Indeed, lock car by pressing fob button twice. It may put computers to sleep faster. Door lock cover is a horror on these new models. Many owners complain about this cover on other H models, it is also very prone to breaking. Best just leave it removed, only aesthetic issue
If you have multimeter with 10A socket, may check yourself the current after locking the car

 

Oragex, very helpful thanks. Maybe the User's Manual should say click the fob twice?

 

I am dealing with the same exact problem. As of this writing, I have owned my 2024 Kona SEL with Convenience for 61 days, of which 25 days (and counting) it has been in the shop in the futile effort of attempting to identify the cause of the drain. Also, mine appears to be intermittent, which makes it almost impossible to find. Not feeling hopeful here. I probably will be initiating a request for a replacement via my state’s lemon law protections.

 

Sorry you're having that problem too. For our trip North I've now bought a portable jumper. Hope it doesn't happen again.

Sam

 

Pretty sad that you have plan for that for a brand new vehicle. Good luck!!!!

 

Not a Hyundai but my 2011 Lexus has been doing the same thing for months . New battery, alternator, and main body ecu. Well today it finally died jumping doesn't work anymore.

 

At only 3 months old, neither of our smart key fobs would open the car.

We tried to use Blue Link Digital Key 2, but it was unable to communicate with the car.

To try to get into the car, we followed the owner's manual instructions to remove the small door handle plate with the mechanical key. But putting the key into the slot under the handle successfully proved impossible for us.

So the dealership (Gettel Hyundai of Lakewood Ranch, Bradenton, FL) had Roadside Assistance (AAA Locksmith) come out to get into and try to start the car.

It took 2 of us to remove the small door handle plate, (one to hold the handle up and the other to try to release it with the mechanical key in the slot) but he finally did and then used the mechanical key to enter the car.

He opened the hood and put the jumper on the battery and declared it was totally dead. So he jump started it.

After a few seconds the car would start. But before he left, he disconnected the charger to see if it would start. It wouldn't, so he charged it again and started it again.

I immediately drove it to the dealership who kept it for 3 days performing battery diagnostics looking for "dark or parasitic current drain".

They couldn't find the cause, so they returned the car. Note: They didn't replace the battery we assume because they felt it wasn't the problem.

In the paperwork we got, the service tech noted, "parasitic draw test showed a multimeter reading of between 13 and 54 milliamps". Because this was a 2024 model, we assume Hyundai had no parasitic draw standards and they weren't sure if this was normal. So they tried it with another 2024 Kona off their lot which "found the reading exactly the same."

Later on this forum, I found only one person who'd reported a similar 2024 Kona battery drain problem and posted this response from his dealer:

My dealer told me that the radio needs to be fully off (black screen) and the doors have to be locked not once, but twice and with the key fob, not the button on the door. Otherwise they can both drain the battery, even when the car is off. I've had my battery die twice on me due to this issue.

I've asked the dealer if they were aware of this abnormal procedure to turn off a Hyundai, but have not heard back yet.

It seems it shouldn't be necessary to do all those steps to avoid " excessive parasitic battery drain" that makes our new car unusable.

Any other Kona owners have this problem and have hopefully solved it?

Sam

Same thing happened to my 2024 Kona Limited four days ago. Pulled the car out of the garage. Washed it and moved it back to the garage. I was in and out of the garage for the rest of the day. Monday morning got into the car to go shopping and nothing. Car was completely dead. The only thing illuminated was the gear selector. Checked the battery with my volt meter and it read 5.4 volts. Called roadside assistance and they sent triple A out to jump the car. Car started with a jump and his equipment said that the battery was good. He told me that I had to have left something on in the car. If I had left something on I would have noticed it during the day. What could I have possibly left on that would drain the battery down to 5 volts. To run a battery down that low I would have had to leave all the lights on and the key on. After Triple A left I hooked up my charger to the battery and it took over 5 hours to charge it to 100 percent. My car is garaged 100 percent of the time it is at home. I never lock it in the garage and leave a window down some of the time. Never heard of the procedure to lock the car by your dealer. First appointment I could get was March 14th. Hope the car doesn't leave me high and dry while I'm out. Went through this same crap with my last Jeep Grand Cherokee. Had electronic demons that the dealer could never find. Not too hopeful with my upcoming appointment. Pretty sure they won't be able to find anything. Hopefully they will be able to take care of the two outstanding recalls that I was unaware of. Will come back after my appointment to let you know what was said.

