Photo: Porsche
We have been hearing about Porsche Taycans suddenly losing power very often. Even NHTSA (National Traffic Highway Safety Administration) started the PE 21-013 investigation about that. According to Bloomberg, that loss of power will soon be corrected by a global recall. The solution would be just a software update.
According to the ODI Resume released by NHTSA, “a loss of charge in the 12V battery may deactivate the entire electrical system and prevent the vehicle from operation.” That is a recurrent situation with electric cars. Tesla vehicles went through that, as well as the Nissan Leaf, Hyundai Ioniq, Kia Niro EV, Polestar 2, and, more recently, the VW ID.3.
That seems to happen because electric cars do not have alternators. The 12V battery is recharged by a DC-to-DC converter that feeds the 12V with the high-voltage battery pack. It seems no manufacturer so far got that right from the get-go.
In Porsche Taycan’s case, drivers can have their EVs switch to emergency mode “while in motion at any speed without warning.” In six of the nine cases reported to NHTSA, the car could not be turned on again.
Volkswagen was not able to solve that with an OTA (over-the-air) update. All ID.3 had to be taken to a dealership to perform the update, which took a few hours to complete. It seems that the 0783 update – also known as Me 2.0 software – solved the 12V battery issues with the electric Volkswagens.
Bloomberg tried to confirm the information with Porsche, but the company declined to do so. It is probably preparing to announce the fix and to call all owners affected by the issue. Unless it was already fixed in newer units, it is not unlikely that the recall will affect all Taycan vehicles delivered so far.
That seems to happen because electric cars do not have alternators. The 12V battery is recharged by a DC-to-DC converter that feeds the 12V with the high-voltage battery pack. It seems no manufacturer so far got that right from the get-go.
In Porsche Taycan’s case, drivers can have their EVs switch to emergency mode “while in motion at any speed without warning.” In six of the nine cases reported to NHTSA, the car could not be turned on again.
Volkswagen was not able to solve that with an OTA (over-the-air) update. All ID.3 had to be taken to a dealership to perform the update, which took a few hours to complete. It seems that the 0783 update – also known as Me 2.0 software – solved the 12V battery issues with the electric Volkswagens.
Bloomberg tried to confirm the information with Porsche, but the company declined to do so. It is probably preparing to announce the fix and to call all owners affected by the issue. Unless it was already fixed in newer units, it is not unlikely that the recall will affect all Taycan vehicles delivered so far.
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