Josh Hendrickson
If you have a 2019 or 2020 Hyundai Kona, or a 2020 Hyundai Ioniq electric vehicle, it may be recalled. The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued the recall after more than a dozen battery fire reports. You might want to park away from the garage.
According to the NHTSA, the problem stems from an electrical short in the EV’s lithium-ion battery cells, and that can to a fire while parked, charging, or driving. Until the problem can be fixed, you shouldn’t park your car near structures or in your garage. According to the NHTSA, in affected cars, “the battery’s Anode (Negative) tab can be folded. A folded Anode tab in the battery cell could allow the Lithium plating on the Anode tab to contact the Cathode resulting in an electrical short.”
For now, you can take your car to a dealer to have the charge limit lowered to mitigate the risk of fire. Eventually, Hyundai plans to replace the batteries for free. In total, Hyundai plans to recall over 80,000 vehicles globally. You can head to the NHTSA and input your VIN to see if your car is among the recalled. Hyundai vehicles from 2021 are unaffected by the problem.
Hyundai says it will start the full recall in late April.