 

I too had a similar situation w/ the battery drain, roughly a month ago. I was heading out to a 'shredding' event at a new Dr office that was offering a promotion to get new patients to come in and tour their facilities. My car had been parked in the garage and doors were not locked. As I tried to open the back hatch to load in the materials for shredding, I noticed it wouldn't open. I tried the key fob and nothing. So went up to open the drivers door and noticed no interior lights. Car wouldn't start with either the key fob or my digital key off my cell phone. After calling the dealership, they suggested I call for roadside assistance. They actually suggested going through my insurance to get it and I was amazed. Luckily after calling Hyundai Roadside assistance via my cell, it must have been a bad weather day back east as the message suggested calling back or trying their auto request. I did that and they indicated someone would be there in roughly 2 hrs. Luckily in AZ we weren't having the same road conditions & AAA showed up in less than 30 minutes.
He got the car started and said it was too new to know/ test, what was the cause, but also thought I must have left a Light or something on. It had been sitting in garage for close to 3 days. He also suggested letting the engine run a good 35-45 minutes to charge it up, so I took it out on the freeway and drove for 45 minutes before heading to the dealership, where they tested the battery again and said it was fine. No real explanation to what the root cause might have been.

I discussed w/ friends and my sister purchased one of those liner boxes that I now store both key fobs in, when I'm at home. So far, no repeat issues. Again, I have the 2024 Kona Limited FWD. It was roughly 2 months old at the time w/ less than 2K miles. Parked in the garage (roughly 65°F) and doors not locked.

 

I too had a similar situation w/ the battery drain, roughly a month ago. I was heading out to a 'shredding' event at a new Dr office that was offering a promotion to get new patients to come in and tour their facilities. My car had been parked in the garage and doors were not locked. As I tried to open the back hatch to load in the materials for shredding, I noticed it wouldn't open. I tried the key fob and nothing. So went up to open the drivers door and noticed no interior lights. Car wouldn't start with either the key fob or my digital key off my cell phone. After calling the dealership, they suggested I call for roadside assistance. They actually suggested going through my insurance to get it and I was amazed. Luckily after calling Hyundai Roadside assistance via my cell, it must have been a bad weather day back east as the message suggested calling back or trying their auto request. I did that and they indicated someone would be there in roughly 2 hrs. Luckily in AZ we weren't having the same road conditions & AAA showed up in less than 30 minutes.
He got the car started and said it was too new to know/ test, what was the cause, but also thought I must have left a Light or something on. It had been sitting in garage for close to 3 days. He also suggested letting the engine run a good 35-45 minutes to charge it up, so I took it out on the freeway and drove for 45 minutes before heading to the dealership, where they tested the battery again and said it was fine. No real explanation to what the root cause might have been.

I discussed w/ friends and my sister purchased one of those liner boxes that I now store both key fobs in, when I'm at home. So far, no repeat issues. Again, I have the 2024 Kona Limited FWD. It was roughly 2 months old at the time w/ less than 2K miles. Parked in the garage (roughly 65°F) and doors not locked.

Strange situation in any case. I have left my key fob in the car before and have had no problems. Car stays in the garage and the only time I lock it is when I am out actually driving. Hope Hyundai comes out with a solution and cause in the near future. It's a pain when something like this happens. Fortunately I was at home and not traveling. If it happens out on the road while traveling it could be a major problem.

 

That happened to me last October on a 24 Kona purchased in July. The car was locked, no radio or lights left on, and parked in the driveway on a Friday evening, when we went to start it on Sunday morning it was completely dead. The AA came out and jump started the car. The only thing that I could see was that the Bluelink app showed that the car was updating it's status at 2am on Saturday morning, nothing left on or plugged in.
The dealership had no explanation (or didn't want to give me one!) for the problem when I rang on the Monday morning. My own opinion is that during the status update on the Saturday morning the system went into some sort of software loop which drained the battery over the next 24 - 36 hours.
I purchased a jump starter pack which is left in the car at all times, so needless to say the car has behaved itself ever since.

 

Might have found a clue. After opening a locked passenger door and the rear right door I shut and locked car with the fob. I looked into the locked car and saw the FAN icon was flashing. I hit the lock button twice but it stayed on. I got in the driver seat and the fan was running so I and hit the AC and fan buttons. It wouldn't turn off. I started the car turned the AC on and off and turn off the car and got out and did 2 fob hits and it went off.

 

I noticed my car do that on Saturday! We were confused because we had just turned the car off to run inside and came out a few minutes later and the fan was on

 

You might be onto something. I have found the fan running on my car twice while it was in the garage. I thought that maybe I had not pushed the start button hard enough to shut everything off. Got in the car started it and shut everything down again before the fan would shut down. If this happens during the night you have no idea that it is happening. Having to spend money on a jump start so that I don't get stuck while I'm not home. Thanks for jogging my memory.

