Traction battery fault on an EV: drive to a workshop, not a trip

Book a check soon

The battery management system has found a fault in the cells or in their management. It does not mean the pack is worn out, but it should not wait: drive to a workshop, not out on a long trip, and do not rapid charge on the way.

Can you keep driving?

To a workshop, yes. On a long trip, no.

An electric car raised on a workshop lift with a technician working underneath it

What the warning actually means

The symbol is a battery with a bolt through it, and it is amber. The fault sits in the cells or in the system that manages them. It is not the same as the red high voltage warning, but it often arrives before it.

Inside a traction battery pack: cell modules, the management controller and the wiring between them
The fault sits either in the cells themselves or in the system that manages them.

Common causes

  • A fault in the battery cells
  • A fault in the battery management system

What to do now

  1. Drive to a workshop rather than setting off on a long trip.
  2. Do not rapid charge on the way.
  3. If the warning turns red, or you notice smoke, unusual heat, hissing, a chemical smell or a sudden loss of power: stop safely, switch off, get everyone out and call for assistance.
  4. Do not open the hood or the charge port.

What people often get wrong

Ignoring it because the car still drives. Amber is the car asking to be read soon, and waiting is how a diagnosis turns into a recovery.

When the car must go to a workshop

Now. Nothing in the traction battery is owner serviceable. On a hybrid, less electric running than before, or the engine starting far more often on a route you know, points at reduced battery capacity or a charging fault in the hybrid system.

A technician with a diagnostic tablet reading an electric car's battery pack on a lift
A workshop reads the pack and its management. Nothing in the traction battery is owner serviceable.

Read next

This page is general information and does not replace a professional assessment. Symbols, codes and behaviour vary between makes. Always check the handbook for your own car.

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