High-Pitched Motor Noise

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EnerG said:
6000km.
I am leaning toward it being coil whine. From a start the noise gains in amplitude as the vehicle accelerates and diminishes on deceleration as the friction brakes take over. Similar to the coil whine of a 3-phase AC motor when used with a VFD except this is a "dirtier" or raspier type of ringing.
As I drive past cars or obstacles I can hear the noise reflected.
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I certainly hope you’re wrong.
This is not a sound I can live with, and if there’s no recall in sight, my car will be up for sale very soon!

If this is coil whine, why would it start just a couple of months ago and also, why would it disappear at 50/60 km/h?

It’s also much louder and more noticeable on regen. It’s very loud.

Does anyone have a contact for Hyundai? They can’t fix what they don’t know about.

I advised my dealer to put in a formal complaint for me when they told me it was designed this way it was brake related.
 
Brennan Raposo said:
I advised my dealer to put in a formal complaint for me when they told me it was designed this way it was brake related.
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I'm sorry, but if your dealer said it's designed that way they are just trying to get rid of you. It's one of those dealers that don't care about EVs. There is no incentive for them helping you. If they help you it's on warranty, so no money for them, if they don't help you, you might sell your car and buy a gas guzzler so they can service the hell out of you. Very short sighted of them. If it would be designed that way, every car would have it.

So I call BS on that statement! And I'm truly sorry about that problem. I feel for you and am extremely sad that this is the current situation with a lot of dealers.

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Yea I think it's a BS as well.
I spoke to a non-EV mechanic and he said it's definitely a brake-related sound. He said it's a cheaply and poorly engineered brake system. I just don't know what else to do. I don't have any contact information for Hyundai to send in a formal complaint. I'm in contact with another dealership to see what they can do but other than that - I don't see any other options.

I have also noticed that the squeal becomes louder as the temperatures increase. We had temperatures hovering around 27 degrees Celsius here in Ontario and with the windows down and music at normal levels - the sound was completely noticeable over the music. This is especially true when driving by walls/trees/other cars where the sound reverberates.
 
Brennan Raposo said:
Yea I think it's a BS as well.
I spoke to a non-EV mechanic and he said it's definitely a brake-related sound. He said it's a cheaply and poorly engineered brake system. I just don't know what else to do. I don't have any contact information for Hyundai to send in a formal complaint. I'm in contact with another dealership to see what they can do but other than that - I don't see any other options.

I have also noticed that the squeal becomes louder as the temperatures increase. We had temperatures hovering around 27 degrees Celsius here in Ontario and with the windows down and music at normal levels - the sound was completely noticeable over the music. This is especially true when driving by walls/trees/other cars where the sound reverberates.
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Does this have any relationship to the brake replacements some members have had in BC for "clunking"? Maybe you have a similar brake sizing issue? Others are reporting different sized brakes being available from Hyundai. Maybe showing a dealer some of that thread would help? It has always sounded like brake-rub to me. Given the low use of brakes and potential for rust, if the clearances are small then simple rubbing might explain it.
 
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Wildeyed said:
Does this have any relationship to the brake replacements some members have had in BC for "clunking"? Maybe you have a similar brake sizing issue? Others are reporting different sized brakes being available from Hyundai. Maybe showing a dealer some of that thread would help? It has always sounded like brake-rub to me. Given the low use of brakes and potential for rust, if the clearances are small then simple rubbing might explain it.
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Interesting idea. I just want to mention again that in my case the sound vanishes as you transition onto the friction brakes. This would be similar to brake squealers I suppose. Just to provide a frame of reference, in my work I deal with many electrical motors AC and DC and I cannot reconcile this sound with a mechanical sound of any kind. So in other words, it sounds like coil whine. But I hope to be proven wrong on this.

I am thinking rust is unlikely. My car is kept in a de-humidified garage. I want to also point out that if you wash your car in the late evening leave it out for several hours, you will most certainly be able to hear the rust accumulation on the brake disks but it disappears after a few seconds of friction braking.

So why has this sound appeared after a few months of ownership ? Winter ? Could it have been there all along but gone unnoticed until the climate is warmer and the windows are down longer? I encourage all of you to drive with your windows and sunroof open to see if you hear this raspy whine. We need to determine the extent of this infection.
 
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EnerG said:
Interesting idea. I just want to mention again that in my case the sound vanishes as you transition onto the friction brakes. This would be similar to brake squealers I suppose. Just to provide a frame of reference, in my work I deal with many electrical motors AC and DC and I cannot reconcile this sound with a mechanical sound of any kind. So in other words, it sounds like coil whine. But I hope to be proven wrong on this.

I am thinking rust is unlikely. My car is kept in a de-humidified garage. I want to also point out that if you wash your car in the late evening leave it out for several hours, you will most certainly be able to hear the rust accumulation on the brake disks but it disappears after a few seconds of friction braking.

