[LewIII]

I am the owner of a 2018 KIA Niro PHEV. The battery mileage at full charge is 24 miles (if using AC/Heat) and 26 miles if climate control is off. Last year, I noticed that after charging car that I was only getting 23/25. I mentioned it to the dealer on a maintenance visit and they could not find anything. Just this week, now the car only charges 22/24, so it seems there is either a drain going on during charging or degradation of the batteries.

Has anyone else had this issue? If so, how do I verbalize with Dealer?

 

[FlNiro]

Well my thinking is this could be normal aging of the battery. My cell phone got a new battery around 2 yrs. ago and now when you check the battery condition it says it charges to 91% capacity. So I'm not surprised that the Niro loses battery capacity over it's life. The car is somewhere around 4 yrs. old now so losing only 2 mi. I don't think is really bad.

 

[hawke]

Our 2018 Kia Niro PHEV still charges to 26 miles. The original battery in my key fob died a few weeks ago after 4 years of use. I've been monitoring the lead acid battery of late now that it's 4 years old. I'll probably be pro active and replace this battery the next time I take our car to the dealer for scheduled maintenance. Based on what other owners have said previously on this forum about the longevity of their lead acid battery, I've been fortunate to have it last for 4 years now.

 

[Dovidan]

@Lewill: IIRC you may be the 1st PHEV owner who has reported anything like that. How many miles on your car & when was it produced (that info is on sticker on driver's side door jam)?

 

[atc98092]

Also, how many miles on your car? As mentioned, no one has ever reported a loss of range on a PHEV yet to my knowledge.

 

[yticolev]

So we are talking about the GOM here, not actual range. I always suspect the display before I fault hardware. Thus the first thing I would do is trouble shoot the display algorithms by disconnecting the 12 volt battery. That reboots a lot of systems that may have become corrupted.

 

[ska bob]

You can't really go by what the display says, it's just a guess based on past driving. You need to just drive it to 20% and see how many miles you get. Ours has always shown 24 miles even at 100%, but last week we got 34 miles in EV mode even with the AC on. Usually we get 28-30, some days its more or less depending on many factors.

 

[no2gates]

I think the estimate is conservative for a reason: Think of the majority of the human population that if it said "34 miles" would try to go 34 miles somewhere, get stuck in traffic with the heater on and wonder why they had to call a tow truck since you can't go to the nearest gas station and bring back a gallon of electrons, and they neglected to fill the tank too.

 

[atc98092]

The GOM in the PHEV doesn't seem to alter based on recent driving, like it does in the EV models. My guess is Kia has hard coded the GOM to display 26/24 miles when the battery is at 100% SoC, and reducing solely based on the SoC remaining. I had mine over two years, and the GOM was the same regardless of previous driving or current temp. Mine always showed 24 miles fully charged with the HVAC on, even if I had driven 31 miles on the previous full charge. And I almost always drove further than the GOM would show, again regardless of past driving or current conditions. Remaining in EV mode on the freeway was probably the one place that the GOM might match the actual range, or perhaps overestimate (less range than displayed).

 

[egsprance]

I am the owner of a 2018 KIA Niro PHEV. The battery mileage at full charge is 24 miles (if using AC/Heat) and 26 miles if climate control is off. Last year, I noticed that after charging car that I was only getting 23/25. I mentioned it to the dealer on a maintenance visit and they could not find anything. Just this week, now the car only charges 22/24, so it seems there is either a drain going on during charging or degradation of the batteries.

Has anyone else had this issue? If so, how do I verbalize with Dealer?

Could it be the charger you're using? I know the model I have allows one to adjust the"full" charge level (some owners don't like to charge their batteries to 100%). Before faulting the car, try using a different charger.

 

[atc98092]

I know the model I have allows one to adjust the "full" charge level (some owners don't like to charge their batteries to 100%).

Level 1 and Level 2 EVSEs do not have the communications link needed to determine the charge level of the battery. For an EV, that limit would have to be set in the car itself, not the EVSE. Some EVSEs permit adjusting the amount of current used for charging, but that doesn't limit the charging level.

The PHEV has no setting to control the charge level. Once an EVSE is connected, it will charge until full, meaning 100%. The only way to limit the charge level is to manually disconnect the connection.

 

[yticolev]

The PHEV has no setting to control the charge level. Once an EVSE is connected, it will charge until full, meaning 100%. The only way to limit the charge level is to manually disconnect the connection.

Meaning 100% indicated, not actual charge taking into account the top buffer.

 

[atc98092]

Meaning 100% indicated, not actual charge taking into account the top buffer.

Of course. Just going by what the car displays.

 

[FredO]

The PHEV has no setting to control the charge level. Once an EVSE is connected, it will charge until full, meaning 100%. The only way to limit the charge level is to manually disconnect the connection.

Some level 2 EVSE's can control the final state of charge via an app. I do this regularly with my Juicebox 32. However, Dan is correct that the EVSE lacks communication with the car. This means one must tell the app the initial and desired final SOC. I usually get within +/- 1% of my target. For example, 55 to 85%, where charging actually stopped at 86% (per car display).

And yes, despite advice to the contrary, I usually stop charging at 80-85% because the car often sits in the garage for a couple days. Then just before a trip, I top-up to 100%. I also try to charge when my rooftop solar system is putting out max power, when power is "free" or at least, I avoid peak electric rates.

 

[atc98092]

Nice to know there's an EVSE that has that functionality. What brand/model is that?

 

[FredO]

Nice to know there's an EVSE that has that functionality. What brand/model is that?

Hi Dan,

I presume your question was directed at me (post 14). I have a Juicebox 30. The photo shows the app screen on my iPhone 6s. I imagine the 40 & 48 amp versions are similar.

Documentation on the Juicebox was not very good but a tech support guy helped a lot.

My utility (APS) offers a $250 "rebate" (actually a credit) for the Juicebox. So far, they have not tried to limit when I use it although apparently they could. Until I told them to stop, they were controlling my Nest thermostat, including "precooling" the house to an uncomfortable temperature. (I overrode their setting.)

 

[atc98092]

I presume your question was directed at me (post 14). I have a Juicebox 30. The photo shows the app screen on my iPhone 6s. I imagine the 40 & 48 amp versions are similar.

I seldom use the app. I wasn't aware those numbers could be altered. Thanks for the info. Yes, it's the same for my 40 amp unit.

My utility gave me one for free, but I paid 20% of the install cost (wouldn't let me do it myself). For the work that had to be done, they severely overcharged the utility, so I paid $230 for the install. And they used the same 50 amp breaker I already had in the panel. They ran about 10 feet of conduit and wire, then connected the JuiceBox. They billed about $1000 after I paid my part. But I figured it was worth the cost to get a 40 amp EVSE. I only had the Niro PHEV at the time, but I figured I would get an EV eventually. They don't control the EVSE, but since they can monitor my use (the reason I got it for free), they can determine if I charge during off-peak hours and if I meet it I get a $10 monthly credit. That doesn't sound like much, but it's usually between 30-40% of my monthly cost to charge the car, so it's actually quite good.

 

[FredO]

My utility gave me one for free, but I paid 20% of the install cost (wouldn't let me do it myself). For the work that had to be done, they severely overcharged the utility, so I paid $230 for the install.

I have the NEMA 14-50 outlet version and I got the plug, breaker and the cable from breaker to plug installed with my solar system install from SolarOne. I hung the Juicebox on the wall next to the plug and plugged it in. I am quite happy with the job done by SolarOne.