Exploding Kona Electric

  • Thread starter Thread starter apu
  • Start date Start date
  • Replies Replies 191
  • Views Views 42K
Notice that past a certain miles (22,500, 36,000 km) they assume your battery is OK. Less than that and it must pass a insulation test. Fail that and you get a new traction battery.
I'd guess that many owners have less miles than that, I'm still at 14,000 km.
 
W
Ed Zwieback said:
It would pay Hyundai to get some good legal and PR help and put out some clear info on the current "Exploding Kona EVs...." news.
Click to expand...
Well it looks like we are up to at least 6 cars on the wiki Kona EV burn list, proportionally to total vehicles produced that is much worse than Tesla, clearly Hyundai has a problem.
 
I'm in California and just checked the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's auto recall site and my 2020 Kona's VIN came back as negative for a recall.
 
apu said:
W

Well it looks like we are up to at least 6 cars on the wiki Kona EV burn list, proportionally to total vehicles produced that is much worse than Tesla, clearly Hyundai has a problem.
Click to expand...

Are there reports of Bolt, or other EV battery fires? Just curious if the occasional failure is endemic to the EV industry.
 
Not sure of Bolts.....but Teslas, definitely. I watched a few videos that showed Teslas spontaneously combust while sitting in a parking garage....taking nearby cars with it.

There are 6-7 reported cases so far of Kona EVs exploding, worldwide. But considering the thousands of Kona EVs that are sold worldwide....it is a very, very low probability that your Kona EV will explode. In fact, you are more likely to get a clunking noise problem as opposed to explosion.
 
Bill Carter said:
Are there reports of Bolt, or other EV battery fires? Just curious if the occasional failure is endemic to the EV industry.
Click to expand...

Yes, most EV and PHEV's manufactures have had fires including Tesla, Hyundai, BMW, Chevrolet, Dodge, Nissan, VW, Porsche and the list goes on. Here is a link to Wikipedia on the topic of EV fires.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plug-in_electric_vehicle_fire_incidents.

In each case it is a very small number of the total number of vehicles built so it does not to appear to be any more of a problem than fires in ICE powered vehicles. A concern yes but probably not a cause for alarm.
 
Ed Zwieback said:
My 2020-Ult. mfgr. date was 26 Oct 2019.
As my Kona garage is right below our bedroom, I would sleep better if I knew that Hyundai knew the cause and the fix, and I got Hyundai info that my car was "exempt".
Click to expand...

Your car is not exempt. Per the Korean TSB, all Konas manufactured between September 29, 2017 and February 13, 2020 qualify for this BMS update. May need to wait for your dealer to get the memo.
 
KiwiME said:
Notice that past a certain miles (22,500, 36,000 km) they assume your battery is OK. Less than that and it must pass a insulation test. Fail that and you get a new traction battery.
I'd guess that many owners have less miles than that, I'm still at 14,000 km.
Click to expand...
I noticed that also, I would assume that test would be a normal check in the system and would now (post update) produce an error code to be verified at the dealer service under the new insulation test guidelines.
10,000 km on mine.
 
electriceddy said:
Transport Canada reveals "high voltage battery area sustained the most damage" :
https://insideevs.com/news/430353/hyundai-kona-eletric-blast-battery-most-damage/
with some reference to the recent BMS update ;)
Click to expand...
Looking at the Canadian and Korean fires, it seems that the cars just burned, not exploded. Sure, the HV pack has a string of mini explosions as each cell ignites, but after the initial pop, they just burn. The enormity of the explosion in the case of the Canadian event is perplexing.
 
apu said:
Another recent(Nov 1)Chevy Bolt(Ampera E) fire, https://insideevs.com/news/452410/watch-opel-ampera-e-fire-germany-video/. I think this is their 4th. These cars also have LG chem batteries with similar cell chemistry to Kona, maybe there is something to LG having some quality control issues.
Click to expand...
Damn. One of the reasons I picked the Kona was that they were using stuff that was similar to the Bolt. "They've been making those for several years and they seem fine" I said.
The Bolt pack is a totally different shape than the Kona pack... but that may be arrangement of submodules rather than cells.
 
Fastnf said:
Yes, most EV and PHEV's manufactures have had fires including Tesla, Hyundai, BMW, Chevrolet, Dodge, Nissan, VW, Porsche and the list goes on. Here is a link to Wikipedia on the topic of EV fires.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plug-in_electric_vehicle_fire_incidents.

In each case it is a very small number of the total number of vehicles built so it does not to appear to be any more of a problem than fires in ICE powered vehicles. A concern yes but probably not a cause for alarm.
Click to expand...
Innovative remotely operated equipment developed in Austria specific to EVs will now reduce hazards related to Lithium Ion EV fires and will be available for fire departments to receive delivery by early 2022. The unit has been tested with all cell formats including pouch, prismatic and cylindrical cells.
extincteur-batteries-vehicules-electriques-hd.jpg

https://www.rideapart.com/news/548076/rosenbauer-electric-vehicle-fire-extinguisher/
 
Stellantis joining the troop (although a little late to the LG Chem party) with the Pacifica Hybrid...again early model years 2017-18.

"Stellantis, is recalling 19,808 Pacifica Hybrid minivans due to a potential fire risk.
12 fires occurred with Pacifica Hybrids in those model years. All of those 12 fires happened when the vehicles were parked and turned off, with 8 of them charging as well.
Both the Pacifica Hybrid and Bolt EV / EUV use the same battery supplier, LG Chem. The South Korean firm issued the following statement in response to the Pacifica fires:

“There is no confirmed root cause of fires in the STLA vehicles that is subject to the recall, or proof directly linking to the battery, as mentioned in its statement. Considering STLA’s statement, LGES has no further comment.”
Source:
https://insideevs.com/news/567150/chrysler-pacifica-phev-recall/
 
Interestingly (according to the EV media) the Renault Zoe 41kWh EV uses the same E63 cell that is in affected Konas but I've personally never heard of an issue.
This is a very common EV in many countries outside N.A. Maybe there's some truth to Hyundai's BMS fast charging regime that LGES claim is partly the problem? The Zoe 41kWh is limited to 43kW AC-only, because of the lack of a DC port.
From the Wiki page:
  • Second generation battery:
    • Thermals: air cooled
    • Total weight: 305 kg
    • Total capacity: 45.61 kWh (estimation by knowing the usable capacity)
    • Available capacity: 41 kWh
    • Cells: 192 cells, each with 63.35 Ah nominal capacity (estimation) and 3.75 V nominal voltage
    • Total cell weight: 180.12 kg (estimation by knowing the total battery weight)
    • Charging: type 2 (22 kW AC with 3-phase), and 43 kW 3-phase for Q90 variant
 
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top