High-Pitched Motor Noise

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Oh wow,
That’s a larger hit than I assumed, especially considering how scarce these things are. I even had thought that one might even be able to sell for a profit if Hyundai doesn’t pump them out fast enough!

That’s great to know though, I appreciate the information! I haven’t seen Bjorn’s videos yet, but I plan on it! I saw a few Soul videos from other sources and it does look fantastic.

I wish you both nothing but the best, and hopefully a better experience this time around!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Oh wow,
That’s a larger hit than I assumed, especially considering how scarce these things are. I even had thought that one might even be able to sell for a profit if Hyundai doesn’t pump them out fast enough!

That’s great to know though, I appreciate the information! I haven’t seen Bjorn’s videos yet, but I plan on it! I saw a few Soul videos from other sources and it does look fantastic.

I wish you both nothing but the best, and hopefully a better experience this time around!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
It is quite a hit, but it is a 2019 with 2020's coming and now BC has the $10,000 worth of rebates compared to the $5,000 when we bought. So I guess the dealers have to factor in those things now.
 
It is quite a hit, but it is a 2019 with 2020's coming and now BC has the $10,000 worth of rebates compared to the $5,000 when we bought. So I guess the dealers have to factor in those things now.
How many km?
Sorry to be off topic
 
Well part of my last unpleasant encounter occurred because they did not even want to look at the comments from the thread on clunking. They weren't interested in even hearing that others had new pads put on which resolved the issue. They told me that could not be as no other pads were available. I said they were as other dealers had ordered them in. I had to push to get them to call the Nanaimo dealer who has done the brake pad changes. THEN, I get the call that the pads have to be ordered from the factory in South Korea. We have decided to sell our Kona. Too much bad negativity that has led to lack of trust in Hyundai combined with banging our heads getting in and out (we are both tall and old and stiff). So we are getting the 2020 Kia Soul EV with a much larger entry to getting in and out, and seats can be put down lower too. The 2020 Kia Soul has basically the same specifications as the Kona, but more head room for us and dog crates. I'll keep you all posted on what we are doing as the Soul EV's arrive.
I'm sure you have tried this, but I noticed some clunking after about one week back in January, I assumed it was rust or grit on the pads, so I found a stretch of highway with no traffic and sped up to highway speeds then slammed the brake. This is an old technique we used to use way back when to break in the brakes. It took care of the noise. Since then, I have selected regen level of only one, and use the brakes to stop. Since the brakes use regen most of the time, they don't get worn, but do come on for the last couple of kph and that seems to keep them clean. Haven't had a problem since and I am sure I am not wearing out the brakes. Just a thought, don't want you to leave.
 
I'm sure you have tried this, but I noticed some clunking after about one week back in January, I assumed it was rust or grit on the pads, so I found a stretch of highway with no traffic and sped up to highway speeds then slammed the brake. This is an old technique we used to use way back when to break in the brakes. It took care of the noise. Since then, I have selected regen level of only one, and use the brakes to stop. Since the brakes use regen most of the time, they don't get worn, but do come on for the last couple of kph and that seems to keep them clean. Haven't had a problem since and I am sure I am not wearing out the brakes. Just a thought, don't want you to leave.
The problem with the rear brakes was not a wear issue, but an unusual movement of the pads within the calipers. Still silent so far w/ the new pads.
With the parking brake activated, after say washing the car and driving next day, there is definitely a break away sound as the pads separate the disk but that is normal.
 
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With your upgrades (floor mats and tires) I would consider private sale. Time is on your side ,even with the sales tax differential as a trade it will not add up to $10K loss.

Believe or not 10K loss is not a worst case scenario. The crappy part is that CJC as an early pre order customer in BC took a immediate hit in value as soon as the additional $5000 federal rebate came into effect in May. The dealer has to sell that vehicle as used and as such its minimum value depreciation is at least 10K(both federal and provincial rebates) below MSRP +/- any buyer premiums or discounts that may be negotiated on either side. I am actually surprised the dealer did not ask for more wiggle room (assuming we are talking a about a 10K loss after the provincial rebate). If I was looking at a used Kona I am not sure why I would want to pay over MSRP - grants and rebates vs hunkering down to wait and ordering a Kona below MSRP and likely getting the benefits of all the new car rebates, warranty etc. The only way I could see getting that 5K in lost value back is possibly selling privately or to a dealer in province such Alberta that has no provincial rebate.
 
The hiss/squeal on my car started right after I got new tires (abt 500 miles). It was hard to diagnose, because it did not change with braking, speed, etc. Last week I had to do a HARD stop (train). Since then the squeal has been reduced. Not eliminated, but reduced. Of course, I may be wrong in associating these events with the noise.....
Does any explanation fit these observations? Thanks.
 
