High-Pitched Motor Noise

Not a Kona owner, but looking at the Niro EV. I hear high frequency motor sound from every EV I have driven. I have owned three (including Tesla, Mini, and Audi). It's annoying. Ironically I have been way more bothered by noise, vibration, and harshness in EVs than the previous gas cars that I owned.

Is the Kona high frequency noise worse than that in other EVs?

 

I've compared it to the Bolt, Leaf and Model 3. To my ear; the Kona is the most annoying by far. Bolt EV has a similar "hissing" noise like the Kona, but less prominent/loud. The Leaf has a high pitched "tone" instead of a hiss, which is also annoying but different in nature / less audible inside the cabin in my opinion than the hissing. To this day, I've sat in/listened to 3 different Model 3s. I can't hear anything of this nature from them, other than a very low "humming" of sorts if this makes any sense? A question of taste I guess, but to this day, I've had the Kona for 2+ years and would not purchase it ever again just because of this in itself. The 100% electric (old) Ioniq (not Ioniq 5) does the same hiss by the way.

 

I think you're right that it's partially a matter of taste. People have different annoyance thresholds for various frequency ranges. One general theory is that noise in EVs tends to be at specific pitches, whereas noise in ICEV tends to be smeared around (broadband noise).
Sorry to hear about the Kona. I felt similarly about the Audi e-tron, except the noise was very low and boomy. I couldn't stand it after a while.

The Model 3 is actually fairly refined in this regard. It has wind noise at freeway speed, but under around 45 mph it is excellent aside for some high frequency motor resonances around 40-42 mph (it also peaks around 80-83 mph). There is a lot of discussion about this on the Tesla forums.

My MINI SE has some hiss emanating from the HVAC area. I wonder if it's similar. The motor makes a high frequency whine that tends to bother me when driving spiritedly with the windows down.

 

I get really bothered by noise. The ballast on neon lights will drive me batty or the buzz from a dimmed light with set my teeth on edge. People around me never notice - or if they notice they don't care. But the Kona doesn't bug me at all. To me the regen sounds exactly like honing a knife on a grinding wheel, I could do without that but the "hissing" and "high pitched" sounds some report are a complete mystery to me...and my ears.

 

I don't mind the motor 'whirring' noise (spelling?).. it sounds futuristic to me. But I have the hiss that annoys me when I first leave my complex since I drive next to walls/cars/etc. If I have the windows up, I don't hear it.

 

And you're far from the first to mention it. I just literally have never heard anything I would describe as a hiss. Perhaps my car doesn't make it but it's just as likely that my ears simple don't hear it.

 

And you're not confusing switching noise with the VESS?

 

Out of curiosity; are you by any chance 50+ years old? There seems to be a (anecdotal albeit) trend where the frequency the Kona motor "emits" might be high enough that the older you get, the less likely you are to hear it. I'm in my mid 30s and I've had Hyundai techs 50 ot 60+ scratching their head when I tried to get them to hear this; they couldn't hear a thing, whereas younger techs next to them were hearing the sound too / like me. I've also had other Kona owners tell me "theirs don't do it" but I have yet to hear ONE that doesn't do it (and i've seen dozens, they are fairly popular in Quebec/Canada).

Anyway ; this was my first EV, didn't know this would be something that could bug me. Will know for the next one. Fingers crossed the Ioniq 5 doesn't do this

 

Yup, 50+. And I'm well aware of my body betraying me in any number of ways, thank you very much!

But then again, in this case it might be an advantage.

 

Before I got the Kona, my previous three cars were diesels, so I found the Kona extremely quiet. In fact I could not even detect the VESS. With time I became aware of it and what it sounds like, and now can even pick up a faint gear mesh sound when slowing down. They don't bother me at all but it's interesting that one hears more the quieter the vehicle. Then when the road surface changes to coarse chip the NVH rises and drowns everything else out!

 

Me being 72, my Kona is blessedly silent except for road/tyre noise which depends on road surface and speed.

My wife says she can hear a hissing sound like the sound of water under pressure coming out of a garden hose nozzle, but not very loud. She has tinnitus, so she's not even sure it's the car.

It doesn't bother either of us.

 

Yes. I know some people confuse the VESS sound, but I know what the VESS sounds like, and the hiss isn't it and it continues when the VESS turns off over 15mph.

 

I can hear it with the VESS switched off, windows open and a nearby wall to reflect the sound but it's very subtle.

 

I find my Model X,and Kona electric's motors "sound" similar when you accelerate, maybe a little quieter in the kona.In ICE, if you like the engine whine,tones then it doesn't bother you. Although I prefer EV,I still love the sound of engines like huracan, bentyaga , aventador, SF90. How did you like the Mini, I looked at it at the auto show,but not enough range,cargo in my view. The Kona electric reminds of a macan,with less of a stance.

 

Yes, that Kona electric torque on stock Nexxens makes it sound like you're trying to race everyone off the line. I was so happy when I got rid of mine within months of owning the vehicle. The Kumho ecsta pa51 are only squealish on certain surfaces that are more worn.

I had that scraping sound,plus hiss which periodically surfaces post having the low gear drive unit replaced.I replaced it because I don't want it failing at some point, like 1 minute post warranty expiration Your wife's not "hearing" things Overall , the kona ev is quiet,especially when the VESS is unplugged.

By the way, an unplugged VESS does throw a code to those who wondered when we all got our cars,and discussed disconnecting it. European kona EVs have a button to turn the VESS off.

 

Absolutely amazing car aside for some of the noises. The range is 110 miles minimum, and it charges in about 4 hours on L2.

I think you would find the hiss to be a lot better than in the Kona, but it's still there.
The noises we are hearing may be because the switching frequencies are low, around 10-12 kHz. Tesla is using Silicon Carbide inverters with switching frequencies greater than 40,000 Hz. You still hear the motors in a Tesla under heavy load, but that's likely because they skimped on basic noise insulation.

I did some research last night and found similar complaints across nearly every EV out there. Not sure what to do..

If the Kona hiss is coming from the HVAC like in my MINI, it may be possible to find dampening material made specifically for HVAC tunnels. Higher frequencies like this are relatively easy to control.

 

Mine certainly hasn't.

_H*

 

you

scanned it at a Hyundai Dealer? Result, code when you do.they didn't care as it's not going to cause any issues for the vehicle itself

 

My Kona electric hiss isn't from the HVAC, it sounds like it's coming from the electric motor which I didn't get replaced,only the low gear drive unit.