Mike's wife's monthly Kona EV efficiency report

Sep 2022 results:







Summary costs as of 30 Sep 2022:



Total operating costs, per km (total costs minus capex costs):

$3.9866 - $3.6595 = $0.3271/km

 

Oct 2022 results:







Summary costs as of 30 Oct 2022:



Total operating costs, per km (total costs minus capex costs):

$3.9014 - $3.5679 = $0.3335/km

 

Nov 2022 results:







Operating costs this month:



Summary costs as of 30 Nov 2022:



Total operating costs, per km (total costs minus capex costs):

$3.8570 - $3.5197 = $0.3373/km

Discussion: While getting the winter tires re-balanced at the local (new for us since we moved six months ago) Hyundai dealership, I inquired about the pending (Aug 2023) 36 month remove and replace the (blue, non-conductive) battery coolant. The current quote for a single two litre bottle (14 litres needed) was $CAD 212.00 plus 13% HST; the labour is two hours.

By a stroke of good luck, @apu was in possession of six (two litre) bottles of the blue coolant which he was selling on the classifieds thread, so I now have a box of 12 litres of the coolant waiting for the service to be performed in Aug 2023 (costs for same will show up for Aug 2023 data); I did confirm with the dealership that they have no issue with me supplying my own coolant (as long as it is the correct stuff).

Many Hyundai EV owners will be happy once a second supplier of the blue coolant comes online; the costs of the current supply continue to spiral.

 

Agreed, the routine servicing costs (if one isn’t a DIY or is captive to the dealership for a specific unique service) for this car makes my eyes water.

The $212 plus HST is per two litre bottle; still highway robbery ((212 x 7) x 1.13) = $1677 for 14 litres of coolant…

…add the labour and its easily $2100 (price this month, who knows by Aug 2023).

This is as bad as any Ford F-150 with the eco-boost engine that needs the (routine/specified) plugs changed every 48 (?) months; I’m told that wholesalers won’t touch them at auction unless the service procedure has been done.

The Kona will only have ~ 17,000 km when the service is due; I’m doing it to ensure no “drama” if I have to exercise the battery warranty until the car is eight years old.

Which means we will do the service one more time at 72 months; hopefully the market demand will have been satisfied with multiple suppliers by that time.

 

Thanks for that link!

I’m about to read the whole thing, but if changing out the blue coolant causes a huge mess after the fact, I don’t know what we will do; I did inform the boss of the situation and that I would be reading up on it as we have eight months to figure things out.

 

Dec 2022 results:







Operating costs this month:



Summary costs as of 30 Dec 2022:



Total operating costs, per km (total costs minus capex costs):

$3.8104 - $3.4763 = $0.3341/km

Peace and happiness to everyone in 2023.

 

I really hope, before we have to do the 36 month R&R of that blue coolant, that Hyundai comes out with some new data to either extend the time period before it has to change or simply accept that the product eventually becomes conductive and life goes on. The heartache in the Hyundai Ionic world, where after swapping out the blue coolant they are finding all sorts of issues with crystallization and such, is not something I want to have to face…the car currently runs flawlessly.

 

In our situation, the service schedule as per the owners manual (downstairs in the glove box of my wife’s car) calls for that $$$ fluid to be replaced at 36 months.

The Hyundai Canada web site confirms that requirement:

 

Agreed.

It’s apparent that different people, buying the same car, have different written stipulations for that coolant change interval.

Past experience with time and distance stipulations have always boiled down to what is reached first; of course YMMV.

The thing with this coolant, its the three year stipulation because it simply becomes “polluted” with micro bits of the cooling system components as time goes on and its those micro bits that actually conduct electricity.

 

Jan 2023 results:







Operating costs this month:



Summary costs as of 28 Jan 2023:


Total operating costs, per km (total costs minus capex costs):

$3.7870 - $3.4541 = $0.3329/km