Kona hybrid sport mode gear issue

HanashShell · Jan 31, 2025

My son's new Kona has a quirky thing happening in Sport mode. In "D" (Drive), it won't shift past 5th gear, even when he floors it. Sixth gear is only accessible with the paddle shifters (+). Even then, if he manages to get it into 6th and then switches back to "D", it downshifts to 5th again! Is this how it's supposed to work? We'd like to know if anyone else has run into this before we take it to the Hyundai dealer.

JohnPeters · Feb 4, 2025

Sport mode is like the car’s way of saying, “I’m not here to take it easy.”

It’ll usually keep the gear one notch lower than regular mode letting you stay in that sweet power zone for faster responses. If you hit cruise control, though, it’ll finally let go and upshift to sixth. My 7-speed does the same dance, stays in lower gears until it hits highway speeds then it’s like "Alright, time for 7th!"

Counter991 · Feb 4, 2025

JohnPeters said:
Sport mode is like the car’s way of saying, “I’m not here to take it easy.” It’ll usually keep the gear one notch lower than regular mode letting you stay in that sweet power zone for faster responses. If you hit cruise control, though, it’ll finally let go and upshift to sixth. My 7-speed does the same dance, stays in lower gears until it hits highway speeds then it’s like "Alright, time for 7th!"

Are you sure it is not a transmission issue? Normally, the car should shift through all available gears automatically, even in Sport mode. I might be mistaken, but a more detailed check would be good.

haydolryder13 · Feb 11, 2025

That's a weird one with the Kona's Sport mode! It definitely doesn't sound right that it won't go into 6th in "D" when floored. That kinda defeats the purpose of Sport mode, right?

It should upshift eventually. The paddle shifter behavior is also strange, it shouldn't kick back down to 5th when you switch back to "D." I'd definitely suspect something's off with the transmission control logic in Sport mode. But before heading to the dealer, maybe try resetting the car's ECU (disconnect the battery for a few minutes), but honestly, this sounds like a warranty issue. Definitely worth getting it checked out by Hyundai. Could be a software glitch or something more serious. Keep us posted on what they find!

hot_papieeto3 · Feb 20, 2025

That's a really strange problem with the Sport mode. The car shouldn't stay stuck in 5th gear. It sounds like something's wrong with the transmission's computer maybe a software bug or a bad sensor. It's smart to ask around before going to the dealer. Using the paddle shifters is a temporary fix but it's not a real solution. It's important to get it checked out because it could be a sign of a bigger problem. Keep track of everything that happens and make sure the dealer does a full checkup.