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Hyundai and Kia are recalling their new all-electric twins, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6, to address a software issue with their electronic parking brakes that can cause them to disengage while the car is stationary, increasing the risk that they could roll away. 

“The subject vehicles are equipped with a shift-by-wire system that contains a Shifter Control Unit (SCU) and a parking pawl actuator motor,” Kia said in its recall report to NHTSA. “If a voltage fluctuation occurs when the vehicle is off and in the parked position, the command signal from the SCU to the parking pawl actuator may be affected, resulting in the temporary disengagement of the parking mechanism and potential vehicle rollaway,” it said. 

Every example of the Ioniq 5 and EV6 sold in the U.S. (just under 20,000 vehicles in all so far) that were built before April 8 shipped with this gremlin, so if you’ve bought one, expect to hear from your dealer. In the meantime, the brands recommend not parking on inclines whenever possible to mitigate the risk of roll-away should the glitch rear its ugly head. Vehicles assembled after the April 8 cutoff have the new software installed already. 

While both the Ioniq 5 and EV6 are capable of over-the-air (OTA) updates, the brands are asking customers to bring their vehicles in to have the problem addressed. Customers can expect to receive instructions from Hyundai or Kia some time in late May or early June. 

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Crossover, Electric, Hyundai, Kia, Ownership, Recalls, Safety, SUV