- 27,000 Porsche Taycan EVs are being recalled because of a potential issue with the high-voltage battery.
- Because of a manufacturing error, modules could short circuit, potentially leading to a fire.
Certain Porsche Taycan EVs in the United States are being recalled because their high-voltage batteries may short circuit, which increases the risk of a fire. In total, 27,527 Taycans built between October 21, 2019, and February 1, 2024, are included in the recall. This means model years 2020 through 2024 are affected.
The exact cause is not yet known, according to the National Highway Traffic Administration, but the carmaker’s analysis suggests that an issue during the production of the battery cells at LG Energy Solution’s factory in Poland can, in rare circumstances, increase the risk of internal short circuits.
The affected vehicles are not in sequential VIN order. Furthermore, this recall is split into two internal codes (ARB6 and ARB7) and is supplemental to three similar previous recalls (APB5, ARA4 and ARA5).
For ARB6, Porsche said it “does not have sufficient high-voltage battery data to asses whether data anomalies exist in the high-voltage battery or not.” For ARB7, the company has enough data showing no anomalies, but as a precautionary measure, the automaker cannot exclude that these modules might show anomalies in the future.
As a result, owners of vehicles that fall under ARB6 (a specific model year is not specified in the recall report) are advised to only charge their EVs at a maximum state of charge of 80% as a temporary fix.
Gallery: 2022 Porsche Taycan GTS
For vehicles covered under ARB7, owners don’t have to limit the charging level because Porsche has continuous over-the-air access to these cars and can monitor if an anomaly appears. If a problem appears, the owners will be notified to charge their cars to a maximum state of charge of 80% and the affected battery modules will be replaced free of charge.
As a permanent solution for both ARB6 and ARB7, Porsche will install an on-board diagnostic software on affected vehicles to monitor and detect future battery module anomalies. Before that happens, the modules will be analyzed and if this analysis shows no anomalies, the on-board diagnostics software will be installed. If anomalies are detected, the affected modules will be replaced and then the diagnostics software will be installed.
After these steps, Porsche will monitor the vehicles to detect future problems. If an anomaly is detected, the vehicle will display a warning message in the instrument cluster and will automatically limit the maximum charging capacity to 80% and, after a certain period, to less than 80%. Owners of these vehicles will have to go to a dealer to have the faulty battery modules replaced.
