LG Battery Recall Saga: The Hot Mess Continues

Some Australian owners of recalled LG home batteries have been delivered another kick in the guts – but it’s better than their houses potentially burning down; or worse.

We first wrote about the Australian LG battery recall in March 2021. It involves certain LG and other systems using LG batteries; including some SolaX, Opal, Redback, Red Earth, Eguana and Varta models. It’s a serious situation, with affected batteries having the potential to catch on fire at any time, without warning.

At least nine incidents had been reported to the ACCC to November last year involving property damage and in one case, a personal injury. One home had been “completely destroyed” by a fire linked to an LG battery overheating.

We’ve covered the LG battery recall saga a number of times due to its seriousness – and because it has taken so long and has been fraught with issues. When we last reported on it in November 2023, 8,000 affected units remained in homes, and the fact that 6,000 still hadn’t been located was astounding.

6 months on and 4,400 affected batteries are yet to be located. Even where systems have been identified, we’ve seen multiple reports from owners of an unsatisfactory response – and now a new twist.

Diagnostic Software Snafu

LG Energy Solution Australia Pty Ltd (LGESAU), through authorised partners, has been replacing some batteries and in other cases providing diagnostic software to identify and shut down systems at risk of overheating. LG has committed to providing financial compensation to owners to offset any increase to electricity bills resulting from a switched off or shut-down battery.

But there have been problems with the software. We sighted an email to an affected battery owner last week that stated in part:

“LG Energy Solution is presently investigating the cause of an unexpected overheating incident in a battery which had diagnostic software, and in doing so reviewing the diagnostic software remedy. As a matter of safety, you should immediately switch off your battery until we complete our investigation … We expect this review to be completed by the middle of August 2024 and once concluded we will contact you to advise whether to switch the battery back on, or of an alternative remedy.”

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) says it is “extremely concerned” by this development, and is monitoring the situation closely.

A New Enforceable Undertaking From LG

The ACCC also says it has been concerned with the adequacy of advertising from LG alerting consumers to the recall.

“Following ACCC advice provided earlier this year, the Assistant Treasurer issued a proposed recall notice, which is a formal step towards a compulsory recall, due to concerns that LG had not taken satisfactory action to prevent the affected batteries causing injury to any person.”

Given this has been going on for *years* and the risks involved, the mind boggles that there hasn’t been a compulsory recall yet. But LG has since met with the ACCC and offered to make “significant additional commitments” through a court-enforceable undertaking, and the Assistant Treasurer is on board. What those additional commitments are isn’t clear.

Let Battery Owners Know

That there are 4,400 affected batteries still somewhere out there yet to been inspected is an unsettling situation. Since LG is having ongoing issues tracking down the remaining units for whatever reason/s, the company obviously needs a helping hand.

Bearing in mind it’s not just some LG-branded systems affected but a few other brands as well, if you know of someone with a home battery, let them know about the recall and point them to this page. It contains details of affected devices and the steps to take. Your action might save property and more importantly, lives.

However, I noticed yesterday that page was still stating towards the bottom:

“Under the recall, LGESAU is rolling out free diagnostic software, which has been assessed by Energy Safe Victoria and has been designed by LGES to identify and shut down batteries at risk of overheating.”

… sigh. At least they had a link to the diagnostic software recall notice towards the top of the page, which mentions systems with it installed should be shut down.

Are Solar Batteries Safe?

The LG situation might be giving some households pause for thought as to whether to install a battery system. So, are solar batteries safe? Done right, yes. A 2023 report from the ACCC noted 15 reported renewable energy storage fires in the period 2017–18 to 2022–23, and more than 250,000 home energy storage systems had been installed by the end of last year.

Granted, that’s still 15 fires too many – and some of those would likely connected to the recall. But thankfully, Australia also has some strict rules on where and how a battery can be installed, which helps reduce risk to property and lives if things go really pear-shaped.

Original Source: https://www.solarquotes.com.au/blog/lg-battery-mess-continues-mb2929/