Could Not Recommend

[Fastnf]

No that is not correct. There is an adapter for a level 2 J1772 to Tesla level 2 destination charger but noting yet for a CCS DCFC to Tesla Supercharger.

However there is now an adapter that allows Tesla to charge at CCS DCFC. This is brand new. But it doesn't help non Teslas

https://insideevs.com/news/463721/tesla-ccs-fast-charge-adapter-setec/

 

[CharlyM]

I’d recommend a Kona to friends, or a Niro if their have kids, for the same reason I bought it: range is good, consumption is great, it’s a normal car, it’s cheaper than the alternatives (except the Bolt), the charging speed is pretty good for long trips and the charging network in CA is great and getting better every month.

What else do you need really ?

 

[FloridaSun]

Your summary is the reason I originally chose the Kona for the most part and all of that rings true to this day. Except, in my opinion, the looks, I don’t think it’s a particularly good looking car. It’s decent looking but feels designed by committee with an eye on budget.

if you have not had any issues then it’s a great car that can still go toe to toe with new EV’s coming to market with the exception of charge speed. I’ve simply lost confidence in Hyundai.

It's my 2nd new Hyundai vehicle (and 3rd Hyundai overall) and never had any issues with any of them other than recalls.. I did have a recall on my 2012 Elantra but other than that, zero issues from new to 100k miles when I sold the car.

 

[Tim94549]

No that is not correct. There is an adapter for a level 2 J1772 to Tesla level 2 destination charger but noting yet for a CCS DCFC to Tesla Supercharger.

However there is now an adapter that allows Tesla to charge at CCS DCFC. This is brand new. But it doesn't help non Teslas

https://insideevs.com/news/463721/tesla-ccs-fast-charge-adapter-setec/

Oh, I stand corrected. Thanks for clarifying.

 

[KiwiME]

Here the current Model S/X comes with their modified Mennekes (Type 2) port and and an adapter for CCS Combo 2 chargers. That replaces the larger cable adapter needed to charge from a Chademo DCFC to the original thin Tesla port. Superchargers have the modified Type 2 plug.

The Model 3 instead has a full CCS Combo 2 port that can accept any common DCFC directly as well as Tesla supercharging.

 

[Jgood]

I think my Kona is an excellent car. Too many people try to make it into something it's not—a high end vehicle—simply because of the cost. The cost is largely driven by the battery. That's really it. For me it's been the most reliable car I've ever owned. It's has given me zero problems. I've had just as many recalls on Honda's in the past and they were far more critical (exploding airbags, etc.). I recommend it without reservation. I think it's vehicles like the Kona and Kia Niro that will eventually lead the market into electrification. They are basically mass market cars.

 

[Calliope]

This is an interesting thread. I'm looking to upgrade from my 2019 Leaf to something with better range (and thermal management system), but I can't wait until late 2021 or 2022 to look at some of the bigger, fancier BEVs I've got my eye on (like the Mustang, Bolt EUV, Ariya, or I.D.4)......so I'm considering a 2 or 3 year stint in a Kona or Niro EV. So, threads like this give me more information to consider. (I am not interested in a Tesla or current Bolt, both of which I aesthetically hate, for different reasons.)

 

[Toolworker]

... I simply feel I cannot trust Hyundai based upon my personal experience.

I know there is a lot of love for the Kona here. Would you recommend to a friend if they were shopping? Would you buy again or would have you chose differently if you knew the potential growing pains it seems Hyundai is experiencing?

I totally agree - I cannot trust Hyundai based upon my personal experience.

My 12v battery has gone dead five or six times in my first year. Reading online, I see this is a widespread problem with Kia/Hyundais, yet service departments don't know about it. My service tech couldn't even talk to a Hyundai corporate tech until I opened up a ticket with Customer "Care". The corporate tech said a graph showing the battery going dead was "normal operation." Corporate sent the dealer a generic 12v replacement battery instead of the part that came with the car.

The updates to the 10.25" infotainment system have steadily removed functionality. Customer "Care" knows nothing about it. The vendor, Mapnsoft, has provided straightforward information but apparently problems that were due to be fixed were instead made worse in subsequent updates as Hyundai changed the specs.

Based on my personal experience, Hyundai is not a company that cares for the customer.

I love the car. I would never buy another Hyundai.

 

[E-Shark]

NO,not after reading HMC has the ability to do OTA in 2019 vehicles. Cannot recall which user mentioned it,about having to spend hours to do software updates at a dealership . Our infortainment has a screen with "update,"so it's capable,not turned on.