So why has this sound appeared after a few months of ownership ? Winter ? Could it have been there all along but gone unnoticed until the climate is warmer and the windows are down longer? I encourage all of you to drive with your windows and sunroof open to see if you hear this raspy whine. We need to determine the extent of this infection.
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I have noticed it for about 2 months now.
And in the interest of honesty - I didn't drive around with my windows down in February or April.
I can say with absolute certainty that the issue has increased in severity over the last few weeks as temps have increased.

It is a completely different sound than your typical rust build up after a wash or rain. That's more of a physical grinding noise that you can both hear and feel for a few moments until it wears off. This is very persistent squeal that doesn't seem to go away (aside from in wet weather).

The thing that I found very odd is the differences in mileage that the affects seem to be noticed at. Mine started at about 7,000 km. Others have chimed in stating their first 1000 km. My vehicle is finally due for it's 12,000 km maintenance. I'm not sure exactly what it needs at that interval but I will be taking it to a different dealership and advising them of the squeal. Hopefully we'll get somewhere this time!
 
Wildeyed said:
Does this have any relationship to the brake replacements some members have had in BC for "clunking"? Maybe you have a similar brake sizing issue? Others are reporting different sized brakes being available from Hyundai. Maybe showing a dealer some of that thread would help? It has always sounded like brake-rub to me. Given the low use of brakes and potential for rust, if the clearances are small then simple rubbing might explain it.
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Well part of my last unpleasant encounter occurred because they did not even want to look at the comments from the thread on clunking. They weren't interested in even hearing that others had new pads put on which resolved the issue. They told me that could not be as no other pads were available. I said they were as other dealers had ordered them in. I had to push to get them to call the Nanaimo dealer who has done the brake pad changes. THEN, I get the call that the pads have to be ordered from the factory in South Korea. We have decided to sell our Kona. Too much bad negativity that has led to lack of trust in Hyundai combined with banging our heads getting in and out (we are both tall and old and stiff). So we are getting the 2020 Kia Soul EV with a much larger entry to getting in and out, and seats can be put down lower too. The 2020 Kia Soul has basically the same specifications as the Kona, but more head room for us and dog crates. I'll keep you all posted on what we are doing as the Soul EV's arrive.
 
CJC said:
Well part of my last unpleasant encounter occurred because they did not even want to look at the comments from the thread on clunking. They weren't interested in even hearing that others had new pads put on which resolved the issue. They told me that could not be as no other pads were available. I said they were as other dealers had ordered them in. I had to push to get them to call the Nanaimo dealer who has done the brake pad changes. THEN, I get the call that the pads have to be ordered from the factory in South Korea. We have decided to sell our Kona. Too much bad negativity that has led to lack of trust in Hyundai combined with banging our heads getting in and out (we are both tall and old and stiff). So we are getting the 2020 Kia Soul EV with a much larger entry to getting in and out, and seats can be put down lower too. The 2020 Kia Soul has basically the same specifications as the Kona, but more head room for us and dog crates. I'll keep you all posted on what we are doing as the Soul EV's arrive.
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This is a shame. Nobody was more excited about this car and to have this happen is a real failure for Hyundai.
 
CJC said:
Well part of my last unpleasant encounter occurred because they did not even want to look at the comments from the thread on clunking. They weren't interested in even hearing that others had new pads put on which resolved the issue. They told me that could not be as no other pads were available. I said they were as other dealers had ordered them in. I had to push to get them to call the Nanaimo dealer who has done the brake pad changes. THEN, I get the call that the pads have to be ordered from the factory in South Korea. We have decided to sell our Kona. Too much bad negativity that has led to lack of trust in Hyundai combined with banging our heads getting in and out (we are both tall and old and stiff). So we are getting the 2020 Kia Soul EV with a much larger entry to getting in and out, and seats can be put down lower too. The 2020 Kia Soul has basically the same specifications as the Kona, but more head room for us and dog crates. I'll keep you all posted on what we are doing as the Soul EV's arrive.
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If you need the room then that's one thing, but I wouldn't use one or two bad encounters with one specific dealer as the groundwork for buying a new car.
I have had excellent experience both in the sales and service end from this dealer in Nanaimo:
https://www.wheatonhyundai.ca/
Talk to Brodie Macpherson or Scott Daniher (service).
Also-don't forget Kia is sister company to Hyundai, so your problems may continue.
Whatever you decide, I feel sorry for your unfortunate experience and I hope things turn around for you.
 
Ooh yeah, I had the same issues. There is a Toyota dealer (my old ice car was a Toyota) that I would rather see disappear than anybody go there. But the next one a couple towns down the road did always a great job.

