High-Pitched Motor Noise

Discussion in 'Hyundai Kona Electric' started by SeanH, Apr 29, 2019.

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  1. robxb

    robxb Active Member

    Do you hear it in my video though, at 2:08? That's in the motor bay, so it's louder, but that's exactly the sound I am hearing when driving. If you hear it in the video, you should be able to hear it in real life, assuming your car is also making the noise. Out of curiosity, do you drive with a very light foot, or do you ever step on it? Curious if aggressive driving is harsh on the parts, making the issue start to happen (I generally drive economically, but like to accelerate quickly from time to time...not even enough to change my "aggressive driving style" to 1% on the dash). The only other Kona I drove was when test-driving, and that was over a year ago before purchasing, but I can't be sure if it was there or not. It's worth noting that I test drove it at Grimsby Hyundai and that's around large open fields, so there wouldn't be much for the sound to bounce off of. I was listening hard for it when I picked it up in October, as I was following this thread at the time, and I didn't hear it anywhere (even beside walls and cars), but after winter passed, once the windows were down again, I heard it immediately.

    I know this might be the case, but it doesn't really explain why the noise wasn't there when I got it, and why it is now.. Also why some people don't have it after the gear reduction unit replacement (such as @echeck ), while others still do (such as @Brennan Raposo ).

    The recording was in the motor bay at 2:08, so I guess it just depends how loud you have your speakers set :). If you hear it earlier in the video when I'm driving beside a wall, you'd probably have to turn up the volume at least a little to hear it properly...wind noise obviously didn't help, which is why I enabled the high-pass filter, but then having low quality speakers makes it hard to hear as well.

    Thanks, I thought of that a few days later as I did the test in N. Might try again soon.

    I hear it all the time on residential streets, even without passing beside a car. I feel like I can just hear it bounce back off of the curbs on the side of the street. I obviously hear it at a higher amplitude when driving beside a car or wall though. I also hear it when driving beside concrete medians/barriers on the highway, though I live in Toronto so there is often traffic.. Would have to see to what speed I hear it at sometime. If your friend had his motor changed, which resolved the tapping, but this noise persisted, it points to the gear reduction unit being the cause. @echeck said he got his gearbox changed and it's quiet as a mouse now. There were reports of the oil being black, indicating metallic (aluminium, perhaps?) discolouring it all. If this is indeed the case, I believe it would eliminate the argument of harmonics or inverter whine (though @Anaglypta or @victor_2019 might have some additional thoughts on that. Just remember guys, just because something sounds like something you know, doesn't mean that something else can't make a similar sound too :))

    I basically hear it all the time, as I drive with auto-regen on level 2 most of the time. Would have to test it out with auto-regen off on level 0, though my assumption is that I would still hear it on acceleration, as the motor is engaged, nothing on coasting, but then again on braking, as stepping on the brake pedal uses regen. It stops immediately when I shift the car to N.
     
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  3. robxb

    robxb Active Member

    @KiwiME & @victor_2019 , apologies if you have explained this before, but if this is inverter whine or harmonics of some sort, as you both believe it is, should the sound remain the same frequency when stepping on the accelerator pedal? I ask because at 2:25, it seems to stay constant, despite flooring it.

    Thanks for your input
     
  4. Yes, I hear it very clearly in your video, that hiss and then high pitched whine. Mine does NOT do that. I have tested it with others in the car (in case it was my ears) driving close to building walls with the windows open, but no such noise.

    I drive in ECO mode almost all the time, but do occasionally tromp it if I want to pass someone quickly. But overall, I would say I am not an aggressive driver.

    Interestingly I have an e-bike that makes that noise sometimes (same high pitched whine), when I am going up a hill under full power. I am pretty sure that whine is generated by the motor, probably to do with the electrical fields.
     
  5. Kia Guy

    Kia Guy Active Member

    @robxb what engine # do you have (710 or 711)?
     
  6. robxb

    robxb Active Member

    Yeah it's just the hiss that concerns me.. The high pitched whine, I would consider normal. We don't hear it much in the cabin at all, unless REALLY stepping on it. I believe this is what people refer to as the jet engine sound, which even Teslas do when they are stepping on it. I'm also an eco guy most of the time.. We recently got a rating of 568km at 100% charge :D.


    Where would I find this? The car was built in mid 2019, so I would imagine it's a 710, but don't know for certain.
     
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  8. http://techno-fandom.org/~hobbit/cars/ev/566motorend.jpg
    Thanks to hobbit
     
  9. Electrical switching noise will be a high but approximately fixed frequency while the lower pitch whine from the gears will vary with speed.
     
  10. The old motor is a 700, while the new one is 701, for the Kona. 710 and 711 for the Nero.
     
  11. You have a 700 motor, the revised 701 motor seems to only show up as a replacement. There has been no evidence of 701 showing up even in the most recent production Konas.
     
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  13. Probably trying to empty the old parts bin first...
     
  14. robxb

    robxb Active Member

    Whoops, that was a type, I meant to say I imagined I still had the 700
     
  15. wizziwig

    wizziwig Active Member

    If that's the case, it would have to be a bin of smaller parts used to build the actual motors. Because they are still manufacturing both 700 and 701 motors with identical build dates (March 2020 for example). They have never stopped making the 700 revision. Many theories in the other noise thread but nobody really knows why they would continue making two different motors.
     
  16. robxb

    robxb Active Member

    Perhaps they are running both to see which has the highest success rate / least complaints, or maybe they just want to use up parts that are already available or contracted out to an outside manufacturer until their contract is up.. could be any number of reasons, unfortunately
     
  17. Just picked up my car with the new 701 traction motor. So far so good. Fingers crossed that this will be a permanent fix.
     
    R P, apu, electriceddy and 1 other person like this.
  18. That has to set a new speed record for a new motor order/replacement...lucky you! Of course with the hot weather here, mine has again become somewhat silent, so I may end up waiting until fall when it will surely start tapping away again :rolleyes:
     
  19. Yeah, I was very impressed with how fast this all transpired. The hot weather didn’t seem to have too much of an impact on the noise in my case. However, I was told the recording I made did help expedite things. It was sent to the field tech who recognized the noise immediately.
     
  20. Just got the call today, my new motor has arrived. Just need to arrange the appointment. I dunno I am starting to get used to the exhaust drone at highway speed and clickty click sound when I roll to a stop, Lol.
     
    Fastnf and electriceddy like this.
  21. Well if you have some reservations, feel free to have the new motor forwarded to Nanaimo where hopefully it will acquire a new home in mine.:)
     
  22. wizziwig

    wizziwig Active Member

    Looks like they are finally stocking spare motors and gearboxes stateside. Maybe slowdown in driving and service requests from pandemic has helped them catch up with demand for parts. Or they finally got tired of buying back cars in states with strict lemon laws for any repairs lasting over 30 days. Unfortunately people in other parts of the world are not as lucky and long waits are still being reported.

    The purring of an electric motor like an old moped muffler completed the illusion that we were driving ICE cars. Defective Kona and eNiro are the perfect stealth EV.:)
     
    Shawn X and Fastnf like this.
  23. Bahrieinn

    Bahrieinn New Member

    @robxb any updates on your issue? I picked up a 2019 Niro EV recently that has this exact hissing / whining noise at low speeds when regen is on. I'm thinking of bringing it in to the dealer to look at but this feels like the category of issue that they would be very reluctant to look at. I might just go ask to test drive another Niro EV to compare.
     

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