Repair issues and fixes

[KiwiME]

Good to hear from you after all this time and my condolences regarding your wife.

'Wheel of fortune' complaints over several forums continue to roll in at roughly once every two weeks, so realistically most examples survive.

Many other owners ask about whether they should have the oil changed, but they're always asking far too late in the game (kms/miles) to make a difference. The change you did at 1,000 km will have tipped the odds strongly in your favour, IMO.

I've not heard of any owner here in NZ that has had to pay for repairs yet, but reports have also been quite rare despite over 4,000 examples on the road. I only have 32,000 km on my late-2018 and am also somewhat on the fence as whether to keep it. The battery warranty goes for another 3 years so I'll probably carry on for another 2 years. I actually haven't had any issues but I'm not sure I want to push the odds.

A more recent scare has arisen regarding the blue coolant, specifically those that were originally equipped with BSC1, production 7 May 2019 to 12 Oct 2021. Where crystals formed causing the "Refill Inverter Coolant" message they have been found to moderately corrode aluminium plumbing in one example where the message was ignored. My concern is that the internal battery cooling 'plates' are also made of aluminium so removing those crystals would be quite important. There has been a sudden spate of 'coolant chiller' failures since July (both 1st-gen Kona and eNiro) which carry both coolant liquid and refrigerant gas in a heat exchanger. Although no one has indicated the cause yet, half were discovered as a result of finding refrigerant pressure when opening the coolant reservoir cap, which can only mean a hole formed. My fear is that it's a 'canary in the coal mine'.

 

[OzKona]

Thankyou, KiwkiME.

I was made aware of the blue coolant issue on this forum before I stopped posting. I have just had a 4 year/60,000km service(at 35,000km) where the coolant was replaced. $790.00 thank you very much. I never had any coolant issues, so I hope any that might want to rear their ugly heads have been cut off at the pass.

I've done a few long trips - Sydney to Melbourne, 1600 km return - plus a few lesser ones. The car is a fabulous tourer, I love it. I just hope the GRU holds up - that is my only concern about this car.

 

[Kirk]

Our Canadian market 2021 Kona ultimate has just had its’ blue coolant flushed and replaced under warranty. I suspect that was because I sent the dealer a picture of the warning that started popping up on our dash warning of low converter coolant so he could present that info to Hyundai so they would accept my claim.

 

[KiwiME]

That's a long time for the original coolant to wreak havoc. The cooling system gets used mostly while DC charging in hot weather and the dash message seems to show up sooner under those conditions. Those who rarely DC charge may not trigger it.

I'd suggest applying a DC charge now and again (to aggravate it) as the blockages often require several flushes to get the crystals out. It's turning out now that once past the general warranty Hyundai (and especially Kia) dealers are leaving it up to owners to pay for their engineering mistakes. Several have reported being denyed coverage under the EV powertrain warranty even though it's a crucial part of that system.

Keep an eye out for any unexpected pressure in the coolant system by occasionally cracking the cap (reverse-threaded with a latch at the rear). Mark the coolant level on the side of the reservoir to detect any cumulative drops in level, noting that it will normally drop ~10 mm temporarily during the winter.

 

[JoeS]

Frightening! In my case they did the coolant flush 10 months ago under warranty. No coolant (or other) warnings...

 

[electriceddy]

blockages often require several flushes to get the crystals out

Which was one of the reasons I traded in my 21 MY, even after the free warranty BSC1 fluid replacement.
It was a fine EV, however it is obvious one flush is not sufficient to get rid of crystals buried deep in the system as you mention.
Not a problem with my 25MY as the coolant is conventional.

 

[KiwiME]

I changed my gear oil for the 7th time today after a short interval of about 3,700 km because I had installed the next-thicker grade, a 75W-80, and wanted to see if there were any wear problems. Short answer, there were none, with the magnets showing only a fine dusting and the oil relatively clean with no sign of blackness.

A recent trip of 840 km (with no heating or cooling, ambient 6° to 18°C) returned 14.9 kWh/100km (4.17 mi/kWh), based on OBD data rather than the dash, which indicates that there was no practical hit to economy. The Kona does run noticeably quieter with the thicker oil. I was tempted to try going thicker again but decided that the initial goal had been achieved. I'm using a 50/50 mix of Penrite 70W-75 and 75W-85 resulting in a viscosity matching a 75W-80.

... Here are various oils for which I've graphed the viscosity range, including the OEM Hyundai 70W - the thinnest oil here. The Kona GRU tends to run around 45°C and there is a quite a big difference.

If you're in a very cold region use one of the lower five oils in the list. If in a mild region then any of the lower seven.

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