Hyundai to update Ioniq 5 brake lights to be more responsive with regeneration on

I’ve owned an Ioniq 5 for roughly six months, but the electric vehicle’s (EV) brake light issue only recently hit my radar.

When the vehicle is in one-pedal driving or ‘i-Pedal’ mode, its brake lights don’t turn on until it’s almost at a complete stop (in other words, when your foot is completely off the gas), even as its regenerative braking slows the car down.

This also occurs when driving the Ioniq 5 at different regenerative braking levels, but to a lesser extent because even at ‘Level 3,’ I frequently touch the car’s traditional brakes. Still, the fact that the EV’s brake lights don’t turn on when the car is slowing down is a serious safety concern.

A quick Google search reveals several complaints about this issue across Reddit, tech blogs like Slashgear and Consumer Reports.

Fast-forward a few weeks, and it seems Hyundai aims to move to solve the issue before U.S. and Canadian safety regulators get involved.

A Hyundai spokesperson told Autoblog that the carmaker has plans to update vehicles so that “Regardless of the accelerator pedal input, the brake lights will now turn on when the deceleration rate exceeds approximately 0.13 G[-force].”

Given that the Ioniq 5 and presumably other vehicles under the automaker’s umbrella can’t be updated remotely, owners will need to bring their car into a dealer to be updated. The update will launch in Canada in July, according to Hyundai Canada.

There’s also a possibility Kia may not offer an update as the company often operates separately from Hyundai regarding recalls and safety issues, according to Kelley Blue Book.

Hyundai Canada sent MobileSyrup the following statement regarding the brake light update:

“After further investigation, Hyundai and Genesis will be launching a field service campaign to update the EV brake light logic for the Hyundai Ioniq 5, Genesis Electrified G80, Genesis Electrified GV70 and Genesis GV60. There will also be a change made to new production of those models. Regardless of the accelerator pedal input, the brake lights will now turn on when the deceleration rate exceeds 1.3m/s2 (approx. 0.13 G). The service campaign will launch in July for approximately 56,000 vehicles [in the U.S.] and will be performed free of charge.”

On another note, it’s still unclear if the automaker has widely released the Ioniq 5’s ‘Battery Preconditioning’ update, with some dealers claiming it’s available and others stating it isn’t.

Consumer Reports says that the following cars suffer from brake light issues:

• Hyundai Ioniq 5 (2022)
• Genesis GV60 (2023)
• Genesis Electrified GV70 (2023)
• Kia EV6 (2022)
• Kia Niro EV (2023)

For what it’s worth, the Ioniq 6 I spent roughly a week driving didn’t feature this brake light problem. In other Ioniq 5-related news, the U.S. National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA) is investigating the EV in relation to an issue causing the car to lose power.

Update 06/19/2023: This story has been updated with a statement from Hyundai Canada and information regarding the update’s release in July.

Source: Consumer Reports, Autoblog