[Janet]

On 2/27/17 I bought a KIA Niro Touring. On 3/6/17 it wouldn't start and needed to be towed. Kia service told me the car was normal but I needed to drive it more to keep the battery charged. It needed a minimum of 14-20 minutes daily to operate. This does not seem to be a problem with my particular vehicle, rather a design choice KIA made. I use the car daily for my work commute, errands, etc though apparently this usage is not adequate to have a reliable operating vehicle.

Kia does not inform the public the vehicle will not operate unless it has a minimum daily usage time. I bought the car assuming I could use it like any car. As much as I like the idea of an eco-friendly vehicle, I take exception to the concept that it must be driven extra time than my needs dictate to keep the battery charged. The service provider suggested I keep the engine running for 20-40 minutes but can just leave the car locked because of the smart key.
This does not sound smart to me.

I spoke directly with Kia Motors regarding my situation and they stand by their vehicle saying it is normal and the only problem is I am not driving it enough to keep the battery charged. I would not like others to find themselves in my unfortunate situation. Please be mindful before making a purchase.

 

[2013Passat]

could be an issue when my car sits at the airport for a week when I am traveling. Can you use a trickle charger to keep the battery charged?

 

[KiaKrazy]

That's definitely not normal. I could typically leave my daily driver sitting for a week or a week and a half and it'll start no problem. There's some sort of battery drain happening.

 

[Jay]

...Kia does not inform the public the vehicle will not operate unless it has a minimum daily usage time...

Kia doesn't tell you that because it's bullshit. If the 12-v battery is dying on a daily basis you've got a problem and the dealer should get busy fixing it instead of making up bullshit.

 

[fernando]

Does the battery charge die down or what? And if it doesn't start does the battery reset not work?

I would think that driving to work and running errand even if it's a very short commute would still add up to 15 minutes. I use to have a porsche, battery died twice, and each time they told me the same thing-it wasn't being driven enough miles. Despite me driving it daily. I would escalate this to make sure you don't have a defective unit. Even when I've drive like 2-3 miles the charge level stay at about 50%.

 

[Janet]

Kia does not offer realistic solution to flawed Niro system

I have escalated this with KIA Motors. My case manager is adamant there is nothing wrong with my vehicle but I "must drive it more." When I asked for clarity on the exact amount the car needs to be driven to operate reliably he said to check the consumer warranty manual which I was not provided. When I asked for a copy of this Manual, he told me he would look into it and get back to me the following week (still waiting).

To be honest, I am so disappointed because I had researched the Niro and thought it would be the perfect car for me. However, the denial of any issue from KIA or a realistic solution to the car's dysfunction is very troubling.

As far as the push button starter use, I was told by the KIA technician not to "overuse" it (overuse was not defined), so that does not appear to be a viable long term solution.

Suggestions are welcome as I need my Niro to be dependable and I do not have enough money to buy a separate car for use when my Niro doesn't work.

 

[PAULRIDES]

QUOTE --- I spoke directly with Kia Motors regarding my situation and they stand by their vehicle saying it is normal and the only problem is I am not driving it enough to keep the battery charged. I would not like others to find themselves in my unfortunate situation. Please be mindful before making a purchase. ---- QUOTE

Seems KIA Motors told him that ( I assume Customer Service ) and not the Dealer (as one poster suggested)?

Our NIRO has sat for a day (maybe two) a time or two. So far no problem starting. I have noticed sometimes the engine (gas) starts at the time I start the car, other times it backs out of the garage and either runs down the street on EV or engine starts. PS: Like another poster said, the battery charge indicator for the Hybrid Battery stays around 50%

Yesterday for instance, I was suspicious in that engine (gas) started and kept running for a couple miles. I say that but a little confused about exactly what was going on.

What I did notice is that when I let off the gas as I usually do at different spots to let it go on EV (the Gas mileage indicator stopped between 50 and 75% several times). Usually it always goes to 75 MPG when I let off the gas and sort of coast. It did finally settle out and acted normal (went to 75 MPG when I let off the gas coasting) the rest of my trip (say 30 mile RT).

So, perhaps there was something funny then -- the Battery charge was showing as usual 50% range (+/-) during all that time.

Hard to say what is normal and not, but IT IS UNSATISFACTORY to think you need to drive a car every single day. My 2005 Dodge Van sets for week at a time and no problem.

I assume you are talking the 12v part of the battery. I don't understand how that works, is it taken off the Hybrid Battery???? I assume it is cause there is not a visible separate battery. Then the Hybrid stays at 50% +/- whey would the 12 v be down?

They have the Dead Battery Button in hopes that will get it started. Per the book, you can jump the battery (terminals in the fuse box).

Maybe put a volt meter on it and see what it is doing when sitting over a day????

 

[jmcging]

According to Car and Driver, the Niro has no 12 volt battery, the larger battery handles that chore.

Can't post links but the quote is:

Finally, the typical 12-volt battery has been ditched, its responsibilities now resting on the shoulders of the high-voltage lithium-ion polymer battery.

 

[Jay]

It does have a 12-v battery. It's a lithium-polymer battery packaged in the same enclosure, but separate from, the traction battery. See the 12-v battery sitting on top of the traction battery cells at 3:20:

 

[fernando]

You can get the consumer warranty manual at kia owners online. In case you don't know how to do that, I've uploaded it here for you to download or read.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-yQ5ip8hbQZT2FYZDRFLUFibjg/view?usp=sharing

 

[underthepond]

Niro - 12V Battery reset switch (For US) (KIA User video guide) - video
Youtube = 5J6N3bD9sk4
(My post count is too low to post links)

I wonder if the 12v battery could have been discharged a couple times before you even got the car. I've heard 12v batteries can go bad after a couple discharges. AutoZone should test it for free - it might humor them and would be less tension then confronting the dealership.

