Did you get the battery replaced?

I took my 2020 lease in for the recall check on 10/8. Said they would have to replace the battery and would let me know when one came in. I got to keep my Kona while waiting for the battery to arrive. Yesterday 10/26 got the call that the battery was in and we setup an appointment for next Tuesday the 2nd. Said it would take most of the day. We shall see!

 

Northwest California. Eureka.

 

Ramzak, I have a 2019 Kona. I didn't buy it in Portland but I am working with the Gladstone Hyundai dealer. Their service department has been great, so far. They didn't call me in until my replacement battery was there at the dealership and then gave me a loaner Sonata at no charge for the weekend. The battery replacement took about 5 hours. I think I read that their service department is the biggest one in Oregon.

I'm sorry that you have had so many problems with your Kona. I am happy with mine - although I admit that I don't yet have 12,000 miles on it. This is only the 3rd car I've had in my life (over 50 years of car ownership) and I'm hoping it will be my last.

 

The service guy said Hyundai wants them to keep it and they can't order the battery until they have the car. I know different people get different options. I am going to try to open another case with hyundai to get reimbursed for my car payments for the time they've had it. I already got them to give me $500 after complaining about having a car I could only use 80% of prior to me leaving the car with the service dept.

 

Chris-Ca, You shouldn't have to give up driving your car while they try to find a new battery. All they need is your VIN. I had to sign some paperwork to commit to the battery exchange. The battery was committed to my VIN. It was delivered to the dealer within 30 days. This was end of September (2021). You shouldn't have to suffer the non-use of your car just because the supply chain is messed up.

 

Konasu, Ron Tonkin Gladstone is the dealer that I take my car to. They are very service oriented and I have been treated very well. The only downside is my car would not run without installing a battery. It sat on their lot for exactly 6 weeks. I did ask for a loaner, their reply was they did not have any. I think my problem is with Hyundai. I complained to them because they were sending out recall batteries to people that were able to drive their car, and not prioritizing those Kona's that were dead. No reply.
I do like driving the car, I would rather keep it instead of employing the lemon law, especially after all the running gear and battery are so new.

 

They required me to leave the car also before they would order the battery. I suspect that some dealers want to be able to install the battery once they get it in without having to wait for customers to come back to install them, but I'm not sure why. Seems to differ dealer to dealer.

 

Dealer got my VIN and battery info in July with the inspection (2020 Kona), battery was ordered, just heard that it is (finally) due in this week. Dealer didn't require that I leave the car with them following the VIN check. I wouldn't have allowed it anyway, they couldn't legally keep the car.

 

I'm trying to understand why some people had their battery "inspection" months ago while others, like me, have heard nothing and have had nothing done for months. Particularly if ordering and receiving the battery takes months. What the hell are dealerships like mine waiting for? Are they clueless? Don't tell me, I know the answer.

 

Can't speak to Canada.

In US, some VINs aren't subject to the recal, so some may have heard nothing "official" about Recall 200. It's not generally a dealer fault, it's Hyundai Corporate that has changed the rules from time to time and caused some delays despite best efforts of (most) dealers, they've been left out to dry with complaining customers. Most recently, supply chain/logistics problems or shipments.

Sorry, I know you already know the answer, so ignore the above.... ;-)

 

I think the process in Canada and the U.S. share some commonalities though it does seem, anecdotally, that battery supply to the U.S. has been faster and more generously supplied.

But people in both countries have been reporting "pre-inspections" for months and they've always been initiated by the dealer. I just wonder why ALL dealers didn't initiate.

 

Different rules from Hyundai corporate at different times, poorly trained dealer service personnel (or can't keep up with changes), etc. We got caught in some of that...and hopefully are about 2 weeks away from Nirvana.

 

Update:
Took the Kona in to get the battery pack swapped yesterday and it took them 3 1/2 hours and it was ready!! They originally told me to give them all day and then when I dropped it off they told me it has been taking them (they have done 3 or 4 before mine) between 3-4 hours (Hyundai only pays them for 4 hours labor) and boom, that was it!! Very happy with Northwood Chevrolet/Hyundai in Eureka, CA. They have been very good to me even though it is a lease and I didn't even lease it from them!

 

That's good news, Marc.

My dealer (also a lease) today said he's gotten the battery in as of this morning, and he would have installed it today if I'd been able to get the car to him. Instead, we'll do it in a few days.

 

Update: I got a call out of the blue on Wednesday from the dealer letting me know my 2019 Kona is ready to be picked up. I had opened another case with Hyundai and the case manager said Hyundai USA wouldn't get involved and I had to deal solely with the dealership parts department. I tried to get my Kona back to drive around while waiting, which only met resistance. My attorney wife had drafted a demand letter the night before the call. So, now I have a new battery and car back and it's over. Oddly anticlimactic. 12 weeks total time. Guess I'll try next to get my bluelink subscription extended. We'll see...

Sent from my SM-G973U using Inside EVs mobile app

 

I'm going to be calling to ask for my lease payments to be reimbursed. The service guy suggested that as well. I may as well throw bluelink extension in there too. So, do you just call the customer service # and say you want to open a case? Last time I had a case in June, I didn't know the process so we wasted time going over standard script answers.

 

Each time I've started with online customer service (https://owners.hyundaiusa.com/us/en/contact-us.html) and then once a case manager is assigned a couple weeks later then continued with phone or email. My phone tends to block the Hyundai 833 area code caller ID as spam so I don't always get the calls.