Hyundai recalls over 100,000 Kona Electric vehicles

According to Germany’s federal motor authority (KBA) recall database, a total of 104,011 units of the battery-electric model, produced between 24 January 2018 and 15 July 2023, are potentially affected worldwide. Of these, 13,523 are registered in Germany. The faulty battery monitoring software may fail to detect thermal instability in the high-voltage battery in time, increasing the risk of fire, as stated in the database.

At workshops, an updated software version will be installed on the battery management system (BMS) control unit. This upgrade includes an improved monitoring function to detect thermal instability at an earlier stage. As the German portal kfz-betrieb reports, the software will be adjusted ‘to detect voltage differences between the individual cells of the high-voltage battery sooner.’ In some cases, the entire high-voltage battery may be replaced as a precaution, though the software update is expected to resolve the issue for most vehicles.

The production period indicates that only the first-generation Kona Electric is affected. A new generation of the compact crossover was introduced in 2023, and hit the road in October that year. The newer generation features different batteries and is not affected by the recall.

This is not the first battery-related recall for the first-generation Kona Electric. In 2020, the manufacturer voluntarily recalled over 25,000 units in South Korea. The cause was a potential defect in the battery cells supplied by LG Chem (now LG Energy Solution). At the time, the measures included updating the battery software and replacing the battery system in individual cases where anomalies had already been detected.

The Kona Electric was long Hyundai’s most affordable electric model and thus highly sought-after, including in Europe. However, it remains unclear which specific versions of the Kona Electric are affected. The model was available with two battery variants, offering 39.2 kWh and 64 kWh of energy capacity, respectively. According to kfz-betrieb, customers in online forums speculate that only units built in South Korea, with a vehicle identification number (VIN) starting with ‘KMHK,’ are affected. For Europe, most units imported from South Korea were delivered before 2020, while since then, the majority of Kona Electric vehicles for the continent have been produced at Hyundai’s European plant in the Czech Republic. A query from kfz-betrieb to Hyundai to clarify the affected vehicles has apparently gone unanswered, meaning the theory regarding South Korean origin remains unconfirmed.

kfz-betrieb.vogel.de, kba-online.de (KBA recall database, reference number 16242R; both links in German)