Atlanta, GA – July 8, 2021 – Porsche (OTCMKTS:POAH) has recalled 10,373 luxury electric cars that may stall due to a software issue. The recall comes on the heels of a recent investigation by an auto safety regulator and includes the following models:
- 2020 – 2021 Porsche Taycan Turbo
- 2020 – 2021 Porsche Taycan Turbo S
- 2020 – 2021 Porsche Taycan 4S
- 2021 Porsche Taycan
- 2021 Porsche Taycan Turbo S Cross Turismo
- 2021 Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo
- 2021 Porsche Taycan 4S Cross Turismo
- 2021 Porsche Taycan Turbo Cross Turismo
The affected part is “power electronics.” There is no part number available.
Recall summary
The axles of a car are responsible for transferring the power from the car to the wheels, which is what moves the car forward, as reported.
In the recalled Taycans, software designed to monitor communication between two computers on the front and rear axles may incorrectly sense a problem and trigger a shutdown of the car’s powertrain, causing the car to stall.
Investigation
Porsche discovered the issue while it was reviewing complaints brought forward by an investigation, conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), about stalls in Taycan vehicles. The administration’s investigation focused on potential issues with the electric cars’ batteries, which are not mentioned in the recall documents.
It is not clear whether Porsche believes all the stalls in Taycans under investigation were caused by this software issue, instead of the battery issue proposed by NHTSA.
Warning signs
If the software error occurs, a warning message will appear on the car’s display, notifying the driver of a “motor control error” and instructing him or her to stop the car in a safe place. Once the car is stopped, Porsche says, the vehicle can be restarted by pressing the on-off button.
Read more about what to do if your car stalls in this article about a recent Chrysler recall.
Risks
According to Porsche’s own evaluation, stalls “can increase [the] risk of a crash in certain traffic situations.” Indeed, stalls put a car at risk of being hit by faster-moving traffic behind it.
The repair
Porsche dealers will update the problem software for free. Owners will be notified about the recall by August 27.
Is your vehicle part of this recall?
Over 10,000 electric vehicles are included in this Porsche recall. To see if your car is one of them, use MotorSafety’s free vehicle lookup tool.