$50K to replace 2017 Ionic battery

[933233311602]

Clickbait

Documented story by an actual investigative news service.

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[RickMachE]

Documented story by an actual investigative news service.

Clickbait crap.

The dealership quoted $50k (Canadian). That's ~$36,500.

Then the manufacturer said the proper diagnostics weren't done, and the car may not have needed a new battery. So perhaps it wasn't even needed. And he scrapped the car before the manufacturer even got involved. So, uninformed consumer overreacts before exhausting all options.

But hey, $50ķ does grab more eyeballs than $36,500...

And of course an imported car's battery cost is highly relevant.

 

[Vulnox]

Either way, it's still an incomplete story. It is rare to the point of nonexistent how often a battery PACK needs to be replaced outside of physical damage (like an accident). Most often there are just bad cells/modules and replacing the modules can resolve the problem. Dealers aren't trained in that really, so we get stories like this.

It's less comparing a new ICE engine to a battery pack, and more like you go in for fuel injector issues and the dealer doesn't have the knowledge on how to just replace the injectors, so they order a whole crate engine.

This doesn't make the EV ownership a less risky venture, but to pin it on EVs themselves and not lazy dealerships isn't fair, and where stories like this are FUD. Yeah he was quoted that amount, but there are companies that can help do a battery pack rebuild for a fraction of that cost, and the car could see another 100k miles. Overall ownership cost still being less than a comparable ICE vehicle. Or maybe not. The point is stories like these don't prove anything one way or another because it's always a snapshot in time, and often written by people that know less than the dealership so they don't offer anything more.

Edit:
I know it's not as sensational as the earlier article, but for anyone interested in battery repair, here is a good overview.
https://www.reneos.eu/case/how-battery-repair-centres-extend-the-life-cycle-of-ev-batteries

As it notes, it's quite common in the EU. It's still in its infancy in the US/CAN. I think OutofSpec Motoring at one point about a year ago did an interview with one of the companies, they had all kinds of packs for Teslas and other brands around and talked about how they go and buy the "Scrapped" cars from junk yards for supposedly bad batteries and then for a couple thousand in module replacement and rebalancing, car is back to working order. It was incredibly interesting, and a better use of your time to consider than reading clickbait.

Edit 2:
Not OOS, but an example of module repair over scrap:

 

[BMT1071]

A replacement engine is $5K. Not $50K.

I'm unsure of where you're seeing "mostly scare tactic BS". This case was literally investigated and reported by television media and the quoted, documented repair estimate was literally right there.

What will be the out-of-warranty replacement cost of the Mach E battery? That's a question long-term owners should be asking after learning of a 6 year old car that is junk when the battery fails.

A remanufactured "generic" run-of-the-mill engine might be $5k. Check the pricing on a brand new quad-cam V8 or V6.
The scare tactic is they highlight one example of a high $ EV repair to reinforce the FUD about how terrible and foolish it is to buy an EV.

 

[Mach1E]

A remanufactured "generic" run-of-the-mill engine might be $5k. Check the pricing on a brand new quad-cam V8 or V6.
The scare tactic is they highlight one example of a high $ EV repair to reinforce the FUD about how terrible and foolish it is to buy an EV.

Keep in mind a 2017 Ioniq was $29,000 new.

Show me any $29k ICE where the repair would be even remotely close to what’s talked about in this article.

It’s not comparable.

Sure, the headline and article are sensationalist (aren’t they all?) but repair costs on an out of warranty BEV are and should be a huge concern.

It’s not like we are comparing to a hand built engine in a $120 AMG Mercedes.

This is a battery replacement in what’s essentially a BEV econobox.

 

[Mablanc]

Too bad he didnt live in the US, because the 8-year battery warranty would have covered it.......

Canada has the same compulsory 8 year rule for battery warranty

 

[nvabill]

And this ladies and gentlemen is why BEV used values will continue to fall and they will basically become throw away disposable cars.

