[BK.GTE]

Hi all 👋🏽

I recently had VW inspect a hybrid system error and replace a fuse (€140 bill for a €3 part… thanks VW) anyways I noticed they also added this sticker to the AC charger. No mention of it in the report but as the car was only in for a service a few months ago I figured if it was part of something that needed to be inspected why wouldn’t they have inspected it then?

I’m familiar with the Cadmium health concerns (carcinogen) so this it looks to suggest that the part be separated properly when the car is being scrapped to prevent cadmium contamination into the environment. I was always under the impression the units with Cadmium were replaced with non-Cadmium units but that might just be an assumption I’ve made subconsciously.

I would love to hear back from anyone who has more information on the purposes of this sticker and why they bothered with it.

Thanks in advance,
BK

 

[tom66]

I think this relates to this ludicruous recall:

Volkswagen Group could face EV and hybrid recall due to carcinogen in chargers | Autocar

Germany’s Federal Motor Transport Authority could order a recall for the cars due to the presence of cadmium; 124,000 EVs and plug-in hybrids are affected

www.autocar.co.uk

The cadmium isn't supposed to be in there, but it got into the supply chain by mistake. Having worked in the electronics industry for over a decade, this must be a genuine and serious mistake, because RoHS is overbearing over all of our work. I suspect that a cadmium-coated relay contact was used instead of a non-cadmium one. Ironically, given the health issues, these are still used in high-reliability applications, like medical devices.

It looks like VW managed to get an agreement with the EU not to landfill 120,000 EV charging components and instead just place a warning sticker on vehicles when they could. Hooray - logic prevailed this time.

Otherwise the result would have been to take every charging unit out of every car, replace it with a cadmium-free one, and then presumably incinerate the old chargers, lest a few ppm of cadmium makes it way into the environment after disposal. Which would obviously be more environmentally damaging, because cadmium is a terrifying metal that can strike at any moment. (Sorry if my sarcasm isn't clear.)

There are far more dangerous things with a car, like the fact that it can travel at 138 mph, or that the boot has 40 litres of petrol and a 7kWh lithium ion battery at 400V right next door to each other. To be extra safe, don't eat the charging unit, and avoid licking it. But unless you take a sledgehammer to the charger (which has been known to adversely affect its functionality) you're not getting the cadmium out of that solid block of steel it sits in.

 

[BK.GTE]

Hands down the best reply I could have asked for. Humour delivered quality information! Hats off to you sir 😊 Thanks Tom

 

[Gator]

Brilliant answer, sir. Hats off! So nice to learn, yet laugh 😂.

 

[Flash DaEV]

"avoid licking"..... My weekend ruined 🙈🤨