Do not buy an EV here
Settle in for a good customer service story!
Feb 2025, I purchased a 2023 Kona EV from Sheils in Ennis. The very next day I get a Battery Management System fault (BMS).
I rang shiels and was advised to 'drive through it'. This set the tone for the next year!
The BMS fault would kill the heater immediately, and would occur approx 5 to 10 mins after switching the heater on. Really helpful when driving a newborn around half the night trying to aid sleep.
The car was booked in for a repair, which took about an hour, where I was told "if it happens again it's a symptom of a bigger problem".
Well, it did happen again, except it happened once, and the heater just faded from lukewarm to cold in about 20 mins every time from there on.
I again notified Sheils, who sent someone to collect the car. After collection, the Blulink Hyundai app recorded a top speed of 144km/h while in their care. Shiels were notified, but what they did with that info is unknown.
This 2nd attempt lasted 1 month, where again thanks to the app alerting me when the car was on or doors open, it appeared it was being worked on for approx 1 hour every Wednesday.
They advised me that they changed the 12v battery and performed a system update. Yet the car returned in the exact same state.
Shiels again collected the car, this time for just over 2 weeks, and I was told the PTC heater was being replaced. The source of the problem was never disclosed. At this point I expressed my lack of faith in the car and requested either a refund or a replacement of equivalent value to the car.
This is where I was told that Hyundai "would not allow either remedy as the car was still under warranty". This at the very least shows a shocking lack of knowledge of consumer law and my rights as described by the CCPC. Please know that the purchase agreement is between the purchaser and the dealership, the manufacturer has nothing to do with it.
A few months later in September 2025, I get one more fault, and the heater again just fades from little to no heat like before. I again requested a replacement or refund. Shiels inform me that they have just opened up their own workshop and promised a remedy in 7 to 10 days. I foolishly agreed. And this is where things get interesting.
They collected the car again. 2 days later I get a call from a service manager, where they say there definitely seems to be a problem, maybe the AC is being activated with the heat, and that they were determined to sort it and I was promised another update the following week.
2 more weeks pass, and after 4 phone calls from me looking for an update over 4 consecutive days, they leave it to the receptionist to tell me that the car is actually fine and is performing the same as another Kona they compared it with.
I called bull, and pointed out that they didn't test the car under the conditions I had described to them. They also refused to describe the source of the faults.
They said they would drive it to test, and for the first time, in nearly 3 months under their care, my app access was removed from the car. This was done through the dash menu of the car. When I questioned this, I was told it was "standard procedure" to protect the identity of the staff. Considering that the app doesn't collect personal or GPS data, only journey statistics, and this standard procedure never happened before I questioned their practices, I'll let you make of that what you will.
The car was returned, 5 weeks later, and low and behold, the heater worked better than ever, was nearly even too hot for us......for 4 mins!
Cue the BMS fault and instant heater failure that occurred in the exact same fashion as when we got the car initially. Shiels were immediately informed, but they still insisted the car was "fine when it left here".
We logged over 100 faults over the next 8 weeks while we started proceeding with our solicitors.
Until a few months ago, where Hyundai issued a recall for the Kona EV for, guess what, BMS problems!!!!
Our new Skoda is working out far better. There's a dealer right beside Sheils too, worth a look!
12 września 2026
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