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Locked Inside when power failed from 12v Battery

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#42 ·
Jim Hugh said:
This is a grave issue. Couple of days ago on 3/19/2025 a Xiaomi SU7 EV sedan ran to concrete barriers on highway in China. 3 young ladies were burnt inside car with all 4 doors locked. Mechanical door opening function is important especially in an EV. Hope Hyundai is listening before it’s too late.
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Being a 'belt-n-braces' type of guy, I have always carried a spring loaded window breaking tool close to hand in all my cars.

And lately I modified a small toffee hammer to grind the head to a sharp point - just in case the spring loaded gizmo had seized up from lack of use.
 
#43 ·
Hitstirrer said:
Being a 'belt-n-braces' type of guy, I have always carried a spring loaded window breaking tool close to hand in all my cars.

And lately I modified a small toffee hammer to grind the head to a sharp point - just in case the spring loaded gizmo had seized up from lack of use.
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I've heard these types of tools are basically useless on laminated glass, which most of the new cars use, even on the side windows.
 
#44 · (Edited)
And since ICE cars are far more likely to catch fire than EVs, the window breaking and seatbelt cutting tool is even more important for them. One example from last month:

An hour after I passed the exact spot where that Tesla sits in the picture below, an Infinity driver traveling at ridiculous speed couldn't hold the gentle curve. Went airborne and upside down over the median, and killed the Tesla driver. People who don't appreciate how easy it is to ignite the liquid that ignites in their engines expect the much less ignitable batteries to catch fire. Nope. Tesla's shredded and driver dead. Infinity incinerated and driver hospitalized. (Road closed for hours.)
Image
 
#46 ·
Yaric said:
In this case its actually good he does not have this simple, but quite expensive way to get out of the car.
Panic is bad, it overwhelms and prevents one to think for easy solutions were available.

  • The second key you wife had in the house can open door manually
  • Hatch can be manually opened, I think you need something like a credit card to fit there.
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And the odometer reading can also be found under Vehicle Status in the MyHyundai app.
 
#47 ·
I've just tried this with our Australian 2022 Ioniq 5 RWD. Window open, doors locked with fob which was then placed out of range. Battery then disconnected and the doors opened easily with the interior handle. The action of the handle certainly feels like a mechanical link. I have been in a friends Tesla M3, and there is a different feel between the electric and mechanical door latches.
 
#48 ·
Ionhorse said:
Thanks, Jerry, for putting this question to bed. I was going to reply earlier that, of course, the doors can be opened from inside if the battery is dead. What? A death trap…NOT in the 21st century.
Heck, even Tesla which plays loose with drivers’ safety includes a manual release…if you know where to look for it!
I am curious about the rear doors, and hope and expect that they can be opened too. I wonder, though, about the child lock. I accidently locked myself in the back seat once with the child lock on. It took some gymanstic moves for this 69 year old to reach the button on the front arm rest to cancel the child lock.
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I am older than you Ionhorse , I have two grand boys...and I did the same thing..."gymnastic"...yeah! ha....
 
#50 ·
AckyT said:
Last week I went to my Ioniq 5 to check my mileage for insurance renewal. The car opened as normal.
When I attempted to start the car, I got a message on screen to press start key with the key fob. Not had it before.
The screen went on briefly and showed a warning about the 12v battery. It quickly went off. I tried to start the vehicle again - but nothing happened.
I tried to leave the car but the handles would not work. It was a very sunny morning and warm in the car. After trying handles a few times without success I tried to open the windows. Nothing. Everything was dead.
I did not have my mobile with me and had left house without telling my wife where I would be.
I began to panic and our car was not visible from any road to alert passers by. The temperature raised in the car and I began to hyperventilate.
After around 20-30 minutes my wife came out of the house to find out where I was. By this time I was in a bit of a state. She sought help from my neighbour who immediately called the Fire Brigade & Ambulance services.
When they arrived I managed to tell them of the brief warning for the 12v battery. The Fire Service were prepared to break windows but my neighbour had a spare 12v battery which fortunately could be hooked up to my car as I was able to release the bonnet. ( Good job that wasn’t electric) After hooking up to the battery they electrics came on and the doors could be opened.
I rang Hyundai when I overcome the shock. They said I had to contact Hyundai Assist who called out the AA.
The AA done quick test on battery and could not detect the issue.
The car was taken to Hyundai. After a day they contacted me to say the cannot find any issues on their diagnostic systems and said the 12v battery was OK.
I told them that this could have been a fatality if I had not been found, as the temperature in the car had raised dramatically , as asked them to provide information on escaping from the car when all electrics went dead.
The answer from them was that a driver would have to climb over front and back seats and then release the tailgate by sliding a flat instrument into the manual release hole on the inside of the tailgate. I’m 71 years of age with limited mobility.

