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

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electriceddy said:
Its really speculative, as the actual chemistries are ambiguously shared to my knowledge. LG in particular seems to keep that part very secretive.
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An update regarding the HV battery problems/recall. It is not from Hyundai, it is from GM - doos info but not very reassuring. There ain't no final fix yet.
(I am still waiting for South Korean bolts to hold my new battery up. :()

https://insideevs.com/news/487144/chevrolet-bolt-ev-recall-update-gm/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:+InsideEvs+(Inside+EVs)
 
Lars said:
An update regarding the HV battery problems/recall. It is not from Hyundai, it is from GM - doos info but not very reassuring. There ain't no final fix yet.
(I am still waiting for South Korean bolts to hold my new battery up. :()

https://insideevs.com/news/487144/chevrolet-bolt-ev-recall-update-gm/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:+InsideEvs+(Inside+EVs)
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More on this from today's issue
https://insideevs.com/news/487476/h...ail&utm_campaign=Feed:+InsideEvs+(Inside+EVs)
 
R P said:
Not sure if this article has been posted here yet.
https://electrek.co/2021/02/12/cause-of-lg-battery-fires-rumored-to-be-found/
But I find this discussion about dendrites and the separators very interesting.
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Informative article. I do agree with battery pack replacements as "the final fix" and that software is only a band aid as described as the dendrite formation issue through the separators can occur at any charge level. I second the valuation of the requirement to get by this problem ASAP by replacement of the packs to resume assurance of safety of EVs using these pouch type cells, and renew the confidence new purchasers would demand.
I do not however agree with the "small cash incentive for loss of range" as we purchased those vehicles with the assurance of the stated specifications given by the manufacturers.
 
At the very least, Hyundai should give us all a life time warranty. But if the NTSB or other safety agency deems this to be a safety issue, a recall and replacement may be mandatory. Remember all the Takata airbag recalls?...
 
Lars said:
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More on this from today's issue
https://insideevs.com/news/487476/hyundai-kona-electric-fires-lg-cell-defect/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:+InsideEvs+(Inside+EVs)
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Not the best written article but the points are there. Naturally no company wants to accept the legal responsibility and thus communication is vague at best.
Best part of the article was one of the comments... the plot thickens, although LG Energy Solution refuses the reports are factual, it would be already to seek compensation from it's battery separator supplier
If this is the case, then LG should be easily limit the recall to know the problem of the separator and figure out which date codes are impacted"
Hyundai issued an affected date range on the recalls, but it would clarify those dates are proper with the acknowledgement from LG Energy Solutions themselves, as to when the new type (updated) separators were installed in the packs.;)
 
electriceddy said:
Informative article. I do agree with battery pack replacements as "the final fix" and that software is only a band aid as described as the dendrite formation issue through the separators can occur at any charge level. I second the valuation of the requirement to get by this problem ASAP by replacement of the packs to resume assurance of safety of EVs using these pouch type cells, and renew the confidence new purchasers would demand.
I do not however agree with the "small cash incentive for loss of range" as we purchased those vehicles with the assurance of the stated specifications given by the manufacturers.
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I fully agree with you. The real question is are the batteries produced lately, and since when, have been fixed? Since there is no definitive word that anyone knows for sure what the problem is, the answer is likely NO. In the meantime there is a battery shortage - I waited for three months for my new one. So let's assume that the manufacturer is making cells/packs as fast as they can for the production line(s?) and for replacements like mine. Sorry to say but this does not look good.I would assume that owners of Konas and Bolts should somehow be compensated.
 
R P said:
At the very least, Hyundai should give us all a life time warranty. But if the NTSB or other safety agency deems this to be a safety issue, a recall and replacement may be mandatory. Remember all the Takata airbag recalls?...
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Lifetime warranty would work. Unfortunately still lots of cars out there with exploding shrapnel airbags as a stop driving order has never been issued due to the sheer # of affected units. These exploding batteries are not even close to those numbers so I would hope a stop driving order would speed up any replacement process.
 
