Porsche Recalls Taycan EV Globally After Cars Suddenly Shut Down

Porsche is recalling almost every Taycan and Taycan Cross Turismo around the world, after identifying a flaw which could see the electric vehicles unexpectedly lose power. Approximately 43,000 cars are impacted, Porsche confirmed today, though those currently being manufactured or on dealer lots have already been fixed.

Model year 2020 and 2021 Taycan and Taycan Cross Turismo cars are impacted. "In case of the affected vehicles, there is the possibility that in certain instances a shutdown of the power train, resulting in loss of motive power may be triggered incorrectly and sporadically," Porsche said. "A software update will be installed in the workshop."

It's not the first Taycan recall that Porsche has seen. In the US, the 2021 Taycan Turbo S has already seen two NHTSA recalls – one in March this year, and another in May – for suspension components not properly tightened and an issue with the forged front lower trailing arms. Both could lead to an increased risk of crash, Porsche and the safety regulator said.

Like other recent cars, the Taycan has some degree of over-the-air (OTA) update support, where Porsche can push out new software and firmware to the vehicle wirelessly. Unfortunately for owners hoping for an easy fix this time around, this particular issue won't support OTA patching. Instead, Porsche dealers will need to install it with physical access to the EV.

"The issue was already remedied in the ongoing series," Porsche said today. "Owners of the affected vehicles can continue to use them and will be contacted directly by their responsible Porsche partner. A workshop appointment that will be free of charge should take place as soon as possible and the software update will take about an hour."

In May 2021, the NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened an investigation into the 2020 and 2021 model year Taycan in the US, after nine complaints from owners about sudden and unexpected loss of power.

"The Taycan is an 800-volt battery electric vehicle with an auxiliary 12V battery. A loss of charge in the 12V battery may deactivate the entire electrical system and prevent the vehicle from operation," the NHTSA said. "All complaints allege that loss of motive power occurred without warning and error messages about a battery fault displayed during or after the vehicle stalled. Six complaints allege an inability to restart the vehicle once they lose motive power."

It's unclear if this particular recall from Porsche is to address the same issue that the NHTSA is currently investigating. The NHTSA is yet to include this new recall in its database.