[TJ Moritz]

This solution comes directly from a corporate Hyundai product trainer: How to stop the pinging from the key fob: Hold lock and unlock on fob until lights on vehicle flashes. Then vehicle doesn't ping fob.(until you hit unlock on fob) Still might be a good idea to put your spare key fob into a Faraday key pouch though. Digital key does still communicate with the vehicle, if you arent planning to use that feature might be best not to activate it. Its a bit irritating but cars arent going to get any less technologically advanced. If you are dealing with a parasitic drain, this is likely the culprit.

That’s all well and good but how would I switch it back should I find I don’t like it working that way and want to revert to having it ping the fob?

 

[TJ Moritz]

There is a feature called AC autodry that runs the interior fan for 10 minutes, 30 minutes after the car is shut off, IF the battery has sufficient charge.
There is the option to turn off the feature. I keep it on and it has never killed my battery.
View attachment 10214

The auto drive feature is pretty smart. It will not run if the battery is below a certain level of charge. I leave my auto dry feature on all the time and it’s been fine for over a year.

 

[TJ Moritz]

Well, after a year of trouble free driving, the battery was completely flat when I went to go out this morning. I first posted about this in March 2024. I gave up looking for answers as Hyundai don't seem to care, I'm still convinced that it is a software issue. Luckily I purchased a jump start unit after the first incident in October 2023, this is the fourth time that I've had to use it. Just warning everyone that this problem hasn't gone away yet.

I think I’d vote the bullet and just replace the battery with good name Brand like Intrrstate or equivalent. Most all batteries in the US are manufactured by Clarios formerly Johnson controls or Exide. They’re sold under all kinds of different brand names.

 

[TJ Moritz]

Sorry, just seeing your post/question. Let me circle back to the service advisor I trust to get you an answer. (Mine is FWD, But will let you know what I hear.)

That’s because it’s not a recall. It’s a service bulletin. Big difference.

 

[TJ Moritz]

Switching off the radio is really surprising and odd to me. It switches off with the ignition in all cars.

I have a 2024 Kona Limited. The radio switches off when I open the door. You get the nice chimes and the light show on the instrument cluster and then it goes dark.
If I turn the engine off and just sit in the car, the radio were playing on retained accessory power for about 10 minutes and then the whole car shuts down. I’ve had the car a little over a year and never had a problem with a dead battery.

 

[TJ Moritz]

I was not using cruise control. I was not using speed limiter. It just limited itself while I was driving. More than once. I was careful to ensure my fingers/hands were not on that part of steering wheel. Something is wrong with my connections. It was super scary too when you are going 45 mph and suddenly can't accelerate for no reason.

Wow. Thats terrible. It did happen to me once but I had inadvertently held the cruise control on off switch too long.
I know speed is limited if HTrac AWD is set to snow mode. I have the 1.6L Turbo AWD. Keep us posted. My buddy said it happened to him one time on his car identical to mine. His wouldn’t go over 20 mph. He thinks he may have inadvertently hit that cruise button too long. in 2024 Hyundai moved the cruise switches to the left side of the steering wheel.
his 2021 Santa Fe has the cruise switches on the right side and audio controls on the left. Go figure. I just ordered my 2025 Tucson Limited Hybrid AWD this morning. Our 2024 Kona is my wife’s.

 

[TJ Moritz]

Battery drained twice on me; Kona 2024 N Line; once at 5 months and was told to lock the car in my garage, which I did. Then again at about 9 months and less than 2500 miles. They said maybe you don't drive it enough. What? No. Leasing a new car so that I can rely on it and not be stuck. Roadside jumped it and said it looks fine after jumping. MyHyundai page shows my car's status and when it was dead, the site literally said all systems normal. Did not detect my battery drained for no reason. I've had multiple issues with the car, including the speed limit set buttons next to cruise control caused my car to only accelerate to like 17 mph and almost caused accident. My horn did not work upon driving new car off lot; also, my auto entry button does not work consistently; and my magnetic phone charger is a no-go. I contacted Hyundai corporate and filed a complaint because dealership is being difficult. They won't give me a loaner car in order to do diagnostics and said the diagnostics may take several days/weeks. Corporate Hyundai said they would push me up to the top of the waiting list as I have been on the wait list for loaner vehicle for couple months. These are safety issues and I suggest contacting corporate. Email: nationalca@hmausa.com It's worth a shot. I told them that if something happens to me while I'm on a waitlist for diagnostics, they will have a lawsuit on their hands. They suggested to me that if the dealership can't diagnose the issues, they will consider asking for a buyout or replacement vehicle. Good luck all and stay safe!