A stranger drove off the road to come chat with me whhile I was charging during the spring of 2020 because mine was one of the few Konas they have seen in the wild. At the end of our conversation that included their real world use of an EV. I "sold" them a Model Y Their siblings have a Model S,and Model 3,but they didn't move on a Tesla without weighing their options.

Kona electric owners do love it because when it works as it should,it's a good EV.The issues lie with HMC not being forthcoming with campaigns,or recall details. Look at a Tesla update,it describes what's being downloaded.

Aside.I wanted to update my other post where I mentioned my Model Y test drive.That mileage I stated was the total with the existing SOC when I got to the V2 supercharger.Still,that's a fast charge for 10 minutes.

@ScubaSteve if you do the math on a Model 3 SR versus the Kona electric,plus:OTA updates that improves the existing vehicle, supercharger network. That cost difference is gone,especially if it's your primary ride.

@nigels forums like this become negative if the OEM is acting like Hyundai. There's a reason people call Tesla a cult because their forums make it "appear' like utopia owning the brand. One Bolt EV owner had a crash.GM refused to speak to them to see why an airbag didn't go off....Audi etron owner I met at a charger this month has had charging issues,mostly electrical issues.Audi has infamously been known to have electrical issues,not surprised with etron ,read Consumer Reports review.

Are you trading your Kona for a Model Y?

 

[ehatch]

Are you trading your Kona for a Model Y?

Sadly, I may be heading down @apu 's path post the second recall.
Considering it given I wouldn't have gotten the Kona electric if the Y were available at the time.
Especially for AWD.
Good to see @electriceddy experiencing a better 2021 Kona Electric.

 

[Joe W. CSP]

I totally agree - I cannot trust Hyundai based upon my personal experience.

My 12v battery has gone dead five or six times in my first year. Reading online, I see this is a widespread problem with Kia/Hyundais, yet service departments don't know about it. My service tech couldn't even talk to a Hyundai corporate tech until I opened up a ticket with Customer "Care". The corporate tech said a graph showing the battery going dead was "normal operation." Corporate sent the dealer a generic 12v replacement battery instead of the part that came with the car.

The updates to the 10.25" infotainment system have steadily removed functionality. Customer "Care" knows nothing about it. The vendor, Mapnsoft, has provided straightforward information but apparently problems that were due to be fixed were instead made worse in subsequent updates as Hyundai changed the specs.

Based on my personal experience, Hyundai is not a company that cares for the customer.

I love the car. I would never buy another Hyundai.

We have a Prius plug in and the battery died after 3 years. I think that is common with original 12 volt batteries. I replaced it with a Interstate battery with 5 year warranty. I just got a Kia Niro EV and hook up a trickle charger at least once a week. All 12 volt batteries will die, frequent trickle charge will just delay the inevitable.

 

[Ed C]

We have a Prius plug in and the battery died after 3 years. I think that is common with original 12 volt batteries. I replaced it with a Interstate battery with 5 year warranty. I just got a Kia Niro EV and hook up a trickle charger at least once a week. All 12 volt batteries will die, frequent trickle charge will just delay the inevitable.

Yes, ICE cars like the Prius will have their battery die eventually. Hybrid is still 50% ICE. But The Kona EV is designed to have the main traction battery charge the auxilliary battery. The auxilliary battery (12V) should not die 5-6 times in a year....even for an ICE car. Sorry, I would not recommend the Kona EV to anyone myself. Even Hyundai is treating the Kona EV as a science experiment, dropping all production after this year....opting to focus on the Ioniq 5 platform and partnering with Apple. The Kona EV will be turned into a DeLorean....difficult to find someone to service, but a collectible.

 

[Toolworker]

I just got a Kia Niro EV and hook up a trickle charger at least once a week. All 12 volt batteries will die, frequent trickle charge will just delay the inevitable.

I think you will find that the Kia EVs, like those from the sister company Hyundai, charge their 12v batteries automatically from the HV battery. Most of the almost 400 posts in this thread discuss this process. A trickle charger would accomplish nothing (except conceivably confusing the charging algorithm).

The 12v battery repeatedly going dead in some vehicles seems to be an occasional failure of the charging algorithm. In my case it might be an interaction with the EVSE.

