2023 HYUNDAI IONIQ 5

I am filing this complaint regarding a serious safety defect in my 2023 Hyundai Ioniq 5 that occurred on 5/14/2025. The vehicle experienced a complete failure of the 12-volt auxiliary battery while parked in my driveway. As a result, the vehicle became fully unresponsive (“bricked”), and I was unable to open the passenger side front door, either of the rear passenger doors, or the back lift door. Only the front driver door could be opened manually and it had been unlocked at the time of the battery failure. I suspect that if I had locked the door prior to the battery failure I would have been locked in the car and I would have had to call for emergency help. This failure posed a significant safety risk, as passengers or I could have been trapped in the vehicle if this had occurred while on the road, in an emergency, or in a remote location. Larger or mobility-impaired passengers would likely be unable to exit safely through the narrow front passenger side if I had been able to open it. Even if I had broken the windows, it is unlikely that larger people could have escaped. There are no mechanical release mechanisms for the doors, and no clear emergency override was functional during this failure. This issue is further exacerbated by the fact that: •The Ioniq 5 relies entirely on the 12V system for door actuation and vehicle wake-up, even when the high-voltage battery is full. •There is no redundancy or mechanical failsafe for opening all doors in a total electrical failure. I have since lift wheel towed the vehicle to the Hyundai of Escondido where the 12V battery was diagnosed as faulty and replaced. The service representative acknowledged other similar occurrences and acknowledged there has been no permanent resolution or acknowledgment of the inherent design risk in such scenarios. This is not an isolated case — numerous owners have reported similar issues across online EV forums and to NHTSA. The lack of emergency door egress is a unexcusable defect.