[oswaud66]

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.

 

[rdbdroid]

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

 

[oswaud66]

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.

 

[oswaud66]

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

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

 

[Rick2055]

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.

 

[Oso Fell]

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. 🤞

 

[angelbabie]

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

update: Hyundai is buying my 2024 kona limited back. fortunately, Hyundai corporate has been excellent with communication and hasn’t made me jump through unnecessary hoops for the buy back. anyone facing the same issues, bypass the dealerships and your sales person especially. mine didn’t care at all about my experience or getting me in contact with someone that could help me.

 

[jillandsamhershfield]

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.

 

[jillandsamhershfield]

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, to clarify, did you mean you connected your iPhone to Hyundai's "Digital Key 2" that lets you open/start your car with your iPhone? You said "smart key" which is Hyundai's name for the Kona's fob. I've now uninstalled the "digital key" option from my phone and will see if that's why I got all the strange warnings.

 

[Oso Fell]

Oso, to clarify, did you mean you connected your iPhone to Hyundai's "Digital Key 2" that lets you open/start your car with your iPhone? You said "smart key" which is Hyundai's name for the Kona's fob. I've now uninstalled the "digital key" option from my phone and will see if that's why I got all the strange warnings.

The digital smart key which allows the you to forgo the fob and just use your phone and/or smart watch. I’m my case it’s an iPhone and Apple Watch. I just threw it out there because I noticed the car and app acting buggy right after using that. Like I previously wrote, it could be a coincidence. I would like to hear from other owners that never used the smart key function. Maybe initiating the digital smart key function keeps the car in a semi-sleep state?

 

[jillandsamhershfield]

The digital smart key which allows the you to forgo the fob and just use your phone and/or smart watch. I’m my case it’s an iPhone and Apple Watch. I just threw it out there because I noticed the car and app acting buggy right after using that. Like I previously wrote, it could be a coincidence. I would like to hear from other owners that never used the smart key function. Maybe initiating the digital smart key function keeps the car in a semi-sleep state?

Oso, just talked to the dealer here in NC. He says he's experienced and solved the "car is across the country from where it should be" problem with a GPS unit software update. He's looking into it more and will call back next week. You may be right that the battery drain may be coming from the smart fob keeping the car in semi sleep mode. More later.

 

[Corky]

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.

 

[yvette]

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

Yrs

 

[jillandsamhershfield]

Yrs

??

 

[Patrick]

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.

Just curious, if after un-installing the smart key functionality on your phone, have you noticed a difference?
While I never had the location issue via Bluelink application, I was getting a number of warnings about the car being left idling, etc. I did just receive another OTA fix, but can't determine if that was for this issue or something else. Thx pk

 

[jillandsamhershfield]

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

 

[Tinaalex]

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!

 

[david13]

Yrs

I may have found the solution,(MAY) check the back hatch door there are two rubber gasgets on it (L/R) hand tighten them. Also when, i,f you open/close back hatch door either keep engine running or if going on trip within two hours of doing this that will work as well. A guy from England discovered this solution he thinks there is somesort of sensor that reads the hatch door open and keeps trying to close it. But once the engine comes on/or is on it seals the hatch door close and turns sensor off.

 

[Corky]

I may have found the solution,(MAY) check the back hatch door there are two rubber gasgets on it (L/R) hand tighten them. Also when, i,f you open/close back hatch door either keep engine running or if going on trip within two hours of doing this that will work as well. A guy from England discovered this solution he thinks there is somesort of sensor that reads the hatch door open and keeps trying to close it. But once the engine comes on/or is on it seals the hatch door close and turns sensor off.

Thank you, David. I checked those rubber gaskets on the tailgate, and they were not screwed tight against the metal. I tightened them as you shared.

I am leaving town for a few days on Sunday, so hopefully, I'll be able to unlock and start the car when I return. Fingers crossed.

 

[david13]

Thank you, David. I checked those rubber gaskets on the tailgate, and they were not screwed tight against the metal. I tightened them as you shared.

I am leaving town for a few days on Sunday, so hopefully, I'll be able to unlock and start the car when I return. Fingers crossed.

remember, also, make sure you run the car for at least one minute after open/closing hatch. Either keep car running or if you are going somewhere within two hours that will work. At this point i am usure if that is needed but i am doing it for now.