Until recently, Hyundai tried to dictate the pace in electric mobility, but the shiny facade of Korean technological progress is starting to seriously crack. Beneath the surface of innovative design and fast charging lies a defect that is not just annoying, but potentially dangerous. We are talking about the mass defect of the charging control module (ICCU), which leaves hundreds of owners without power at the most inopportune moment - while driving.
The problem, analyzed in detail by The Drive, is far from an isolated case. Consumer Reports data, based on a survey of 380,000 car owners, show alarming statistics. Almost 10% of owners of Hyundai electric models have encountered problems related to charging and power. For comparison, in competing models from the same years, this rate is usually below 1%. This makes the defective components of the Koreans up to ten times more unreliable than the market average.
The technical side of the failure is related to a surge that burns out the transistors in the ICCU module. This component is vital, as it converts the high voltage from the main battery to maintain the 12-volt system that powers the headlights, power steering and safety systems. As InsideEVs notes, when this node fails, the car literally "dies" on the road. YouTuber The Ioniq Guy has already documented numerous cases in which drivers describe a complete loss of traction and braking to zero in the middle of active lanes, turning the modern electric car into a dangerous metal box.
Although Hyundai has already initiated service actions, attempts to resolve the situation so far look more like “sticking a band-aid on an open wound“. According to Steven Elek of Consumer Reports, it is, to put it mildly, worrying that the same defect continues to appear year after year, despite software updates. Instead of categorically replacing the hardware in all affected, the company often relies on diagnostics that do not always catch the impending failure.
This systemic defect has already cost the brand positions in prestigious rankings. Consumer Reports emphasizes that although the Hyundai Ioniq 5 showed good results in initial tests, the tragic reliability of the ICCU module has lowered its overall score well below that of its main competitors. And while manufacturers justify themselves with supply chains and the complexity of the technology, the end user is left with the bitter taste of buying an expensive technological product that can betray you at the most critical moment.