 

[Ed C]

I pretty much have the same perspective. I really like the car and its been one of the most interesting, ground breaking vehicles I have ever owned. That said its really hard to recommend it to anyone based on my poor reliability experience, and on Hyundai's less than stellar response to their problems. Not to mention it appears they are giving up the model in the mother country. Its hard to have confidence in a product if the company has decided to say F it were going to try something completely new with the Ioniq branding and maybe they won't notice the rubbish we built before. I may buy another Hyundai in the future but I'm going to stick my previous rule of not buying a car within the first 2 years of a new model intro. I am tired of being a beta tester.

I couldn't agree more after going through my purchase of the Kona EV. I would recommend to anyone thinking of buying an EV to wait for at least 2 years after its roll-out date before buying it....for any brand. Any EV brand will have bugs around the first 2 years. You will be able to see which EV will be more reliable; how the manufacturer deals with it; and not be a beta tester. Any brand besides Tesla, Chevy, or Nissan will hopefully still be eligible for the Federal EV Tax Rebate....I doubt any manufacturer besides the ones I mentioned will sell over 250,000 cars especially with the economy we are now having. Best to hang on whatever car you have, and wait for 2 years after the roll-out date to see how the EV is faring before buying it.

I will be holding my Kona EV until year 5 when the warranty runs out. Then I will probably sell it or trade it in for a new EV. I was expecting to keep the car for 10 years, but with all the problems with the car, I am not sure the Kona EV will be serviced by Hyundai since they are dropping their Kona EV brand like a hot potato. I find it funny that current Kona EV owners have yet to receive from Hyundai the exact reason why some of their Kona EVs are catching fire....yet they are now busy pumping out the Ioniq 5 with even a bigger battery....even swiveling chairs inside the car, but they had yet to perfect autonomous driving. OMG. Hyundai has a long way to go in making EV cars, I really don't think their cars justify the price premium compared to well made Japanese or German cars, IMHO.

I might even keep the Kona EV....it will be rare collectible. But the sad thing to me is that owning the Kona EV less than 10 years really does not make my purchase break even....I usually drive my cars to the ground. The extra cost for the Kona EV compared to a new ICE car takes into consideration the gas savings I get for driving it over 5 years....now it seems that is not even possible.

 

[Tomek]

Apart from all the important issues mentioned above, for me personally, a big problem with the possible purchase of a Kona EV (or an EV in general) is the issue of value depreciation. At the moment, there is no chance to obtain reliable information on this subject on my market (Poland). Consequently, it is not possible to even approximate the TOC and compare it with the ICE counterpart. I do not know if the cost of driving a 1 km Hyundai Kona EV is PLN 1, 1.5, 1.25 or how much. Because I do not know for how much I will be able to sell it in these 3, 5 or 8 years. And it is worth setting the profitability limit for use, because the car can hold some reasonable value as long as it has a battery warranty - then it becomes only expensive scrap. In addition, the impact that is difficult to estimate will be the expected escalation of fiscal burdens for ICE car owners - this will probably allow the value of older EVs to be maintained despite the risk of a critical battery failure, resulting in practice in the need to scrap the vehicle. So we are at a stage, at least here in Europe, when the decision to choose between ICE and EV cannot be based on traditional economic analysis, but becomes a de facto ideological or aesthetic choice. So what remains is the leasing with the return of the vehicle or long-term rental, but both of these forms of financing are burdened with additional costs for the customer. Probably now, if someone is thinking about using the car for more than 3 years, and has to use it in large cities that impose higher and higher tolls and bans on ICE vehicles, the only reasonable choice is to lease or rent an EV vehicle that can be returned or replace it with a newer one before it becomes worthless.

 

[GPM432]

Apart from all the important issues mentioned above, for me personally, a big problem with the possible purchase of a Kona EV (or an EV in general) is the issue of value depreciation. At the moment, there is no chance to obtain reliable information on this subject on my market (Poland). Consequently, it is not possible to even approximate the TOC and compare it with the ICE counterpart. I do not know if the cost of driving a 1 km Hyundai Kona EV is PLN 1, 1.5, 1.25 or how much. Because I do not know for how much I will be able to sell it in these 3, 5 or 8 years. And it is worth setting the profitability limit for use, because the car can hold some reasonable value as long as it has a battery warranty - then it becomes only expensive scrap. In addition, the impact that is difficult to estimate will be the expected escalation of fiscal burdens for ICE car owners - this will probably allow the value of older EVs to be maintained despite the risk of a critical battery failure, resulting in practice in the need to scrap the vehicle. So we are at a stage, at least here in Europe, when the decision to choose between ICE and EV cannot be based on traditional economic analysis, but becomes a de facto ideological or aesthetic choice. So what remains is the leasing with the return of the vehicle or long-term rental, but both of these forms of financing are burdened with additional costs for the customer. Probably now, if someone is thinking about using the car for more than 3 years, and has to use it in large cities that impose higher and higher tolls and bans on ICE vehicles, the only reasonable choice is to lease or rent an EV vehicle that can be returned or replace it with a newer one before it becomes worthless.

