When people think of it getting hot in their back seats, that’s not what they have in mind. Photo: Hyundai
So, despite what some people would have you think, most automotive recalls aren’t that big of a deal. They are the inevitable result of thousands of people working on a design with many thousands of parts and then asking thousands of other humans and robots to build it. Of course, if a recall is performed and then that recall causes another recall, that’s a different story.
Unfortunately for owners of Hyundai’s 2017 and 2018 Ioniq Hybrid and PHEV, that’s the situation they find themselves in, although it seems the problems at work here are enough to ignite Hyundai’s ass (you’ll understand , why this is funny in a minute). The recall specifically stems from a faulty relay in the car’s power relay assembly, which was originally recalled because it had bad connections that could cause increased resistance and therefore a lot of heat. A bunch of heat could cause things to catch fire, and car fires are bad, especially hybrids and electric vehicles.
The solution to this first recall, which occurred in 2018, was simple and was to replace just the main relay if no damage was found, or replace the entire power relay assembly if something was overcooked. That didn’t work, however, because now 10,575 owners of affected vehicles are being called back to their cars with the same issue over fears their back seat could catch fire (there’s the joke payout!).
The resolution for this recall is the same as the resolution for the last one and, like all recall work, it will be performed by your dealer at no cost. Owners of affected vehicles can expect to receive a notification in the mail on or around August 26th. In the meantime, if you have any questions, you can contact Hyundai’s Customer Service Department at 1-855-371-9460 and reference number 232.