Why Are We Still Seeing Electric Car Battery Recalls?
From Transport Evolved.
Watch this video on YouTube ↗
Right now, the Volkswagen Group is recalling around 100,000 electric cars worldwide across Volkswagen, Cupra and Audi, all for battery cells that, in rare cases, can overheat and catch fire. And if that sounds familiar, it should: from the Hyundai Kona Electric and Chevrolet Bolt EV to the Jaguar I-Pace, Porsche Taycan and Mercedes-Benz EQB, cell-level manufacturing defects have been behind some of the most expensive recalls the EV world has seen.
So in today's video, Nikki asks a simple question: why are we still seeing battery recalls? From clean rooms and bunny suits to the tiny flaws that can take years to come to light, and how few companies make the cells (and the machines that make them), she explains why making a battery is so hard, why one bad batch can show up in several brands at once, and why things are slowly getting better.
Full shownotes, links, and script at: https://www.transportevolved.com/2026/11/03/why-are-we-still-seeing-battery-recalls/
----
*⏱️ Chapter Breakdown*:
00:00 - Introduction
02:27 - Not a specialist...
03:07 - The recalls right now - and some history
04:53 - How most recall campaigns went
06:21 - A reminder: some safety statistics
06:53 - Volkswagen's recall - what we know (and don't)
07:40 - Why we're still seeing recalls
08:29 - Making a battery is hard
13:24 - Small supply chains, big problems when things go wrong
15:00 - The machines that make EV batteries
16:21 - Errors can take a long time to notice
17:46 - New rules and battery passports could help
18:19 - Engines are easy in comparison
19:44 - The rest of the auto industry has its own supply issues
21:03 - Disassembly is a one-way process
21:30 - X-ray imaging is starting to help
22:10 - Things are improving
24:41 - Thanks, and goodbye!
📺 Our earlier videos on EV batteries and recalls:
▶️ Just Why Are Electric Car Batteries So Hard To Produce (And Diagnose)? - https://youtu.be/Fcb-lupUAlA
▶️ What's Causing All These Electric Car Battery Failures? - https://youtu.be/_NqQt-1W6Y8
▶️ TEN 600 | iX3 In High Demand, EVs Go Further, The Little Trains That Could! (Fraunhofer's automated X-ray checks for EV batteries) - https://youtu.be/9XZqkg_nAHU
▶️ TEN 604 | Mach-E Trail, VW's Battery Recall, PHEVs Still Lying! - https://youtu.be/mc9XkLGWYYM
*🔗 Links*
🔗 Benjamin Nelson: Ford Ranger EV Walk Around Tour and Overview - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgHhlKdHym8
🔗 Darell Dickey (EVnut): EV1 - Driving it the final week before the crusher - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LE062OfrN4
🔗 Science Buddies: Potato Battery Science Project - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWIzEp2FZJE
🔗 NHTSA recall 26V630: Volkswagen ID.4 (MY2023–26, 22,524 vehicles) - https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls?nhtsaId=26V630
🔗 NHTSA recall 26V698: Audi Q4 e-tron and Q4 Sportback e-tron (MY2024–25, 9,048 vehicles) - https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls?nhtsaId=26V698
🔗 KBA (Germany’s vehicle authority) recall database: search reference 17137R (VW ID.3, ID.4, ID.7, ID. Buzz), 17101R and 17103R (further VW ID. models and Cupra Born), 17222R (Audi Q4 e-tron) - https://www.kba.de/EN/Themen_en/Marktueberwachung_en/Rueckrufe_en/Rueckrufdatenbank_en/rueckrufdatenbank_node_en.html
🔗 VW and Cupra's European battery recall: 72,700 EVs (electrive) - https://www.electrive.com/2026/10/21/vws-battery-recall-affects-72700-evs-including-10000-in-germany/
🔗 Audi joins: VW Group's EV battery recall passes 85,000 (Electrek) - https://electrek.co/2026/10/28/volkswagens-ev-battery-recall-reaches-over-85000-with-audi/
----
*👥 Today’s Sponsors*
🌱 Electric Vehicle Association - https://www.myeva.org
🐕 Little Collie Shepherd - https://littlecollie.com
—
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---
*🎙️ Credits:*
Host, Script: Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield
Camera, Editor, Color: Vi Horton
Art & Animation: Erin Carlie
Producer: Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield
Music: "Got It" (Instrumental Version) by VESHZA, via Artlist.io - https://artlist.io/royalty-free-music/song/got-it-instrumental-version/11284
So in today's video, Nikki asks a simple question: why are we still seeing battery recalls? From clean rooms and bunny suits to the tiny flaws that can take years to come to light, and how few companies make the cells (and the machines that make them), she explains why making a battery is so hard, why one bad batch can show up in several brands at once, and why things are slowly getting better.
