NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Preliminary Evaluation PE21-013: Loss of Motive Power
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Preliminary Evaluation PE21-013 on May 17, 2021 and closed it on December 23, 2021. NHTSA's investigations file lists the 2020–2021 Porsche Taycan for it and links recall 21V-486 to it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- PE21-013 (also written PE21013)
- Investigation type
- Preliminary Evaluation The first stage of most defect investigations: NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation gathers basic information about a possible safety defect, including from the manufacturer.
- Status
- Closed December 23, 2021
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- Porsche Cars North America, Inc.
- Components
- Electrical System; Electrical System — Propulsion System
- Recall linked by NHTSA
- 21V-486: Software Error Can Cause Loss of Motive Power, reported
- Vehicles and equipment
- 2020–2021 Porsche Taycan
NHTSA's summary
As NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation wrote it for Preliminary Evaluation PE21-013.
In May 2021, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened a Preliminary Evaluation (PE) of complaints received alleging a loss of motive power while in motion at any speed with no prior warning to the driver in the 2020-2021 model year (MY) Porsche Taycan electric vehicles. ODI had received 9 Vehicle Owner Questionnaires (VOQs) and several field reports. All complaints alleged that a loss of motive power occurred without warning and error messages about a battery fault displayed during or after the vehicle stalled.
In the subject vehicles, a pulse-controlled inverter is mounted on each of the two drive modules on the front and rear axles. The software designed to continuously monitor end-to-end communication between the safety-related electronic control units (ECUs) in the vehicle can, in certain instances, incorrectly and sporadically detect a potentially faulty communication, set an error memory entry, and trigger a shutdown of the power train, resulting in loss of motive power. If this occurs, the affected vehicles display the warning message ?Motor control error. Stop vehicle in a safe place in the instrument cluster.
Porsche has corrected the software malfunction in production. Further, Porsche is conducting a safety recall (21V-486) to upgrade the software on vehicles already in the field. In view of the recall action, this Preliminary Evaluation is closed. The agency reserves the right to take additional action if warranted by new circumstances.
The ODI reports cited above can be reviewed online at nhtsa.gov under the following identification numbers: 11435775, 11433960, 11431568, 11429897, 11427688, 11426921, 11426902, 11424618, 11424613, 11424296, 11424175, 11424015, 11423458, 11423311, 11422549, 11422463, 11421593, 11421575, 11421494, 11421347, 11420845, 11420788, 11420734, 11420572, 11419756, 11419735, 11419730, 11419721, 11419422, 11418975, 11418935, 11418793, 11418705, 11418692, 11418593, 11418476, 11418405, 11418381, 11418245, 11418237, 11418153, 11418142, 11418132, 11418106, 11415110, 11414731, 11414486, 11404336, 11386164, 11383427, 11377898, 11377875, 11364083
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Preliminary Evaluation PE21-013. A listed model year means only that an investigation names it; it says nothing about any particular vehicle. Model years with a try.vin recall page link to that page's NHTSA investigations section.
Porsche
All Porsche recallsWhat an NHTSA investigation is
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) looks into possible safety defects in vehicles and equipment, often after owner complaints. An investigation usually starts as a Preliminary Evaluation, or as a Recall Query when it concerns whether an existing recall covers the right vehicles or fixes the problem, and ODI can upgrade it to a more detailed Engineering Analysis. A Defect Petition asks NHTSA to open an investigation, and Audit and Equipment Queries are administrative investigations into whether companies complied with federal vehicle safety requirements, such as reporting, recall and certification rules.
An open investigation is not a finding that a safety defect exists, and NHTSA can close one without a recall.
To see whether a specific vehicle has an open recall, enter its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Porsche VIN check: decode a VIN to see its year, make and model.
Sources
NHTSA's investigation record for PE21-013
Investigation details come from NHTSA's investigations file, which try.vin imports once a day. The investigation types are described from the U.S. Department of Transportation Inspector General's May 2023 report on NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation, NHTSA's petition rules (49 CFR Parts 552 and 557) and NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation procedures. How try.vin reads NHTSA investigations.