Heat in the footwells in cold climates.

Michael L McDade

Michael L McDade

New Member
Just test drove a Kona EV Ultimate in Boston area. Like the car and the tech it comes with. But I noticed the heater does not work that well. Had to crank it to 78 to feel hot air come out the bottom footwell vents. That was even after driving 20 min. Had it in normal drive mode, drivers side only. Heat on.With the heat coming out only at the bottom footwell. This is how I typically set the climate in my cars I drive. If my feet are warm, I'm comfortable. Is this an issue that people just deal with in northern climates in US, since the US versions don't have heat pumps?
Or am I missing a setting I should have looked at? It was 30 degrees out and interior felt fine, it just seemed the footwell stayed much cooler.
 
Did you have the Climate on Auto? That is all I use, except sometimes when I need extra defrost. Mine warms up really fast, just takes a few minutes.
 
No, I did not have it on auto. I thought by choosing manual and doing just drivers side it would heat quicker. Do you have a heat pump? I see your in Canada? I think that would be a preferred option in the US.
 
Yes, I do have a heat pump, but not sure if that helps until your car has been on for a while. Mine starts heating immediately when I press Auto. Try it. My temp setting is usually around 22C. Another way to know if it is working is look at your GOM. It should drop or go up by about 30 kms when you turn Climate off and on.
 
The heat pump is very quick at warming up, within 30 sec in my experience. It's the PTC heater (which is also present in HP versions) that I doubt I've ever noticed powered on -- because it's not cold enough here. The drain on the power-use screen under climate will tell you what's happening regarding those two items. The HP is around 0.3-0.8 kW, the PTC will be at least 2kW.
 
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There was one time when the heat in the Kona was uncomfortably warm - turning up the blower to a higher speed seemed at the time to be related.
 
Which drive mode were you in? In Eco mode, the heat output is reduced and frankly it's inadequate in the winter in Boston. Try Normal mode and direct the heat to the floor. Also, I've noticed that the Kona likes to let fresh air into the cabin, creating an annoying cool draft after the cabin is up to temperature. You can address this by switching to recirculate, but this gets turned off automatically after a few minutes. My usual mode of operation in the winter is to preheat the car before I set off, turn on seat and steering wheel heat, or set off in Normal mode and then switch to Eco after everything is warm. If it starts to get chilly, I switch back to Normal. It's not ideal and it's annoying that the US Northeast didn't get the heat pump
 
I was in normal mode. I did try recirculate mode and also had it off at first. I’ll try the suggested tweaks members have given me when I test drive again on Friday. I’ll double check that the settings for heat have not changed in the mode menu. Have most of you changed tires for the winter driving I presume? Living in southern Maine, I don’t think the stock tires would cut it.
 
I'm much like you preferring warm feet over cold. I live in MA and commute across the state multiple times per week so I'm right on the edge of my range in cold weather and am therefore very aggressive in energy conservation. I have found it necessary to close the fresh air vent manually to prevent that stream of colder air from constantly mixing in when driving. The vent will automatically reopen after a few minutes since Hyundai engineers think the driver shouldn't get to make that choice based on the conditions they're experiencing. Look at page 3-123 "Air Intake Control" in your manual for info about the recirculation feature. The manual doesn't say it will automatically return to recirculate mode...but it does.

I actually carry a small blanket that I drape across my feet if I have to drive in really cold conditions. That blocks the cold breeze. It's easier to do that than try to remember to turn on Recirculate every 5 minutes, and since I'm practically doing one-pedal driving I have no issues with my feet being draped that way.


Michael L McDade said:
Just test drove a Kona EV Ultimate in Boston area. Like the car and the tech it comes with. But I noticed the heater does not work that well. Had to crank it to 78 to feel hot air come out the bottom footwell vents. That was even after driving 20 min. Had it in normal drive mode, drivers side only. Heat on.With the heat coming out only at the bottom footwell. This is how I typically set the climate in my cars I drive. If my feet are warm, I'm comfortable. Is this an issue that people just deal with in northern climates in US, since the US versions don't have heat pumps?
Or am I missing a setting I should have looked at? It was 30 degrees out and interior felt fine, it just seemed the footwell stayed much cooler.
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Jgood said:
I'm much like you preferring warm feet over cold. I live in MA and commute across the state multiple times per week so I'm right on the edge of my range in cold weather and am therefore very aggressive in energy conservation. I have found it necessary to close the fresh air vent manually to prevent that stream of colder air from constantly mixing in when driving. The vent will automatically reopen after a few minutes since Hyundai engineers think the driver shouldn't get to make that choice based on the conditions they're experiencing. Look at page 3-123 "Air Intake Control" in your manual for info about the recirculation feature. The manual doesn't say it will automatically return to recirculate mode...but it does.

