Taycan

Make
Porsche
Segment
Sedan

The Porsche Taycan nearly outsold the 911 in the first quarter of this year and the trend is expected to continue. The arrival of the Taycan Cross Turismo will fuel (no pun intended) sales even further. So there's no question Porsche's first electric vehicle is a sure-fire hit as customers have embraced it with open arms. But now it appears there could some trouble in EV paradise.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has opened an investigation into 2020-2021 model year Taycans after receiving nine complaints from owners alleging "a loss of motive power while in motion at any speed without warning."

The government agency's Office of Defects Investigation opened its probe last Monday and claims as many as 12,146 Taycans could be affected. However, Porsche North America told Automotive News it delivered just 6,552 Taycans during those model years. The automaker says it's not sure where the agency's sales figure came from but has confirmed it is fully cooperating with investigators.

"We are already underway in addressing this issue and look forward to answering NHTSA's questions and quickly resolving the underlying issue, should one be confirmed," a Porsche spokesperson said. "All Taycans remain safe to drive. We are not aware of accidents reported in connection with this issue."

The loss of power from the auxiliary 12-volt battery, however, has the potential to be a very serious problem because the vehicle's entire electrical system shuts down. That's not exactly the type of situation any drive would want to be in any condition.

All nine complaints allege the power loss happened suddenly and no error messages were displayed in the driver's gauge cluster, before or after the vehicle stalled. A few complaints did note an error message appeared stating an "electrical system error" and requested the driver park at a safe spot. Equally troubling, six owners stated they were unable to restart their Taycans after the power loss. For now, the preliminary investigation is ongoing and no recall has been issued.