 

[Electric Goat]

And this ladies and gentlemen is why BEV used values will continue to fall and they will basically become throw away disposable cars.

meh... 99% of the cars on the road are mass produced disposable cars. and my Mach-E is better than any ICE car that I've ever owned.

 

[SWO]

Either way, it's still an incomplete story. It is rare to the point of nonexistent how often a battery PACK needs to be replaced outside of physical damage (like an accident). Most often there are just bad cells/modules and replacing the modules can resolve the problem. Dealers aren't trained in that really, so we get stories like this.

It's less comparing a new ICE engine to a battery pack, and more like you go in for fuel injector issues and the dealer doesn't have the knowledge on how to just replace the injectors, so they order a whole crate engine.

This doesn't make the EV ownership a less risky venture, but to pin it on EVs themselves and not lazy dealerships isn't fair, and where stories like this are FUD. Yeah he was quoted that amount, but there are companies that can help do a battery pack rebuild for a fraction of that cost, and the car could see another 100k miles. Overall ownership cost still being less than a comparable ICE vehicle. Or maybe not. The point is stories like these don't prove anything one way or another because it's always a snapshot in time, and often written by people that know less than the dealership so they don't offer anything more.

Edit:
I know it's not as sensational as the earlier article, but for anyone interested in battery repair, here is a good overview.
https://www.reneos.eu/case/how-battery-repair-centres-extend-the-life-cycle-of-ev-batteries

As it notes, it's quite common in the EU. It's still in its infancy in the US/CAN. I think OutofSpec Motoring at one point about a year ago did an interview with one of the companies, they had all kinds of packs for Teslas and other brands around and talked about how they go and buy the "Scrapped" cars from junk yards for supposedly bad batteries and then for a couple thousand in module replacement and rebalancing, car is back to working order. It was incredibly interesting, and a better use of your time to consider than reading clickbait.

Edit 2:
Not OOS, but an example of module repair over scrap:

FWIW, all of that is true but some of the new (MY?) packs are completely unserviceable - filled with a hard expanding foam. Any problem with the battery means it gets recycled and you need a new battery.

 

[SWO]

The article also says Hyundai claims the vehicle was not fully diagnosed before it was scrapped. It might have been fixable for less if the buyer tried to appeal.

He went to a licensed dealer and then went to Hyundai corporate (and was told to pound sand) after he was given a repair estimate. Lots of good points made in this thread but Hyundai owns that criticism IMO.

 

[Logal727]

My 2019 Ioniq has a lifetime battery warranty. They stopped doing that lol.

 

[nvabill]

meh... 99% of the cars on the road are mass produced disposable cars. and my Mach-E is better than any ICE car that I've ever owned.

I understand your statement as you have a vested interest and emotional attachment to your Mach E and it’s a hard pill to swallow. But, with that said your statement of 99% disposable is laughable at best. The proof is in the pudding and time will tell. ?

 

[Vulnox]

FWIW, all of that is true but some of the new (MY?) packs are completely unserviceable - filled with a hard expanding foam. Any problem with the battery means it gets recycled and you need a new battery.

Geez, that should be illegal. I get that some parts are going to be non-serviceable for safety reasons or whatever, don't reuse an airbag, but the battery pack absolutely needs to be easy to repair and recycle by the appropriate parties.

 

[Guss-E 2021]

There is money to be made in affordable, 3rd party battery repairs (modules, cells or the entire pack).

I'm not going to sit here fretting today about what might happen in 6-8 years when my battery is out of warranty. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. I also strongly suspect by that time, there will be reasonable solutions available.

 

[AngryMan]

There is money to be made in affordable, 3rd party battery repairs (modules, cells or the entire pack).

I'm not going to sit here fretting today about what might happen in 6-8 years when my battery is out of warranty. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. I also strongly suspect by that time, there will be reasonable solutions available.

Im with you . I thought about replacing the battery when I was researching the car . I figured by the time that that's necessary the batteries would be cheaper , smaller and probably charge faster . In 10-12 years a 500 mile battery might fit in the same space as our 200-300 mile ones .
Time will tell and we'll all find out together .

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