Battery Recall for cars with E400 high-voltage battery.

[Kish]

Yep, just got that same letter today (click for higher resolution):



Allegedly, it was mailed out on 5/26/23. But considering I just got it today, it was likely mailed out sometime last week. Also not looking forward to going to the local KIA dealer for the interim software update, but it should be done for safety.

Interestingly, Kia USA's recall website still says no recalls for my VIN. So it's unclear whether my 37510-E4000 (E375) battery pack is affected.

I got the new EPB Safety Recall (SC287) in the mail this week. That reminded me that I haven't yet done SC267 yet for the battery fire issue. When I called my local KIA dealer to schedule an appt, they say only SC287 applies to my vehicle. I called KIA America corporate, and they said the same thing. Recalls are based on VIN and they cannot override that.

Does does seem correct? Why would KIA send me a safety recall notice for SC267 and later say it doesn't apply to me?

 

[Nedhastings]

My EV Soul is now on “repair hold” and they’ll provide a rental while Kia decides what to do. There’s an error code causing the EV light and limp mode again. I’m assuming the BMS is throwing the error regarding the 2 month old replaced battery.

Has anyone here had the recall software cause limp mode, then received a “new” battery, then another limp mode?

 

[mariano3113]

My EV Soul is now on “repair hold” and they’ll provide a rental while Kia decides what to do. There’s an error code causing the EV light and limp mode again. I’m assuming the BMS is throwing the error regarding the 2 month old replaced battery.

Has anyone here had the recall software cause limp mode, then received a “new” battery, then another limp mode?

My Soul EV is still in shop.
Update was that they said Kia Engineers are trying to find a solution as New replacement batteries are still triggering the High-Voltage error and limp-mode.

Sounds like the software fix isn't fully flushed -out.

For clarity...I am not in the same predicament as I did not get a "New" battery after getting limp mode after the recall software (& hardware harness update).
Just 1st limp mode after the update and have had a 2024 Kia Sportage AWD as loaner since Dec 27th.
(Happy to see wireless Android and Apple Carplay on my loaner Sportage...hoping to replace vehicle with a NACS Genesis Q4 2024)**

 

[JejuSoul]

In North America this recall involves 2,689 cars. It consists of all 2018-2019 model year Soul EV vehicles manufactured from July 3, 2017 through September 28, 2018 equipped with an E400 battery and certain 2015-2017 model year Soul EVs manufactured from July 15, 2014 through June 30, 2017 that had their high voltage battery replaced under warranty with an E400 battery.
The majority of those 2,689 cars should be the 30kWh battery variants. Most of which have never had their original battery replaced.
And yet on this thread we almost only hear about the 27kWh cars that have had a replacement battery.
In the US it seems that most replacement battery packs were re-manufactured. But not all.
On this thread it is the re-manufactured packs that are failing the new software update. Often multiple times.
It is possible that the new BMS software which was written to check for bad cells was never tested on re-manufactured packs.
It maybe that the new software is failing, because it was badly written not because there is anything 'wrong' with the re-manufactured packs.

I still think it is a really bad idea to replace the faulty packs with other re-manufactured packs. The recall is about a fire risk and those re-manufactured packs do nothing to remove the underlying cause.

As far as I know the recall hasn't started yet in Europe. And I haven't heard of any failures yet in Korea.

 

[Nedhastings]

It sounds like maybe revising the software or using new new packs could be the next steps. Thanks for explaining your thoughts on this JejuSoul.

 

[IanL]

.......As far as I know the recall hasn't started yet in Europe. .......

I believe that's correct. And, afaik, refurbished replacements have not been employed in Europe.

 

[FLKiaEV]

I have a 2018 Soul EV and have only received the recall notice for the parking brake firmware update. Maybe I don't have the E400 battery? In any case, the car is working perfectly, including the battery which still shows 114 miles on full charge with about 40,000 miles on it.

 

[uspurs]

I got the new EPB Safety Recall (SC287) in the mail this week. That reminded me that I haven't yet done SC267 yet for the battery fire issue. When I called my local KIA dealer to schedule an appt, they say only SC287 applies to my vehicle. I called KIA America corporate, and they said the same thing. Recalls are based on VIN and they cannot override that.

Does does seem correct? Why would KIA send me a safety recall notice for SC267 and later say it doesn't apply to me?

