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The HEV has not battery, but I read it has pos/neg terminals somewhere. Can the car be used to jump another car?
Niro HEV - Can it be used to jumpstart another car?
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I don't know the answer, but I do know that I wouldn't jumpstart another car with my Niro even if I could. Too much chance for it to f*** up my own electrical system in the process.
Ever since I started owning modern cars (with ECUs), I politely decline to offer a jump starts to strangers when they ask me for one, and explain that "last time I did that, it fried my ECU, sorry. I'll happily place a call to a roadside assistance company if you'd like."
If you frequently find yourself needing to jumpstart cars, I recommend buying a portable jumpstarter and keeping it in your car instead.
Ever since I started owning modern cars (with ECUs), I politely decline to offer a jump starts to strangers when they ask me for one, and explain that "last time I did that, it fried my ECU, sorry. I'll happily place a call to a roadside assistance company if you'd like."
If you frequently find yourself needing to jumpstart cars, I recommend buying a portable jumpstarter and keeping it in your car instead.
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I agree 100%. I would never jump start anybody with my Niro. Read too many horror stories on Prius Chat when I owned my Prius.
I'm actually getting an oil change at my local dealrship right now and had this very question. In short: no, you cannot jump another vehicle.
To elaborate, my service advisor tracked down somebody in the service bay who specializes with the Niro. He explained that despite the positive terminal in the fuse box, the current from the Niro blows a fuse on any vehicle you attempt to jump start. This is especially interesting because if you meter the voltage of the positive terminal, you will get a reasonable value of approximately 13 volts.
The Niro does however have the ability to jumpstart itself. There is the main hybrid battery pack (the lithium 1.56Kw pack) and a smaller lithium battery seated next to it. This smaller battery is used for starting the vehicle via the starter-generator. In the event that this smaller battery is flat, the dashboard has a button labeled 12V BATT RESET which will use a small amount of juice from the large hybrid battery to charge the small starter battery. The Ioniq shares this same system, I believe.
To elaborate, my service advisor tracked down somebody in the service bay who specializes with the Niro. He explained that despite the positive terminal in the fuse box, the current from the Niro blows a fuse on any vehicle you attempt to jump start. This is especially interesting because if you meter the voltage of the positive terminal, you will get a reasonable value of approximately 13 volts.
The Niro does however have the ability to jumpstart itself. There is the main hybrid battery pack (the lithium 1.56Kw pack) and a smaller lithium battery seated next to it. This smaller battery is used for starting the vehicle via the starter-generator. In the event that this smaller battery is flat, the dashboard has a button labeled 12V BATT RESET which will use a small amount of juice from the large hybrid battery to charge the small starter battery. The Ioniq shares this same system, I believe.
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^ interesting about the 12v battery reset button. The PHEV doesn't have that, it's replaced with a button that locks or unlocks the charging cable port.
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As when I had my Prius, Leaf, & now Niro, I smile and just say no, I do not have the capability to assist you, sorry! so far all I have interacted with, while disappointed, accept my reasoning & refusal. It's one of the problems with cars that need a small 12v battery just to start a computer on wheels!
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Doesn’t the PHEV actually have a regular 12V battery in the back?
Yup, the PHEV and the BEV (and 2017 HEVs that are not North American) have a lead acid battery. The battery reset button on the other models simply closes a relay that opened because of excessive drain. It doesn't actually charge the battery immediately, just allows you to get going.
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Yes, you definitely can boost another car with a niro phev. I am a mechanic and I have done it with my own. Just jump from the small car battery located under rear right wheel cover and remember, always ALWAYS boost with good vehicle not running! This is to avoid voltage spikes from two altenators working at same time.
2019 White PHEV EX Prem, Mich Premier AS tires, LED BU lights, window visors 2022 Subaru OB Touring
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Hey Gadget007, welcome to forum. Its great to have a Niro PHEV owner who is also a mechanic on board here. Looking forward to hearing your take on Niro concerns in the future. Do you work in Kia shop?
The Niro doesn't have an alternator. Nor is its low capacity battery designed for cold cranking an engine. You can jump the Niro (basically just providing a 12 volt source so the CPU can "start" the car"), but it is a really bad idea to jump another car with the Niro. I believe the manual also explicitly says not to.
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Of course the manual says not to. Too many people simply dont understand how things work and would do it wrong, even when given very specific instructions and the results can be very bad! Im not a kia mechanic, im a marine mechanic by trade. Been testing what "they" tell us cant be done and have proved otherwise 99% of the time. I boosted a dead battery with my niro phev with ignition on but motor not running with about 25% battery left. In just 15 minutes I disconnected the jumper cables and the dead car turned over and started with much more power than I expected. The power that must have gone through the cables must have been huge! I say this because the battery wasn't just low, it was stone dead! Dead batterys dont normally come back that quickly. According to kia, the cars very small 12 volt battery is connected to main battery when ignition is on giving it a tremendous potential for power. I have done this a few times since this and never a problem. Main rule never ever to break, never ever start dead car with cables still connected!
No, im a marine mechanic, also a computer nut.
I doubt it. I've jumped a lot of cars in my time, and just what you did can sometimes pick up the voltage enough in a dead flat battery. But it is rare.
A caveat to my earlier concern: jumping a BEV or PHEV from the Niro is safe and effective. But that will also rarely work on a dead flat battery but more likely than jumping an ICE car.
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