Thank you Rene I wasn’t aware of the Hyundai faults but I’m glad you mentioned it, I’ll choose a front one that plugs into 12v and rear cam in usb and only have it powered when car is on. I think that will be the most reliable option and I don’t risk the car battery dying.
I agree – that’s the route we chose, too. Well, minus the rear cam, since i personally can’t see the upside of having one – the front camera will catch a rear impact, too (by virtue of me swearing, i suppose, lol). It’ll certainly show insurance that the rear impact wasn’t my fault (unless, of course, it was).
Our front one (Viofo A139 Pro) plugs into USB, we used one of the 12V ports in the front for a USB socket.
One last wrench in the mix: i can’t speak for the Kona in particular, but i know that in both Ioniq 5 and 6 (6 being the one we currently have), the “main” USB port (the USB-A one in the front next to the charging pad that also is the data-port, not the USB-Cs) is indeed permanently powered. Though i just realised you said you’re using the 12V in the front anyway, so scratch that.
As mentioned, i don’t know much about the Kona, so i don’t know if it already uses ccNC (their new operating system, basically) – if not, and you intend to use a dongle for wireless carplay/android auto (in the Ioniq 6, we need to plug our phones in the old fashioned way), you may want to see if your USB port is permanently on, too. Apart from being annoying due to the phone constantly trying to connect, it’d also drain the 12V over time.
But: that may all be fear mongering due to me not knowing much about the Kona EV in particular – this USB port info is in regards to the two other EVs who guaranteed have it (I5 and 6), with the Kona maybe having that. Worth checking, though. If it does, i’d unplug the wireless dongle after leaving the car (as many I5/I6 owners do, according to reddit and forums).
I didn’t/don’t want to sound alarmist, the car is perfectly fine – but i usually err on the side of caution. The ICCU failures were cause for multiple recalls now. The majority of cars are completely fine, but.. you know. Better be safe than sorry, for me personally.
Prior: SEAT Ateca Xcellence Lux 1.5 TSI DSG MY19, VW Golf GTE PHEV DSG MY23
Current: Hyundai Ioniq 6 Ultimate
Next: we'll see what's available in 2028.