Battery Recall for cars with E400 high-voltage battery.

[JejuSoul]

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I got a recall notice today for my white Soul EV today.
This is a Model Year 2015 27kWh car with a replacement E400 high-voltage battery.
see :- Analysis of a replacement battery.

My blue car, a 2015 Soul EV still has the original E375 high-voltage battery. It is not recalled.

Details of the reason for the recall here :- 2015-2019MY Soul EV - High Voltage Battery - Basis of Safety Defect Determination 573.6(c)(6)

Kia NA decides to recall all 2018-2019MY Soul EV vehicles equipped
with an E400 battery and certain 2015-2017MY Soul EV vehicles
that had the high voltage battery replaced under warranty with
E400 battery. Three (3) thermal incidents limited to battery case
assembly (two (2) from U.S.; one (1) from Canada), no injuries, no
crashes and no fatalities.

According to InsideEVs the recall will be a software update to the BMS.
see :- ( U.S ) Kia Recalls 2,700 First-Generation Soul EVs Over Battery Fire Risk

Kia dealers will diagnose the issue using a software update that can detect abnormal cell voltage before a short circuit occurs.
Following installation of the new software, if the abnormal battery cell voltage is detected, the EV warning light will illuminate, charging will be limited to 80 percent, and the vehicle will enter limp home mode. If this occurs, dealers will replace the battery free of charge.

In South Korea Kia recalled 4,600 cars.
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A newer version of the NHTSA recall notice is here - NHTSA Part 573 Safety Recall Report

[ksoul2084]

Well better safe than sorry I guess.

Thanks for posting this.

[JejuSoul]

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The recall for my car will update the BMS software with some new error codes.
This is similar to the OBC recall 5 years ago.
Back then the recall added some error codes ( and reduced the charging speed from 32A to 28.8A.)
This was not a 'fix'. It just let you know what happened when something did go wrong.
When my OBC died it was still covered by the 'Power-train Warranty', so this replacement was free of charge.
After the warranty expired you have to pay to fix an OBC failure.

This recall is for fire safety.
I assume they will have to do a replacement irrespective of the warranty if the battery becomes dangerous.
My car will soon go out of warranty based on the 160,000km limit.
Maybe it will get another free battery after the warranty expires

[Kish]

Hey Jeju! I'm still around

When I got my replacement pack in 2018: viewtopic.php?p=7962#p7962

I got the "37510-E4000" PACK ASSY-BATTERY.
Is this a "E400"?

The car's battery has been holding up well so far since the replacement 5 years ago. But it may be time to say goodbye if my car is affected by the battery fire recall. I no longer have the patience to fight with the dealer to get the battery pack replaced once again. One time was enough.

[JejuSoul]

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Hi Kish,
Am glad your car is still running well 5 years after getting a new battery.
I don't think you need to worry about the fire-safety issue.

Here are the 3 reasons I think you do not have a E400 high-voltage battery.

1. You didn't get a recall letter.

2. The original invoice you got shows the part number 37510-E4000. This is the code for an original new pack with 96 E375 cells.
Some other owners in the US got re-manufactured packs. These have the code 37510-E4000-Reman. These packs were based on old E375 packs. A brand new pack based on the newer E400 cells with 96 cells has the part number 37510-E4250

3. The E400 battery packs use a similar BMS to the 30kWh cars. There is no value for minimum and maximum deterioration. Hence you cannot know how fast the pack deteriorates in the first 3 ( 4?) years. You can do this because your car has the old BMS.

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[Kish]

Oh interesting. These battery pack SKUs are confusing! I thought E4000 meant "E400" cells. But now I know that E4200 and E4250 is "E400" cells. And yet both are prefixed with "37510"!

It's also interesting that the E4250 battery packs are the ones with the updated BMS programming. If you recall, my car also got a new BMS after the battery pack replacement, which stopped the DCFC at 94%. On the original battery, it stopped at 84%. On 2016+ Soul EVs the limit was raised to stop at 94%. I meantioned this back in 2018: viewtopic.php?p=8017#p8017

And finally, yes I did not receive any recall info for my car. However, Kia has until May 26th, 2023 in the US to notify dealers and affected customers. So there is still time to get something in the mail.

[Kish]

So far so good! No recall notices for my VIN on Kia US recall website as of 6/2/23: https://owners.kia.com/us/en/recalls.html

[ksoul2084]

I just received this recall information in the mail for my out-of-warranty 2016 Soul EV+ (Canada):

Dear Kia Soul EV Vehicle Owner:

This notice is sent to you in accordance with the requirements of the Motor Vehicle Safety Act. Kia Canada Inc. has determined that a defect which relates to motor vehicie safety exists in certäin 2015-2017 model year and all 2018-2019 model year Kla Soul EV vehicles. This is to inform you that your vehicle may contal a defect that could affect the safety of a person. The defect can result in a fire while driving. A fire increases the risk of injury. Our records indicate that you may own or lease one of the potentially affected
vehicles.

This is only an interim notice as we work on a remedy. The purpose of this notice is to keep you informed of Kia's recall implementation plan. We will send you another letter when the remedy is available so that you can schedule a dealer appointment to have the recall repair performed free of charge at no cost to you. IN THE MEANTIME, PLEASE SEE THE "WHAT SHOULD YOU DO IN THE INTERIM" SECTION BELOW.

Details about this safety recall campaign

An electrical short circuit between the anode and cathode of the battery cell scan occur within the high-voltage battery pack assembly case located underneath the vehicle. If an electrical short circuit occurs, a fire may result while driving, thereby increasing the risk of injury.
Kia will update the software and, if necessary, replace the high voltage battery free of charge at no cost to you.

When the remedy is available, your authorized Kia dealer will update the vehicle's battery management system with new software that will detect an abnormal battery cell voltage condition before an electrical short circuit occurs. Following installation of the new software, if the abnormal battery cell voltage is detected by the vehicle's battery management system, the EV warning light will illuminate, charging capacity will be limited to 80% and the vehicle will be placed into a reduced-power limp home mode. If this occurs, the dealer will replace the high voltage battery. This recall will be performed free of charge at no cost to you.

What should you do in the interim?

• WARNING: If your vehicle has an abnormal battery cell voltage condition, you may experience incomplete high voltage battery charging, loss/fluctuating vehicles range, and/or illumination of the EV warning light. If this occurs, please contact Kia Roadside Assistance at 1-866-444-KIA1 (5421) to request to have your vehicle towed to the nearest authorized Kia dealership as soon as possible.

So they will update the SW and if it detects a voltage problem replace the entire battery pack. It doesn't provide any timelines in terms of how much time can elapse between the SW update and the detection of a problem, though.

Now I have to take my car to the awful KIA dealer in town (only one that is EV certified).

[Kish]

So far so good! No recall notices for my VIN on Kia US recall website as of 6/2/23: https://owners.kia.com/us/en/recalls.html

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.

[edzee3]

Nice to see all the Soul-EV current info here.
I too got a "Prelim Recall" letter on 5-June for my 2015 EV.
Will wait and see what's next.