WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) has opened an investigation into automaker Hyundai regarding a serious issue with the company’s 2022 Ioniq 5 electric vehicle (EV) where customers have complained about a sudden – and in many instances, total – loss of power.
The agency has received a total of 30 consumer complaints stating that drivers had heard a loud pop, followed by a warning error popping up on their dashboard display screen and an immediate loss of power. In some instances, the power loss was partial, but in many of the occurrences the vehicle instantly and completely lost all power.
NHTSA is currently looking into all 39,559 Ioniq 5 EVs that were sold from the model’s 2022 year.
The complaints from motorists are being taken very seriously by NHTSA due to the fact that the issue happens without any warning and the effects are instantly felt. This can lead to potentially very dangerous safety issues when the problem occurs when driving on the freeway, which is when many people reported the malfunction taking place.
While driving vehicle, car had sudden and rapid loss of power that resulted in significant decrease in speed,” one complaint read. “Vehicle was nearly in a rear-end collision due to sudden drop in speed.”
Another vehicle owner afflicted by this issue noted that,
I was driving my Hyundai Ioniq 5 SEL northbound on CA Highway 135 when I heard a loud pop coming from my car. Within a few seconds my car lost speed rapidly, from 55 mph to 25 then a second later 22 mph. A message appeared on the right side of the dash board in an orange circle ‘check vehicle system’ with a small upside-down triangle with letters EV also inside this circle and a ‘small orange battery’ picture showed on the left. I drove the car onto the shoulder of the road with my hazard lights blinking. Immediately upon entering the parking lot, my car stopped dead, before I had a chance to pull into a parking space.”
Hyundai has stated that the company is fully cooperating with the investigation and has identified the issue that is responsible for the defect. To correct the problem the company is planning to roll out a software update in July and will replace failed Integrated Charging Control Unit (ICCU) modules – which normally cost about $8,700 – in all afflicted vehicles free of charge.
Christopher Boyle is an investigative journalist, videographer, reporter and writer for SEARCHEN NETWORKS® as well as other independent news and media organizations in the United States. Christopher works on a wide variety of topics and fields, has been featured in print and online in a variety of publications, from local to national, and helps keep a keen-eye on what’s happening in the automotive world for Auto Buyers Market.