Hyundai Motor Group has announced that it will extend warranties for cars that suffer from a rare issue which has nevertheless plagued some owners, potentially causing cars to lose power.
Some of Hyundai and Kia’s E-GMP vehicles have suffered from a persistent issue with the cars’ Integrated Charge Control Unit which can lead to loss of power, either stopping a car from starting or even stranding drivers mid-drive.
While the issue is rare (around ~1% of cars), affected owners have sometimes had to wait months for service or had multiple failures even after the part was replaced.
Hyundai has implemented some fixes, including a recall and software updates, attempting to reduce voltage spikes that could pop a fuse when charging the 12-volt battery, which seems to be the problem.
This hasn’t fully solved the problem though, so now Hyundai is giving itself more time to address it, and offering a 5-year, 80,000-mile warranty extension for this specific issue,on top of the standard 10-year, 100k-mile powertrain warranty. ICCU issues will now have a total 15-year, 180k-mile warranty.
We got this statement from Hyundai detailing the change:
Hyundai Motor America is committed to the safety, quality, and long‑term reliability of our vehicles. Based on ongoing monitoring of ICCU performance in certain Hyundai electric vehicles, Hyundai has approved a Warranty Extension for the Integrated Charging Control Unit (ICCU) in affected U.S. vehicles. This action extends ICCU coverage to 15 years or 180,000 miles, whichever occurs first, and is offered at no cost to customers. Customers experiencing related symptoms, such as warning lights, reduced power, or charging limitations, are encouraged to contact their local Hyundai dealer for diagnosis and support. Customer safety and confidence remain our top priorities. Customers can check the status of their vehicle by entering their VIN at autoservice.hyundaiusa.com/campaignhome.
While we talked to Hyundai North America, it looks like the company might be taking this remedy global – certain vehicles are getting a similar warranty update in Germany.
We also reached out to Kia, whose vehicles are built on the same E-GMP platform. Kia told us: “Kia will update our dealers and EV6 owners on a similar program in the coming days.” So, they’re not ready on the exact specifics, but it sounds like a similar remedy will come.
Electrek’s Take
A lot of owners and commenters have been quite angry about this issue across various EV forums. It’s understandable, because even though it’s rare, those affected have had quite poor experiences.
We’ve seen a lot of commenters saying that this issue would keep them from buying any E-GMP vehicle, even if it’s unlikely for any individual car to experience it.
In particular, the persistence of the issue and lack of a simple fix has been troubling. This has been going on for a couple years now.
But this sounds like a good step towards acknowledging and solving the problem. At least Hyundai is signaling that cars that become affected by this issue will be covered with a fix long into the future. Which will also buy the company time to solve the problem before it happens to any individual car.
But it doesn’t solve the whole problem, as it would still mean service time for cars that do end up affected by the issue. So, if you haven’t gotten the software updates yet, you should check your car’s VIN on Hyundai or Kia’s website and get it updated if you’re eligible.
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