Hyundai and Kia have issued recalls for their recently launched all-electric crossovers, the IONIQ 5 and the EV6, respectively, in the U.S. over a software issue that can disengage the parking brake and cause the car to just roll away — reports InsideEVs.
The recalls, titled “Vehicle Rollaway from Software Error,” explain that a software error in either car’s Shifter Control Unit (SCU) may disengage the parking mechanism, which could result in the car rolling off into the sunset (or at least a few feet).
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.
All Hyundai IONIQ 5 and Kia EV6 cars sold in the U.S. so far are subject to the recall, which is 10,729 units of the former and 9,014 of the latter. The recently released electric vehicles (EVs) have proven to be quite popular, with the IONIQ 5 being named the U.K.’s Car of the Year in March.
IONIQ 5 and EV6 owners will have to send in their cars to their dealers for an update of the SCU software, which will fix the problem. Until the fix can be applied, Hyundai advises IONIQ 5 owners to use the Electronic Parking Brake (EPB) when parking, while Kia says EV6 owners should park on even ground whenever possible.
The underlying issue extends well beyond the U.S., with Hyundai confirming a total of four rollaway incidents in South Korea. No such incidents have been reported so far in the U.S., though.
Hyundai rectified the issue in production for both cars on May 3, while all units produced between April 8 and May 3 will receive the software fix before they are delivered to dealerships.
