- The Jaguar I-Pace battery fire risk recall saga continues.
- This latest recall for the 2019 model year still doesn't provide a permanent fix.
- Instead, the temporary solution is to limit the maximum state of charge to 80%.
Jaguar I-Pace owners in the United States have had a rough time, especially those who bought a 2019 model year. the first to be sold. That’s because the British company’s first mass-market electric vehicle–and one of the first modern long-range EVs–has been recalled yet again for a battery fire risk.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), this is the fifth time the 2019 Jaguar I-Pace has been recalled for the same problem. However, the bigger issue here is that there’s still no permanent fix for the problem.
The first recall, dated May 25, 2023, explained that some I-Pace EVs from all model years might have high-voltage battery packs that are prone to overheating, thus increasing the risk of a fire. The fix was to install an over-the-air software update for the battery energy control module that would monitor the state of the high-voltage pack and, in some cases, individual battery modules were to be replaced.
For the 2019 I-Pace, however, the problem persists, with three reports of battery fires in the U.S. coming in even after the latest fix. In the most recent recall dated August 23, 2024, the automaker advises owners to park and charge their vehicles outside and away from structures until the repair is complete and for an additional 30 days after that.
But the repair still doesn’t exist. As a temporary fix, the recall report says the affected vehicles will get a new software update for the battery energy control module which will limit the maximum state of charge to 80%.
A total of 2,760 U.S.-spec Jaguar I-Pace EVs manufactured between January 5, 2018, and March 14, 2019, are affected by this latest recall.
