I was told today because of recall 200, Hyundai wants buy back our cars

[Mattsburgh]

Right? At least Hyundai fessed up quicker. GM tried to convince their customers that the LG batteries made for the Bolt were somehow significantly different than the LG batteries made for Hyundai, and thus, couldn't possibly have the defect and thus wouldn't catch on fire.

 

[Jonathan in France]

So... I just talked to corporate Hyundai today and I'm sure this is going to cause a lot of confusion but they were very clear with me regarding US Kona Electrics:

1. It is NOT their plan to replace any batteries
2. Their solution at this time is to buy back affected 2019 Kona Electrics, including mine.

I'm just telling you what I was told. I was instructed to get P29 done (I have an appt. tomorrow) and that she'd get me my $200 gift card and then start the buyback process with me.

I was told several times that they have no plans at this time to replace the battery pack on these cars. So I said "are you saying my options are keep the car at 80% max charge forever, or sell it back?" and the answer was if I keep the car, in her opinion I would probably need to keep it at 80% max charge for the rest of the time I owned it.

I must admit I did not expect this at all. I expected them to offer me a loaner and if I wanted them to buyback the car I expected a fight. Rather, they were pushing to buy it back from the start. She said "if we put you in a loaner, I think you'd be in that car a very long time".

 

[Jonathan in France]

We’ve been promised a battery replacement in France but as usual Hyundai’s communication is lamentable. I will certainly never buy another vehicle from Hyundai, even though the Kona EV has been a good car, and the new Ioniq looks terrific.

 

[Jonathan in France]

GM: Hold my beer..

Exactly right. In France they’ve been terrible.

 

[Mattsburgh]

We’ve been promised a battery replacement in France but as usual Hyundai’s communication is lamentable. I will certainly never buy another vehicle from Hyundai, even though the Kona EV has been a good car, and the new Ioniq looks terrific.

And now in the US they ARE replacing batteries after being adamant just 4 months ago that they had no plans whatsoever to ever replace batteries in the US, and after buying back a lot of cars here. Shrug.

 

[Ronny]

In my opinion they want to get out from under the lifetime warranty on the 2019s. I surrendered my car on Friday and am glad to be rid of Hyundai and their lousy customer service and their clueless dealer service department. I plan to eventually get another EV and when I do OTA updates will be a priority.

 

[Mattsburgh]

I disagree, they offered to let me keep the car, give me a new battery, a loaner until I get the new battery, $2500 for my inconvenience, and I confirmed, in writing, that the lifetime warranty would persist for the next battery too.

 

[Jonathan in France]

In my opinion they want to get out from under the lifetime warranty on the 2019s. I surrendered my car on Friday and am glad to be rid of Hyundai and their lousy customer service and their clueless dealer service department. I plan to eventually get another EV and when I do OTA updates will be a priority.

Truly, in France they are simply awful. Seems to be a worldwide phenomenon.

 

[John Lumsden]

Truly, in France they are simply awful. Seems to be a worldwide phenomenon.

I strongly disagree with the worldwide comment. I've had great service from Hyundai and my dealer in Wellington, and recommend them, despite having had the battery issue.

 

[Esprit1st]

I really cannot complain about my dealers either. I've used several since we moved a lot the last year.

 

[Wildeyed]

I strongly disagree with the worldwide comment. I've had great service from Hyundai and my dealer in Wellington, and recommend them, despite having had the battery issue.

Because you had a good experience you don't believe the dozens of people and examples of crappy service and communication from Canada, the U.S., Britain, France, Australia and, yes, New Zealend? Um, okay

 

[Esprit1st]

Because you had a good experience you don't believe the dozens of people and examples of crappy service and communication from Canada, the U.S., Britain, France, Australia and, yes, New Zealend? Um, okay

So why wouldn't he (and I also) not believe these people had bad experiences? In fact I believe that customer service isn't very high on the list of most corporations.

We had good experiences, it tells you that you can have good experiences and that it depends on the dealer. So, if you have a bad experience you need to look for a different dealer (you should anyways because you don't want to support bad service). And hopefully you will have a better experience. Is it guaranteed? Of course not.

But it's also not guaranteed that you have a bad experience.

 

[Cathy OS]

I just had my 2019 kona inspected and was told I will be getting a new battery. I’m in MA. I’m not sure how long it will take but I really like the car and it’ll be like new so I’m happy. I wouldn’t want to be trying to buy a new car right now.

 

[John Lumsden]

Because you had a good experience you don't believe the dozens of people and examples of crappy service and communication ....

Wildeyed, best wishes for getting back to 100%, and I do believe that you are very distressed about the uncertainty of when your battery issue will be resolved and that you have not received C$250. However I do not accept that what you are experiencing "seems to be a worldwide problem" as was stated (not by you). I can imagine that there is some "crappy service and communication" around the globe, but it's not everyone's experience, everywhere, thank goodness

 

[electriceddy]

I just had my 2019 kona inspected and was told I will be getting a new battery. I’m in MA. I’m not sure how long it will take but I really like the car and it’ll be like new so I’m happy. I wouldn’t want to be trying to buy a new car right now.