Full shownotes, links, and script at: https://www.transportevolved.com/2026/11/03/why-are-we-still-seeing-battery-recalls/
----
*⏱️ Chapter Breakdown*:
00:00 - Introduction
02:27 - Not a specialist...
03:07 - The recalls right now - and some history
04:53 - How most recall campaigns went
06:21 - A reminder: some safety statistics
06:53 - Volkswagen's recall - what we know (and don't)
07:40 - Why we're still seeing recalls
08:29 - Making a battery is hard
13:24 - Small supply chains, big problems when things go wrong
15:00 - The machines that make EV batteries
16:21 - Errors can take a long time to notice
17:46 - New rules and battery passports could help
18:19 - Engines are easy in comparison
19:44 - The rest of the auto industry has its own supply issues
21:03 - Disassembly is a one-way process
21:30 - X-ray imaging is starting to help
22:10 - Things are improving
24:41 - Thanks, and goodbye!
📺 Our earlier videos on EV batteries and recalls:
▶️ Just Why Are Electric Car Batteries So Hard To Produce (And Diagnose)? - https://youtu.be/Fcb-lupUAlA
▶️ What's Causing All These Electric Car Battery Failures? - https://youtu.be/_NqQt-1W6Y8
▶️ TEN 600 | iX3 In High Demand, EVs Go Further, The Little Trains That Could! (Fraunhofer's automated X-ray checks for EV batteries) - https://youtu.be/9XZqkg_nAHU
▶️ TEN 604 | Mach-E Trail, VW's Battery Recall, PHEVs Still Lying! - https://youtu.be/mc9XkLGWYYM
*🔗 Links*
🔗 Benjamin Nelson: Ford Ranger EV Walk Around Tour and Overview - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgHhlKdHym8
🔗 Darell Dickey (EVnut): EV1 - Driving it the final week before the crusher - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LE062OfrN4
🔗 Science Buddies: Potato Battery Science Project - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWIzEp2FZJE
🔗 NHTSA recall 26V630: Volkswagen ID.4 (MY2023–26, 22,524 vehicles) - https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls?nhtsaId=26V630
🔗 NHTSA recall 26V698: Audi Q4 e-tron and Q4 Sportback e-tron (MY2024–25, 9,048 vehicles) - https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls?nhtsaId=26V698
🔗 KBA (Germany’s vehicle authority) recall database: search reference 17137R (VW ID.3, ID.4, ID.7, ID. Buzz), 17101R and 17103R (further VW ID. models and Cupra Born), 17222R (Audi Q4 e-tron) - https://www.kba.de/EN/Themen_en/Marktueberwachung_en/Rueckrufe_en/Rueckrufdatenbank_en/rueckrufdatenbank_node_en.html
🔗 VW and Cupra's European battery recall: 72,700 EVs (electrive) - https://www.electrive.com/2026/10/21/vws-battery-recall-affects-72700-evs-including-10000-in-germany/
🔗 Audi joins: VW Group's EV battery recall passes 85,000 (Electrek) - https://electrek.co/2026/10/28/volkswagens-ev-battery-recall-reaches-over-85000-with-audi/
----
*👥 Today’s Sponsors*
🌱 Electric Vehicle Association - https://www.myeva.org
🐕 Little Collie Shepherd - https://littlecollie.com
—
✊ Get Involved 🗳️ https://indivisible.org/town-hall-resources
❤️ Support the Show
📰 https://www.transportevolved.com
🔥 https://www.patreon.com/transportevolved
☕ https://ko-fi.com/transportevolved
📺 https://www.youtube.com/transportevolved
👕 https://www.redbubble.com/people/TransportEVd/
🛍️ https://amzn.to/40xOyjm
₿ BC1QRZRGCCXUKPDZ2DZ9KX9JYJXMZDYHYGFZ0MN4WH
*💬 Join the Conversation*
🐘 https://mastodon.transportevolved.com/@show
💬 https://discord.gg/9WAjfQn
💬 https://fluxer.gg/mcj8aehg
🌀 https://bsky.app/profile/transportevolved.bsky.social
🧵 https://www.threads.com/@transportevolved
📸 https://www.instagram.com/transportevolved
🔁 Subscribe to our 2nd channel - https://www.youtube.com/transportevolvedtake2
---
*🎙️ Credits:*
Host, Script: Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield
Camera, Editor, Color: Vi Horton
Art & Animation: Erin Carlie
Producer: Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield
Music: "Got It" (Instrumental Version) by VESHZA, via Artlist.io - https://artlist.io/royalty-free-music/song/got-it-instrumental-version/11284
