Exploding Kona Electric

  • Thread starter Thread starter apu
  • Start date Start date
  • Replies Replies 191
  • Views Views 42K
I emailed Hyundai support to find out if the Kona can be left in neutral, so in case of an emergency (FIRE) I could roll it out of my garage with out the key FOB or getting into the vehicle.
Their response was generic and told me to contact my local dealer for support.
I looked thru the manual and can only find info about emergency towing procedure that leaves the vehicle on in “ACC “ mode in neutral.
Our bedroom is right over our garage......
Joe
 
Joev said:
I emailed Hyundai support to find out if the Kona can be left in neutral, so in case of an emergency (FIRE) I could roll it out of my garage with out the key FOB or getting into the vehicle.
Click to expand...

What's the difficulty? Put the car in neutral, turn it off, take the fob into a distant part of your yard and leave it there; then see if you can roll the car forward or backward in your driveway. Dunno why anyone would bother to e-mail customer support for the manufacturer when it's this easy to find out the answer for yourself.

But the chances that you would notice a fire and manage to get into the garage before it was dangerous to remain there, are pretty slim. Once started, a fire can spread very swiftly inside a room or a garage.

If you're really that concerned, install a fire suppression system (automatic sprinklers) inside the garage. But a better investment is to have a certified electrician check out the installation of your EV charger. Please note that not everyone hiring himself out as an electrician is certified.
​
 
Joev said:
I emailed Hyundai support to find out if the Kona can be left in neutral, so in case of an emergency (FIRE) I could roll it out of my garage with out the key FOB or getting into the vehicle.
Their response was generic and told me to contact my local dealer for support.
I looked thru the manual and can only find info about emergency towing procedure that leaves the vehicle on in “ACC “ mode in neutral.
Our bedroom is right over our garage......
Joe
Click to expand...

If it's going to keep you awake at night, perhaps you should setup/move your EVSE outside of the garage and leave the car parked outside at all times. Expecting that you could manually push the car ON FIRE, out of the garage is unrealistic.

I have to admit that once I get the car, I will probably be a little scared of parking it inside the garage for at least a few weeks... We'll see what news come out of Transport Canada or Hyundai (or if other similar fires happen) in the next few months...
 
Last edited:
dborn said:
If it's going to keep you awake at night, perhaps you should setup/move your EVSE outside of the garage and leave the car parked outside at all times. Expecting that you could manually push the car ON FIRE, out of the garage is unrealistic.

I have to admit that once I get the car, I will probably be a little scared of parking it inside the garage for at least a few weeks... We'll see what news come out of Transport Canada or Hyundai (or if other similar fires happen) in the next few months...
Click to expand...
I would just check your smoke detectors are working and up to date, and not lose any sleep over it.
Of course make sure you have home fire insurance .
 
electriceddy said:
I would just check your smoke detectors are working and up to date, and not lose any sleep over it.
Of course make sure you have home fire insurance .
Click to expand...

There's no doubt it was a spectacular event and it strikes the imagination but we all probably stand a 1000x higher chance of having a major car accident while in motion, compared to having it catch fire/explode in our garage. Yet, it doesn't stop us from driving around in cars (EVs or otherwise).

Anyone going to lose sleep over this should probably rethink their EV (or ICE) ownership and just take the bus.
or just hide under their bed and pray for no earthquakes*! ;)

*Disclaimer: Comment added for comedic and illustrative purposes. It is not meant to be disrespectful to anyone. Fears are real and can be quite stressful to some people.
Geez, I should have been a lawyer... :)
 
Last edited:
Joev said:
I emailed Hyundai support to find out if the Kona can be left in neutral, so in case of an emergency (FIRE) I could roll it out of my garage with out the key FOB or getting into the vehicle.
Their response was generic and told me to contact my local dealer for support.
I looked thru the manual and can only find info about emergency towing procedure that leaves the vehicle on in “ACC “ mode in neutral.
Our bedroom is right over our garage......
Joe
Click to expand...