I actually carry a small blanket that I drape across my feet if I have to drive in really cold conditions. That blocks the cold breeze. It's easier to do that than try to remember to turn on Recirculate every 5 minutes, and since I'm practically doing one-pedal driving I have no issues with my feet being draped that way.
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Well I went and purchased it anyway and putting the climate system into remote and drivers side seemed to help some. Thanks for everyone's input. It Gets delivered to me on Wednesday. Lease price was too good to pass up. (25K) $177 monthly payment. (36 months)
 
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Congratulations Michael, and thank you also for helping make EVs, and the Kona in particular, better represented and visible on our Maine roads. I'm in Yarmouth and have had mine since January a year ago. Nigels is right, it's too bad that northern NE buyers don't have a heat pump available. You'll figure out a game plan for cold weather driving. I generally get by fine just using heated seats and steering wheel, and temporarily fire up defrost when things begin to fog up. My wife has a small lap blanket in the car for her own use and does well with just the seat heat. Snow tires will make all the difference on our messy roads but mileage takes a definite hit. With warmer weather and the LRR tires that are probably installed on your car, you'll see a nice jump in mileage. During the summer I typically charge over 300 miles per full charge (I've hit 330 a number of times.) I hope you come to enjoy your Kona as much as I have. They are sweet little cars.
By the way, it looks like you've bought in MA. A year ago I had to go all the way to Maryland to buy because no NE dealers were receiving allotments of Konas then. When I returned to Maine with the car I hoped to be able to receive the Efficiency Maine rebate for buying an EV but learned that the offer only applied to an EV bought from a Maine dealer. I don't know if that still applies, but probably does.
 
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Bill Carter said:
Congratulations Michael, and thank you also for helping make EVs, and the Kona in particular, better represented and visible on our Maine roads. I'm in Yarmouth and have had mine since January a year ago. Nigels is right, it's too bad that northern NE buyers don't have a heat pump available. You'll figure out a game plan for cold weather driving. I generally get by fine just using heated seats and steering wheel, and temporarily fire up defrost when things begin to fog up. My wife has a small lap blanket in the car for her own use and does well with just the seat heat. Snow tires will make all the difference on our messy roads but mileage takes a definite hit. With warmer weather and the LRR tires that are probably installed on your car, you'll see a nice jump in mileage. During the summer I typically charge over 300 miles per full charge (I've hit 330 a number of times.) I hope you come to enjoy your Kona as much as I have. They are sweet little cars.
By the way, it looks like you've bought in MA. A year ago I had to go all the way to Maryland to buy because no NE dealers were receiving allotments of Konas then. When I returned to Maine with the car I hoped to be able to receive the Efficiency Maine rebate for buying an EV but learned that the offer only applied to an EV bought from a Maine dealer. I don't know if that still applies, but probably does.
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Thanks I’ll check with Efficiency Maine. But the lease and color where too good for me to pass up. What winter tires do you put on? And how is Rowe Hyundai for service? Good to know your able to deal with the heating the winters up here. Thanks for the insight.



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Michael L McDade said:
Thanks I’ll check with Efficiency Maine. But the lease and color where too good for me to pass up. What winter tires do you put on? And how is Rowe Hyundai for service? Good to know your able to deal with the heating the winters up here. Thanks for the insight.



Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs
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I had Bridgestone Blizzaks put on at Sullivan Tire in Falmouth. They have a tire service plan that offers a $50 charge to switch tires seasonally for the life of the tires plus a strong warranty on the tires if bought there. The Blizzaks are great.
For car service, I've been going to Bill Dodge in Brunswick. Their technician seems to be pretty knowledgeable about the EVs. He's had experience replacing a motor on a 2019 for a doctor in Brunswick. Probably Bill Dodge in Westbrook would be comparable. What color do you have? I'll keep an eye out for you in passing. My Kona is Sonic Silver.
 
Michael L McDade said:
I was in normal mode. I did try recirculate mode and also had it off at first. I’ll try the suggested tweaks members have given me when I test drive again on Friday. I’ll double check that the settings for heat have not changed in the mode menu. Have most of you changed tires for the winter driving I presume? Living in southern Maine, I don’t think the stock tires would cut it.
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If you are not an avid winter sport lover, I suggest you to check out "all year" tires (not all season!). These tires have the alpine mountain imprinted on their side, so they are winter rated. Here are the pros:
- excellent for most weather, fresh/plowed snow, slush, mud, cold dry and summer hot dry and wet roads.
- no need to buy and other rim, and/or tires
- no need to store the unused set
- no seasonal tire changes
- excellent choice for most city dwellers (even in Toronto)
The cons:
- the rubber compound is of course 'compromised'.
- a bit noisier
- and some of them are low rolling resistance but expect a small impact on your range - you may or may not notice
- insurance companies and the Province of Quebec do not consider these tires 'snow tires'.
- if you are an avid skier or live in serious snow country these are probably not for you. Buy a real winter tire set!

There are several manufacturers, including Michelin, Cooper, Nokian, etc.
I used Nokian WRG3 them for 12 years (on two cars) and loved them. Good for 90,000km. The impact on my Prius's mileage was minuscule.
I put Nokian WGR4s on my Kona yesterday. I immediately noticed improved road grip and a slight increase of road noise - I guess that should not be a surprise.
I will monitor a impact on power use (range). But not having good data with the stock tire in - my car wa lai ouit for four months - winter it will be difficult to compare.
Good luck.
 
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