Electrical system issues, including battery-charging problems, are the main cause of complaints received by the NHTSA from vehicle owners
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While the Hyundai Ioniq was a well-entrenched brand from 2017 until 2021, it is now a sub-brand comprising a growing family of electric vehicles. The first to launch was the 2022 Ioniq 5, which has multiple well-publicized battery-related issues including heater and preconditioning, and battery charging problems. Unfortunately, battery charging is still a problem with the 2023 model along with other electrical system issues.
Click on another model year to view more problems: 2021 2022
Like the first 2022 Ioniq 5 model, the 2023 version has more electrical system complaints than anything else. This is disturbing for a brand that “has led the way for Hyundai’s developments in electrified vehicles.”
The two biggest problems that emerged with the launch 2022 model are:
Interestingly, two major changes from the 2022 to the 2023 model year are battery-related. The 2022 model launched with a battery heating system that was standard only with HTRAC AWD-equipped models. Now it is standard for all Ioniq 5 vehicles. Secondly, the battery preconditioning function wasn’t available with the 2022 model. Now it is standard for all Ioniq 5 vehicles. Hyundai states that it “enabled when (the) EV fast charger destination is set in the onboard navigation” function.
We noted the battery heating and preconditioning update in the post referenced above, acknowledging that Hyundai had done something about the problem. But charging problems persist with the new model, as complaints to the National Highway Traffic Administration (NHTSA) show.
Other complaints relating to the electrical system include the brake lights not illuminating and the Ioniq 5’s heater not working. “The heater does not push out any hot or heated air.”
There is also a complaint that there isn’t a rear windshield wiper on the car. This and the design of the Ioniq 5, the complaint states, “causes much dirt/gunk to build up heavily, obscuring visibility. There are times where I’m driving at night (esp. when it’s raining) where I can barely make out the cars/objects behind me. It is very dangerous.”
Components and systems implicated in complaints are the electrical system, exterior lighting, the brakes, and visibility/wipers.
| Complaint Category | Number of Complaints |
|---|---|
| Electrical System | |
| Service Brakes | |
| Fuel/propulsion System | |
| Power Train | |
| Unknown Or Other | |
| Vehicle Speed Control | |
| Engine | |
| Forward Collision Avoidance: Adaptive Cruise Control | |
| Exterior Lighting | |
| Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking |
The complaint about the battery not charging comes from an owner in Nevada who owns two electric cars, this one and a Fiat 500e. Three months after buying the 2023 Hyundai Ioniq 5, “I noticed the Ioniq stopped charging overnight. When I tried the next day, it charged for about 30 minutes, then I would get a msg on my phone saying charging had stopped. I can remotely start charging again, but then it would stop every 10 or 15 minutes.” A month later, this was still happening.
The owners of these two electric cars have a “level 2 charger in the garage,” and have had no issues charging the Fiat. This, the complaint states, leaves “me to believe it’s not the charger that is the problem. I’ve even reduced the charge to the middle level but it hasn’t helped.”
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NHTSA complaints reveal that brake light issues are evident when driving in iPedal, which is the Ioniq 5’s one-pedal driving mode.
An owner from Florida explains that drivers can rapidly slow the Ioniq 5 by keeping the accelerator pedal slightly depressed. This, he states “is the expected result for this regenerative braking mode.” But when rapidly decelerating in this mode, “the brake lights do not illuminate while the accelerator pedal is slightly depressed. Even though regenerative braking is active and the car is rapidly decelerating, there is no brake light illumination. The brake lights only turn on if the accelerator pedal is not pressed at all, which during typical one-pedal driving only occurs at the very end when coming to a complete stop, or when stopping suddenly during a cut-in or at a light.”
The complaint records “a serious safety concern because the vehicle will decelerate very quickly with no visual warning lights to other drivers behind the vehicle. I have noticed that this issue has been reported by other drivers online, but I have not yet taken the vehicle to be inspected by the dealer. There is no indication of failure on the dashboard.”
An owner from Texas has the same complaint. He says that he can be driving at 60 mph and decelerate to 2 mph as quickly as other drivers coming to a complete stop. But his brake lights don’t come on until his foot is completely removed from the pedal. “This is contradictory to the way one-pedal driving works.” Rather, when coming to a smooth and slow stop, you need to “slowly lift off the accelerator pedal, during which the brake lights do not illuminate because your foot is still pressing the pedal (albeit less and less as you come closer to the stop).”
There aren’t huge volumes of complaints to the NHTSA about the 2023 Ioniq 5. But between March 2 and March 10, 2023, there was one complaint every second day. This doesn’t make all 5 SUVs lemons, but some might be.
If you have a 2023 Ioniq 5 that has recurring problems that affect your use and the value of the vehicle, yours could be a lemon. You don’t have to pay to find out. Lemberg Law is a lemon law specialist firm and we will be happy to assess your problems free of charge.
Every year automakers pay out a lot of money to lemon victims whose vehicles have let them down badly. Ultimately, the law says that Hyundai must pay the legal costs for lemon law cases. And, if circumstances warrant it, you may get the benefit of a buy-back, replacement vehicle, or a cash settlement without laying out a cent. All you have to do is call our Helpline or fill out a contact form and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.
Brian Jones spent more than 30 years working as an ASE Certified Master Tech and Parts Specialist at multiple dealerships. Brian has become an authority in the industry, traveling across the country to consult for car dealerships and contributing his expertise as a writer for several major automotive publications. In his spare time, Brian enjoys working on pickup trucks, muscle cars, Jeeps and anything related to motorsports.
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