As far as the cruise control limiting the speed to 17 mph, read the manual. That’s pilot error. On setting for the cruise IS a speed limiter by design. Here’s a video that explains it. Hope it ends the confusion. I love the Hyundai Cruise control. A lot better than our 2022 Lincoln Navigator.

 

[TJ Moritz]

i had Bluelink shut off a week after buying my 22 kona N. Hyundai never had any permission from me expressly to sell my driving data to the DMV, insurance companies, or any other data broker. 3 yr free or not, nothing is really free! 👀💯

A tracker has nothing to do with Bluelink. They are third party separate devices. Very sneaky.
I use the climate start all the time with Bluelink. If you’re thinking the dark web doesn’t already know more about you than you know about yourself you should be aware. Just saying

 

[TJ Moritz]

I had the same problem. I am in the middle of a lemon lawsuit. Going on 6 months.

Are you sure the dealer didn’t put a tracker on it? A lot do that if the car is financed or leased. A few years ago we had a Toyota Avalon in the shop after having back to the dealer many times for a dead battery. Guess what we found wired in BEHIND the OBD II connector, Pin 16, Battery positive hot at all times, and Pin 4 Chassis ground.
Yup. A tracker. Instead of plugging it into the OBD two connector they put it behind the connector. The average person would never even think to look there. Pretty darn sneaky. We neutered the thing and that was the end of the dead battery problems.

 

[TJ Moritz]

Oh, I thought you posted before about your battery going dead, must be thinking of someone else. I know phone type doesn't matter, just the info is presented differently to the user. My battery died 3 times, notification was on, never got any indication that it was going dead, neither did the many other that have had dead battery issues. If I had received the notification, I could have started the car before the battery was completely dead. I get other notifications...too.

Yes no battery issues for me. Must have been someone else. I guess we’ll have to keep an eye on other people’s comments.

 

[TJ Moritz]

Mine is Android but the notification still doesn't work.

Phone type shouldn’t be a factor. I really don’t know if the battery notifications work or not since I’ve never had a battery issue. I do get many other notifications via text an email. They seem to work fine.

 

[TJ Moritz]

I didn't have the update done and don't take special measures to try and prevent battery drain and my battery doesn't drain after sitting for long periods. I think it must be model related. Glad you got your problem licked.
I still say we should get a "Battery discharge notification" long before the battery is dead. The notification setting is in the Bluelink app but it obviously doesn't work, since so many people find their Kona has a dead battery.
View attachment 10053

I set my notification up using the Bluelink app on my iPhone. My screen looks different. I can choose 3 methods. Email, Text or App

 

[TJ Moritz]

Welcome to the club. I brought mine in a couple of weeks ago to have a software patch done which addresses the keyboard screen staying on when shutting the car off draining the battery. I don't think this will do much to help our problem but who knows. My dealer keeps telling me this is normal for the battery to drain and to get a battery tender or jump pack. I turn everything off before leaving the car and lock it using key fob, I also put keep fob in metal box to prevent communication with car. I also will remotely start the car and let it idle for 15 minutes if it has not been used more than three day. Since doing all these things going on 10 months now, I have not had any issues. Don't know if doing all these things is working, but cars are way too expensive right now to start looking for a new one. Hyundai is useless and will not be of any help, we are on our own.

We just came back from a 3 week trip and our 2024 Kona Limited AWD sat in the garage the whole 3 weeks.
Jumped in and it started right up no problem. Many times it sits 4-5 days without being used as it it our second car. We like it a lot.

 

[TJ Moritz]

Well, that puts the lock door with key fob and keep keys in shielded box theory down the drain. I keep mine on a battery tender, and I think it's the only way to avoid a dead battery as of now. I think a new Subaru Forrester is in my future if Hyundai doesn't man up to the problem.

Do a little research on Subaru dead battery issues. My daughter is in on the class action suit for a battery issue on her 2021 that started 2 years ago. Subaru keeps the car and says they can’t find a thing. They put a new battery in and it was okay for 10 months. Now same old same old.
She’s starting to regret trading her 93,000 2015 Ford Fusion which gave her no trouble. Being an ASE certified tech myself and in the auto repair business for 58 years, you better believe I’d hear from her immediately if she has a problem.
I’m wondering if Hyundai didn’t just get a bad batch of batteries.
We’ve had no issues with our 2024 Kona Limited and we do have AC drying turned on on both of our profiles.