Believe or not 10K loss is not a worst case scenario. The crappy part is that CJC as an early pre order customer in BC took a immediate hit in value as soon as the additional $5000 federal rebate came into effect in May. The dealer has to sell that vehicle as used and as such its minimum value depreciation is at least 10K(both federal and provincial rebates) below MSRP +/- any buyer premiums or discounts that may be negotiated on either side. I am actually surprised the dealer did not ask for more wiggle room (assuming we are talking a about a 10K loss after the provincial rebate). If I was looking at a used Kona I am not sure why I would want to pay over MSRP - grants and rebates vs hunkering down to wait and ordering a Kona below MSRP and likely getting the benefits of all the new car rebates, warranty etc. The only way I could see getting that 5K in lost value back is possibly selling privately or to a dealer in province such Alberta that has no provincial rebate.
The majority of Cdn. Kona EV owners took that same"hit"
There is a thread in the general section detailing more info in attempts to have that rectified
https://insideevsforum.com/communit...udget-ev-tax-incentive.5100/page-2#post-58502
 
The majority of Cdn. Kona EV owners took that same"hit"
There is a thread in the general section detailing more info in attempts to have that rectified
https://insideevsforum.com/communit...udget-ev-tax-incentive.5100/page-2#post-58502
Yes, I saw that thread, it is very unfortunate. I am not sure how any one could have foreseen how or what the federal government would do or how one can effectively plan their vehicle purchase and predict the political whims of the government.
In the end the "hit" is only relevant if you need to sell early otherwise if you keep the vehicle long enough it does not really matter as the ravages of general depreciation will equalize all.
 
If you want to rule out the VESS noice, you can easily unplug it. It can be found in the middle of the front bumper and you can see it between the hood latch and the AC radiator from inside the engine bay. You just need to press hard on the front of the clip so it can be released and disconnected. My car is dead silent when the VESS is disconnected.

If you want, I can post some pictures later.

Can you please post the picture of the plug.Did you access it under the bumper,or from under the hood? Saw a picture posted by someone else,and couldn't figure out where that module was.New here,can you DM people? I don't like the VESS,and wished we had the Euro.button to turn it off/on when legally required.
 
Can you please post the picture of the plug.Did you access it under the bumper,or from under the hood? Saw a picture posted by someone else,and couldn't figure out where that module was.New here,can you DM people? I don't like the VESS,and wished we had the Euro.button to turn it off/on when legally required.
This got posted by a member who is on the UK forum ( and on this one occasionally):
https://insideevsforum.com/communit...gh-pitched-motor-noise.5510/page-2#post-61161
Says he doesn't have access to a service manual, but how to know this without one? I would sure like to try this (easy to do ) but I won't without viewing a schematic diagram (preferably from the UK service manual), as the wiring to the module may be different to the NZ cars to NA.
 
I thought I had already mentioned the info was posted by a US owner on FB some months ago. North American cars are missing the switch but the wires are present. It's a matter of pulling out the switchblock and tapping into two wires with a pushbutton and resistor. I can't even get the damn thing out of the dash but want to eventually build an add-on circuit to automatically disable VESS and LKA 5 seconds after startup.
 
I thought I had already mentioned the info was posted by a US owner on FB some months ago. North American cars are missing the switch but the wires are present. It's a matter of pulling out the switchblock and tapping into two wires with a pushbutton and resistor. I can't even get the damn thing out of the dash but want to eventually build an add-on circuit to automatically disable VESS and LKA 5 seconds after startup.
Please let us know if you have any luck , sorry-no FB
 
I thought i read, there is a plug at front of bumper.
I thought I had already mentioned the info was posted by a US owner on FB some months ago. North American cars are missing the switch but the wires are present. It's a matter of pulling out the switchblock and tapping into two wires with a pushbutton and resistor. I can't even get the damn thing out of the dash but want to eventually build an add-on circuit to automatically disable VESS and LKA 5 seconds after startup.
 
What about Engineering Mode? Is there not a parameter there that you can set?

I am OK with the reverse one, but wish the forward one would stop around 10 km/hr, or be totally silent.
 
In a few years, as EVs grow rapidly in numbers, we're going to have a new urban cacophony. The Kona at least has a mild reverse alarm but the other day I heard a Leaf with an imperious and grating beep. My worst nightmare is coming true as parking lots are now filling with beepers as well as VESS, along with those cars that really don't need to honk when locked.

Eventually the pendulum will swing back, one hopes, and we will reject unnecessary noise.
 
What about Engineering Mode? Is there not a parameter there that you can set?

I am OK with the reverse one, but wish the forward one would stop around 10 km/hr, or be totally silent.
I’ve checked engineering mode and can’t find any settings for VESS
 
Alright so I joined this forum to specifically follow this thread as we've had our Kona EV for less than a week / 500 kms and this started at day 4 or so. I'm in QC (Canada). Exact hissing sound pointed out in a Google Drive video in an earlier post and described in first page or 2.
Will be sending it to dealership this week to see if they can figure out what's wrong but to be clear ; has anyone determined the actual cause for this and is Hyundai doing aware/anything about it?
 
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