The owner of this Hyundai Ioniq Electric suspected the front wheel bearings. Our test traced the noise to the gearbox instead. Here is what we found inside, and how we followed up when the owner reported a knocking noise a few days after collection.
Job completed: July 2026
| Car | Hyundai Ioniq Electric |
|---|---|
| Symptom | A noise the owner suspected was coming from the front wheel bearings |
| Fault found | Our test traced the sound to the gearbox, not the wheel bearings. With the gearbox opened, two bearings inside were defective. |
| Repair done | Gearbox overhaul with the two defective bearings replaced, tested before handover. After a knocking noise was reported, we reopened the gearbox, replaced a bearing again and changed the gear oil, at no charge. |
| Parts | Quality replacement parts |
| Time taken | Timeline given with the quote |
| Cost | Quoted after our test, before any work began; no charge for the return visit |
| Warranty | 2 years / 40,000km on the gearbox overhaul |
The owner brought the Hyundai Ioniq Electric in because of a noise. The owner suspected the front wheel bearings and asked us to confirm the fault before changing them.
Most electric cars do not have a multi-speed gearbox like a petrol car, but the Ioniq Electric has a single-speed reduction gearbox that steps the motor speed down to the wheels. A noise from that gearbox can be easy to mistake for a wheel bearing, and on this car it was.
The Hyundai Ioniq Electric uses a permanent magnet electric motor paired with a single-speed reduction gearbox. Unlike a traditional petrol car with multiple gear ratios, the EV reduction gearbox has one fixed ratio that reduces the motor's high RPM output to a usable wheel speed.
Inside the reduction gearbox are helical gears, bearings, a differential assembly and the seals that keep the fluid in. These parts still wear over time and kilometres, especially the bearings and gear surfaces. When they wear enough, the unit starts to make noise, loses efficiency, and eventually cannot transfer drive to the wheels cleanly.
Our team tested the car. The sound was coming from the gearbox, not the wheel bearings. We advised a gearbox overhaul and quoted it before any work began.
Once the owner booked the car in, we opened the gearbox. Two bearings inside were defective, so we replaced them.
A common assumption is that electric cars have no gearbox to wear out. The Ioniq Electric does have one, a single-speed reduction unit, and it takes all the torque from the motor and transfers it to the wheels on every drive. That is a lot of mechanical load over many kilometres.
Bearings and gear surfaces wear from that load, and the fluid that lubricates them degrades over time. Once the wear reaches a point where the parts can no longer do their job properly, the car loses drive and makes noise. The fix is a proper overhaul rather than waiting for the unit to fail completely, which can damage the motor too.
We overhauled the gearbox.
A few days after collection, the owner reported a knocking noise from the gearbox and brought the car back. Our team put the knocking down to a bearing and got another one in. In August, when the owner booked in for a gear oil change, we kept the car, reopened the gearbox and replaced that bearing again. We changed the gear oil while it was open. There was no charge for that visit.
The gearbox overhaul carries a 2 year / 40,000km warranty.
What a gearbox overhaul costs depends on what is worn inside: a gearbox caught before the gear surfaces are deeply scored needs fewer parts, while one that has been running on worn bearings for a long time may need more replaced.
On this car we tested it first, told the owner where the noise was coming from and quoted the overhaul before any work began. The return visit to replace the bearing again was at no charge. The overhaul carries a 2 year / 40,000km warranty.
An EV reduction gearbox is a quiet unit when it is healthy. If you start to hear a whine or grinding from the drivetrain area, or notice the car feeling like it is losing drive on acceleration, that is worth getting checked. The earlier it is caught, the less has worn inside.
Keeping up with EV gear fluid changes on schedule, even though they are often overlooked on electric cars, also helps extend the life of the unit.
This Hyundai Ioniq Electric (EV reduction gearbox overhaul) was handled at 1 Car Service, an independent workshop in Sin Ming AutoCity, Singapore. The work is backed by our 2-year, 40,000km warranty. We hold a 4.9★ rating from 1,836+ Google reviews.
WhatsApp us your car model, year and what it is doing. We will tell you what is likely wrong and the cost before any work begins. A full EV gearbox overhaul is backed by a 2 year / 40,000km warranty.
It depends on what is worn inside. On this Ioniq Electric we tested the car first and quoted the overhaul before any work began. The overhaul carries a 2 year / 40,000km warranty.
Yes. The Ioniq Electric has a single-speed reduction gearbox that takes the motor's output and steps it down to the wheels. It has bearings, gears and seals that wear over kilometres, just like any other gearbox. When the internal parts wear out, the car loses drive and often makes a whine or grinding noise.
In most cases an overhaul restores the unit properly at a lower cost than replacing the whole gearbox assembly. We strip the unit, check what is actually worn, replace only those parts, and give you a 2 year / 40,000km warranty on the work. We advise you before any work begins on which option makes more sense for your car.
Yes. We work on electric and hybrid cars including the Hyundai Ioniq Electric, alongside our regular continental car work. We diagnose the mechanical drivetrain components (gearbox, motor mounts, brakes) and use the car's onboard diagnostic systems to check electrical faults.
Yes. A full gearbox overhaul at our workshop carries a 2 year / 40,000km warranty, whichever comes first. We confirm the exact terms before work starts.
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