I would hope the Niro is designed not to ever discharge the 12v - it should only be used for starting. It sounds like something is draining it when it shouldn't. It should start the engage and immediately recharge to full - REGARDLESS of it running in EV or gas and only then disconnect the 12v when fully charged. The programmer (for efficiency sake) could have not initiated the recharging the 12v until it starts running off gas.

They must have had in intern program the initialization sequence for the battery. I wouldn't be surprised if it's a fundamental flaw with the Niro, or it's just a bad battery.

The absolute worst part of my Chevy Volt is how the air-condition works when you turn it on. I have to increase the fan speed and then bring it back down to low EVERY time I get in. The initialization code was written by a ##*&*%!!! and they never bothered to update it over 5 yrs of the same model. It's basic programming.

This needs to be addressed! You either have the worst dealership in history that won't acknowledge a bad battery or KIA is being dishonest.
:|

 

[Jay]

Janet, I visit the Ioniq forum regularly. (The Ioniq is the sister car to the Niro.) The Ioniq guys are reporting battery drain problems in fairly large numbers. It's a parasitic drain problem; i.e. something electrical doesn't turn off that should turn off when the car is shut down. It's a world-wide problem for the Ioniq. Hyundai is aware of the problem and has acknowledged the problem, but they have not identified the root cause as yet. Most of the owners affected get loaner cars while their dealers and Hyundai investigate. I would guess that the Ioniq and Niro have very similar electrical systems. Where they differ is that the US only gets the lithium polymer 12v battery. Other countries get the pb-acid 12v, but since the problem is parasitic drain, the battery type shouldn't matter. Your dealer has not even acknowledged the problem so I would either raise **** with them or take it to another dealer and continue to press Kia for a solution. You should get a loaner car while yours is being fixed. You can read about the Ioniq problem here: Battery flat - Hyundai Ioniq Forum

 

[Janet]

THANK YOU for that link!
Much appreciated.
I'm starting to think my specific car may be the problem because in addition to the dead battery, I'm not getting mpg in the 40-50 range. Its settled around 35. I've been using the eco tree gauge to drive as economically as possible. It starts at about a four and gradually as I've been driving awhile will advance to 7. I've gotten an 8 twice but just for about a minute before settling back at the 7. I've been consistently using slow, light and steady acceleration (and a lot of my driving is in my 25mph town). I've never had the MPG indicator to anywhere near 75 like PaulRides (above) has had even when I am coasting.

Also, I just spoke with the KIA dealer that sold me the car to fill him in on the situation. He said there was never any mention of Niro needing to be driven a certain amount during the trainings KIA offered the dealerships on the Niro for certification to sell them.

The more I find out, the more disappointed I am in KIA Motors consumer support department.

 

[Janet]

Fernando- thank you for the link.

Jay - thank you for the clear information about the battery

Everyone- thank you for the support!

 

[Jay]

good luck. keep us updated.

 

[kprenesti]

Janet, thank you for posting your comment on Cobb County Kia. I saw it there, and actually re-posted your comment in a thread I started in the tech area. (Obviously I hadn't seen this beforehand.) Please do keep us posted. If this is an issue with the Niro, I'm afraid I'll have to re-examine the competition.

 

[PAULRIDES]

HMMMMM !!!!

Is that 12 v battery replaceable as it's own unit or is it part of the other battery and the whole thing gets replaced ??????

 

[fernando]

THANK YOU for that link!
Much appreciated.
I'm starting to think my specific car may be the problem because in addition to the dead battery, I'm not getting mpg in the 40-50 range. Its settled around 35. I've been using the eco tree gauge to drive as economically as possible. It starts at about a four and gradually as I've been driving awhile will advance to 7. I've gotten an 8 twice but just for about a minute before settling back at the 7. I've been consistently using slow, light and steady acceleration (and a lot of my driving is in my 25mph town). I've never had the MPG indicator to anywhere near 75 like PaulRides (above) has had even when I am coasting.

So if you're driving and let off the accelerator the instant MPG doesn't go to 75? If that's true there's def an issue.

 

[Janet]

I figured out where to look and am getting 75MPG when I coast. Not a problem.

 

[PAULRIDES]

This not related to Janet's Problem - just some information about Battery drain on my MC caused by the GPS Power Plug.

Try to make a long story short by saying that I had a new battery and on two occasions after MC sat for a couple days, my battery was down.

I called the folks I bought the battery from (bought online) and he had me recharge it and check it over a 24 hr period while disconnected from the MC. All seemed OK.

The second time it happened, he had me do the same thing. Recharge and then check voltage over a day or two. ALL OK.

He said, there has to be a drain someplace. I was about furious to say the least, but accepted his opinion as it seemed the battery was holding charge.

FINALLY figured it out --- I disconnected the the GPS Power Cord plugged into my 12v Power Out Socket as I saw it had a light on and suspected the circuitry in the plug was also draining the battery. My guess is it has some circuitry in the the plug to reduce the voltage to the GPS needs.

My Power Out Socket on the that MC has power when ignition is off. So, the GPS power plug was draining the battery down even when the GPS was not connected.

I now disconnect the GPS Power Plug from the MC Power Outlet Socket when not using the MC or the GPS and have had no further problems even with the MC sitting for a few days. Normally, I ride every day or every other day.