NATIONAL NEWS

Jaguar recalls I-Pace electric vehicles due to fire risk in batteries, tells owners to park outside

May 31, 2023, 6:17 AM | Updated: 5:44 pm

DETROIT (AP) — Jaguar is recalling more than 6,000 I-Pace electric SUVs in the U.S. due to the risk of the high-voltage battery catching fire, and it’s telling owners to park them outdoors.

The recall is the latest in a series of electric vehicle battery recalls because of the potential for fires.

Documents posted Wednesday by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration say the recall covers all of the SUVs from the 2019 through 2024 model years.

In an email, Jaguar said customers should park away from structures until recall repairs have been completed, and where possible, they should charge outdoors. Owners with questions should contact a dealer if they have any concerns, the company said.

The documents say the vehicle batteries were made by LG Energy Solution, which is under investigation by the NHTSA after five automakers issued recalls due to possible defects that could cause fires or stalling.

The NHTSA opened the probe in April of 2022 covering more than 138,000 vehicles with the South Korean company’s lithium-ion batteries.

General Motors, Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai, Stellantis and Volkswagen have issued recalls since February of 2020, most due to internal battery failures that can increase the risk of fires.

The agency said it will write to LG and other companies that might have bought similar batteries to make sure recalls are being done when needed.

LG Energy Solution, based in Seoul, South Korea, noted that Jaguar is updating the battery-managing software on the vehicles while the incidents that led to the recall are being investigated.

“LG Energy Solution continues to closely work with our client Jaguar Land Rover to ensure that the investigation is concluded,” it said in a statement Thursday.

The investigation is another bug in a growing global rollout of electric vehicles by all automakers to replace internal combustion vehicles to cut emissions and fight climate change. Ford and BMW also have recalled batteries in recent years. Also, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board investigated a series of fires in Tesla vehicles and said the high-voltage lithium-ion batteries pose safety risks to first responders after crashes.

Many governments are counting on EVs to replace gasoline-burning vehicles that emit greenhouse gases that cause global warming.

Documents in the Jaguar recall say the battery energy control module software will be updated by a dealer or online. The dealers also will replace battery modules if needed.

The documents say that Jaguar has received eight reports of vehicle fires in the U.S. starting in June of 2019.

National News

Associated Press

Barges are bringing cranes to Baltimore to help remove bridge wreckage and open shipping route

BALTIMORE (AP) — Massive barges carrying cranes streamed toward Baltimore on Thursday to begin the challenging work of removing twisted metal and concrete in an attempt to open a key shipping route blocked by the wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. U.S. Coast Guard officials said Wednesday night that the barges were on their […]

24 minutes ago

Associated Press

Russia vetoes UN resolution, abolishing monitoring of UN sanctions against North Korea by UN experts

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Russia vetoed a U.N. resolution on Thursday, effectively abolishing the monitoring of U.N. sanctions against North Korea by a panel of U.N. experts. The Security Council resolution sponsored by the United States would have extended the mandate of the panel for a year, but Russia’s veto will halt its operations. The […]

28 minutes ago

Associated Press

Dethroned crypto king Sam Bankman-Fried to be sentenced for defrauding FTX investors

NEW YORK (AP) — Former crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried, facing the potential of decades in prison, waited to hear his fate Thursday as a sentencing proceeding began in a New York court to assess the penalty for his role in the 2022 collapse of FTX, once one of the world’s most popular platforms for trading […]

11 hours ago

Associated Press

Doctors visiting a Gaza hospital are stunned by the war’s toll on Palestinian children

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza (AP) — An international team of doctors visiting a hospital in central Gaza was prepared for the worst. But the gruesome impact Israel’s war against Hamas is having on Palestinian children still left them stunned. One toddler died from a brain injury caused by an Israeli strike that fractured his skull. His […]

11 hours ago

Associated Press

US military drains fuel from tank facility that leaked fuel into Pearl Harbor’s drinking water

HONOLULU (AP) — The U.S. military said it’s finished draining million of gallons of fuel from an underground fuel tank complex in Hawaii that poisoned 6,000 people when it leaked jet fuel into Pearl Harbor’s drinking water in 2021. Joint Task Force Red Hill began defueling the tanks in October after completing months of repairs […]

12 hours ago

Associated Press

Former correctional officer at women’s prison in California sentenced for sexually abusing inmates

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — A former correctional officer at a federal California women’s prison known for numerous misconduct allegations was sentenced to six years in prison for sexually abusing five inmates, federal officials announced Wednesday. Nakie Nunley, who supervised inmates at the Federal Correctional Institution, Dublin, becomes the seventh correctional officer sentenced to prison for […]

12 hours ago

Jaguar recalls I-Pace electric vehicles due to fire risk in batteries, tells owners to park outside