 

i also experienced a dead battery this morning. drove the car somewhere after doing the 12V reset (it's a hybrid). My partner was waiting for me in the car (which was turned off with doors locked from the outside by me, key with me) when she noticed the fan started running.

 

I bought my 2024 Kona Limited AWD on January 19,2024. on January 24 the car was dead. took it to the dealership. the battery failed their test so they replaced it no problem. yesterday the new battery died AGAIN. leaving me stranded for the 3rd time. dropped it off tonight but by the looks of these posts, it will just be a battery replacement again and on my way. i hope hyundai realizes they are losing money by not sending an over-the-air update to fix whatever is running in the background and killing these batteries

 

That's really unacceptable to have a two month old car fail you three times. Hope Hyundai is taking notice and trying to find a solution. I have an appointment next week for the two recalls. My car has failed me one time and I was lucky that it was at home in the garage. I am going to ask a lot of questions when I drop my car off. I will post what information that I get on this forum next week. Good luck with your car, it sounds like a nightmare. Hyundai probably doesn't know what is going on yet. I wouldn't expect an OTA update any time soon. I may not be a software problem but something electro mechanical.

 

At only 3 months old, neither of our smart key fobs would open the car.

We tried to use Blue Link Digital Key 2, but it was unable to communicate with the car.

To try to get into the car, we followed the owner's manual instructions to remove the small door handle plate with the mechanical key. But putting the key into the slot under the handle successfully proved impossible for us.

So the dealership (Gettel Hyundai of Lakewood Ranch, Bradenton, FL) had Roadside Assistance (AAA Locksmith) come out to get into and try to start the car.

It took 2 of us to remove the small door handle plate, (one to hold the handle up and the other to try to release it with the mechanical key in the slot) but he finally did and then used the mechanical key to enter the car.

He opened the hood and put the jumper on the battery and declared it was totally dead. So he jump started it.

After a few seconds the car would start. But before he left, he disconnected the charger to see if it would start. It wouldn't, so he charged it again and started it again.

I immediately drove it to the dealership who kept it for 3 days performing battery diagnostics looking for "dark or parasitic current drain".

They couldn't find the cause, so they returned the car. Note: They didn't replace the battery we assume because they felt it wasn't the problem.

In the paperwork we got, the service tech noted, "parasitic draw test showed a multimeter reading of between 13 and 54 milliamps". Because this was a 2024 model, we assume Hyundai had no parasitic draw standards and they weren't sure if this was normal. So they tried it with another 2024 Kona off their lot which "found the reading exactly the same."

Later on this forum, I found only one person who'd reported a similar 2024 Kona battery drain problem and posted this response from his dealer:

My dealer told me that the radio needs to be fully off (black screen) and the doors have to be locked not once, but twice and with the key fob, not the button on the door. Otherwise they can both drain the battery, even when the car is off. I've had my battery die twice on me due to this issue.

I've asked the dealer if they were aware of this abnormal procedure to turn off a Hyundai, but have not heard back yet.

It seems it shouldn't be necessary to do all those steps to avoid " excessive parasitic battery drain" that makes our new car unusable.

Any other Kona owners have this problem and have hopefully solved it?

Sam

I'd say declare a lemon🤬

 

I've called three Hyundai dealer service departments (Bradenton FL, Fletcher, NC and Asheville, NC. NO ONE admits they've had any 2024 Konas in with a battery drain problem. They all want me to bring my car in for a several day battery diagnostic again like my Florida dealer did...and said they could find no cause of my dead battery.

 

i’ve contacted Hyundai Corporate about a buy back. i looked in to my states lemon laws and i would suggest that for anyone with this issue. for illinois lemon law, the requirement is 4 attempts to correct the same problem or 30 consecutive days in the shop.

 

Hope Hyundai is not using the old blind eye process toward these problems. When I had problems with my Jeep Grand Cherokee the dealer would say they could not duplicate the problem. In their mind if it couldn't be duplicated at the dealership it didn't exist. Looks like Hyundai is headed in the same direction. I have an appointment on the 14th and will relay the dealers response to this forum. I even recorded the problems the Jeep had on my phone. The dealer refused to look at them. It is really hard to lemon law a car where I live. The state laws give the dealers an advantage versus the owner. Good luck with your process.

 

Someone else may have already suggested this. If you have installed a dash camera with park feature and got the hardwires (Accessory & Battery) crossed at the fuse box you could possible cause continual drainage of the car battery. Just a shot in the dark.

