Scheduled Maintenance Costs

If my car is out of warranty I tend to delay it up to 3 years for the reason I think you're referring to, that we don't have particularly high humidity. The fluid in the reservoir yellows as it ages and I have assumed that this is a sign of water being absorbed. On one car I had used a very cheap brand of fluid and it became not only yellow but cloudy after only 2 years. Best to stick to the quality stuff, DOT 3 or 4. The 3 is supposed to last a bit longer but has a poorer temp spec during its life.
Since it's quite a laborious job I've heard that some workshops only change the fluid in the reservoir, thinking that's enough when clearly it isn't. The other risk of a shop doing the job is that they accidentally spill fluid around the reservoir onto the paintwork. It only takes a moment to drape a rag around the working areas. When I do this myself I keep a bucket of warm soapy water nearby so that I can frequently wash my hands and can pour it over any spills.
You can buy pressurising kits from several sources in N-A such as McMaster-Carr and there are also vacuum type kits that might work just as well, although I've never tried that method myself. However, as we've noted before, the Kona's brake system seems far too complicated to risk a DIY job.

 

Yup, that was a total rip-off...

 

Even with the sophisticated braking system we have on the Kona the conventional part of it is not much more complicated than a bucket full of water with a hole in it. The system is 'open to air' when static (untouched and unactivated). If you open up the caliper bleed screws and correspondingly add fluid at the top, fluid will drain out with the reservoir level maintained. A bit of pressure at the top just speeds things up immensely.

The Kona's system has areas that are not going to get flushed using simple means but I suspect enough fluid can be renewed to keep the system in good order over time. The volume in the pipes and valves is very small compared with the cylinder and caliper components.

Once rid of dealer service and warranty obligations you could tick this off by opening all bleed screws and pushing 500 ml DOT4 through once a year.
In the image below the pink and red show where the fluid flows in normal friction braking using the pedal. There are a few "dead ends" that won't get flushed, in particular the pink side of the motor-operated cylinder. But while doing this the secret to success is to not touch the brake pedal, switch the car 'on' or let the reservoir run dry. Once you're done, everything is back in its place and the car's HAL9000 is none the wiser!

 

You can also go to any shop that does this service, you don't have to go to the dealer. At least in the u.s. this is true by law.

 

I am curious if anyone has got a quote on the coolant change yet for 2020 or newer Kona with the blue low conductivity antifreeze. I am afraid to ask as it looks like it might be a zinger and without access to dealer GDS diagnostic tool not really a DYI procedure. Guys in the UK on speakev forum are getting 700 pound quotes. That is a tough pill to swallow every 60,000 km. 2019 Konas should be at least couple hundred dollars cheaper with the green conventional antifreeze, plus benefit from the longer change interval.

 

So, I am confused, I just checked my 2019 (bought used) and it has blue coolant.....so, I am confused what that means for my schedule.

 

My manual says 100,000 miles.

 

Actually, I just checked the US manual, it says 120,000 miles or 120 months. I even redownloaded it just to make sure that is was current.

But it doesn't mention if the coolant should be blue or green.

 

And of course in this version it says 120,000 miles or 96 months.

So 5he milleage appears to be 120,000 no matter what, but either 8 years or 10 years.....not sure which.

 

I would typically say just do what you manual says but I noticed your manual also says to add deionized water to top up low coolant levels. If your coolant is the blue low conductivity fluid that definitely would be the wrong advice. This is not shocking as I have noticed Hyundai is sometimes slow on updating manuals with rolling changes. I would clarify with another source.

 

If you're colour blind or can't distinguish between the two, the filler caps have different stickers (see attached - the blue one is on the right!).

Hope this helps

John.

Coolant by Anaglypta posted Aug 31, 2020 at 2:04 PM

 

And as for the cost here in the UK, see this post!

https://www.speakev.com/threads/reduced-battery-warranty.152903/#post-2877895

John.

 

Part of the confusion is Hyundai's fault. For example if I were to follow my printed manual I would have been led astray in regards to my coolant change frequency and maintenance. My printed manual gives advice for the older coolant. This is no surprise as my Kona was an early build 2020 and if you look closely you can note my printed manual is a 2019 manual with a 2020 sticker applied over the 2019 on the front cover. They updated their website with the correct schedule pretty much right away but the correct online pdf publication did not become available for several months after I received delivery.
Its possible Wade's 2019 Kona is a very late model year production and they decided they should make a rolling change before the 2020 model production started. If that is the case I very much suspect the mid production change was to mitigate more exploding Konas in context to their past experience with leaking water pumps and associated electrical shorts. Keeping in mind that the shift to low conductivity fluid appears to be only happening in their EVs, 2021 ICE Kona only uses conventional coolant. If this is indeed true it makes you wonder why they would not communicate their concerns with the NTSA, Transport Canada or other international authorities and offer to "upgrade" or recall older models if its a safety related change?

 

Mine definitely has the cap to match the blue coolant.

 

While my own 2019 Kona is still in the shop, my recollection is that I have the blue coolant. I wonder if we were to start comparing build dates and coolant color, whether they made the shift internally in the middle of the MY2019 model year.