I was watching a recent video about the Kona electric and the presenter made a comment about the Kona battery having a limited warranty. This got me to questioning my own memory because when I purchased my Kona EV new in March 2019 I was fairly certain the battery warranty was advertised as "Lifetime".
Well, today I compared my original window sticker (excellent reason to have kept it) to a new 2020 model. On my original (March 2019) it states in large bold letters at the top right corner: "Exclusive Lifetime Electric Battery Warranty"!
On a brand new 2019 currently at the local dealership the window sticker no longer has the bold warranty statement in the upper right corner, but in the "Standard Features" section under "Warranty" does state: "Lifetime Electric Battery Warranty".
On a brand new 2020 listed as en route to the dealer the window sticker no longer has any battery warranty claim in the upper right, and over under "Standard Features" under "Warranty" it reads: "10 year/100,000-mile Electric Vehicle Battery Warranty".
So far I haven not found any reports on the internet about battery problems with the Kona electric, large or small, so this sudden reduction in first, boldly stated warranty, to only in the normal print, and now a stated limitation to only 100,000 miles seems like Hyundai knows something they aren't telling, or maybe they just threw out the "Lifetime" warranty on the first "batch" to get influence early adopters to buy.
I realize of course that batteries degrade over time and lose charge capacity, but if one considers just what that 100,000 mile "cap" means, consider it analogous to a gasoline powered car starting out with a 19 gallon tank, reducing to say, 15 gallons capacity over some number of years and/or miles, then at 100,000 miles it completely clogs up and cannot hold any fuel rendering the car useless. While we can debate about the longevity of ICE cars systems versus electric, there are millions of ICE cars on the road this very day with well over 100,000 miles on the clock still running strong, still capable of holding 19 gallons of gasoline! So while I bought into the electric with understanding I would probably lose some capacity and current delivery over time, I certainly never intended to buy an electric car that COULD....I say COULD be rendered completely inoperable at 100,000 miles by battery failure with manufacturer support being a lame, "Well, you screwed up! You trusted us!"
The major reason I waited for Hyundai to bring the Kona electric to market before buying was because I knew/know they are/were serious about honoring their warranty as a means of gaining consumer trust and confidence. Granted my original window sticker does SEEM to keep Hyundai on the hook for "Lifetime" coverage if and when the battery become useless (which may have to be adjudicated by arbitration, but at least it's better than having nothing after another 88,000 miles on the odometer).
I can only wonder how further sales will be affected as the word gets out that everyone buying a Kona electric (or other models) could indeed end up with a non-moving electric car if the battery decides to fail just after the 100,000 mile and 10 year point? Granted, in 10 years I fully expect battery technology to have moved so far forward that others and myself will WANT to upgrade to newer batteries at a reasonable cost - that cost having come WAY down with newer tech, time, and more electrics in the world, but I would not have bought the Kona electric or any electric car with a 100,000 mile warranty cap on the battery - which I did not, and I doubt many others will as the MEANING implicit in the "new" stated warranty gets around.
Well, today I compared my original window sticker (excellent reason to have kept it) to a new 2020 model. On my original (March 2019) it states in large bold letters at the top right corner: "Exclusive Lifetime Electric Battery Warranty"!
On a brand new 2019 currently at the local dealership the window sticker no longer has the bold warranty statement in the upper right corner, but in the "Standard Features" section under "Warranty" does state: "Lifetime Electric Battery Warranty".
On a brand new 2020 listed as en route to the dealer the window sticker no longer has any battery warranty claim in the upper right, and over under "Standard Features" under "Warranty" it reads: "10 year/100,000-mile Electric Vehicle Battery Warranty".
So far I haven not found any reports on the internet about battery problems with the Kona electric, large or small, so this sudden reduction in first, boldly stated warranty, to only in the normal print, and now a stated limitation to only 100,000 miles seems like Hyundai knows something they aren't telling, or maybe they just threw out the "Lifetime" warranty on the first "batch" to get influence early adopters to buy.
I realize of course that batteries degrade over time and lose charge capacity, but if one considers just what that 100,000 mile "cap" means, consider it analogous to a gasoline powered car starting out with a 19 gallon tank, reducing to say, 15 gallons capacity over some number of years and/or miles, then at 100,000 miles it completely clogs up and cannot hold any fuel rendering the car useless. While we can debate about the longevity of ICE cars systems versus electric, there are millions of ICE cars on the road this very day with well over 100,000 miles on the clock still running strong, still capable of holding 19 gallons of gasoline! So while I bought into the electric with understanding I would probably lose some capacity and current delivery over time, I certainly never intended to buy an electric car that COULD....I say COULD be rendered completely inoperable at 100,000 miles by battery failure with manufacturer support being a lame, "Well, you screwed up! You trusted us!"
The major reason I waited for Hyundai to bring the Kona electric to market before buying was because I knew/know they are/were serious about honoring their warranty as a means of gaining consumer trust and confidence. Granted my original window sticker does SEEM to keep Hyundai on the hook for "Lifetime" coverage if and when the battery become useless (which may have to be adjudicated by arbitration, but at least it's better than having nothing after another 88,000 miles on the odometer).
I can only wonder how further sales will be affected as the word gets out that everyone buying a Kona electric (or other models) could indeed end up with a non-moving electric car if the battery decides to fail just after the 100,000 mile and 10 year point? Granted, in 10 years I fully expect battery technology to have moved so far forward that others and myself will WANT to upgrade to newer batteries at a reasonable cost - that cost having come WAY down with newer tech, time, and more electrics in the world, but I would not have bought the Kona electric or any electric car with a 100,000 mile warranty cap on the battery - which I did not, and I doubt many others will as the MEANING implicit in the "new" stated warranty gets around.
