[KiwiME]

That's good to hear. Meanwhile the thread's OP has gone AWOL.

 

[Tregarn]

Unfortunately I have now joined the 'funny noise' group. June 2019 Kona EV, 800 miles driven, all quiet and peaceful until 5 days ago. It happens when driving around a corner such as at a roundabout, or at a junction. When driving off, or driving very slowly and then slowly accelerating such as when turning left off a roundabout, there are a number of noises that can be heard, all of which sound 'mechanical'.

The most consistent is the 'click-click' sound that starts slowly and then increases in speed as the car accelerates. As someone else has said, it resembles the sound of something touching a bicycle wheel as it rotates. Other noises include clangs, thump-type sounds (not felt as a thump), and noises that suggest something is loose. The noises then cannot be heard as the car accelerates to say 25/30mph. Not sure if the noises continue or if the road noise hides them. Nothing lodged in any tyre, and in any case this would not answer what the other noises are.

Went back to Hyundai Guildford today to investigate but have rebooked for Tuesday when the 'master technician' will be in. Then will go for drive and see what he says. Will keep members updated as this seems to affect a few cars (and I have seen a similar description on a Canadian Kona EV forum).

 

[RAW]

That's good to hear. Meanwhile the thread's OP has gone AWOL.

I’ve gone AWOL because I no longer have the car! After having nothing but trouble with it I rejected it and Hyundai UK took it back.
Ironically the noise had just been fixed after the umpteenth service visit. On my car they checked the wheel bearings, replaced the driveshafts, replaced the differential gearbox, and finally replaced the drive motor. It was the motor that finally fixed it.

 

[ALPT]

Update on my update.
The gear reduction assembly replacement did eliminate the click noise when first starting out. However there are continued noises when just lightly pressing the accelerator while driving down the highway. These are noises not heard when driving the sample cars on the lot. I was told the noises don't mean that anything is wrong so... who knows. Will continue to check this site to see if anyone has anything else.

 

[Woodulike]

I’ve gone AWOL because I no longer have the car! After having nothing but trouble with it I rejected it and Hyundai UK took it back.
Ironically the noise had just been fixed after the umpteenth service visit. On my car they checked the wheel bearings, replaced the driveshafts, replaced the differential gearbox, and finally replaced the drive motor. It was the motor that finally fixed it.

Thats interesting to hear as I have an e-Niro with the same problem, They have just changed the motor. I'm waiting to collect it as there is a paint job that they need to do as well but the service manager says it is silent again now. I'll collect it next week and see if it is actually quiet or not.

 

[Woodulike]

Duplicate post

 

[Tregarn]

OK so an update on the noises being heard... around 9:45 this morning on a trip on the M25 travelling at about 60mph the front nearside Nexen tyre blew to smithereens! Luckily I made it to the start of the slip road to Cobham Services. Now I had checked all tyres before going to Hyundai Guildford yesterday and there was no sign of what was to come, no bulges, nails, etc.

At this stage I have to congratulate Hyundai/AA breakdown service. An initial phone call identified the situation as an emergency and a flatbed arrived within 10 minutes to move the car into the Services car park. A follow-up call then arranged for a flatbed transport back to Hyundai Guildford. There was a delay of four and a half hours before the second transport arrived but ongoing communication was good, and a replacement hire car for two days (as per Hyundai's t&c's for breakdown) was arranged by the AA driver before leaving the Services.

A quick Google search has produced a number of cases of 'blow outs' for Nexen tyres, mostly in the USA, and in some cases where the tyre mileage has been as low as mine - less than 800 miles. I know that some forum members have had good service from their Nexen's, but on Monday Continental All Weather Contact tyres will replace the factory-fit Nexens. At the moment the wheel appears undamaged with the tiniest shreds of tyre between it and the tarmac.

Then we can see if the noise has stopped or if there is something in the car that has contributed to an unforeseen, and quite frightening, event.

Will update in due course.

 

[Tall Phil]

Wow, glad you are okay. That would have been quite scary.

Don't blame you with changing the tyres, once you have lost confidence in something then it doesn't matter what the reason for the failure was, it needs fixing.

I changed the tyres as soon as I received mine and, as yet, everything seems to be fine (touching wood at he same time to ward off the evil spirits ).

Having said that, a lot of people keep the Nexans and have no trouble at all.

 

[Richard Gledhill]

Sorry to hear of your rather terrifying experience! I got rid of the Nexens within a week and am so glad I did. I think I was the first to put the Continental AllSeason Contact tyres on and have recommended them ever since as being a superb all-round tyre. You'll be amazed how much quieter the car is now.

Unfortunately I rather suspect this is unrelated to the clicking noise Good luck getting it sorted, it's becoming a bit unnerving how many of these cars are now suffering from this problem...

 

[Tregarn]

Latest (but not final) update on noises, tyres, etc. On Monday the dealer agreed to price match the proposed Continental All Season tyres with likely fitting on Wednesday. I also asked that they check the tyre valve pressure sensor for damage.

On Tuesday I was told that the tyres were unavailable - a quick troll through all the local tyre sites, phone calls, etc., and no one could get hold of the Continentals. I could have tried Blackcircle or Mytyres who both showed the tyres on their websites, but I needed to get things moving so I could see if the noise returned once new tyres were fitted. So bottom line was to switch to Michelin CrossClimate tyres. Dealer fitted cost was £10 more than local Kwik Fit, but cheaper than several other local tyre places.

Tyres fitted Thursday, and the 'blow out' tyre appeared to have suffered a puncture beforehand. The dealer sent me photos which showed a puncture spot with a very large circular 'head' pressed into the rubber tread and what looked like two parallel lines a few millimetres either side of the puncture, and running for 2/3cms again either side of the puncture. The circular 'head' was somewhat larger than the largest nail head (galvanised felt nails) that I have seen so appears to have been something other than a nail. It was missing so remains a mystery, and something that I never saw in the tyre.

Kona collected Friday and then test drive with senior mechanic in the passenger seat and all windows down! No more noises so a result. Whilst I was ready for the tyre cost, be aware that a new TPMS tyre valve is £97.03.

The only other downside, the alloy wheel that had the blow out was damaged at the dealership as they tried to remove the old rubber. Kona goes back on Thursday for alloy 'refurbishment'. Will keep updating.

 

[Ian McVey]

Latest (but not final) update on noises, tyres, etc. On Monday the dealer agreed to price match the proposed Continental All Season tyres with likely fitting on Wednesday. I also asked that they check the tyre valve pressure sensor for damage.

On Tuesday I was told that the tyres were unavailable - a quick troll through all the local tyre sites, phone calls, etc., and no one could get hold of the Continentals. I could have tried Blackcircle or Mytyres who both showed the tyres on their websites, but I needed to get things moving so I could see if the noise returned once new tyres were fitted. So bottom line was to switch to Michelin CrossClimate tyres. Dealer fitted cost was £10 more than local Kwik Fit, but cheaper than several other local tyre places.

Tyres fitted Thursday, and the 'blow out' tyre appeared to have suffered a puncture beforehand. The dealer sent me photos which showed a puncture spot with a very large circular 'head' pressed into the rubber tread and what looked like two parallel lines a few millimetres either side of the puncture, and running for 2/3cms again either side of the puncture. The circular 'head' was somewhat larger than the largest nail head (galvanised felt nails) that I have seen so appears to have been something other than a nail. It was missing so remains a mystery, and something that I never saw in the tyre.

Kona collected Friday and then test drive with senior mechanic in the passenger seat and all windows down! No more noises so a result. Whilst I was ready for the tyre cost, be aware that a new TPMS tyre valve is £97.03.

The only other downside, the alloy wheel that had the blow out was damaged at the dealership as they tried to remove the old rubber. Kona goes back on Thursday for alloy 'refurbishment'. Will keep updating.

goodness Tyres seem to be an issue on the Kona glad i got my puncture repaired quickly on my one.

 

[davesul]

Latest (but not final) update....

Kona collected Friday and then test drive with senior mechanic in the passenger seat and all windows down! No more noises so a result. Whilst I was ready for the tyre cost, be aware that a new TPMS tyre valve is £97.03.

The only other downside, the alloy wheel that had the blow out was damaged at the dealership as they tried to remove the old rubber. Kona goes back on Thursday for alloy 'refurbishment'. Will keep updating.

Have been following with interest.
Regarding the test drive noise-test remark " No more noises..." I can read that two ways - (sorry to be pedantic) - do you mean no additional noise, or a complete absence of the troubling noises?

If its absence of the troubling noises, this rather indicates that the previous tyre was the source, despite your previous comment about nothing apparently lodged in any of the tyres...

 

[Tregarn]

Sorry davesul, should have been clearer about lack of noise now. The Michelin's are a quiet tyre anyway so I figured driving with the windows open would help if any click-click, or clangs, etc were heard (as heard before). The test drive was around a small housing estate with lots of junctions and a couple of roundabouts to duplicate conditions where the noise was noticeable. No click-clicks or other mechanical noises heard, so closed the windows and still none of the previous 'mechanical' noises.

So conclusion has to be a tyre failure from a mystery object that had disappeared, and that I hadn't noticed even though I checked the tyres. It was almost as though something had penetrated the tyre some time ago, stayed in the tyre for enough time to make an impression, and then come out. The tyre did not deflate on the many small local shopping journeys rarely above 30mph, and then on the A3/M25 trips at 70mph the tyre let go. So I have to conclude the noises were related to the tyre.

 

[Raharney]

If you are interested in what is going on under the bonnet, have a look at professor's Webers videos.
In this one he takes the motor and "gearbox" from a chevy Bolt apart. Interestingly the Bolt has the same power as a Kona, namely 150 kW.

 

[Alex Kona Ultimate]

I’ve gone AWOL because I no longer have the car! After having nothing but trouble with it I rejected it and Hyundai UK took it back.
Ironically the noise had just been fixed after the umpteenth service visit. On my car they checked the wheel bearings, replaced the driveshafts, replaced the differential gearbox, and finally replaced the drive motor. It was the motor that finally fixed it.

Very sorry to hear about your endless problems with your former Kona EV "clicking noise" which you first described in your posting (discussion starter) 7 months ago. Too bad you had to eventually return it. . . what a fiasco you've been through with your dealership.
My Hyundai Canada 2019 Kona EV has unfortunately also developed a "clicking" sound.
I've finally posted an audio recording of my "clicking" sound in the form of a short YT video:

"Hyundai Kona EV drive train clicking sound" (1:16)
If you can find the time to listen to my recording, I would be keen to hear if this was the same "funny noise" you were getting!

 

[Woodulike]

If you can find the time to listen to my recording, I would be keen to hear if this was the same "funny noise" you were getting!

It's the same as the noise in the Niro. I've had a new motor fitted and that has sorted it.

LInk to the posts about that

 

[RAW]

Very sorry to hear about your endless problems with your former Kona EV "clicking noise" which you first described in your posting (discussion starter) 7 months ago. Too bad you had to eventually return it. . . what a fiasco you've been through with your dealership.
My Hyundai Canada 2019 Kona EV has unfortunately also developed a "clicking" sound.
I've finally posted an audio recording of my "clicking" sound in the form of a short YT video:

"Hyundai Kona EV drive train clicking sound" (1:16)
If you can find the time to listen to my recording, I would be keen to hear if this was the same "funny noise" you were getting!

I’ve listened to your video, and yes, it sounds very similar to the noise that we had. The only difference that we found was that the noise didn’t really stop like yours when I took my foot off the accelerator.
This really seems to be a recurring problem with the Kona and the Niro, I really do hope that they sort it out once and for all.
It’s all very well replacing the drive unit, but who’s to say that the new drive unit won’t fail in a similar way?
I hope you get your car sorted out soon.

 

[Alex Kona Ultimate]

It's the same as the noise in the Niro. I've had a new motor fitted and that has sorted it.

LInk to the posts about that

Thank you for your helpful reply, confirming the similarity of my "clicking noise" to what you were hearing in your e-Niro. Let's hope the new motor is a long-term solution for you!

 

[Alex Kona Ultimate]

I’ve listened to your video, and yes, it sounds very similar to the noise that we had. The only difference that we found was that the noise didn’t really stop like yours when I took my foot off the accelerator.
This really seems to be a recurring problem with the Kona and the Niro, I really do hope that they sort it out once and for all.
It’s all very well replacing the drive unit, but who’s to say that the new drive unit won’t fail in a similar way?
I hope you get your car sorted out soon.

Great to hear back from you. The "clicking noise" in my Kona Electric has been gradually, progressively increasing since late June/early July. Within several weeks of my Oct. 18 recording used in the video clip, the clicking was also beginning to happening on deceleration with regenerative braking on. Yes, as you say . . . who's to say that a new motor won't also develop the same problematic noise? Likewise, I wonder if this clicking noise isn't also the sign of an inefficiency that's eating into the vehicle's range (power consumption)?
Are you looking at a different model of EV, having sadly given up on your Kona?

 

[KiwiME]

... I wonder if this clicking noise isn't also the sign of an inefficiency that's eating into the vehicle's range (power consumption)?

At the energy levels required to noticeably affect the range, such a scenario would result in the rapid destruction of the parts in question. What it could be is excessive end play in the intermediate reduction gear shaft that shifts it axially within the bearings when the torque changes direction. In that case however the noise would not likely continue under power/overrun as RAW mentions.