Hyundai has announced that it’s recalling more than 800 of its 2021 year-model Kona Electric vehicles. According to the filing, an internal leak in the Electric Power Control Unit (EPCU) could result in a loss of power or even a stall. Thankfully, Hyundai isn’t aware of any injuries due to the malfunction despite multiple field reports of the power loss.
In addition, Hyundai says that it spotted the potential problem back in early November and through an internal investigation decided to move forward with the recall by December 9 of this year.
The automaker says that 853 Kona EVs from the 2021 model year are equipped with an EPCU that might have insufficient sealing at the DC-DC converter housing. Evidently, that error was caused by inadequate steam cleaning during production.
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Vehicles that experience the potential internal coolant leak could end up with contamination of the main controller. In turn, that could trigger the Kona EV’s limited mobility “fail safe” mode. It could also cause a sudden loss of power or even a total stall. Depending on the results of contamination, some owners could get warning messages on their driver information display.
Interestingly enough, dealers won’t be notified about this recall until February 14, 2023. In fact, that’s the same day that letters to affected owners will go out. With that in mind, those who suspect that they might own an affected vehicle should call the NHTSA or go to its website for more information.
Ultimately, Hyundai says that it’ll inspect and replace the EPCU at no cost to the customer regardless of whether or not they’re still inside of their warranty period.
