- Jaguar is recalling 2,760 I-Paces over a fire risk.
- The vehicles have software that was supposed to address the issue, but three fires have been reported.
- Owners are being advised to park outside and get new software that will limit their battery to an 80% charge until a permanent remedy is available.
Jaguar is recalling 2,760 I-Pace EVs from the 2019 model year as their battery may overheat and cause a fire. This is a serious safety issue and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is telling owners to park and charge their vehicles outside, away from structures, until the repair is complete and for 30 days afterwards.
The latest recall seeks to address concerns that diagnostic software introduced to address previous recalls was inadequate. That’s an understatement as the safety recall report reveals multiple fires involving I-Paces with updated software. The report went on to say these vehicles “experienced thermal overload, which showed as smoke or fire from the underside of the vehicle where the high voltage traction battery is located.”
More: Jaguar Recalls I-Pace EV After 8 Battery-Related Fires In The U.S.
The investigation is ongoing, but it has been determined that the diagnostic software does not provide an “appropriate level of protection.” As a result, owners who thought they were safe could be left with a false sense of security. This is extremely dangerous as an I-Pace could potentially catch fire while parked in a garage, while its owners are sleeping.
The report says that after the initial recalls – H441, H459 and H471 – were conducted, Jaguar continued to monitor the situation. A “small number of post recall fire events were reported” and the capability of the diagnostic software was further reviewed in July of this year. This highlighted limitations of the software and it was eventually determined that vehicles which were not part of the H484 safety recall “require a further recall to better mitigate the thermal overload condition.”
Three post recall fires have been reported in the United States and vehicles involved in the latest recall will receive updated software that will limit charging of the battery to 80%. This is just a temporary fix as a “permanent remedy is under development.”
Owners will be notified once that is available, but asking them to park outside for 30 days after the repair has been completed doesn’t exactly inspire a lot of confidence.
