Lemberg Law is investigating complaints that owners are not able to recharge their 2022-2023 Hyundai Ioniq 5 vehicles using Level 2 home chargers as advertised. It’s not only that the batteries don’t charge “ultra-fast,” but many owners are complaining that their vehicles simply don’t charge overnight. Others say the batteries charge, but not fully, and are randomly drained.
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Owners of 2022 and 2023 Hyundai Ioniq vehicles are reporting major problems when attempting to charge Ioniq 5 batteries at home, overnight. A key issue is Hyundai’s sales pitch that promises, “With a 350 kW DC charger, IONIQ 5 can charge from 10 percent to 80 percent in just 18 minutes.”
Both the 2022 and 2023 Hyundai Ioniq model years offer a choice of charging ports for both standard and quick-charging modes. However, the automaker supplies a portable 120 volt Level 1 charger that you can connect to a standard household outlet. These provide anything from 6-12 amps of power. This is significantly slower than the charging speeds that Hyundai promotes to buyers. For example, owners have been led to believe that they can charge their Level 2 chargers at home at 48 amps. They don’t appear to be upset that the supplied Level 1 charger cannot do this, but rather that all the reliable Level 2 chargers on the market fail to achieve the benchmark. Worse still, many owners are finding that their Level 2 chargers trip and don’t charge overnight at all.
There are a large number of complaints about this charging issue on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) website. There are also multiple threads on the Ioniq Forum and Reddit. In general, people are concerned, frustrated, and angry.
Hyundai lures potential Ioniq 5 owners with a promise that they can power their world with “ultra-fast battery charging.” The automaker states that users “only need to charge the vehicle for five minutes to get 100 km of range.”
On its website, the company advertises 2 fast-charging options. It states that both of these work with the car’s 800V battery system when combined with a 350 kW DC or 50 kW DC station.
ChargePoint, the largest network of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in North America and Europe, describes how the different types of EV charging procedures work.
Ultimately, ChargePoint says that “DC fast doesn’t replace Level 2 charging, it just provides a quicker charging option for longer trips. Level 2 charging is still the best choice for everyday charging and anytime you’ll be parked for several hours, like overnight.”
These intricacies aren’t publicized by Hyundai.
Complaints filed with the National Highway Transport Safety Administration (NHTSA) for the 2022 and 2023 Hyundai Ioniq 5 are varied. They state that batteries trip while charging and don’t recharge, don’t charge at the expected speeds, or only charge partially. A large number of owners complain that their charge ports overheat when they charge at the maximum charging rate.
Comments on Reddit and the Ioniq Forum voice the same kinds of complaints. Expecting their home chargers to deliver 48 amps, some owners say they find that their cars haven’t charged at all overnight. Some owners state that their charging ports overheat and so they shut down charging as an automatic precaution. There are also some who say they have found the issue is worse when ambient temperatures are high and/or they are trying to recharge inside an enclosed garage structure.
There are some complaints that dealers aren’t able to replicate problems, and therefore cannot offer a fix. Worse still, there are owners who state that the problem recurs after dealers have replaced charging ports and cables, sometimes within only a month.
Hyundai has issued technical service bulletins (TSBs) in the U.S. and Canada that tell dealerships how to deal with lack of charging and/or tripping out problems. The TSBs prescribe a software update that monitors the temperature of charging ports. The result is that it throttles the charging rate, substantially reducing it, when it senses a build up of heat. This does solve the overheating problem and related issue of not getting an overnight charge. But it means that Ioniq 5 users can’t fast-charge their vehicles at home, which is what they were led to believe they could do.
Issued in the U.S. in March 2023, TSB 23-EV-002H advises dealers to check 2022 and 2023 Ioniq 5 EVs and update the vehicle charge management system (VCMS) if:
While this TSB describes the service procedure, the TSB 23-17-004 issued in Canada on February 8, 2023, provides more detail. It states that, “Poor contact between Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) and the vehicle charging port may cause the port to overheat.” The cause may be debris or contamination in the charging port, excessive wear on charger contacts, or EVSE that don’t meet SAE (formerly Society of Automotive Engineers) specifications.
“When an overheating condition is detected, the vehicle will terminate the charging session.”
It states that instead of terminating the charging session, the software update “will downrate the charging current if an overheat condition is detected.” This effectively regulates the temperature of the charging port and ensures continuous charging.
Most of the complaints about the 2022-2023 Hyundai Ioniq 5 are filed as electrical system and/or fuel/propulsion system problems. They mention various Level 2 charger brands.
Typical complaints state:
A longer explanation states that the charging system often trips when using a Level 2 charger. “This can happen after 1 hour or after many hours of charging.” The complaint also mentions that this “can lead to heating up of the charging cord and potentially tripping the main breaker feeding the charger. In the car you can change the charging current from maximum to reduced to minimum. The issue appears to happen mostly on maximum and reduced charge, but has not happened on minimum yet. The issue is reproducible on multiple Level 2 chargers.”
The complaint goes on to state that attempts to get the dealership to investigate have been fruitless. “Besides, not getting the full use of the car I paid for, this issue can leave a user stranded if the charger fails to charge the car.” It could also “be a potential fire hazard with the excessive heating of the charging module and associated charging cords.”
Many other complaints state that dealerships are unable to fix the problem:
An owner whose vehicle had been with the dealership for 3 months states: “They’ve replaced a bunch of parts and can’t fix the issue.”
