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The quiet complexity beneath the EV owner’s surface can sometimes reveal itself in ways that feel unsettling, especially when familiar driving instincts no longer apply. That moment arrived abruptly for one new Hyundai Ioniq 5 owner who found his confidence shaken not by range anxiety or charging infrastructure, but by something far more basic: the act of creeping forward from a standstill.
Todd Rose, posting in The Ioniq Guy Facebook group, described his experience after just a couple of months with a 2025 Ioniq 5 SEL. His account is detailed, candid, and rooted in confusion rather than outrage.
“Hi! We’ve had our new 2025 Ioniq 5 SEL for just a couple of months now. A couple of days ago, I found that the brakes suddenly seemed to be sticking when starting to move from a standstill. It’s happening in both drive and reverse nd it doesn’t matter what I have the regen braking set on. Even if it’s on zero, I take my foot off the brake pedal, and the car doesn’t move. I begin very gently pressing on the accelerator, and it sti, ll doesn’t move. I gently push the accelerator down a little more, and then suddenly the brakes seem to break free brokehe car lurches forward (or backward if it’s in reverse). It feels like the brakes were stuck and then suddenly broke free.
It doesn’t seem to have anything to do with regen braking. If I set that on max and stop the cstandstilly taking my foot off the accelerator (not applying the brake pedal), and then start moving again from a standstill, this “sticking” doesn’t happen. So, it really seems to be the mechanical brakes. I’m not noticing anything else different about using the brakes while driving.
I’ve never experienced this before with any car (previous cars were gas, hybrid, or PHEV; this is our first full EV). It’s a real problem! It makes things like parallel parking quite difficult and risky, i.e., creates the danger of lurching forward or backwards and hitting the car in front or behind while trying to just ease the car forward or backward a little bit. I’m like, wtf.
Has anyone else experienced this, either with an Ioniq or any other car?”
Read plainly, the description is unsettling. A car that refuses to roll gently, then suddenly surges free, undermines one of the most fundamental expectations of vehicle control. Rose is careful to rule out regenerative braking as the cause, noting that the behavior disappears when he uses regen alone to bring the car to a stop. That observation is critical because it points away from software-managed deceleration and toward a system that intervenes only after the brake pedal has been pressed.
Hyundai Ioniq 5: The Model Y Competitor
The answer came quickly from fellow owners, and with striking unanimity. Commenters Paul Sarsons, Neil Franklin, and David Lau all identified the same culprit: Auto Hold. This feature, now common across many brands, is designed to keep the car stationary after a complete stop without requiring the driver to keep a foot on the brake. It is especially useful at traffic lights or in stop-and-go congestion. When engaged, Auto Hold will keep the mechanical brakes applied until the system senses sufficient throttle input to release them.
The problem is not that Auto Hold exists, but that its behavior can feel foreign, even alarming, to drivers encountering it for the first time. Unlike a traditional parking brake or even a conventional hill-hold system, Auto Hold can create a momentary dead zone where the car refuses to move at light throttle inputs. The release point can feel abrupt, particularly in an EV where torque arrives instantly and silently. To a driver expecting the gentle creep of a conventional automatic, the result can feel exactly like sticking brakes.
What this episode highlights is not a flaw unique to the Ioniq 5, but a broader challenge facing modern vehicles. Features are layered atop one another, each logical in isolation, yet capable of surprising interactions when experienced without context. Auto Hold is meant to reduce fatigue and improve safety. In the narrow confines of parallel parking or tight maneuvering, however, it can introduce uncertainty if the driver is unaware that it is active.
To Hyundai’s credit, Auto Hold is clearly indicated in the instrument cluster and can be switched off. But clarity in design does not always translate to clarity in experience, especially for owners new to full EVs. Rose’s confusion is understandable. He has driven gas cars, hybrids, and plug-in hybrids without encountering anything quite like this. The Ioniq 5 did not malfunction. It behaved exactly as programmed. The disconnect lay between expectation and explanation.
Rose’s post, and the calm, helpful responses that followed, show the value of owner communities in bridging that gap. Sometimes the most alarming problems have the simplest solutions. You just need to know which button you pressed without realizing it.
Image Sources: Hyundai Media Center
Noah Washington is an automotive journalist based in Atlanta, Georgia. He enjoys covering the latest news in the automotive industry and conducting reviews on the latest cars. He has been in the automotive industry since 15 years old and has been featured in prominent automotive news sites. You can reach him on X and LinkedIn for tips and to follow his automotive coverage.
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