New Kona Limited EV owner

[KonaME]

Hello, I just took delivery of a 2024 Kona EV Limited. I've owned a Nissan Leaf since 2021 and enjoy using an EV as my daily driver. The Leaf was a decent enough car, but just didn't have the features I wanted. The Kona has the options that I wish the Nissan had (blind-spot cameras, ventilated seats, sunroof) at the price I was charged. I've only put about 30 miles on the car, but am already enjoying it. Looking forward to many miles of carefree/gas free driving. Here's some "so-so" drone footage, the day was windy and I think my SD card doesn't like 4K speeds.

 

[electriceddy]

Nice first post, and a great looking EV.
I too owned first gen Leafs and was greatly impressed with Kona EV.
Enjoy your new ride and welcome to the forum.

 

[KonaME]

Nice first post, and a great looking EV.
I too owned first gen Leafs and was greatly impressed with Kona EV.
Enjoy your new ride and welcome to the forum.

Thanks for the welcome! I'm looking forward to reading all of the posts that have supplanted the ones I would read ad nauseum from ICE forums, "What's the best oil?", "Is 93 octane better than 87 octane?", "Should I let the car warm up before driving?" etc. etc. Seems like the EV forums are similar in that fashion, heated discussions about charging to 80%, 100%, etc., whether or not tires inflated past the recommended PSI, or not to avoid premature tire wear (It's an EV, I'm used to going through tires the way some drivers go between car washes ). Will be interesting to see if the Kona group is any different. Looking forward to engaging in discussion that makes us all happy consumers.

 

[electriceddy]

Thanks for the welcome! I'm looking forward to reading all of the posts that have supplanted the ones I would read ad nauseum from ICE forums, "What's the best oil?", "Is 93 octane better than 87 octane?", "Should I let the car warm up before driving?" etc. etc. Seems like the EV forums are similar in that fashion, heated discussions about charging to 80%, 100%, etc., whether or not tires inflated past the recommended PSI, or not to avoid premature tire wear (It's an EV, I'm used to going through tires the way some drivers go between car washes ). Will be interesting to see if the Kona group is any different. Looking forward to engaging in discussion that makes us all happy consumers.

Although not an official "sub-forum", a new thread labeled "New Generation Kona EV" has started to gain traction so to speak. Have a look there as we do have additional input from other forum member owners

 

[KonaME]

After almost a week, I've already experienced one of the biggest LITERAL headaches about this thing. When I back out of my parking space, there's a metal grate for water drainage. As I was backing out today just casually, the backup system just screams at me and then applies the emergency braking system. Talk about a jarring wakeup call. I had a 2001 Kia and was hoping that the Hyundai group had polished some of these safety features. The grate isn't even elevated. It's just flush with the street, but for some reason the car thought I was backing into something. Guess I'll have to find a way to disable that.

 

[electriceddy]

After almost a week, I've already experienced one of the biggest LITERAL headaches about this thing. When I back out of my parking space, there's a metal grate for water drainage. As I was backing out today just casually, the backup system just screams at me and then applies the emergency braking system. Talk about a jarring wakeup call. I had a 2001 Kia and was hoping that the Hyundai group had polished some of these safety features. The grate isn't even elevated. It's just flush with the street, but for some reason the car thought I was backing into something. Guess I'll have to find a way to disable that.

Is it the rear cross traffic alert or the back up parking sensor(s). The parking sensors should be able to de-activate (haven't yet checked the 2024 MY manual for location) with a push button. It is possible this may be in the center screen settings, but on mine it is a push button between the auto-hold and the passenger seat heat/cool button.

 

[KonaME]

Is it the rear cross traffic alert or the back up parking sensor(s). The parking sensors should be able to de-activate (haven't yet checked the 2024 MY manual for location) with a push button. It is possible this may be in the center screen settings, but on mine it is a push button between the auto-hold and the passenger seat heat/cool button.

I believe that it's the backup sensor. The rear cross alert didn't notice anything. Funny enough, my Nissan also warns me about that same item even though it's essentially part of the drive. It is almost like a manhole cover that sits pretty flush with the road. I suspect that the camera sees the different texture and assumes that it's an object on the road.

 

[insightman]

I believe that it's the backup sensor. The rear cross alert didn't notice anything. Funny enough, my Nissan also warns me about that same item even though it's essentially part of the drive. It is almost like a manhole cover that sits pretty flush with the road. I suspect that the camera sees the different texture and assumes that it's an object on the road.

Can you cover the grating with canvas and paint the canvas to match the driveway? It wouldn't be as easy as pressing a few buttons to disable the stop-you-in-your-tracks safety feature, but it might fool the system into believing your driveway is safe.

 

[KonaME]

Can you cover the grating with canvas and paint the canvas to match the driveway? It wouldn't be as easy as pressing a few buttons to disable the stop-you-in-your-tracks safety feature, but it might fool the system into believing your driveway is safe.

I've gone through a few settings but can't locate the rear braking button. Would be nice if the vehicle's radar realized that it's not really an obstruction, but I'll have to find that setting. I just hope it's not one of those settings that I'll have to turn off every time I get in, which is annoying.

 

[Bruce M.]

I have a 2020 Kona and have at times been annoyed by the overly sensitive backup warnings -- it sometimes beeps warnings at me about stripes or other street markings -- and was really hoping to hear that they'd improved things with the new model. I guess not.

 

[Kirby34]

My '21 gives me a single proximity warning every time I back out of my driveway, just as I cross the sidewalk. I've always assumed it's because it's seeing the difference in color between the light-colored concrete gutter and the dark-colored asphalt. Thankfully, it's a single beep and doesn't apply the brakes.

 

[KonaME]

I have a 2020 Kona and have at times been annoyed by the overly sensitive backup warnings -- it sometimes beeps warnings at me about stripes or other street markings -- and was really hoping to hear that they'd improved things with the new model. I guess not.

I suspect that getting their vendors to fix things can cost a lot more than them just giving us a half-baked product. One thing I've loved about Hyundai/Kia products in the past is how much bang for the buck they offer, but I've realized that sometimes the fine polished end-product isn't what I wish it was. Lane keep assist for instance, great concept until you have that one road with a huge pothole and the car's steering fights to steer you into the pothole.

My '21 gives me a single proximity warning every time I back out of my driveway, just as I cross the sidewalk. I've always assumed it's because it's seeing the difference in color between the light-colored concrete gutter and the dark-colored asphalt. Thankfully, it's a single beep and doesn't apply the brakes.

That's the funny part, it can give me the same beeping for 6 days out of the week, but that 7th day when you're half asleep and casually pulling out, it decides to give you some whiplash.