Fwiw, we also received the SC287 recall notice about 10 days ago for our '17 + model. When I went online to the dealership's website to book an appointment, it also showed the SC267 outstanding.
We had received an interim notice for the battery recall, but nothing else; our battery pack was replaced last summer - after the interim notice was received - with a remanufactured pack (all indications are with the E400 cells, based on range, etc.).

I have opened another case with Kia Corporate, but if we find out that Kia installed E400 cells after they knew there were possibly issues with these cells, I won't be best pleased.
We have pretty much lost faith in Kia - we had been considering trading the Soul for a lightly used Niro EV; of course, we can't sell / trade the Soul with recalls outstanding, so that's another strike against the brand. We had a look at the ID4 over the weekend - nice, but the range seems to really take a hit in cold weather (apparently no heat pump in US models, though fitted to Canadian cars).

We have so far been waiting a week as the dealership says one of the recalls - presumably SC267 - requires parts (I guess the harness).

The car itself is running fine with the E400s, so far, incidentally - the GOM has never reset itself properly, but in this cold snap here in the NE, our real-world range is 90+ and summer saw 110-120.

 

[kimdavi]

My EV Soul is now on “repair hold” and they’ll provide a rental while Kia decides what to do. There’s an error code causing the EV light and limp mode again. I’m assuming the BMS is throwing the error regarding the 2 month old replaced battery.

Has anyone here had the recall software cause limp mode, then received a “new” battery, then another limp mode?

Yes, I was the first to report this issue. In 2015, I had the original battery, which was later replaced under warranty in 2019. The replacement battery was working fine until 2023 when a recall prompted another replacement. The last battery functioned well initially, allowing me to drive 400 miles without any issues. However, in the third week, the Battery Management System (BMS) triggered a warning, leading to reduced power mode. I promptly brought my vehicle back to Kia Service in early December, and it has been sitting idle since then.

 

[BonedaddyBruce]

I got the SC267 recall, but not sure what battery I have currently. I had my 2017 battery replaced at the end of 2022 due to significant range loss. (Was getting around 50 miles to a full charge.)
They originally told me it would be 3 to 6 months for the battery to arrive as they were on backorder. Somehow my battery got replaced in just under two months and worked great for a few weeks. After a few months I dropped to about 80 miles top range where I hold now.
Since it was a "new" battery from 2022, I ignored this recall.
I also don't know if I got the SC287 as I may have thought it was the same recall and threw it out.
I will add that I've not gotten the limp mode error (or any others) with this current battery.

 

[uspurs]

From what I've read here and elsewhere, you almost certainly have the E400 batteries - can you share the part number from the service order?
In our case, we only received the interim notice.

Worthwhile checking for recalls here, if you're in the US: https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls

 

[mariano3113]

I got the SC267 recall, but not sure what battery I have currently. I had my 2017 battery replaced at the end of 2022 due to significant range loss. (Was getting around 50 miles to a full charge.)
They originally told me it would be 3 to 6 months for the battery to arrive as they were on backorder. Somehow my battery got replaced in just under two months and worked great for a few weeks. After a few months I dropped to about 80 miles top range where I hold now.
Since it was a "new" battery from 2022, I ignored this recall.
I also don't know if I got the SC287 as I may have thought it was the same recall and threw it out.
I will add that I've not gotten the limp mode error (or any others) with this current battery.

I did not get the "Limp" mode/HV warning...until after the recall software update.(SC267)

If you didn't get the software update that is supposed to trigger HV warning/Limp mode then you most likely will not see said HV warning/Limp mode.

I just passed the 1 month of Soul EV sitting at the dealer, with no indication of a fix. (Dec 14th is when I had vehicle towed with HV warning at 93% state of charge after driving 13 miles)*
About to take loaner 2024 Kia Sportage to dealer as I have put about 4k miles on it and it will be ready for 1st oil change.

 

[BonedaddyBruce]

I did not get the "Limp" mode/HV warning...until after the recall software update.(SC267)

If you didn't get the software update that is supposed to trigger HV warning/Limp mode then you most likely will not see said HV warning/Limp mode.

I just passed the 1 month of Soul EV sitting at the dealer, with no indication of a fix. (Dec 14th is when I had vehicle towed with HV warning at 93% state of charge after driving 13 miles)*
About to take loaner 2024 Kia Sportage to dealer as I have put about 4k miles on it and it will be ready for 1st oil change.

