It's been a long time coming. But now Audi believes it has cracked the code to a piece of software that will prevent fires in the batteries of electric and hybrid cars.
Audi says a new software update reduces the risk of battery fire in selected e-tron 55 electric cars.
The update to the software that controls the battery should allow for full charging without an increased risk of overheating. The software will identify potential faults in battery cells before a fire develops.
– The software can identify cells with errors and provide a potential error message to the customer, for a critical phase, says Audi's PR manager in Sweden, Irene Bernald, to Carup .
Boosted has also heard from owners of Audi's plug-in hybrids in recent days. It appears that Audi has been able to meet its own deadline and is now offering those cars a software update as well.
In any case, several of the plug-in hybrid owners have been notified when their cars, which are currently not allowed to be charged due to fire risk, can have their software updated.
Back to electric cars, Audi has specifically asked e-tron owners not to charge more than 80 percent of the battery's capacity. The Germans, on the other hand, believe that the problem is limited to a specific battery from LG Chem. Globally, it concerns approximately 70,000 cars.
Even so, it has taken Audi almost a year to develop a solution. On the other hand, the Germans now believe that the problem has been solved. And that customers can continue as normal after the software update.
– Customers with an Audi e-tron covered by the recall (code 93U9, ed.) have received a new recall.
– The purpose is to carry out a final update of the software that monitors the battery. The update will make it possible for customers to charge to 100 percent again after the workshop visit, says Irene Bernald.
Audi emphasizes that the problem has not affected all Audi e-tron 55 models. Customers who have not received a notification should not do anything more than what has already been done with their cars.
If the new software for the electric cars finds more problems, Audi will replace the problematic cells. However, the new programming must be designed to detect the defective cells before they start to complain.
Both industry professionals and researchers specializing in batteries have previously been extremely critical of the fact that car manufacturers are 'only' allowed to roll out software updates to patch critical problems.
Some car brands have also recognized that software is not necessarily the solution. Jaguar, which also received batteries from LG Chem, chose to buy back almost 3,000 copies of the I-Pace electric car last year. Read more about it here .
