High-Pitched Motor Noise

I am just guessing here, but if it was motor related, like a bearing I would think it would change at least some with higher speed. Hmmm.

Sent from my moto x4 using Tapatalk

 

Hey Sean,
I have had this EXACT issue for about 3 weeks and have posted it in a few topics here in this forum. It feels SO good to finally have someone who can describe it perfectly. I have tried so hard to describe the issue in both the forum and to the dealer without much luck.

I had an appointment last Thursday for this issue. They initially told me it was VESS - I said no, I know what the VESS sound is and it's not that.
So we drove along side a wall in the parking lot and you could hear it perfectly. The head mechanic who was driving with me at the time said this was "normal" and that the reason behind it is there is a spacer that essentially raises the brake pads ever so slightly off the rotors and that there is still some contact being made especially with humidity/rain. He mentioned that this question was brought up during the initial training that the mechanics underwent and this is how Hyundai choose to engineer this particular component of the brakes. I argued with him saying that there is NO way that that sounds is "normal" under any circumstances. I even mentioned that I get looks from pedestrians when I'm driving on quiet streets. It sound like a bearing or brake sequel from an 1980's vehicle that has been terribly maintained. He then said that it's "normal" in almost all cars and that the sound of the engine usually masks it. I told him again that this is false because I have several friends with Tesla's ranging in are from 0-6+ years old and not only do then not have any VESS, but then are DEAD silent otherwise.

With the good weather upon us here in Canada. It's EXTREMELY audible and very annoying when the windows are down and cruising at low speeds. For me, the issue persists past about 45/50 km/h but then comes back in full force during regen or low-speed driving.

Like you mentioned, I even attempted to suction-cup my GoPro to the side of my car pointing at the front wheels in hopes of capturing the sound. I think it's just too high-pitched for microphones to detect. The video came back with only VESS noise and no other noticeable sounds at all.

I don't know what else to do as the dealership has written it off as "normal", but I think I'm going to write a letter to Hyundai to advise them of this.
I also believe that it has to do with when parts begin to break in. I have about 8000 km on my vehicle to date. I think more people are going to be noticing this as they start to ramp up their mileage. Might I ask what sort of mileage you're at?

 

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.

 

It's funny - your thought process is identical to mine. The first thing I thought/did when I started to hear the noise was do a few high speed runs and slam on the brakes to the point where ABS would just begin to engage - very hard stops. I did this about 5 times on a dead-end street. It didn't change the sound or frequency in the slightest. The way he explained it to me was, there are these springs that are designed to hold the pads a few millimeters from the rotors. So my thought is that as these springs age, or heat up - they will relax causing the pads to make more contact with the rotors. I don't know if this is correct at all as I'm not a mechanic - but it seems that if Nissan can make the Leaf silent, Chevy can make the Bolt silent and Tesla can make all of their vehicles silent - it should be pretty straight forward.

My concern is that if it's not a widespread enough issue or if most people don't notice/care and don't report it; Hyundai will do nothing about it. They'll have to receive several complaints before any action is taken (this is what the mechanic told me) But as petty as it may seem, I will have to drive with the windows up all summer if it doesn't get resolved - the screeching sound drives me absolutely bonkers. Sean, where are you from? Almost every dealer in Canada is trained to work on EV's. If you're not far from the boarder - that may be an option!

Anyone have an email address for Hyundai Canada or Hyundai Corporate. I can't seem to find any email addresses for them and I really don't want to call and speak to a low-level phone agent for an hour.

Thanks!

 

That would be very helpful. I'm nearly certain it's not VESS as it deactivates after 40km/h and the high-pitched sound continues for me until about 50/55 km/h at the most. There's a bit of time where you no longer hear the VESS but can still hear the squeaking.
But it won't hurt to absolutely confirm!

I'm also going to find a quiet parking lot with a building that I could drive along side of and film. Would love to try to capture the sound on video once and for all.

 

I have this noise too.

Has anyone tried test driving another Kona?

On the "small issues and quirks" thread, I posted a vid of a guy who stuck a mic in the engine of an ioniq. The electric motor noise is very loud and sounds like a squeal.

Could this noise be normal electric engine noise?
I only started to hear it AFTER I put on new tires (rides sooo much better, cures some torque steer too.)

 

Great Video - how hard is to to borrow that lift again? Would be awesome to have the video done with the VESS disconnected.
That's 100% the sound I hear. the only strange part is that you mention that you don't hear it when letting off the throttle. I absolutely hear it when letting off the throttle - but again, only at lower speeds. When I'm on the highway doing 120 (km/h) and let off the throttle, I don't hear it. But when I'm on a residential street doing 30-40 and let off the throttle, I absolutely hear it.

I wish I had access to a lift. I'd run a similar test except I'd remove the wheels and brake pads. To completely eliminate the brakes all together. It still sounds very mechanical to my ears. It sounds almost like a bearing in the motor needs some lubricating or something.

Lastly, I'm not sure if the difference was audible in person or if it's just the video but there is a VERY distinct volume difference of the high-pitched noise when you move from the right wheel, to the left. I've watched this video about 10 times now and at the half way point, when you move over to the other wheel - the sound is about 20% + more pronounced.

 

Sounds great Sean, I look forward to it. Based on the research I’ve done, it’s pretty simple to just unplug the VESS. According to other posts you’ll simply get a “VESS malfunction” error of some sort, but that’ll clear when you plug it back in. Doesn’t sound like a trip to the dealership is necessary!

I’m going to disable my VESS tomorrow to make absolutely certain. I’m 8 minutes from my dealership, so I’d rather assume the risk lol

 

I did have a look at the spectrum and there is significant noise above frequencies that the VESS produces. You really should make a recording with the VESS unplugged to make any sense of this. My VESS is the upper graph recorded when the car was stationary, see image. Your VESS may be different because the car is 'moving'.

 

That’s super interesting, but as you mentioned, I think it’s a different level.
The VESS increases in volume as the vehicle increases in speed. It shuts off at 40km/h (here in Canada at least) When driving with windows down, the high-pitched sound is still audible after the VESS shuts off. Especially if I remove my foot from the accelerator and let the regen kick in.