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electriceddy said:
If you need the room then that's one thing, but I wouldn't use one or two bad encounters with one specific dealer as the groundwork for buying a new car.
I have had excellent experience both in the sales and service end from this dealer in Nanaimo:
https://www.wheatonhyundai.ca/
Talk to Brodie Macpherson or Scott Daniher (service).
Also-don't forget Kia is sister company to Hyundai, so your problems may continue.
Whatever you decide, I feel sorry for your unfortunate experience and I hope things turn around for you.
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We are disappointed by our experiences and I do realize that we could move onto a different dealership, but the bottom line is the entry in and out of the car. This second negative encounter just pushed us to re think things. We were used to an excellent none heading banging experience for years and then chose the Kona too quickly and ordered sight unseen. My husband and I are tired of the head banging if we aren't paying attention. When you get old, it seems harder to tolerate mistakes. I'm tired of stuffing my larger dog into a smaller crate to accommodate the car versus having enough headroom for the large dog --3 or 4 inches makes a huge difference to the comfort of the dog. We chose without enough research. Life is too short to live with the mistake when we can afford to move on to something that suits us and our lifestyles better. I wish I had known about the Kia Soul EV before we ordered the Kona as it basically the same car with similar range, but with more room. Yes not as aerodynamic for better range, but it certainly is more comfy. We loved the ability to lower the front seats low enough and the large door entry and electric seats for passenger too, and the car seemed airier in general. The 2020 Kia Soul EV reminds me of the Honda Element which I have always loved. I am optimistic that it will be a good move. I will let you all know whether we turn out to be crazy old fools. lol
 
CJC said:
We are disappointed by our experiences and I do realize that we could move onto a different dealership, but the bottom line is the entry in and out of the car. This second negative encounter just pushed us to re think things. We were used to an excellent none heading banging experience for years and then chose the Kona too quickly and ordered sight unseen. My husband and I are tired of the head banging if we aren't paying attention. When you get old, it seems harder to tolerate mistakes. I'm tired of stuffing my larger dog into a smaller crate to accommodate the car versus having enough headroom for the large dog --3 or 4 inches makes a huge difference to the comfort of the dog. We chose without enough research. Life is too short to live with the mistake when we can afford to move on to something that suits us and our lifestyles better. I wish I had known about the Kia Soul EV before we ordered the Kona as it basically the same car with similar range, but with more room. Yes not as aerodynamic for better range, but it certainly is more comfy. We loved the ability to lower the front seats low enough and the large door entry and electric seats for passenger too, and the car seemed airier in general. I am optimistic that it will be a good move. I will let you all know whether we turn out to be crazy old fools. lol
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The new extended range Soul was just a twinkle in a designer's eye back when we ordered the Kona so it wasn't an option then. I like the looks of it too but didn't want to wait. And after our pregnant pause waiting for our Kona pre-orders I didn't relish going through that again! Good luck with it.
 
Wildeyed said:
The new extended range Soul was just a twinkle in a designer's eye back when we ordered the Kona so it wasn't an option then. I like the looks of it too but didn't want to wait. And after our pregnant pause waiting for our Kona pre-orders I didn't relish going through that again! Good luck with it.
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You are a good hearted person. Thanks so much.
 
CJC said:
Thank you. You are so gracious and kind. All of you here here are so positive and nice that you would probably support me buying an Edsel if I said I found one to replace my Kona. lol I see Bjorn Nyland released his review of the 2020 Kia Soul EV today and it is looking good.
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The Edsel would be an outstanding choice! The push-button shifter would be second nature. But one of these might be more commodious.

I've seen the new Soul in the wild, and it looks very comfortable. I'm not sure it passed the tissue box test, though, i.e. a handy place to keep that essential article. (Remember when people used to put them on the back shelf? You had to get off the freeway to blow your nose.)
 
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CJC said:
Thank you. You are so gracious and kind. All of you here here are so positive and nice that you would probably support me buying an Edsel if I said I found one to replace my Kona. lol I see Bjorn Nyland released his review of the 2020 Kia Soul EV today and it is looking good.
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Hey, get one and get it electrified. That would be awesome! [emoji106]

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It’s a sad day when @CJC leaves the forum :(
I wish you nothing but the best with the Soul EV.

I would ask one favour before you leave. Of course, only if it’s not too much to ask!
Being as I am a numbers guy - I would love to know what percentage of loss you took on the Kona when you sold/traded it.

I always have the Model 3 in the back of my mind. And as the price drops further and further, I always think - “hmm, how much of a hit would I really take if I traded up?”

This becomes especially true if Hyundai doesn’t fix my damn high-pitched squealing noise! [emoji35]




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Brennan Raposo said:
It’s a sad day when @CJC leaves the forum :(
I wish you nothing but the best with the Soul EV.

I would ask one favour before you leave. Of course, only if it’s not too much to ask!
Being as I am a numbers guy - I would love to know what percentage of loss you took on the Kona when you sold/traded it.

I always have the Model 3 in the back of my mind. And as the price drops further and further, I always think - “hmm, how much of a hit would I really take if I traded up?”

This becomes especially true if Hyundai doesn’t fix my damn high-pitched squealing noise! [emoji35]

Brennan is will be roughly $10,000 loss from what we paid in February. We could do better privately, but we don't want the hassle. I have been watching Bjorn Nyland's videos on the Soul EV and he certainly so far isn't as high on it as he was the Kona, but nothing to scare us so far. I think he has two more videos on the Soul EV yet to come.


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