Hi all, after reading various posts on here I'm getting the impression that Hyundai are no longer just going to swap the batteries of all 'affected' Konas. Please correct me if you disagree but it seems they will run a battery cell test on all affected Konas and if it passes, then NO swap? Back to 100% charging and off you go. This sound about right?
Who knows! It seems to be different in different countries and the policy seems to change within each country too!!! There is also a lot of misinformation here and elsewhere, so just sit back and wait!
We finally got called by Hyundai corporate and we are scheduled for recall 200 HV Battery replacement September 9th. Dealer is local here in Florida. Our Kona EV is 2019, purchased from upstate NY dealer, shipped to us & took delivery March 7,2019. We love our car, and hope to get the battery replaced and again enjoy full use, no more 80% limits.
That is my impressions as well based on the revised Verbiage on RECALL 200 ... They seem to NOW say that inspect & Replace "if necessary"> Like if the cells are within some tolerance they're checking for. I'm hoping they do in fact SWAP them out. Otherwise this burn-down-the-house thing will always be in the back of my mind every time I charge in the garage.
Hyundai's description of the problem is that "A folded Anode tab in the battery cell could allow the Lithium plating on the Anode tab to contact the Cathode, resulting in an electrical short. An electrical short internally within battery cell(s) increases the risk of a vehicle fire while parked, charging and/or driving." So does that mean that there could be a tiny short that might eventually become worse and start a fire? And they can test for it? Could there be a really tiny, undetectable pre-short that could become a short after it tested good?
Insulation resistance is easy to check within one cell, however detecting that in a group of 3P (which is the only way given the BMS/wiring limitations) would be more difficult to measure. It is possible a battery pack would pass that test with given individual cell specifications and unfortunately still hide a defect only to show up later. The best way to monitor would be a deviation in the overall cell group which I believe existing software is ~100 mv before throwing a code (or preventing usage) which provides a as close to the best protection from such an occurrence. Hyundai has implemented probably one of the toughest pack test standards in the industry regarding this issue, example 2 Nissan Leafs I owned wouldn't throw a code under 250 mv deviation. The possibility is still there for an undetectable short, as with any BEV, but I wouldn't lose any sleep over it
