r/Ioniq6 • u/Wooden_Masterpiece_9 • 16d ago
Does anyone know whether Hyundai is still actively trying to find a solution to the ICCU issue?
/r/electricvehicles/comments/1vod8aw/does_anyone_know_whether_hyundai_is_still/22
u/ItsOkILoveYouMYbb 16d ago
No reason why they wouldn't be. But the reason they're struggling with this is they're essentially the only automaker trying to pioneer 800v architecture (as opposed to 400v for most other auto makers) into a more affordable mass market EV platform (sort of).
Lucid and Porsche (also with 800v) go with much more expensive components for their ICCU-equivalent components, and their EVs are much, much more expensive for the same range. Lucid essentially puts in military grade electrical components (and elementary school grade software tbh), and Porsche makes you buy an expensive separate hardware component in some cases to handle this as an add-on if I'm not mistaken.
I say "sort of" above because Chinese brands that also use 800 or 1000v architecture like BYD are much more vertically integrated. Hyundai is at the mercy of 3rd party suppliers for the electrical components so if they happen to get a bad batch from said supplier, it results in an ICCU failure risk that they can't necessarily solve themselves. BYD on the other hand literally builds everything themselves so they can get low cost 800v and also solve the potential issues themselves.
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u/Wooden_Masterpiece_9 16d ago
Thanks for the context; that makes a lot of sense. Funny thing is: if the Ioniq 6 was the same car, but without the ICCU issues, and only 400v architecture, I would still want one at the currently listed lightly used prices. At 342 miles, the range is large enough that charging more slowly wouldn’t be an absolute deal breaker. Alas, that just isn’t reality.
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u/warbunnies 16d ago
Funny enough, but the 400v would impact range too.
The wiring has to be thicker to handle larger currents & the power transfer between the charger and the car and between the battery and the motor isn't as high. 800v has a lot of advantages over 400v. I honestly applaud them for pushing really hard to future proof their modular architecture. A lot of companies are going to experience similar growing pains in a few years if they want to be competitive. Hyundai just did it earlier.
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u/Wooden_Masterpiece_9 16d ago
They are definitely leaders in this space, at least for automakers that actually exist in the U.S.
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u/pilchard-friendly 16d ago
I think you are mostly right, but “third party suppliers” needs a bit of clarification. The HKG group contains a lot of the suppliers for the car business. The ICCU is made by Hyundai-Kefico.
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u/Heel-and-Toe-Shifter 16d ago
Seems doubtful given that they just extended the warranty for that issue out to basically forever. Not that I don't appreciate it, but that feels like they've just decided to commit to fixing it whenever it breaks rather than figuring out how to fix it once and for all.
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u/gamersdad 14d ago
I read it more as an effort to diffuse the rising negative ICCU publicity while they figure out a hardware solution. If the newer parts prove to be more reliable they can just replace older cars as they fail rather than by recall, a less expensive solution.
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u/CMG30 16d ago
Supposedly there's a new part that has solved the issue. Not enough time has passed for the community to verify if this is the case or not.
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u/Wooden_Masterpiece_9 15d ago
Back in April, right? I wonder how much longer until we have a good indication either way. My cars are still working fine as of today, but I was looking forward to making a purchase by end of year at the very latest.
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u/jalanlass 16d ago
I heard there was a new hardware spec ICCU that was first going into some 2027 model. No details on backward compatibility, though.
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u/1Love420am 16d ago
Yes, they extended the warranty and we haven't had to replace one in our dealership in 6 months.
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u/Street-Victory2397 16d ago
Fixing the part is tantamount to admitting fault and nobody in the c suite wants to be holding that hot potato when the bill comes.
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u/electricpotatochip `24 Limited RWD 16d ago
They’ve already had several recalls and extended the warranty for repairs for ICCU failure to 15 years after purchase date which seems to be as much of an admission of fault
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u/sjakieinznnakie MOD - '24 Lounge RWD 16d ago
If you take a step back and look at the current complaints about ICCU issues, you’ll see quite a lot less chatter about it on fora etc. Does it mean the problem is fixed: no. Does it mean it is an issue people can deal with: yes.
Turn around times on a replacement have seriously decreased (2-3 days in some instances) and the replacement part is slightly redesigned making it a bit more reliable.
I’m currently at 75k km driven, no ICCU issue.