Jeep, Ford, Audi PHEV recalls: Battery replacement the next step?

• Harm to the batteries’ separator may result in shorts and/or fires
• Recall campaigns from Stellantis, Ford, and Audi permit alternative of battery packs
• New paperwork filed by battery provider Samsung SDI says the problem stays underneath investigation

Plug-in hybrids from a number of automakers have been recalled due a possible challenge with autos’ Samsung SDI-supplied battery cells that might trigger lack of energy or fires. And new paperwork filed with the federal authorities this week means that the problem has not but been totally resolved.

A complete of 180,196 autos are affected within the U.S., together with 155,096 from Stellantis, 20,484 from Ford, and 4,616 from Audi. Every automaker, in current months, already introduced a person recall for its respective autos.

Stellantis issued a battery-related recall for the Jeep Wrangler 4xe and Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe SUVs final October. Audi then recalled its Q5 and A7 plug-in hybrids in December, and Ford then issued a recall for plug-in hybrid variations of the Ford Escape and Lincoln Corsair SUVs in January.

All of those autos have Samsung SDI cells which are broadly comparable, in line with paperwork filed with the NHTSA, which emphasizing that precise specs are nonetheless distinctive to every automaker. Every automaker advised the protection company that defects in these cells may result in inside brief circuits or fires. Ford and Stellantis additionally reported injury within the separator layer between the cathode and anode in some cells, which may result in brief circuits and fires. Ford and Audi each mentioned inside evaluation pointed to manufacturing defects, and each mentioned they’d set up new software program as a brief treatment.

These new paperwork filed by Samsung SDI do not develop the listing of autos recalled, however they underscore that the problem lacks a transparent decision, as of but. In paperwork filed February 5, Samsung SDI calls the problem “nonetheless underneath investigation” for each Ford and Audi. A letter from the NHTSA, reacting to the Samsing SDI submitting and dated February 6, asks the battery provider for a “abstract of all guarantee claims, discipline or service experiences, and different info.”

In a press release supplied to Inexperienced Automobile Stories Friday, Jeep dad or mum Stellantis underscored that for its autos, the problem has been remedied. “The treatment features a software program replace and, if vital, alternative of the high-voltage battery, each supplied for free of charge to house owners,” it said, pointing to notification letters despatched out in December. “Buyer security is our highest precedence, and we respect the endurance of our clients as we labored to resolve this matter and implement an answer for all affected autos.”

For now, house owners of affected autos can name the respective automakers’ customer support departments for extra info. Stellantis may be reached at 800-853-1403, Audi at 800-253-2834, and Ford at 866-436-7332.

–with reporting by Bengt Halvorson