Hyundai North America will recall over 5,900 model year 2017-2019 Ioniq Electric vehicles beginning in February 2022 to address an issue with the accelerator system.
The South Korean automaker will be recalling a total of 2,679 Ioniq Electric units in the United States and 3,236 Ioniq EVs In Canada. Those with the defect were produced from Jan. 21, 2016 through June 24, 2019.
According to NHTSA, during operation, the subject vehicles may enter a “fail-safe” mode causing the EV Ready lamp to flash, accompanied with reduced acceleration and overall power output. In rare instances, while in this “fail-safe” mode, a slow, unintended acceleration event can occur following full accelerator pedal release, if, a specific set of sequences are met. The sequence steps being (1) the accelerator pedal is rapidly cycled at the moment the “fail-safe” mode is initially engaged, (2) followed by a sustained period of 100% accelerator pedal application and lastly (3) an abrupt release of the accelerator pedal. The braking and steering systems are fully functional during the “fail-safe” mode. The unexpected continuation of acceleration following accelerator pedal release may increase the risk of a crash.
Hyundai said that NHTSA determined the cause to be electrical noise generation due to deterioration of the electrical ground, which can create a communication error within the vehicle’s Controller Area Network bus, according to the recall safety report.
All owners of the subject vehicles will be notified by first class mail with instructions to bring their vehicles to a Hyundai dealer to have the remedy applied and the EPCU (Electric Power Control Unit) software updated. This remedy will be offered at no cost for all affected customers.
The remedy includes additional ground wiring between the vehicle’s Drive Motor & Reduction Gear assembly and frame.
