Hyundai IONIQ 5 stripped of basic features, sold at dealership
A Hyundai IONIQ 5 has been sold in Canada, which the owner reports lacks numerous basic features.
The strange Hyundai IONIQ 5 sale, first reported on the Hyundai IONIQ Forum, was quickly identified as a unicorn, considering it was missing standard features that all IONIQ 5s are supposed to have. This has left both the new owner and their dealership scrambling for answers.
According to the post from the new owner on the Hyundai IONIQ Forum, most predominantly, the IONIQ 5 SUV they bought came without a DC fast charging port. Moreover, after some investigation, the vehicle also seems to lack a complete battery temperature management system, which is crucial for a vehicle sold in Canada, as this model was.
The recent IONIQ 5 buyer states that they only found the vehicle lacked the charging port after going on an extended road trim, which typically entails using level 3 DC fast charging.
“I just bought an Ioniq 5 with no DC charge port/level 3. Is this common? And is it upgradable to level 3? I have the IONIQ 5 Essential with the 55kw battery and rear-wheel-drive. We bought it with the understanding we had level 3 for our longer drives. However, one month later, to our surprise, we found out the hard way while on a road trip. Dealership thought the vehicle had it as well. Any suggestions on upgrading?”
Along with the text post, the new owner supplied a series of photos of the charge port, showing the lacking DC connector. Shortly thereafter, the owner opened the interior paneling, only to confirm the lack of DC fast-charging wiring as well.
At this time, it remains unclear if this vehicle was supposed to be a display model or if it suffers from a severe manufacturing defect. However, according to the post on the forum, the dealer who sold the vehicle was just as bewildered as the new owner.
Hyundai has not immediately responded to a request for comment from Teslarati, nor have they responded to the requests for information from the new IONIQ 5 owner.
Looking at the Hyundai Canada website, it seems the vehicle is not intentionally missing these parts, seeing as the website does not list DC-fast charging as an optional add-on for the vehicle. In fact, every trim of the vehicle for sale in both the United States and Canada lists “ultra-fast charging” as a standard feature.
As for the new owner, the Hyundai dealer has left them with few options following the ~$45,000 purchase, “Should I try cutting open that cap? I’m up creek without a paddle at the moment,” says the IONIQ 5 owner in a comment on their post. “Dealers remedy is to sell me an upgraded car, take a negative position on this car and carry it to the new loan, and have to repay most of the government grants. Not a remedy at all”
This presumed manufacturing mistake comes at a time of heightened pressure for Hyundai to expand its EV offerings as well as its EV production, notably in North America, where the domestic assembly of vehicles is required to qualify for federal EV incentives in the United States.
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