Kona crowned "most unreliable EV"

Mine got 68000 km and no problems too. But... these are anegdotic cases only. It is none statistics. BTW, I change gear oil at every service. Hope it helps.
 
Tomek said:
I change gear oil at every service. Hope it helps.
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Since the issue has been well documented (thanks to @KiwiME ), I can only guess how many GRUs have been granted a "second life" by performing this necessary but yet cost effective service at somewhat regular intervals. I still can't believe Hyundai has not implemented a shorter one.
 
I am at 73,000 miles (117,400 km) on my 2019. Hyundai replaced the traction battery in a recall (this counts as a flaw in CR survey). I recently had an issue where my 12V battery was failing if/when I left the hatchback open of more than 5 minutes or any interior light on for more than 5 minutes with the car turned off. Hyundai Roadside Service have me a jump each time. I replaced the 12V battery (after a 3rd issue starting) and all has been find for over 10,000 miles. The engine is quiet. I just bought new tires (a wear item I expected to replace sooner). Everything works as expected. I put a lot of miles on my cars and the Kona is easily the most reliable car I have owned (better than Prius, Honda CRV, Accord, RAV-4, Nissan Altima, Ford Taurus (ack...horrid), Mazda 6, and any other I have owned). Though I did not fill out my CR survey in the last 3 years. Hyundai has been great to deal with, other than dealers know so little about the car, and finding official information about how it works has been very difficult, originally leading to some 'anxiety' on how I should care for it (always charge to 100% or never to 100? change fluid that some on here insist is needed or stick to the manual? how much should I expect cold weather to affect battery performance? etc). Better communication from Hyundai would help, a lot.
 
electriceddy said:
I still can't believe Hyundai has not implemented a shorter one.
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GRU fluid change interval, that is. Yes I am surprised too since my dealership pressures customers to shorten every other service interval and even add new service. They want me to get a four wheel alignment at least every year, for example.
 
C02less said:
GRU fluid change interval, that is. Yes I am surprised too since my dealership pressures customers to shorten every other service interval and even add new service. They want me to get a four wheel alignment at least every year, for example.
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Living in a cold climate, with lots of potholes from pavement freezing/thawing, I have alignment at least checked once a year, just to ensure I don't burn thru a set of expensive tires. They adjust if necessary. For $75, it's cheap insurance for me. I never get pressured for any service though...except back when I got the car in 2019 and would get calls and mailers for traditional oil changes or radiator flushes, lol. Both dealers I have worked with advise no need to touch GRU oil yet
 
One service manager commented to the effect of: 'we'd be happy to take your money and change gear reduction oil every 5,000 miles, like we do engine oil in a traditional car, and have constant business from it, but it's not needed. Impurities in engine oil damage an engine and cause it to become inefficient or worse with loss or compression and higher wear. Mechanically, a completely different threat than what what happens in an EV gear reduction unit'.
 
Jim Matthews said:
I suspect it was comfined to the 2019 batch.

If yours is still quiet after 50,000 km it will probably be fine.
Mine was noisy from day one.
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We have 32,000+ trouble free k on our 2021 Kona but recently I can hear a hard to locate noise that is too high in frequency to be as simple as a wheel bearing wearing out. The car has spent 99% of its' life in "eco" mode, which I'm told restricts the startup torque from a stop.

My wife is a volunteer cancer patient driver so the car is not a trailer queen. Lots of short trips and heavy traffic in those 32,000 kilometres
 
JumpingIntoEV said:
One service manager commented to the effect of: 'we'd be happy to take your money and change gear reduction oil every 5,000 miles, like we do engine oil in a traditional car, and have constant business from it, but it's not needed. Impurities in engine oil damage an engine and cause it to become inefficient or worse with loss or compression and higher wear. Mechanically, a completely different threat than what what happens in an EV gear reduction unit'.
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That person is speaking in generalities. You might counter back that an engine has an oil filter while the Kona's GRU does not. It doesn't even have effective particle sequestration as (22) used-oil lab reports prove. And that defect is entirely Hyundai's fault.

Also amusing is that many service managers won't do the work while others charge over $400.
 
I find this a bit humorous. I've owned 17 new cars some of which were Premium vehicles along the way. To date I've not owned a car as reliable as this 2025 Kona EV Limited. I am spoiled on it's appointments. Tight as a drum not a creak to be heard. Quiet at 80mph and smooth. Rides like a much larger vehicle on a decent road. Handles great and oh my when I hit the acceleration I have to hang on. I can't say enough great things about this car. Reliability has been 100%. I've not had so much as a burp from the firmware or software as before my VW ID-4 was a nightmare the 3 and a half years I put up with it. I consider Consumer Reports to be full of dung. Never did trust them and never found their suggestions to be valid. This one just ices it for me. The car they are referring to and the one I own are miles apart.
 
dcisive said:
I find this a bit humorous. I've owned 17 new cars some of which were Premium vehicles along the way. To date I've not owned a car as reliable as this 2025 Kona EV Limited. I am spoiled on it's appointments. Tight as a drum not a creak to be heard. Quiet at 80mph and smooth. Rides like a much larger vehicle on a decent road. Handles great and oh my when I hit the acceleration I have to hang on. I can't say enough great things about this car. Reliability has been 100%. I've not had so much as a burp from the firmware or software as before my VW ID-4 was a nightmare the 3 and a half years I put up with it. I consider Consumer Reports to be full of dung. Never did trust them and never found their suggestions to be valid. This one just ices it for me. The car they are referring to and the one I own are miles apart.
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I agree for sure I just get in and drive nothing changes for me and I had the same results with my 2019 Kona
 
I've had no serious problems with my 2020 Kona, just a couple pretty minor things. And I once made the mistake of following Consumer Reports' recommendation for a dishwasher, which did not work out that well. I don't put a lot of stock in them.
 
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