Looks pretty good, best I have seen for clarity. Are you going to apply any surface magnets to the new plugs?
I also might mention after I changed mine, I noticed less noise and a smoother ride, let us know if your experience is similar
Gearbox oil, you might want to proactively change it ...
- Thread starter KiwiME
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I also might mention after I changed mine, I noticed less noise and a smoother ride, let us know if your experience is similar
Looks pretty good, best I have seen for clarity. Are you going to apply any surface magnets to the new plugs?
I also might mention after I changed mine, I noticed less noise and a smoother ride, let us know if your experience is similar
Thanks, since I didn't see it that bad, I was hoping I could avoid the magnets. But my plan is also to just do this every year/12,500 miles.
I haven't driven it without the kid in there so plenty of noise already. Lol... Normally I don't hear too much noise with the windows up TBH. Wife hears it with windows down around 20-35 (after the speaker shuts off), so let's see if she hears anything during her commute.
David T in Silicon Valley
Active Member
I’m looking at some magnets right now at
https://www.magnetshop.com/neodymium-disc-magnet-42dne4824-ni.html
Do you have a recommendation for a maximum pull force? My inclination is to go for the 24.5lb (=109Newtons). I don’t want them falling off, but I also don’t want some mechanic thinking that they were welded on.
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KiwiME
Well-Known Member
I'd suggest one size down, the 0.75 x .25. It can be placed on either existing plug. You can just reach the fill plug from under the hood.
Keith Smith
Active Member
There is no downside to a magnetic plug. If you change the oil, swap the plug.
David T in Silicon Valley
Active Member
I got my neodymium magnets installed on the outside of the fill and drain plugs. I had no idea what I was looking for and did NOT want to take that panel off the underside. The videos in the Kona (and this thread) on YouTube appeared to be taken down, so I went to this one:
Once I knew where roughly they were and what they looked like, it was pretty easy to reach down with my longish arm and feel the fill plug. But I have two magnets and I figure the fill plug is probably not in regular contact with the fluid as much as the drain plug...so I felt to the limit of my arm length and could just touch the drain plug with a fingertip or two...I could not imagine getting that magnet installed on the drain plug without it smacking onto some other random bit of steel down there someplace, sooooo...I rotate the front wheels hard left, and reaching through the left side and found it that way and got the magnet on the plug!
I have long arms, so I dunno if this will work for everyone.
Now that I read more about the oil situation in this and some Kona threads during my video hunt for where the plugs are, I am def gonna ask for an oil change the next time I am in, whether they think I need one or not.
Thank you @KiwiME for some guidance and especially for the inspiration!
Once I knew where roughly they were and what they looked like, it was pretty easy to reach down with my longish arm and feel the fill plug. But I have two magnets and I figure the fill plug is probably not in regular contact with the fluid as much as the drain plug...so I felt to the limit of my arm length and could just touch the drain plug with a fingertip or two...I could not imagine getting that magnet installed on the drain plug without it smacking onto some other random bit of steel down there someplace, sooooo...I rotate the front wheels hard left, and reaching through the left side and found it that way and got the magnet on the plug!
I have long arms, so I dunno if this will work for everyone.
Now that I read more about the oil situation in this and some Kona threads during my video hunt for where the plugs are, I am def gonna ask for an oil change the next time I am in, whether they think I need one or not.
Thank you @KiwiME for some guidance and especially for the inspiration!
KiwiME
Well-Known Member
You're very welcome!
The advice I've been providing on Kona forums and a few others is based on over a year of input from 50+ Kona and Niro owners and I'm personally very familiar with these technologies from my engineering expertise. We have around 13 oil-analysis lab results that support the conclusions. There are no remaining questions left unanswered at this time and it's clear from the silence that the issue is very unlikely to be ever addressed by H/Kia with a TSB.
In short, my suggestion is that at the owner's expense the first oil change should be at 2,500 miles (+/-500) and subsequently every second service. The purpose is to control the particle contamination that is not being carried out correctly due to the loose factory magnet. If at any time the oil returns clear you could ignore it from then on. This does not apply to the new model Niro and upcoming Kona (out third quarter this year) because they are a completely new design.
Adding a magnet of some form as you've done should help by about half but it's seeing the resulting oil condition that counts. I'll also clarify that "most" owners do nothing and "mostly" nothing goes wrong but the fact remains that the owner's manual specifies clear brown oil and that is what precision bearings and gears rely on for a long life.
We know from both experience and theory that it doesn't matter which of the two plugs you make magnetic. Generally owners who use external magnets intend to remove them when the car is serviced ... just in case the dealer has an issue with it. As such you'd place them where they can be easily retrieved. A few owners have reported that their dealer would not install a magnetic plug for them when changing the oil but quite a few others have said that their dealer had no issue with doing that. No one so far has reported being denied a warranty claim due to having a magnetic plug.
If you run into issues getting the oil changed you can get any shop to do this that doesn't have an aversion to EVs. It's the same as any diff or simple gearbox oil change. 1.05 litre required so buy 2 US qts Redline MT-LV, tighten 30 lb-ft for the stock plugs and reuse the gaskets.
It's worth recognising that the dealer simply follows guidelines from Hyundai/Kia S.K and your importer ... they are technicians rather than lubrication or powertrain experts.
The advice I've been providing on Kona forums and a few others is based on over a year of input from 50+ Kona and Niro owners and I'm personally very familiar with these technologies from my engineering expertise. We have around 13 oil-analysis lab results that support the conclusions. There are no remaining questions left unanswered at this time and it's clear from the silence that the issue is very unlikely to be ever addressed by H/Kia with a TSB.
In short, my suggestion is that at the owner's expense the first oil change should be at 2,500 miles (+/-500) and subsequently every second service. The purpose is to control the particle contamination that is not being carried out correctly due to the loose factory magnet. If at any time the oil returns clear you could ignore it from then on. This does not apply to the new model Niro and upcoming Kona (out third quarter this year) because they are a completely new design.
Adding a magnet of some form as you've done should help by about half but it's seeing the resulting oil condition that counts. I'll also clarify that "most" owners do nothing and "mostly" nothing goes wrong but the fact remains that the owner's manual specifies clear brown oil and that is what precision bearings and gears rely on for a long life.
We know from both experience and theory that it doesn't matter which of the two plugs you make magnetic. Generally owners who use external magnets intend to remove them when the car is serviced ... just in case the dealer has an issue with it. As such you'd place them where they can be easily retrieved. A few owners have reported that their dealer would not install a magnetic plug for them when changing the oil but quite a few others have said that their dealer had no issue with doing that. No one so far has reported being denied a warranty claim due to having a magnetic plug.
If you run into issues getting the oil changed you can get any shop to do this that doesn't have an aversion to EVs. It's the same as any diff or simple gearbox oil change. 1.05 litre required so buy 2 US qts Redline MT-LV, tighten 30 lb-ft for the stock plugs and reuse the gaskets.