I supposedly got some kind of software update in December 2022 when they replaced the battery. They claimed something like a recall or important upgrade, but it was way before this recall notice.
I'm guessing I don't have the current update as I'm pretty sure I got a used or refurbed battery pack, but haven't gotten the limp mode yet.

Also just checked https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls. Both SC267 and SC287 show incomplete.
My service ticket shows SA473 was performed/updated

 

[BonedaddyBruce]

From what I've read here and elsewhere, you almost certainly have the E400 batteries - can you share the part number from the service order?
In our case, we only received the interim notice.

Worthwhile checking for recalls here, if you're in the US: https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls

Also just checked the link. Both SC267 and SC287 show incomplete.

 

[warren55]

I got the SC287 Recall notice about 2 weeks ago and called my local dealer. They said there are two recalls for my car (2016 Soul EV) and the other one is for the BMS software. From what I've been reading, maybe I don't want this "update"? My battery has been doing fine with no warnings or limp mode problems since I bought it 5 years ago. I don't really want to have them create new problems.

 

[Nedhastings]

I

I got the SC287 Recall notice about 2 weeks ago and called my local dealer. They said there are two recalls for my car (2016 Soul EV) and the other one is for the BMS software. From what I've been reading, maybe I don't want this "update"? My battery has been doing fine with no warnings or limp mode problems since I bought it 5 years ago. I don't really want to have them create new problems.

Yes and no. Upside is no limp mode, downside is the risk of fire.

 

[buddhaauthor]

Hi all. I'm active on the Soul EV Owners Facebook page, not here, but I came here to check out this thread and it is MAGNIFICENT. I thank you all for your detailed sharing. I'm commenting now to add a little bit of humor.

For a month I've had two unopened recall letters from Kia sitting on my desk. Why unopened? Because I have a 2016 with a battery replaced in 2021, before I bought the car used, so I don't know if the second battery is new or remanufactured. But I can get up to 150 miles of range hyper-miling in summer, so, do I want to get a new BMS and harness and then have my battery replaced? NO WAY! That's why I didn't open the dreaded recall letters. But fire sounds bad and reading this thread finally got me to open them, sure they were for SC267 and SC287. [Cue scary music.] I opened the first and it was for the parking brake! I opened the second it was also for the parking brake for my old, leased car!

Such relief!

I am sorry for all of you who are dealing with this ridiculous software situation, and I know I might get a new recall notice any day, but I hope some of you are at least amused by my story.

Good luck to everyone!

 

[ksoul2084]

Hi all. I'm active on the Soul EV Owners Facebook page, not here, but I came here to check out this thread and it is MAGNIFICENT. I thank you all for your detailed sharing. I'm commenting now to add a little bit of humor.

For a month I've had two unopened recall letters from Kia sitting on my desk. Why unopened? Because I have a 2016 with a battery replaced in 2021, before I bought the car used, so I don't know if the second battery is new or remanufactured. But I can get up to 150 miles of range hyper-miling in summer, so, do I want to get a new BMS and harness and then have my battery replaced? NO WAY! That's why I didn't open the dreaded recall letters. But fire sounds bad and reading this thread finally got me to open them, sure they were for SC267 and SC287. [Cue scary music.] I opened the first and it was for the parking brake! I opened the second it was also for the parking brake for my old, leased car!

Such relief!

I am sorry for all of you who are dealing with this ridiculous software situation, and I know I might get a new recall notice any day, but I hope some of you are at least amused by my story.

Good luck to everyone!

Hmm, tempting fate are you?!

 

[andrew1joe]

I

Yes and no. Upside is no limp mode, downside is the risk of fire.

Exactly. There is a chance that the software update is working exactly as it should and detecting batteries that is defective and is at risk of a fire regardless of if it was driving fine pre-update. I also have a Bolt that went through several rounds of recall including software upgrade. That was a lot worse because it took away significant amount of range because it limited how high you can charge until another software update. That’s not the case here and as far as I can tell, my Soul is exactly the same before and after the update.

 

[yury]

My battery was new, in 3 weeks after SC267 I got turtle mode and DTC P1ad1. Definitely SC267 kill the car, now my car at the dealer and KIA engineers don't know what to do with it.