I agree not much wiggle room for negotiating on a new EV (or used) due to supply and demand presently .
Personally my thoughts are we are lucky to own an relatively inexpensive EV (by todays $ standards) considering the range in particular.
I hope your new pack will arrive before too long

 

[Mattsburgh]

In my case, while I am deeply annoyed by the fact that it took so long, that does not mean that overall I feel the entire process was the worst thing ever or that Hyundai is awful. Hardly. The entire process was, for me, quite good. I hate that it took 10 weeks but if that's what it took to get an offer ( or two, actually) - both of which were overwhelmingly generous and in my favor, then I can live with 10 weeks to get there, frankly. I didn't like it, it was annoying, but hey if that's all I have to do to get the offers I got? No problemo.

And so for me, Hyundai handled this well overall, even though I was absolutely annoyed by some of the process and the lack of clear communication.

Bottom line, would I buy a Hyundai again in the future? Absolutely. Was my experience awful? Absolutely not.

For those who are not happy with Hyundai's handling of this, all I want you to do is take a moment to consider how you'd feel if I posted this:

Here in America, our offers have been really generous and Hyundai has been absolutely wonderful. Seems to be a worldwide phenomenon.

Does that accurately reflect how you feel? Of course not. My point: you don't want me to generalize to the point of speaking for you. Shockingly, those of us with good experiences don't want those with bad to generalize and speak for us, either.

 

[Mattsburgh]

I just had my 2019 kona inspected and was told I will be getting a new battery. I’m in MA. I’m not sure how long it will take but I really like the car and it’ll be like new so I’m happy. I wouldn’t want to be trying to buy a new car right now.

Just curious if they offered you a loaner in the meantime? If not, I would suggest if you push (nicely), you can probably get one and also note that if you're in a loaner chances are you get a new battery faster because anyone in a loaner is costing them money every day. Just something to ponder.

 

[Toolworker]

My boughtback 2020 Ultimate has broken radio silence after two months. It's found its way some 300 miles south to a parking lot at Port Hueneme, CA, which might have been its original port of entry.

​

This might be a convenient spot for transfer onward via car carrier truck. Or could a long sea voyage be in its future?

 

[Sue]

Given that my 3-month old 2021 Kona EV has been dead at a dealership for 5 weeks and I have still yet to hear from the Case Manager in the buyback area who was assigned - just last week - despite my follow up /attempts at escalation since mid August - I don’t believe Hyundai has hired the right partner/contract staff/whatever to deal with this problem. Further, I am expected to continue to pay my lease payment, insurance, tax bills while my case sits in a queue (and if I don’t pay, my credit gets hit). MA Lemon Law is 3 weeks plus 7 days notice to repair…. Done. But I can’t get a person at Hyundai to even look at the case. No, they are not handling this crisis as they should and it is a reflection of their business practices, approach to customer service, and management. The only positives I can point out has been the empathy of the Service Team at the dealership where my car sits - but unfortunately, its not their problem solve.

 

[JFree]

In my case, while I am deeply annoyed by the fact that it took so long, that does not mean that overall I feel the entire process was the worst thing ever or that Hyundai is awful. Hardly. The entire process was, for me, quite good. I hate that it took 10 weeks but if that's what it took to get an offer ( or two, actually) - both of which were overwhelmingly generous and in my favor, then I can live with 10 weeks to get there, frankly. I didn't like it, it was annoying, but hey if that's all I have to do to get the offers I got? No problemo.

And so for me, Hyundai handled this well overall, even though I was absolutely annoyed by some of the process and the lack of clear communication.

Bottom line, would I buy a Hyundai again in the future? Absolutely. Was my experience awful? Absolutely not.

For those who are not happy with Hyundai's handling of this, all I want you to do is take a moment to consider how you'd feel if I posted this:

Here in America, our offers have been really generous and Hyundai has been absolutely wonderful. Seems to be a worldwide phenomenon.

Does that accurately reflect how you feel? Of course not. My point: you don't want me to generalize to the point of speaking for you. Shockingly, those of us with good experiences don't want those with bad to generalize and speak for us, either.

Well we just hit the 5 month mark without our 2019 Kona. So can’t say anything good about Hyundai or the process of either getting a battery or the buyback. Wasn’t until We finally got a case manager supervisor to get involved that things moved.

Just got an offer yesterday. They gave us an offer to both keep the car and for a buyback. Because we had a previous settlement with Hyundai over not having a working heater in the car 2 months after getting the car, they want to subtract that settlement from the buyback offer. This makes the buyback offer only about $2,000 more than the keep the car offer. Now we’re not sure what to do as getting a new EV at the moment is limited—considering an ID4 as want nothing to do with Hyundai. However only one available near us and won’t be in until end of October.

Our Kona only has one more year on lease. So we’re a bit torn if we should just hold our nose and keep the Kona for one more year or take window number 2 and maybe get an ID4 (if we can still get one)

My wife is leaning toward keeping car. I’m distrustful of the car and want to get away from Hyundai. Plus wonder if the car sitting on the lot for 5 months with no power could bring up new issues.

Any thoughts??


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