It cannot be left in neutral while off. It will nag you to shift to park once you turn off the car while in neutral. Once you open the door, it will automatically put it into park mode.
 
Pushmi-Pullyu said:
What's the difficulty? Put the car in neutral, turn it off, take the fob into a distant part of your yard and leave it there; then see if you can roll the car forward or backward in your driveway. Dunno why anyone would bother to e-mail customer support for the manufacturer when it's this easy to find out the answer for yourself.

But the chances that you would notice a fire and manage to get into the garage before it was dangerous to remain there, are pretty slim. Once started, a fire can spread very swiftly inside a room or a garage.

If you're really that concerned, install a fire suppression system (automatic sprinklers) inside the garage. But a better investment is to have a certified electrician check out the installation of your EV charger. Please note that not everyone hiring himself out as an electrician is certified.
​
Click to expand...
'
The difficulty is that the Kona EV is "drive by wire", and when you turn off the vehicle in neutral it automatically puts it in park. I was looking for a way around that but haven't found it.....yet.
Thanks for your suggestions though.
Joe
 
Joev said:
'
The difficulty is that the Kona EV is "drive by wire", and when you turn off the vehicle in neutral it automatically puts it in park. I was looking for a way around that but haven't found it.....yet.
Thanks for your suggestions though.
Joe
Click to expand...
A dolly under the front wheels? and perhaps a fast action winch bolted down at the end of the driveway, triggered by a heat sensor in the garage for full piece of mind? ;)
 
Last edited:
dborn said:
A dolly under the front wheels? and perhaps a fast action winch bolted down at the end of the driveway? ;)
Click to expand...
Thought about something like that, a dolly of some type.
A cable hooked on the Kona and out on the driveway ready to be hooked onto my I-miev in the driveway. There is also an incline down towards the street.....may need the neighbors hedges to stop both cars and put out the fires.
 
TheLight75 said:
It cannot be left in neutral while off. It will nag you to shift to park once you turn off the car while in neutral. Once you open the door, it will automatically put it into park mode.
Click to expand...
Didn't know that, had to try it. I notice while the nag is happening, it remains in neutral but the steering locks up which makes sense (no power). Kind of useless. I am so used to powering down the vehicle while in drive mode and having it go into park by itself.
 
pretty sure at the slightest sign of a fire the entire garage would fill with smoke almost instantly. Aint' no one taking 15 seconds to open the garage door, approach a burning car only to manually push it out of their garage into the driveway or wherever the burning wreckage would come to a stop lol! Thankfully, my garage is a workshop and I've never once parked a car in it. Mine can catch fire all it wants. It might melt my siding, but that's about it.

Hopefully they get down to the root cause soon!
 
There’s a convoluted process for getting the car to stay in neutral when you need to have it pulled onto a flatbed truck. It’s described in the owner’s manual. I think you have to stay in the car with it in neutral for a few minutes before opening the door, or something like that.
 
Brennan Raposo said:
Especially if your car insurance includes a depreciation clause meaning if you were to have a total loss - they give you what you paid for the car and not what the current value is. I know mine is current value for 4 years, then the depreciation insurance gets removed.
Click to expand...
I started with 4 and upped it to 7 years ($481 more Cdn) with private which is a deal if you hold on to the vehicle.
ICBC (The only insurer in this province):
https://www.seafirstinsurance.com/about-us/blog/difference-between-icbc-and-private-insurance
only has a 3 year max plan for more $ than the private alternative. :mad:
 
Pushmi-Pullyu said:
What's the difficulty? Put the car in neutral, turn it off
Click to expand...

my car automatically goes to park when I turn the car off. it's valid for both cars I have (clarity and kona)

I don't even bother putting it in park when I stop, I just turn the parking brake on then press the power button and the car goes to park on its own.
so I don't think you can leave it in neutral like this.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top