.

Hyundai needs to give Transport Canada a quarterly update on July 30th so we might see movement/new info then.

June 14th is the date on file for the start of $250 gift cards. So, I believe, nothing happened with processing them before that date no matter when we got the work done.

There are 3558 cars affected in Canada.

98+% of cars bricked by the Fall '20 software update/fix have had batteries replaced.

Please complain to Transport Canada. It's the best way to avoid Hyundai Canada easily skipping out on the promised battery replacement.

 

I filed my complaint too.

 

That's great. I already got a callback. They have been wonderfully responsive and helpful to me. Unfortunately Transport Canada is not an avenue for consumer complaint (loss of value due to battery capacity constraints) but will act to enforce SAFETY issues (recalls for potential fires) but they do respond to public input and complaining puts the spotlight on Hyundai to either follow through on it's recall remedy (battery replacement ) or justify why that would change (software update ).

 

Filed for my wife too as her kona is also in the recall.

 

Just sent my complaint too.

 

*Update:

Transport Canada reports that Hyundai Canada will update its website "soon" in order to show which cars would be getting a new battery and which cars could/would be treated differently.

Transport Canada admits they don't know what "soon" means although he told me to call back if I haven't seen any changes within "a week or two".

He ventures that the change might include a VIN search function which would point to a more definitive remedy.

I'm not happy if they abandon the battery replacement scheme unless they provide a transparent explanation of how and why another type of fix will resolve the issue.

 

Thanks @Wildeyed. I am presently travelling but will complete this form. As I am away from home, I don’t have access to my repair/update folder— would you or anyone else know how long ago the exploding battery issue was first publicly identified/recognized by Hyundai Canada and how many times they’ve issued recalls and software fixes as I’d like to include this info in my narrative? From my VIN check on the HC website, I only see a BMS update (R0175 (01D076)) on November 6th, 2020. I seem to recall other BMS updates beside this but I don’t recall the specifics— am I incorrect?

Again, thanks for pointing out the Transport Canada portal and form. I think your idea to report the lack of a disclosed fix and timeline is a good one!