Hyundai Motor America announced a recall of the Ioniq 5 while Kia Motors America did the same for the EV6. The two sister electric vehicle models have been recalled due to a software issue related to the parking brake.
A software error in the Shifter Control Unit (SCU) may disconnect the parking mechanism. This can cause the vehicle to roll when parked on sloping terrain.
Hyundai and Kia are not sure whether there have been any incidents of the parking brake in the US, but are investigating four incidents on the Ioniq 5 and one EV6 in South Korea.
In the incident, the vehicle accidentally overturned after being parked on an incline and the owner turned off the ignition. After investigation, Hyundai determined voltage fluctuations could affect command signals from the Shifter Control Unit, which operates the shift-by-wire system.
Description of the defects:
“The shift-by-wire system in the subject vehicles contains a Shifter Control Unit (“SCU”) and electronic parking pawl actuator. A voltage fluctuation may occur with the vehicle off and in the Park (P) position, which could impact the command signal from the SCU to the parking actuator, resulting in a momentary disengagement of the parking pawl and potential vehicle rollaway.”
Hyundai recommends using the Electronic Parking Brake (EPB) while parking pending a software update. Meanwhile, Kia recommends EV6 owners to park on flat ground and avoid parking on sloping surfaces.
In the US, there are currently 10,729 Ioniq 5 and 9,014 EV6 potentially affected by this problem. This issue may afflict other models such as the Genesis GV60 and Genesis G80 EV as they share the same platform and electronic parking actuator.
Newly produced vehicles are already getting a software update. The Kia EV6 produced from April 8 to May 3 will be updated before being distributed to dealers.
Details about the recalls:
