[Poleydee]

Bizarre question maybe, but in old ICE cars, the ignition had position I and position II - the first was when you were waiting patiently in the car to pick up your kids and you wanted to listen to the radio.

In my lovely Kona, If I arrive, park, and hit the off button - the radio stays on - but turns off after a short while (or if the door is opened of course). If I turn the car on fully with my foot on the brake - it complains at me after a while that I'm draining the battery, sends an alert on Bluelink, and there's a bunch of whirring stuff under the bonnet that certainly doesn't need to be happening.

I have noticed that if I push the on button when I don't have my foot on the brake, it at first refuses, but then if I do it a second time - everything appears to turn on, but has no driving function (can't put car into gear and doesn't seem to be whirring noises under the bonnet!) Is this the right mode for sitting in the car with the radio on (and heating)? And is that a documented feature in the manual (I couldn't find it)?

 

[Peter Cittern]

Yes, I think that is the correct mode I think it is in the manual somewhere at least for the Ioniq. That's what I would do.

 

[DougM]

If you're going to be parked a while, you can start the car normally and use the instrument menu to enable 'Utility Mode'. That will allow you to use the climate and radio, but shuts down other systems and should therefore reduce the overall battery drain and ensure you can't accidentally knock it into drive.

 

[Poleydee]

Thanks both. What I find annoying about both modes (just trying utility now) is that if headlamps are set to auto, they also come on... But never mind, you can't have everything!

 

[Xinix]

Never, ever switch power on by pressing the power button without holding your foot on the brake. That enables the 12v circuit and therefore will draw current from the 12V and not the traction battery. It will rapidly decrease the charge on the 12V which may not be replenished in time so may lead to 12V discharge problems. Use utility mode if you want to sit in the car with stuff working and switch off the headlights if you do not wish them be on. Or leave the car powered on normally if you're just waiting for someone at the station or so, there is no real need to switch it off anyway as long as you are in the car yourself.

 

[Poleydee]

Never, ever switch power on by pressing the power button without holding your foot on the brake. That enables the 12v circuit and therefore will draw current from the 12V and not the traction battery. It will rapidly decrease the charge on the 12V which may not be replenished in time so may lead to 12V discharge problems. Use utility mode if you want to sit in the car with stuff working and switch off the headlights if you do not wish them be on. Or leave the car powered on normally if you're just waiting for someone at the station or so, there is no real need to switch it off anyway as long as you are in the car yourself.

Wow. Ok. Definitely wouldn't have imagined that to be the case. Thanks.

 

[Dion Rust]

Or leave the car powered on normally if you're just waiting for someone at the station or so, there is no real need to switch it off anyway as long as you are in the car yourself.

This is standard practise in any EV I would of thought, it is when I’m waiting in the Zoe anyway. I suppose if you’re a newbie coming over from an ICE car you would turn the engine off and just have the ignition on. This is one advantage of an EV, you can literally have the car powered on so you can have heating, radio etc. without running the 12v battery down unlike an ICE car.

 

[wja96]

This is standard practise in any EV I would of thought, it is when I’m waiting in the Zoe anyway. I suppose if you’re a newbie coming over from an ICE car you would turn the engine off and just have the ignition on. This is one advantage of an EV, you can literally have the car powered on so you can have heating, radio etc. without running the 12v battery down unlike an ICE car.

According to the manual the car will charge the 12V battery even when it’s locked and parked. That’s one reason the light in the Hyundai logo illuminates. So it doesn’t really matter what mode you’re in, it will replace any charge lost from the 12V battery. It’s still using fuel from the ‘tank’. It’s certainly nicer than having the engine idling away while you’re listening to the radio or trying to do some work while parked up.

 

[Xinix]

According to the manual the car will charge the 12V battery even when it’s locked and parked. That’s one reason the light in the Hyundai logo illuminates. So it doesn’t really matter what mode you’re in, it will replace any charge lost from the 12V battery. It’s still using fuel from the ‘tank’. It’s certainly nicer than having the engine idling away while you’re listening to the radio or trying to do some work while parked up.

Well, not entirely. The car will charge daily, but only 20 minutes or so. The regime is meant to keep the 12v from depleting, not to charge it completely when nearly empty. Just leabe the car ´on´ or in utility mode when you need are waiting or when you wish to use the radio etc.

 

[Theadamh123]

Thanks both. What I find annoying about both modes (just trying utility now) is that if headlamps are set to auto, they also come on... But never mind, you can't have everything!

On my ICE Hyundai, if you turn the headlights from auto to off and back on to auto they stay off. Hopefully it's the same for the Kona!

 

[finchlean]

According to the manual the car will charge the 12V battery even when it’s locked and parked. That’s one reason the light in the Hyundai logo illuminates. So it doesn’t really matter what mode you’re in, it will replace any charge lost from the 12V battery. It’s still using fuel from the ‘tank’. It’s certainly nicer than having the engine idling away while you’re listening to the radio or trying to do some work while parked up.

If you are in a stationary car and want to listen to the radio or turn on the heating you can use the <Ready> or <Utility> modes.
The <Accessory> mode is the same as ICE car, it only powers up the 12V system. Using this mode for any length of time runs the risk of depleting the auxiliary battery.

 

[wja96]

If you are in a stationary car and want to listen to the radio or turn on the heating you can use the <Ready> or <Utility> modes.
The <Accessory> mode is the same as ICE car, it only powers up the 12V system. Using this mode for any length of time runs the risk of depleting the auxiliary battery.

Yes, and if you jump out of the car and check the front, you’ll see the badge light is on recharging the 12V battery.

Check your manual for AUX Battery Saver+

 

[Dion Rust]

Isn’t it easier to just keep the vehicle powered on rather then going through different modes? I know all cars are different but it seems more then you really need to do other then if you’re going to camp in it.