 

[TJ Moritz]

As I was posting earlier this morning my Hyundai's battery was dying. Went to the garage to go shopping. Hit the starter button and nothing. There was enough juice left in the battery to illuminate the display. A message flashed on the display that said there was a parasitic outside source discharging the battery. Had to leave for about 45 minutes and by the time I got home the battery was toast. I checked the battery with my volt meter when it happened and you could actually see the voltage falling. I made a short film clip of it. Called roadside assistance. Triple A came out and jumped it and I let the car run for about 30 minutes and shut it off. Put my battery charger on the battery and it wont take a charge. Charged it for about four hours and it only shows a 25% charge. Never saw a battery discharge that fast without something running on the car. There was nothing running and like I said before you could actually see the voltage falling with a meter. What ever happened it may have killed the battery for good. Will know in a couple of hours. Put my other battery charger on it to see what happens. Probably be calling road side assistance again in the morning. Concerning the message that was on my display what could be an outside source on the car? Thought it was a self contained system. I have been watching the car like a hawk to try and catch something running on the car but was a little too late. I am completely baffled.

I’d bet the battery is an issue. Possible internal short. Hyundai uses AGM batteries in the Kona and god knows who makes them. These are not like the typical flooded lead acid batteries were used for years.
running the car for 30 minutes probably did little good. Kona uses a “smart” charging system designed to maintain charge rather than charge a dead or low battery. A good half hour run down the interstate will help to charge it. Not idle speed.

 

[TJ Moritz]

I agree...In my experience I've found these service techs knew far less about the problems and their causes than I did when it came to fixing problems!

I sure agree. Seems like if the car doesn't set a code they have no clue what to do. I’m a Certified tech myself with 56 years experience. We’ve fixed tons of cars from other shops and even dealerships. Just because it won’t throw a code doesn’t mean there isn’t a problem. Get these techs trained up. I also trained auto diagnostics for a major tool and equipment manufacturer for 25 years.
Sad state of affairs.

 

[TJ Moritz]

Has anyone used a 12 volt battery tender plugged into the cigarette lighter in order to slow charge the battery

That’s not a cigarette lighter. It’s a 12v power port and IMSM, it’s only hot when the car is on accessories or running. So a switched power port will not work if you plug a tender in it.
my Dodge and Ford each have 2 ports. One switched and one non switched meaning the non switched is active all the time. Those are the ports I use for my tender. With the engine running, get a 12v test light or volt meter and check for power on your Hyundai port. Should have 12v.
now shut the car off and open the drivers door. If you lose 12v than the port is switched and a tender won’t work in that case. You’d have to go directly to the battery.
Hope this explains it.

 

[TJ Moritz]

No offense but the tech's explanation of the battery draw sounds like a cop out. If that were the case all the Kona's would have dead batteries. I would think that the cameras and sensors remain powered off until you start the car. At this point I don't think that Hyundai has any clue about what is causing the problem. Personally I don't think anyone in their right mind would build a car with that kind of battery drain built in. Good luck with your car. If that tech told the trainees what he told you then that is what is going to be stuck in their mind. If they happen to service a car with the dead battery problem they will go to that explanation and no further.

I’d be real curious to see the build dates of all these vehicles that are having this problem. I’m sure Hyundai has that information somewhere. The reason I’m asking is not every car does it. I’m wondering if they didn’t just get a bad batch of batteries. By looking at the build date and approximate mileage on these failures, we could determine and narrow it down a little bit more. I realize from the time the dealer orders the car until the time it’s delivered to their dealership it can take approximately four months because these cars come from South Korea.

 

[TJ Moritz]

Add me to the list of people who are having this issue. My Kona was bought in January and I had my first experience with this problem today. I had noticed the fans coming on after the car was shut off before but thought it was a 'feature'. I'll be taking it to the dealer tomorrow and plan on giving the tech all the links to these threads about this problem. Not sure if they can do much about it, but at least they'll know where to start.

The Cabin fan coming on IS a feature called Auto Dry. If you don’t like it, read the manual. It’s a setting you can turn on or off. But… I have it ON on our 2024 Kona Limited and don’t have a battery issue.

 

[TJ Moritz]

I have 2k on mine and I agree with you. At least with the tender, I can keep it charged until I decide what I want to do. If anyone is thinking of using a Tender, the Battery in the Kona is 12v AGM setting.

I’m wondering if they didn’t just get a bad batch of batteries. Myself and my friend both have 2024 Kona Limited AWD and no issues. I’m an ASE certified auto tech specializing in electrical and network systems.
I’ve gone as far as putting a digital storage graphing ammeter on mine to check for draw. While I agree there is a small draw after you shut the car off it stops after 20-30 minutes as the modules on the CAN networks shut down. It’s no different than my 2023 Lincoln Nautilus or my 2014 Lincoln MKS. You can see the current draw change as the modules systematically shut down. Parasitic draw is about 60 milliamps which is typical of any car.