Hyundai Kona EV Recall #199

You're welcome! Here's a link to a University of Michigan page that gives tips on general care of lithium ion batteries.
https://news.umich.edu/tips-for-extending-the-lifetime-of-lithium-ion-batteries/

 

After posting the above, I called the phone number that pops up when I click on the telephone icon on this page:

https://autoservice.hyundaiusa.com/CampaignHome/

The phone number is (855) 671-3059 from here in the U.S. I spoke to an actual human who assured me that the fixes had been applied to my Kona. She indicated that the information being shown on their website as well as the NHTSA site was not up-to-date, and should be updated soon. I'm still a little wary about this, as I took delivery of my Kona almost one month ago (Dec. 26). I'm going to contact the dealer and see if they can document the claim that the fixes have been applied. "Get it in writing," as the lawyers say.

 

I've had zero problems with my car (now at 14000km, purchased new in March 2020) but I've made sure the updates were done so that my insurer couldn't say that I'd failed to do the maintenance and wriggle out of a claim. Also, Hyundai could try to avoid honouring their warranty if it's not done and the battery fails.

I'd just take it back and insist that the dealer bring it up to date and/or give you some paperwork to show it's been done.

 

Thank you. Good points about possible insurance and Hyundai warranty issues. I texted my Hyundai salesperson a few hours ago regarding documentation of the fixes. I'm waiting for a response. Meanwhile the Kona is sitting quietly in my garage, directly underneath two bedrooms, with an 87% charge. I never had similar worries with my beloved 2002 Dodge Stratus Coupe (3.0 liter Mitsubishi V6). I hated to sell that car, but with 175,000 miles on it, it wasn't practical to bring it 2,000 miles west during our recent move from Illinois.

 

I would be surprised if the importer were not aware of what cars have been updated. I certainly have not seen any issues with that.

If AC charging pauses at 82% for 10 minutes you can be assured that the 196 fix has been applied. It may take a couple of tries as it seems that it may not do that every time.

 

Thanks for the suggestion. I may look for the pause at 82% as you suggested. However, I still want something in writing from the dealer or from Hyundai that says the battery problem is fixed. That way if the car sets something on fire, I can't be blamed for knowingly putting my house or my neighbor's house at risk to a fire hazard. I guess I better put whatever documents I get someplace safe from a house fire.

 

I'm notice that too I thought Free" Charge Point" charger is doing that , so stop charging process and switch a port and start all over and charge 90%= 87.5%.
This my experience JG

 

Good advice. Did you receive anything in writing that shows that recall issues 196 and/or 199 were fixed? And if so, could you post images of what you received (with personal information, VIN etc. redacted)? I'd like to be able to show my dealer an example of what I'm asking for. Thanks in advance.

 

In my case, I simply have the three dealer invoices (for zero dollars) that they issued to me after doing the jobs. It enables the warranty claim on Hyundai by the dealer.

For you, the dealer and/or Hyundai USA is saying it's already been done. I'd be asking for a letter that lists which recalls have been performed.

Btw, if anyone has seen any 3rd party tools/software available that can read the version numbers directly from the car, that would be very helpful.

 

I don't even get that, just a record of the service. But Hyundai's record for my VIN shows the updates have been done and I'm fine with that.

 

Just made an appointment to take in my car for the brake recall. The service advisor told me I actually had 3 outstanding recalls. One is the brake one, another for my AC charger (in the back of the car), and another BMS update, which she said just came out within the last 2 weeks. So that was a bit of a surprise, as I had the previous 2 BMS updates done before. Now a 3rd one?

So I went to the Hyundai recall website with my VIN, and it still only shows the brake recall outstanding for my car?? What is going on here?

 

The way Hyundai and their dealers handle safety-related recalls does not inspire confidence. In my case (2020 Kona EV delivered Dec. 26, 2020) I finally got a document concerning fixes on recalls from the dealer's Service Manager today. Curiously this document (an invoice) showed a Repair Order opened November 6, and Ready on Dec. 28. Ready on the 28th? I took delivery and began driving the car two days BEFORE that. Were they just late in doing the paperwork because Dec. 26 was a Saturday (and the day after Christmas)? Was the work to correct Recalls 196 and 199 actually done? I have my doubts (especially when I see posts here saying that the update became available two weeks after my car was allegedly fixed). But at least I have a document that says I am not at fault now if the car sets my house on fire. If there's negligence associated with such an event, it's not MY negligence.

 

Presumably the two databases are not fully in sync. Let us know what you can find out about the 3rd BMS update. Perhaps they're finding it's a bit too sensitive as the number of cars triggered here by 196 and a check EV light went from 1 to about 9 yesterday, out of perhaps 800 examples in NZ.

 

I suspect that the more significant tests the BMS carries out involve judging if any cell groups (of 3) drop in voltage over that 10 minutes, indicating separator leakage. You can imagine if one cell leaks current internally the two other good parallel cells will support it, making the voltage drop smaller by 1/3 and harder to detect. In addition we have the voltage measurement resolution limitation of 0.02 V, which actually means the difference can be nearly twice that, 0.039 V, in the worst possible case before a difference is recognised.
If the max allowable real imbalance for one cell by itself is 0.10 V then that doesn't leave much precision to make this assessment over the group of three.
Hope that's clear, if it isn't, shout.

 

So is no one else aware of this 3rd BMS update? I don't like being the guinea pig. Having said that with past recalls and my reduction drive and motor replacements, this dealer has yet to screw anything up on my car. I heard a lot of others mention dead 12V batteries, incomplete updates, and even temporarily bricked cars afterwards. I never experienced any of that. So I think I will let them do it all, and see what the invoices say. The service advisors are pretty good at explaining what they do as well.

I don't check my battery cell voltages often, but normally all the same or a few at .01V diff. But one time, though, after a 100% charge and checking it again when home I did find a bunch of cell groups at .02V diff (4.14 and 4.12), none at only .01 diff, which was weird.

 

Take this with with a massive grain of salt for the moment but I just read on FB about a San Diego owner whose dealer did an update that limited the full charge to 89%. That could be the 3rd update. Here's the text:

 

Hmmm, thanks a lot. Now you have me worried. Sure would like to know more about this 3rd update.