[PAULRIDES]

I was concerned that my battery charge says around 50% +/- a little. Wondered if the battery or charge system had a defect.

I called KIA Customer Service and was very pleased with the support I received.

The first lady I contacted could not find the answer and suggested she do some research and call me back, said it might take a couple days to get an answer.

It did take a couple days, she called today when I was not home. She left a phone number and "Case Number" with my wife.

I called and received a new lady that looked up the case number and tried to put me in touch with the first lady. She could not, so she gave me the results of their finding. They had contacted the Platform Engineers and the answer was: It is designed to stay around 50% charge -- may see from 45% to 75%.

It so happened the second lady had a KIA Optima Hybrid and had the same question about her battery (she had even lower charge in 40% range). She was told it was normal by her dealer.

By The Way -- I did see 75% on a short trip (80 miles of local driving) when there was a long moderate downhill section coming out of Smoky Mtn National park into Gatlinburg. However, it rapidly dropped back to 50% range when I started needed to use the accelerator.

 

[2013Passat]

Kia engineer told me this week that the battery is designed to stay charged at 40-70%. Lengthens battery life. Always something new to learn.

 

[fernando]

I'm always at around that range, when I do a long downhill it fill up to about 75%.

 

[Jay]

That's pretty typical SoC for a hybrid. Max battery life for lithium-ion chemistry is 40-70% charge as 2013 Passat points out. Also, the charging system has to leave room for regenerative braking. My sister's hybrid Sonata reached full charge on a 6 mi steep downhill coast, but that SoC is unusual.

 

[PAULRIDES]

Thanks for the responses. 0

I did call them again today as found a MSG on our phone about seeing dealer from the First lady I had talked to. That turned out to be a false alarm (I guess as I did not talk to her today).

The guy I talked to said she sent that MSG on FEB 23 (we did not see it). Then she called again on Feb 24 when I was not home and gave my wife a MSG to call and present case number -- I did afternoon of 24th and that is when I got the MSG from the Second Lady that design goal is operate around 50% (see 40% to 70 some %).

The guy today confirmed from the case file that 50% is the design goal (etc.) and to ignore the earlier call about seeing dealer.

THEY REALLY SHOULD PUT A NOTE in the operating manual or someplace to address that as it makes you concerned to see a battery not fully charged.

ALL THAT SAID, I would like to talk the the First Lady and ask her why she sent a MSG to call back and set up a dealer appointment.

 

[MisterEd2017]

This thread eases my mind. I was a little concerned as well but it's good to know that's normal. Thanks!

 

[PAULRIDES]

This thread eases my mind. I was a little concerned as well but it's good to know that's normal. Thanks!

Glad someone got some use from the thread (Info). 0

 

[Bigmura]

2 questions that are sort of related:

1. How long is the battery supposed to last? The factory warranty covers it for....is it 6 years? I sure hope I won't need a new battery after just 6 years....!?

2. When I start driving in the morning ,the car starts on battery (so quiet!) but then the motor starts pretty quickly after that....within a minute. WHy is that...is the battery already needing a charge? This surprised me the first couple times. It doesn't seem to do that during the day when it's been driving around. But does sitting for 10 hours mean the battery already needs to charge?

Thanks!

 

[yticolev]

The battery is warranted for 60,000 miles.

The engine will start under several conditions in the morning:

1. Battery is depleted. Check the battery level meter before you get going in the morning and after you quit for the night. If it routinely drops every night, that is not normal and should be checked. However, if you live on a long hill with a level part where you live, it is possible the battery is depleted from climbing the hill. That would be OK.

2. You are asking climate control for heat.

3. It is really cold and the battery needs to warm up.

 

[Bigmura]

Hmmm....thanks Yticolev. No long hill, no cold weather here in Georgia. I'm not sure where the battery level is on the display...still getting used to all the visuals inside. (I'm used to just the basics....speedometer, odometer, fuel gauge, etc.
I feel like I'm manning a space station control panel or something....but I'm learning!)

 

[PAULRIDES]

The battery and Hybrid system is covered for 10 years, 100,000 miles as original buyer.

6 years and 60,000 miles for non-original owner. Beats me why they change that for second owner?

Mine does same thing when starting (sometimes runs on battery for a while before engine starts, other times engine starts shortly after, and sometimes engine starts when I start the car.

I don't worry about it -- Maybe I should, but I think just the way things work.

 

[yticolev]

Perhaps because car manufacturers effectively lose money on second hand purchases. So they are providing an incentive to buy new.

 

[kprenesti]

Hmmm....thanks Yticolev. No long hill, no cold weather here in Georgia. I'm not sure where the battery level is on the display...still getting used to all the visuals inside. (I'm used to just the basics....speedometer, odometer, fuel gauge, etc.
I feel like I'm manning a space station control panel or something....but I'm learning!)

I live in GA too. Mine does the same thing. I hadn't noticed the battery gauge particularly low at all in the AM. (I'll have to notice later.) And I know what you mean by all the new fancy lights! I spent a half-hour in my car looking at the manual to figure out what the green light under the gas gauge means. (It means the car is ready to be driven, FYI.)

 

[Bigmura]

kprenesti, what dealer did you buy from? I got mine at Ed Voyles Kia in Chamblee. I'm happy with them overall!

 

[yticolev]

I live in GA too. Mine does the same thing. I hadn't noticed the battery gauge particularly low at all in the AM. (I'll have to notice later.) And I know what you mean by all the new fancy lights! I spent a half-hour in my car looking at the manual to figure out what the green light under the gas gauge means. (It means the car is ready to be driven, FYI.)

Do you turn on AC or heat in Georgia in the morning? That will start the engine (may be a short delay).

 

[Bigmura]

No nothing! Not even the radio!

 

[basicbill]

I think whether or not the ICE starts when you first turn it on the morning depends on the state of charge when you put it to bed. If the battery is well charged when you turned it off, it may not have the ICE come on when you wake it up....however if the battery is tired when you turned it off, it will want to charge it right away when you wake it up.
That's how I figure it anyway.

 

[NiroDude]

The Niro will typically start up after being parked overnight, no matter the battery charge level. This is simply to warm up the gas engine. I usually drive mine a couple blocks. Then, the Niro has warmed up and gone into EV mode. However, the Niro may rely more on the gas engine, if the heat, ac, or defrosters are on.

 

[Griswald]

On the Ford Fusion Hybrid forum, there was someone that figured out how to view OBDEC 2 codes and saw that even though the dash monitor showed near 100% charge, the actual charge was closer to 80%.

I think that is "normal" for these batteries.

 

[eddarrah]

Kia has stated that "max" battery charge is 80%, even if your battery icons (both) show FULL, it's 80%, and it's designed to NOT discharge lower than 40%,,,, this range extends battery life to the 10-15 year mark. Also, max charging to 80% leave room in case you were getting a LOT of regenerative braking charging, say from coasting/light braking down a long mountain down slope........... if you remember all those Samsung cell phones with exploding batteries a year or two ago, the Samsung firmware upgrade to fix that problem was to only allow the battery to charge to 80%. Since learning all this, I have stopped topping off /charging all our phones to 100% and let them drain down to 30-40% and charge back up to 80-85%............I'm finding much better battery performance............... must be the "sweet spot" in charging/discharging and battery maintenance.