Hyundai Kona EV not charging to full range

See this thread among others. There is no degradation, only variation. And yes, driving style is one variable.

 

Curious how LOW you're allowing the state of charge to fall to before "topping" off? I know for a fact that MINE varies a LOT depending on current charge level before re-charging. If I let it drop to 10-15%, I'll get 225 miles at an 80% charge ... I've never actually charged to 100% .... as it is not recommended unless absolutely necessary for like long trips... (degrades batteries supposedly if constantly charging to 100% - there are many threads out there about that topic).

 

That’s a new one on me. I suppose the range estimate might be affected somehow (by the length of history since the last charge?), but there is no way the actual range is going to be affected by SoC when initiating charging. A kWh is a kWh.

As for charging to 100%, yes there's been endless discussion and "unless absolutely necessary" is an overstatement. There's no harm in filling to the "top" (bearing in mind that there is spare capacity that never gets filled) although it's prudent to allow the SoC to spend some time at lower levels.

Dealers don't seem to be doing a good job in explaining that "range" reported at a given moment is not a guarantee, any more than the distance to fill-up shown in many ICE cars. It’s odd that in two weeks Hyundai never mentioned to the OP that wide fluctuations in efficiency were to be expected.

 

There is info on a couple of important variables that you have not provided such as what your recent weather conditions have been and how fast do you drive.
In very cold weather I have had a little as 190 miles on 100% charge, at with highway speeds above 70 mph +/- any significant headwinds and precipitation my range has similarly dropped significantly. This would be considered normal range loss for an EV. If you only do city driving in Florida I would be concerned otherwise probably not.

 

Your "estimated" vs "actual" might not be accurate, based on driving history. Try driving down the battery to 10% and see how many miles you're actually getting. Add the miles driven to miles left, you might be closer to the 240-250 total than you expected. As apu noted, use of the heater and fan, as well as wipers will affect the range.

 

Not to forget speeds at 70 mph and above that will reduce range significantly..

 

The OP makes a great point about the EPA range of EVs though. If you don't do a lot of homework to understand how it works, the EPA numbers are extremely deceptive for a lot of drivers which I think the industry needs to fix. It's not like I'd regularly get only 75% of EPA fuel economy with my ICE regardless of driving conditions. I mean it's not unreasonable for someone to assume the EPA range accounts for basics like HVAC and highway driving. You know things people with cars regularly do. And it's not likeost dealerships can explain this stuff either. I love my new Bolt (was close to getting a Kona) but I did a lot of homework first.

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I had the same issue in very cold weather. Once the temps warmed, so did the charging. Now I charge to a full 260 mile range. The 2020’s have a battery warmer option....would love to know whether it can be added to the 2019’s.


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Thank you! I’m so tired of the EV scare tactic of charging to 100%


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The percent of charge should not make a difference on how much the GOM reads to the range when charge. If the temperature is warm say 70F or 21C, the range should be at least 258. That is if you have the climate control OFF. If you turn it on you will see it jump down dynamically. Turn it on and it will go down again. If you want to see the GOM read very high, take a few short trips very conservatively and watch the power usage on miles per kWh. If you can maintain 4 or above, the GOM will estimate a higher value. It's based on history. Finally, if you are technical, there is a way to record the state of charge of your batteries your self. With an android phone or tablet, purchase an ODB2 Bluetooth connector. Then for a few dollars you can get the program Torq Pro. There are configuration files that can be downloaded and loaded for free. This combo gives you direct access, with a little work, to the actual battery state of charge and a host of other values. It helps me a lot.

 

On the second point, the EPA rating of 415km/258mi is conservative. If you're driving as you say, unless you do mostly freeway miles you should certainly be achieving that.

 

The EPA is conservative but does not address temperature variations at all. It is a well documented fact that battery performance is greatly affected by cold temperatures. This includes both charging and discharging. If the range of the car cannot be achieved at 60F, or even 50F then it is not performing correctly and taken in. If the dealer will not act on the issue then Hyundi has a call center to respond. I have had some success calling. If you don’t get satisfaction ask to elevate it.

 

Drove all highway miles yesterday for a total of mostly measured 378 km(236 miles) on a full charge. Drove from 100% to 8 % SOC and extrapolated the mileage on the last 8%. Drove on flat dry pavement , with about 50km of gravel and 18C ambient temp at average 65mph. Half of the trip I had a 10km/hr headwind and A/C, so that dropped my mileage down a bit, but overall she did really well. If there was no gravel and headwind I think I would have hit EPA rating.

 

For warm climate, the range of the Kona is well underrated.. In over 28k miles, my average mi/kwh is 4.8. This means 307 mile range ON AVERAGE. That includes the summer months with AC use. I don't need the heater here in Florida.
I recently had my worst mi/kwh.. Had 4 people in the car (2 adults and 2 kids), 20 mph head wind and 70 mph with the A/C on..
Only got 3.3 mi/hwh on a 60 mile trip. However, on the way back with tail wind, my average for the 120 mile total trip went back up to 3.8 mi/kwh for the entire 120 mile trip. Above 70 mph kills the efficiency as does head wind..

 

@Jay Lightning You're not giving us any information about where you live (temperatures, surrounding terrain/elevation, etc). You're saying that it's not about driving style. However all of the experience of all the drivers here point in the other direction. I would suggest putting the drive mode into ECO mode, (not ECO+) and follow the Energy-meter in the dash to NOT exceed the suggested max power (not getting the red indication) for a significant time (at least a full charge) in order to get at least a roughly comparable baseline. Also again, what are do you live in? Is is predominantly cold?

We're happy to put our knowledge and experience, driving this car for quite some time, in to help you figure it out.

 

I'm having same issue. Bought a 2020 in july. Everything was fine until November. Charging level has decreased significantly, I charged to 90% yesterday and it registered 191 miles range. That's 16% less than what I should be getting. I've charged to 100% several times in the last few months and repeatedly get 8-16 % less range. This sucks. I've taken it to the dealer and they say everything is nominal. They tell me the battery charges to a range from previous driving. wtf? Even the stupid manual says this. It's bullshit. It should top off at 100% 258miles and the range should adjust in REALTIMNE DEPENDING HOW FAST I'M GOING. I don't get any more miles when it charges to a lower range. I can't stand the lip service from the dealer.