A complaint filed in May 2023 by an owner in Connecticut states that the dealer has made “multiple efforts” to fix issues with his 2022 Ioniq 5 not charging. “I am told it now charges on level 3 chargers (super-chargers not available widely) only and does not charge on Level 1 and 2. Various parts have been replaced but Hyundai corporate, and the dealer has not been able to identify the issue or fix the problem after 45 days. I have filed a complaint with Hyundai and requested that the company buy back the vehicle.”
An example of a Level 3 charger is the bollard-mounted ChargePoint Express Plus that was designed for station owners and business operators. Level 3 chargers require a 480-volt electrical source, while Level 2 chargers work with a 240-volt electrical source. Level 1 chargers plug into a standard wall outlet that delivers 120 volts. CCS and CHAdeMo plugs are required for Level 3 chargers.
Another complaint states, “The car randomly stops charging when plugged into either of my Level 2 home Juicebox 40 chargers before it reaches capacity, generally after adding another 4-8% to the battery.” Also, “It happens whether it is hot or cold and generally when it is cooler as we only charge the car at night.” And he can’t “fully charge the car without plugging it in multiple times.” According to the dealership service team, this is an unknown problem, “probably due to my charging unit at home.” But, says the complaint, it’s “a well-known defect” in Hyundai and Genesis cars on this platform.
Members of the Ioniq Forum have tried to come up with solutions to the EV’s charging problem. They have also been comparing results using different chargers and discussing the TSB. There is agreement that replacing the charger doesn’t help, irrespective of the brand.
In general, the conversation on the forum covers the same issues as those described in NHTSA complaints. For example, members state that they experience charging issues over 40 amps. They can’t use their chargers at 48 amps, which is what most expected to be able to do. Many find they have to drop to 32 amps (minimum) to be able to charge. If set to maximum, it trips and switches off. Ultimately, what it means is that they can’t fast-charge at home.
There is a belief that most people who have reported the problem cannot charge higher than 32 amps using a Level 2 charger. “Ours charged fine at 40A for several weeks and then began failing consistently.” But this member isn’t fazed. “In my experience, even 32A is plenty to fully recharge from 20% to 80% overnight with lots of time to spare.”
However, others bring up the issue of pricing when charging slowly over long periods of time. “I’d really love to keep all charging within Super-Off Peak but with the slow 6kW charge rate, I’m not getting enough charge at times… which is forcing me to charge outside of that low-rates period. The other concern is when you hit a destination charger (Level 2) at a hotel or somewhere… you’ll want to get in/out as fast as possible. If you get a charger that will give you the good stuff (48A), you might not realize the charging stopped 45 mins in and now you’re in trouble.”
There are mixed reports of ambient temperature affecting charging. “I have tried a Grizzle and a Juice Box. They both stop charging when it is warm in the garage and both have heat ratings higher than the garage temp. So, not sure why they stop other than just it being hot.”
An owner from Connecticut reports experiencing charging issues “in the dead of winter when my garage was above freezing, but not above 50 degrees F.”
Another member states that in winter the car will charge at 35 amps but stop charging after about an hour when charging at 36 amps.
Yet another states,” I think heat is exacerbating, but it isn’t the only problem. Here in Massachusetts where evening temps are now below freezing, I still can’t charge at 48A in my cold garage without it shutting down.”
Generally, forum members remain skeptical about the software update introduced via the March 2023 TSB. For example, all it “provides is a lame workaround that reduces the charging rate to avoid the heat issue instead of really solving the problem.”
Another states, “I remain skeptical that (the) software solution will only be a band aid fix to a hardware problem. I would love to be proven wrong.”
There is also a “what’s the point” attitude. “Apparently, as soon as overheating begins, the new software will derate the current from 40A to about 23A and then leave it there for the rest of the charging session. This can happen as soon as a few minutes after beginning the charge session. I can configure my EVSE to supply current at any level I choose in 1A increments. When this problem struck our car after about 6 weeks of happy 40A charging, I set the EVSE to 32A and the car has been fine with that ever since. Why would I not want to just keep doing that instead of applying this TSB which will have my car charge at 40A for 10 to 20 minutes and then drop down to 23A for potentially hours afterwards?”
On April 2, 2023, a member announced, “I finally got this issue fixed.” She said the dealership had “called in a field service engineer who helped the local tech pull down some codes that indicated overheating in the charger coupler. They authorized a replacement of the charging port and I haven’t had any problems since.” But, on April 20, she posted that she could no longer charge at 48 amps, but could charge at 40 amps. She was also “getting charging interruptions again.”
If you have a charging problem with your 2022 or 2023 Hyundai Ioniq, you might qualify for damages under the lemon law. All you need to do is call us or complete our contact form. We will evaluate your case and see if you qualify. You have nothing to lose as the law makes Hyundai pay lemon law legal fees.
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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Our 2022 IONIQ 5 often fails to fully charge overnight. We’ve been to the dealership several times and everytime they claim the problem is fixed.
I am a Canadian buyer of the 2022 ioniq 5, I am also having a level charging issue. We don’t get that hot here in Toronto, and my charger (grizzly) stops charging as well.
How about the fact that they advertise on the window sticker a battery heater/preconditioner, and in reality it does not function and did not work from day 1 off the lot. The battery temperature system does not work and has no fix