:D:)
Lars said:
I fully agree with you. The real question is are the batteries produced lately, and since when, have been fixed? Since there is no definitive word that anyone knows for sure what the problem is, the answer is likely NO. In the meantime there is a battery shortage - I waited for three months for my new one. So let's assume that the manufacturer is making cells/packs as fast as they can for the production line(s?) and for replacements like mine. Sorry to say but this does not look good.I would assume that owners of Konas and Bolts should somehow be compensated.
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Lars said:
I waited for three months for my new one. So let's assume that the manufacturer is making cells/packs as fast as they can for the production line(s?)
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Hopefully they can produce/ship replacement bolts that hold them in at the same or better rate;):D
 
What will it be, what will it be, is the spinning off of LGChem to secure the concern in the event of bankruptcy of the battery producing branch? Or maybe, as some suggest, cheebol will have to change its name again and the state budget will have to reach deep into the pocket? It is a pity for the development of the entire EV industry.
 
I find this very encouraging news, and look forward to the official announcement on Friday. It is well within all the companies involved financial means to resolve this the best way possible and to save face while restoring confidence in the Hyundai brand as a whole.
The timing is excellent as well with the Ionic 5 about to be unveiled within the next week.
As far as replacements, whether SK or LG, this could also provide the 2 companies to settle their dispute for good (work together) and a possible reversal of the U.S. ITC ruling to provide the batteries for the positive future EV's in general.
It would also be prudent for LG to disclose the actual fault has been remedied (with new separators or whatever means) and limited to the earlier production packs in line with the recall dates were provided by Hyundai.
If the replacements go ahead, the batteries should be pre-ordered and installed with little inconvenience to customers and eliminate the ~ 3 month wait with the car at the dealerships, while becoming the benchmark for the procedure for any future replacements for whatever issues (premature degradation etc).
I also hope the Chevrolet Bolt issues are also resolved in a similar fashion.
 
My only concern is that it's all fine to go and replace 77 000 batteries.... But how long will this take?! Months if not years most likely. As a Kona owner myself, even if risks are low I am not sitting on a potential ticking timebomb for months until they replace my battery so I hope there is a buyback option as well which would only be fair as the battery pack is probably 2/3rds of the price of the Kona anyway.
 
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MGrognon said:
My only concern is that it's all fine to go and replace 77 000 batteries.... But how long will this take?! Months if not years most likely. As a Kona owner myself, even if risks are low I am not sitting on a potential ticking timebomb for months until they replace my battery so I hope there is a buyback option as well which would only be fair as the battery pack is probably 2/3rds of the price of the Kona anyway.
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If they offer some kind of buyback, I would be all over it.. I love the Kona and I'm NOT worried about the battery as it seems to affect only a very low percentage of cars... but I really want to get a Tesla Model Y for the Supercharger Network.. I have been holding off taking my car to South Texas as there are no Level 3 chargers in the Rio Grande Valley :(.. I've been waiting and waiting and they are not adding any Level 3 chargers there.. However, there are Superchargers on the way from Houston to McAllen.. There seem to be no plans to add any chargers between Houston and McAllen.. There isn't even a single Hotel in that area that offers J1772 charging..
 
electriceddy said:
I find this very encouraging news, and look forward to the official announcement on Friday. It is well within all the companies involved financial means to resolve this the best way possible and to save face while restoring confidence in the Hyundai brand as a whole.
The timing is excellent as well with the Ionic 5 about to be unveiled within the next week.
As far as replacements, whether SK or LG, this could also provide the 2 companies to settle their dispute for good (work together) and a possible reversal of the U.S. ITC ruling to provide the batteries for the positive future EV's in general.
It would also be prudent for LG to disclose the actual fault has been remedied (with new separators or whatever means) and limited to the earlier production packs in line with the recall dates were provided by Hyundai.
If the replacements go ahead, the batteries should be pre-ordered and installed with little inconvenience to customers and eliminate the ~ 3 month wait with the car at the dealerships, while becoming the benchmark for the procedure for any future replacements for whatever issues (premature degradation etc).
I also hope the Chevrolet Bolt issues are also resolved in a similar fashion.
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It will be interesting to see if the replacement batteries will come form LG or from SKI, the ones used by Konas built in Czechia. And I don't think either manufacturers can just whip up 70-80,000+ batteries. The US embargo on SKI batteries may also hurt us in Canada. Bet that Hyundai thinks of us as "part of the North Americas market".
P.S. As of this morining I am still short of four (4) South Korean bolts. :mad:
 
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