[Lootas1]

I don't drive much and the car is always in the garage. To keep my Honda Ridgeline battery charged up, I used a trickle charger that plugged into what we used to call the cigarette lighter. Would that be a wise thing to do with my Kia which probably will be used at least once a week?

 

[Neuron]

Isn't a trickle charger just a normal charger but putting out around 1-3 amps? Not sure what it'll do to something like the Niro compared to a full gas car like the Honda.

 

[Lootas1]

Yes, it is a little charger that I used for vehicles and a generator that weren't used for longer periods. Figure a well-charged Niro might get me to a service station several miles away if I ran it out of gas. I know, it has been many years since I ran out of gas but I get more senile with each passing year.

 

[Griswald]

Not going to work like that. The 12volt battery gets disconnected by the car if it gets low and you simply press the reconnect button to charge it from the drive battery. This is not an electric car that can be charged by plugging it in nor can it run if it has no gasoline motor.

Oh, and there is no connection between the lighter socket and the starting battery, so...

 

[Lootas1]

Thanks. There is a whole lot to learn about this car!

 

[grnd0]

Love when people post false info. The Niro has no 12V battery. Get you facts straight before
telling people what to do.

 

[dveldh]

Yes, it does. It's there as part of a standard ICE setup. You can see the reset button for the 12V battery below and to the left of the steering column.

 

[alannyny]

It's a lithium-ion 12v section of the main battery pack. Not a separate traditional 12v battery.

 

[dveldh]

It appears we are both partially correct:

"A unique aspect of the Niro is that instead of using a regular 12-volt battery for starting the car and powering the accessories, Kia decided to install a small lithium-ion battery underneath the rear seat, alongside the hybrid system’s 1.56-kWh battery pack. If the small battery runs out of juice, the owner can simply press on a dash-mounted button labeled BATT RESET, and the bigger battery will transfer a portion of its energy to the smaller one."

A separate battery, but not a traditional one like I thought.

 

[Griswald]

Love when people post false info. The Niro has no 12V battery. Get you facts straight before
telling people what to do.

You mean like telling people that the Niro doesn't have a 12 volt battery?

 

[extech67]

Last year we left a Kia Soul and a Hyundai Santa Fe in our garage for forty days while we were on vacation in Europe. No one drove the cars while we were gone, but they both started up on the first cranking immediately. I wouldn't bother with the trickle charger.
Anyone concerned should get one of those small rechargeable battery packs. Mine cost $ 60 and it works, I tested it five times in a row on the Soul and it cranked it, started it right away.
The only thing irritating on mine is that it needs to be reset after each use (press a button), but if you aren't aware you might think it has gone flat on you.