Hyundai and Kia's Coolest EVs Recalled for Rolling When Parked
Photo: Hyundai
Hyundai and Kia are facing another recall, and this time it isn’t due to engine fires. That’s mostly because the two vehicles being recalled don’t have engines. That’s right, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6 are being recalled because of an issue with the parking pawl software. It has been dubbed the “Vehicle Rollaway from Software Error” recall.
If you dig into the NHTSA’s website, you can find a description of exactly what’s wrong with the cars (they both have the same issue):
“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 momentary disengagement of the parking pawl and potential vehicle rollaway.”
Basically, an error in the SCU is causing the parking pawl actuator to disengage.
The issue was first brought to the attention of the NHTSA on May 2nd. All in all, it impacts all 9,014 Kia EV6s and 10,729 Ioniq 5s.
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Oddly, while both cars have the same issue, the remedies recommended by the individual brands are different.
Hyundai recommends owners use the Electronic Parking Brake when parking until the fix can be done at a dealer, free of charge. Kia, on the other hand, recommends drivers park their EV6s on flat surfaces whenever possible until they can be fixed.
That being said, they both have the same fix: updating the Shifter Control Unit software at the dealer. Hyundai owners can expect a letter in the mail around July 10, while Kia owners won’t have to wait that long. They should be getting mail around May 25 about what to do next.
These may not be the only vehicles impacted by the issue, either. The 2023 Genesis GV60 and G80 EVs both use the same faulty system. Those two cars haven’t hit U.S. dealers yet, and odds are the fix will be done before they do.
The twin brands do point out there are no confirmed crashes or injuries linked to the SCU issue. However, four rollaway incidents have happened in South Korea.