Well I'm older and seen this type of thread before. My Kona is one of the best cars I have ever had it serves my purpose to a tee. All cars have issues sometimes one gets a lemon. Car manufactures do recalls more often now to protect themselves from law suits these days so it's common on all cars. Do your research and take it from there. I have no issues and would recommend my Kona to anyone just that simple.

 

[FloridaSun]

Well I'm older and seen this type of thread before. My Kona is one of the best cars I have ever had it serves my purpose to a tee. All cars have issues sometimes one gets a lemon. Car manufactures do recalls more often now to protect themselves from law suits these days so it's common on all cars. Do your research and take it from there. I have no issues and would recommend my Kona to anyone just that simple.

Same here... over 43k miles/69k kilometers and ZERO issues other than the recalls. I keep my fingers crossed that I won't have any issues.. Brake Recall on Friday...

 

[ehatch]

I couldn't agree more after going through my purchase of the Kona EV. I would recommend to anyone thinking of buying an EV to wait for at least 2 years after its roll-out date before buying it....for any brand. Any EV brand will have bugs around the first 2 years. You will be able to see which EV will be more reliable; how the manufacturer deals with it; and not be a beta tester. Any brand besides Tesla, Chevy, or Nissan will hopefully still be eligible for the Federal EV Tax Rebate....I doubt any manufacturer besides the ones I mentioned will sell over 250,000 cars especially with the economy we are now having. Best to hang on whatever car you have, and wait for 2 years after the roll-out date to see how the EV is faring before buying it.

I will be holding my Kona EV until year 5 when the warranty runs out. Then I will probably sell it or trade it in for a new EV. I was expecting to keep the car for 10 years, but with all the problems with the car, I am not sure the Kona EV will be serviced by Hyundai since they are dropping their Kona EV brand like a hot potato. I find it funny that current Kona EV owners have yet to receive from Hyundai the exact reason why some of their Kona EVs are catching fire....yet they are now busy pumping out the Ioniq 5 with even a bigger battery....even swiveling chairs inside the car, but they had yet to perfect autonomous driving. OMG. Hyundai has a long way to go in making EV cars, I really don't think their cars justify the price premium compared to well made Japanese or German cars, IMHO.

I might even keep the Kona EV....it will be rare collectible. But the sad thing to me is that owning the Kona EV less than 10 years really does not make my purchase break even....I usually drive my cars to the ground. The extra cost for the Kona EV compared to a new ICE car takes into consideration the gas savings I get for driving it over 5 years....now it seems that is not even possible.

It's tragic that hyundai made an efficient EV that rivaled the market leader.Yet didn't use the opportunity to implement the technologies of some of their mid tier models to Genesis ICE products during the same time.Nor did Hyundai bother to take a page from Freemont to fix,and update in real time.In just over year one,there were 8 campaigns,and 2 recalls?Where ,in iCE fashion, elaboration of what these were were little to none. Look at the infotainment update for 2019 & 2020,removing functionality to reduce features,or function. Tesla has its issues with this,but the OTA updates corrects much of the problems.

When most of us dump the Kona electric,the repairs will have taken place.Having owned a Bolt,Hyundai has at least made attempts.

Leading edge ,I'm good with,it's the lack of information that's an issue. I would get the year one cybertruck . Look at the Y,it's already gone through "improvements" since making the 2019 deliveries.Model 3,it went through range boost,now has a heat pump,plus chrome delete for 2021.

 

[ehatch]

Here the current Model S/X comes with their modified Mennekes (Type 2) port and and an adapter for CCS Combo 2 chargers. That replaces the larger cable adapter needed to charge from a Chademo DCFC to the original thin Tesla port. Superchargers have the modified Type 2 plug.

The Model 3 instead has a full CCS Combo 2 port that can accept any common DCFC directly as well as Tesla supercharging.

View attachment 10373

Really hope the Tesla CCS adapter gets sold in N.Am.soon as it allows higher charging speeds at third party units. Europe , already converted many of the superchargers to CCS capable. CHAdeMO is really getting phased out