PSA: Recall for HV Battery

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inferno10

inferno10

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A new recall was posted on the NHTSA’s website that affects about 12,535 Mini Cooper SEs from 2020-2024. A fault could occur in the high voltage battery, resulting in a short circuit. This may cause the battery to overheat and, in rare cases, result in a thermal event, or fire, even when the vehicle is not in operation.

The fix is a software update. According to Mini, the software fix will do the following:
Your vehicle will receive a software update which, if this issue occurs, will automatically discharge the high voltage battery / system to a level of 30% State-of-Charge, the high-voltage battery emergency mode. This software update will be performed free of charge, and take several hours.

Link to the NHTSA recall: https://www.nhtsa.gov/?nhtsaId=24V612000

Check your VIN on MINI’s recalls page to see if your car is affected: https://www.miniusa.com/owners/tools-support/recall.html
 
I just got an email from Carfax indicating the recall applicable to my SE, but the Mini recall page doesn't list it when searching the VIN.
 
I see it on Carfax too, but not on the MINI site. Ugh, this doesn't sound like fun to take care of. The software updates really do take forever.
 
Guess I might actually have to make the 3 hour trip to a dealer and do my 2-year maintenance now, along with the recall...

Forgot about the bimmercode stuff too - that'll be annoying.
 
endquote said:
I see it on Carfax too, but not on the MINI site. Ugh, this doesn't sound like fun to take care of. The software updates really do take forever.
Click to expand...

Maybe I should buy a lottery ticket, as mine was one of the 5% affected. I’m getting this installed next week.
 
just took mine in today. fyi to anyone else. this takes a couple hours. so schedule ahead to get a loaner if you live far from the dealership.
 
Puppethead said:
Worse than that, they revert any customizations such as Bimmercode changes.
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"Learn esys" is one of those to-do list items I keep putting off. Is anybody on here able to do remote saves of CAFD files? I have some mods that are a little more complicated, and I'm not sure they're saved to the VO. My 2-year service is next week.
 
inferno10 said:
The fix is a software update. According to Mini, the software fix will do the following:
Your vehicle will receive a software update which, if this issue occurs, will automatically discharge the high voltage battery / system to a level of 30% State-of-Charge, the high-voltage battery emergency mode. This software update will be performed free of charge, and take several hours.
Click to expand...


How exactly could this happen? How could the battery be fully charged and then suddenly discharged to 30%?

Where does that current go when the battery is suddenly placed in emergency mode?


Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs
 
Jim In Tucson said:

How exactly could this happen? How could the battery be fully charged and then suddenly discharged to 30%?

Where does that current go when the battery is suddenly placed in emergency mode?


Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs
Click to expand...

I had the same thought. Perhaps/presumably the battery is slowly bled down to 30% by deliberately creating a short, with the resulting heat energy being dissipated via the cooling system? This wouldn't stop a thermal runaway that had already started, but could prevent one.

(Note that I know next-to-nothing about batteries, but do still remember my high school physics, including the Laws of Thermodynamics.)
 
CuriousGeorge said:
Same or different than this?

https://www.insideevsforum.com/comm...l-due-to-battery-manufacturing-defects.19463/
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Looking at the PDF on the NHTSA page, I’d say they’re related but not the same recall. They both seem to reference an Oct 2023 event and a Jan 2024 event. Perhaps the investigation found multiple potential factors, so separate recalls to deal with each risk factor.

My VIN only shows the software fix, not the resealing fix. I wonder if anyone is affected by both.
 
Jim In Tucson said:

How exactly could this happen? How could the battery be fully charged and then suddenly discharged to 30%?

Where does that current go when the battery is suddenly placed in emergency mode?


Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs
Click to expand...
I'm guessing that the car turns everything on like lights, heater or AC and whatever else draws a lot of current. It's going to take a LLLOOOTTT of time to get down from 100% to 30% doing that
 
Looks like my 2023 is impacted as well. It does beg the question though. This being a software only update, what happens if this fault occurs and the battery discharges down to 30%? I would assume the car would inform me of this and I would need to bring it in to Mini to have the battery replaced. (presumably free of charge *no pun intended*)
 
In 2023 alone, there were 45,261 SEs sold worldwide (including USA). BMWNA's voluntary recall estimates about a 5% defect rate.

Vehicle 1 : 2020-2024 MINI Hardtop 2 Door (Cooper SE)
Vehicle Type : LIGHT VEHICLES
Body Style : 2-DOOR
Power Train : HYBRID ELECTRIC
Descriptive Information : Approximately 12,535 vehicles were manufactured with a high voltage battery that may not have been produced according to specifications. Basis for recall population determination: Vehicle manufacturing information and component assembly records were reviewed
to determine the number and production date range of potentially affected vehicles.
Recall component difference to non-recall component: All vehicles produced from 03/21/2019 through 01/25/2024.​

Fortunately for me, I checked my VIN and I am not affected by the recall.
 
Checked my VIN and looks like I am impacted. I wonder what happens if you wake up one morning and your battery is unexpected below 30%. Does that mean you get a new battery?
 
Just got my car back. took them a couple hours.

new software version is 002.176.001

now I gotta reprogram all my bimmercode stuff
 
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