So sorry to go on so much but I want to know if anyone else has had a similar event.
I’m waiting to hear back from Hyundai Customer services who I have registered my concern and complaint with them. I really don’t think they are taking this very 😦
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When I first got the car I climbed into the rear seat to check it out. I was shocked to find the door locked with no release to get out. I eventually climbed over the front seat and reached the unlock button. I complained to the dealer that I was trapped in the car. They just shrugged their shoulders. This is a real safety issue.
 
#51 ·
lewmiller1 said:
When I first got the car I climbed into the rear seat to check it out. I was shocked to find the door locked with no release to get out. I eventually climbed over the front seat and reached the unlock button. I complained to the dealer that I was trapped in the car. They just shrugged their shoulders. This is a real safety issue.
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That sounds like the child safety lock was engaged. I recall seeing a review somewhere that complained that the button to engage this feature was too easy to accidentally push on pre-2025 Ioniq 5s, but it's slightly improved in that respect for 2025 (but it can still be accidentally engaged). Here's a Hyundai video about this feature:
 
#53 ·
tomafitz said:
There is IOS Scriptable app that a script that has been written to show the 12 volt state of charge
alternative-ios-bluelink-app-us-canada-and-europe-support.51956

If that helps.
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It does help, yesterday I noticed in that app that my 12V was down to 69% SOC after sitting a few days. Today, it is 91% after driving about 40 miles yesterday.

Haven't used it enough to see clear trends, but it would seem daily driving might be a key to maintaining a healthy 12V?
 
#54 ·
Arob said:
It does help, yesterday I noticed in that app that my 12V was down to 69% SOC after sitting a few days. Today, it is 91% after driving about 40 miles yesterday.

Haven't used it enough to see clear trends, but it would seem daily driving might be a key to maintaining a healthy 12V?
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Was it plugged while it was sitting for a few days?
 
#55 ·
lewmiller1 said:
When I first got the car I climbed into the rear seat to check it out. I was shocked to find the door locked with no release to get out. I eventually climbed over the front seat and reached the unlock button. I complained to the dealer that I was trapped in the car. They just shrugged their shoulders. This is a real safety issue.
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I agree with @srs5694. I was always toggling the child lock whenever I adjusted the side mirrors.

Till I made this. It's a prototype. Works great but I need to find time to make a more polished one. I made it from a piece of vertical blind that was laying around.

Image
 
#56 ·
Arob said:
It does help, yesterday I noticed in that app that my 12V was down to 69% SOC after sitting a few days. Today, it is 91% after driving about 40 miles yesterday.

Haven't used it enough to see clear trends, but it would seem daily driving might be a key to maintaining a healthy 12V?
Click to expand...
Nope. The car is designed to maintain the 12v battery both when being driven or shut down (as long as HV battery SOC is > 10%)
 
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#57 ·
MIkeS said:
Nope. The car is designed to maintain the 12v battery both when being driven or shut down (as long as HV battery SOC is > 10%)
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It maintains the 12V when off ... after a fashion. The graph from my BM2 gets pretty low sometimes before the car's charger kicks in.
 
owns 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 Limited RWD
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#58 ·
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