Porsche has responded and confirmed the report on the Taycan recall. In a statement sent to CarScoops, the German company’s North American division said it has “determined that a software issue can, in certain instances, incorrectly and sporadically detect a potentially faulty communication and trigger a possible loss of motive power”.
To address the problem, Porsche has come up with a software update for the power electronics and engine control unit, with the company having notified the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that it will recall certain MY20 and MY21 Porsche Taycan models.
“The update is now available, it has been implemented in production, and a number of customer vehicles have already received the update,” said Porsche. “Dealers will update the new vehicles in their inventory prior to delivery to customers. Customers affected will be notified this month and their vehicles will be remedied via a brief dealer visit free of charge and at their earliest convenience.” [Updated 7/2/2021]
Original story follows below.
A software issue causing the Porsche Taycan to go into emergency mode could lead to a global recall of the electric vehicle.
Bloomberg, citing sources who wish to remain anonymous, reports that Porsche is preparing the recall and that it may announce the extent of the issue in the coming days. The report follows an investigation launched by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in May into what it described as a sudden loss of power.
NHTSA’s investigation suggested that the Taycan could lose power “while in motion, at any speed without warning to the driver.” The safety regulator said that 12,146 vehicles were involved in its investigation, though Porsche countered that it had not actually sold that many Taycans in the U.S. at that point. A spokesperson did confirm, though, that the automaker was looking into the issue.
Read More: NHTSA Investigating Porsche Taycan For Power Loss Issue
“We are already underway in addressing this issue and look forward to answering NHTSA’s questions and quickly resolving the underlying issue, should one be confirmed,” a spokesperson said in May. “All Taycans remain safe to drive. We are not aware of accidents reported in connection with this issue.”
We reached out to Porsche for a statement and a spokesperson told us that they would share “more details on this as soon as we can.” We will update this story as soon as we hear from the company.
In any case, if Porsche eventually goes ahead with the recall, it won’t be the first to struggle with software in its new EV. Polestar also faced a software problem that caused the all-electric 2 to brick. Tesla, meanwhile, recently recalled 285,000 vehicles in China for a cruise control issue that it said it could fix with an over-the-air software update.