 

I have had this problem twice now. It is very frustrating to say the least. In the past I leased a 2021 Palisade, and never had a problem in the 3 years it was leased. I am glad I just leased this 2024 Kona, and didn't purchase. I will be glad to hand it back to them when the lease comes to an end.

 

Has anyone found resolution on this issue yet? Are you continuing to have the problem or did it seem to resolve itself?

 

Yes, I am still having this problem. The car has been to the dealership twice now. They can't seem to figure out what the problem is. Unfortunately, I will probably have to purchase a battery charger so I don't have to keep calling roadside assistance.

 

Exact same problem with my 2024. Happened twice already, and probably won't be the last.

 

Had it happen to my 2024 Kona Limited once. I have gone into the garage and found the cooling fan on the motor running twice for no reason. Had a doctors appointment last Wednesday and coming back to my car in the parking lot after the appointment I found the cabin fan for the a/c running. Heard it as soon as I entered the car. Nothing else was on or running. If either of the fans had decided to start running during the night the battery would have been dead in the morning. Took the car back to the dealer on the 14th for the dead battery problem and two open recalls. Wasn't optomistic when I left the car off and guess what? They couldn't find anything. The service writer said that there was no information about the problem in their database. Left the car at the dealership until the 18th and they didn't find anything. Said the problem didn't happen while it was there. What are the chances of a random problem happening in a four day period? The whole service appointment was a comedy of errors. Guess the honeymoon is over with this car. Don't know if they are in denial about the problem but I am really pessimistic about a fix coming anytime soon. Maybe contacting the NHTSA would light a fire under someone. Having to spend money for a jump start device is ridiculous. Better than being stranded. Hope everyone in this situation is contacting Hyundai.

 

Check to see if your a/c dryer is on..it’s in your touchscreen

 

Haven’t had a “dead battery” issue yet but upon reading this thread I’ve been keeping an eye out for anything out of the ordinary. I usually keep a usb flash drive in the usb port making certain the lights on the port and corresponding button turn off after pressing the lock button twice on the fob. Recently, I started to notice the usb port and corresponding switch lights would stay on indefinitely. This coincidently happened immediately after connecting my iPhone to the smart key function. I tested the smart key once. (Unlocked door and drove for a bit…) Also, I noticed the MyHyundai app behaving wonky after I used the smart key. It shows my Kona on the other side of the country and sending messages alerting me of windows being open, doors unlock etc. There was also a couple of times the app indicated my Kona was “on”. Coincidence? Has anyone else experience this correlation between activating/using the smart key and battery drain? I’ve spoken to a Hyundai customer service rep. She took some info from my phone and the Kona’s head unit. They’ll get back to me. 🤞

 

Oso, you may have helped us all identify the 2024 Kona issue!

Although we haven't had a repeat of the parasitic battery drain problem that started this thread, our MyHyundai app has been doing strange things like yours. I too connected the Smart Key function on my Samsung Galaxy 22+ and three times the MyHyundai app has shown my car all the way across the country on a residential street in Costa Mesa California. The MyHyundai app has also been sending warnings that " the car was left idling and has been turned off" when it wasn't and that the "doors were unlocked" when they weren't.

I'm going to uninstall the smart key function.

 

Wow. I purchased a 2024 Kona Limited in January 2024. In early March, the Blue Link sent me a message showing that my car was parked near the Orange County airport in California, when in reality I was in the Phoenix area. A week after that, BlueLink failed altogether.

I was out of town for 3 days, and when I came back to the airport parking lot today, my car was completely dead. Fortunately, the parking lot operator was able to get it jump started. After arriving home, I found this forum and see that it is a common problem.

In my case, once the car was started I received a notification for an OTA update. After doing the update, my BlueLink started working again. I am wondering if, like one of the other posts, somehow the OTA update created the battery drain problem. I guess I will check with the dealer tomorrow and see what they have to say, though I am not optimistic, based on the experience of the others here.

 

Yrs

 

??

 

Just got the OTA myself. I'll give it a few weeks to see if my Kona still thinks I'm 3000 miles away in Costa Mesa California.

Sam

 

I just recently found my kona dead in the driveway. Had hyundai roadside assistance come which was great. They checked the car and saw I left nothing on and the car was dead. They charged the battery which started and my husband drove it to dealership. They kept it overnight for charging. The car had been running fine now. I was told that if it happens again they will need to do a four hour diagnostic test. BTW my car had also been in Costa Mesa when I love in NY!