Porsche recalls its £70,000 Taycan electric sports car over sudden power loss that happens without warning
- Some 43,000 Taycan models are affected – some 4,500 of them are in the UK
- The software issue only impacts cars built before June 2021, Porsche says
- While there is a sudden loss of drive, users will still be able to operate the steering and brakes to safely bring the vehicle to a standstill
- Turning the car off and on again resets the issue to allow drivers to continue journeys – Porsche dealers will be conducted the one-hour recalls at dealers
Luxury vehicle manufacturer Porsche has issued a recall for thousands of its electric Taycan sports cars over faulty software that can cause the £70,000 EV to suddenly shut down, it said on Friday.
The recall affects all Taycan vehicles produced and delivered before June, bosses have confirmed, adding the cars would receive a software update to fix the issue.
A glitch in the electronics can cause a sudden loss of power and a dashboard warning urging the driver to find a safe place to stop.
Around 4,500 cars in the UK are estimated to be affected and require a recall.
The electric Porsche Taycan – the brand’s first battery-powered car – is subject to a recall after the German brand identified a problem with the software that results in a sudden loss of drive without warning
While there’s a complete loss of power, drivers can still steer and brake the expensive electric vehicle to a halt.
Porsche says that once the vehicle is safely stopped, turned off and restarted, it will operate normally again – but has issued a recall for the 43,000 models produced before the start of last month.
The Taycan was launched last year and prices range from £70,690 for the entry model all the way up to £139,910 for the range-topping Turbo S Cross Turismo estate.
Porsche executive Klaus Rechberger told journalists in Germany that the problem had been observed in around 130 cars – around 0.3 per cent of all models sold so far – though added that no accidents were known to have occurred as a result.
The Taycan has a range of between 220 and 301 miles, depending on which battery is fitted and if the car is rear- or all-wheel-drive. It was launched only last year
Taycan owners will be contacted by the dealership they purchased the car from to arrange for the software fix, which will take around an hour to complete.
This is being carried out in franchised Porsche workshops instead of over the air updates – which are available for Taycan – because it requires calibration of the powertrain controller.
The Taycan has a range of between 220 and 301 miles, depending on which battery is fitted and if the car is rear- or all-wheel-drive.
Mr Rechberger says the fault is was initially identified by Porsche during its own testing and says the issue is ‘entirely sporadic’.
It isn’t the first time a problem of this type has occurred, with Porsche’s sister brand also issuing a recall for a similar fault with its electric e-tron GT and RS e-tron GT – though affected numbers is much smaller, given that the Audi hit the market earlier this year.
SAVE MONEY ON MOTORING
