Porsche Preparing a Worldwide Recall of Taycan

It is being reported that Porsche is about to issue a global recall of its new Taycan EV, due to a number of complaints by owners of their vehicle suffering a sudden loss of power.

On May 17, the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) in the U.S. opened an investigation into the reports, which included nine complaints by owners “alleging a loss of motive power while in motion”, which could happen at any speed and without warning. In six of those cases, owners were unable to restart the car.

Both 2021 and 2021 editions of the Taycan figure in the complaints filed with the NHTSA. The agency’s Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) reports that a loss of charge in the EV’s 12-volt auxiliary battery could potentially be behind the problem, as it might be deactivating the entire electrical system and preventing the powertrain from functioning.

Bloomberg has reported, citing “people familiar with the matter”, that Porsche is preparing to announce a global recall in the next few days to address the problem. The fix involves correcting a software glitch believed to lie at the root of the issue.

That issue may spread beyond Porsche walls as well. The NHTSA’s ODI also asked parent company Volkswagen for information regarding the Audi e-tron GT and RS e-tron GT, as part of its “comparable analysis of peer vehicles” of the Taycan. In other words, those models use electric powertrains similar to their Porsche cousin’s and could be prone to the same problem. The agency may also look closely at the new Taycan Cross Turismo variant, just introduced for the 2021 model-year.

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