Kia Niro EV

Go somewhere else

I love(d) my Kia eNiro, but I'm gradually falling out of love with it. I got it back from the garage yesterday, after two weeks and the console has been replaced to sort out the drain on the 12v battery that leaves the car completely dead. Unfortunately, same thing today - completely dead. I know statistically there's likely to be a couple of dud cars for every thousand cars sold, but three weeks since the problem was first reported, I didn't think we'd be exactly where we started. Heading on holidays this weekend and have no car, no replacement (yet), and a €40k inanimate hunk of metal and plastic sitting in my driveway. I'm getting that look.... You know the 'you are the one who wanted to go fully electric' look, and our 10 year old Prius is very badly missed right now. Haven't seen this issue reported elsewhere (in the 2020 cars). Anyone heard of anything similar?

Extensively discussed.

So what happened the first time - was the 12v battery replaced, or did they find you off ?

You need the smallest of 12v batteries to energise the contactor relays and the car will fire up. You also need to charge the 12v battery with an intelligent (smart) battery charger.

If you are in South Dublin, I'll happily lend you mine

Thanks for the replies and the link to the speakEV forum, which I didn't know existed. Rather than the 12V battery, the garage has changed the entire entertainment console (subbing in one from a new vehicle, as a replacement part couldn't be made available until late November), as they identified that it was drawing current while the car was powered off. I read through the linked thread, but this doesn't seem to be a case of gradual depletion of the 12V battery. I got the car back yesterday, drove 120km, parked up at 10pm with the 12V battery indicating it was healthy, and by the next morning, it was dead. No dashcams, no auxiliary electronics, no open doors, no lights left on... I would have to charge the 12V battery every night, to guarantee the car would start the next morning. Kia Assist (the AA) are picking it up in the morinng and I'm getting another replacement (the last replacement car cost Kia €850+, so i'd imagine they're incentivized to get this sorted as quickly as possible).

One thing that itches my brain is that the drivers door button (proximity unlock) only works around 25% of the time, so I wonder if there could be some kind of water ingress that could be causing a short-circuit. Must mention it to the garage.

Mark1916 wrote: »

Fantastic reading issues with the 12v battery while I’m about to pick up my new Niro tomorrow hopefully you get sorted with it!

It'll be grand and you'll love it! <the problems didn't start until 3 months later >

graememk wrote: »

Surprised they they didnt replace the battery and went straight for the head unit. although its Kia footing the bill not the dealership.

Reading the linked thread, it does seem odd, but the donor vehicle came from Kia Ireland, and their tech team have allegedly been discussing the issue with the garage, so you'd have thought that throwing in a replacement battery would be a cheaper and far easier option.

chewed wrote: »

one thing I've noticed recently (and only happens sometimes), when I stop the car, turn off ignition and open the door I hear a continuous ringing bell. I thought it was an alarm to say parking brake wasn't on, but it definitely was on.

Anyone noticed this happening?

chewed wrote: »

Anyone noticed this happening?

Finally picked up mine and absolutely love it. The spec difference compared to what I traded in is worlds apart. One pedal driving is so easy on the country roads I'm driving. The adaptive cruise is great also for longer spins and was able to test it out on the journey home. And the acceleration....

Sorry, back to your issue. I think I had this also. Seems to happen whenever you switch off the car while the door is open. Just tried it there again and that seems to be it. Maybe it's a reminder to not leave your keys behind!

Alun wrote: »

My PHEV gets it's knickers in a twist if you do anything to do with shutting it down in the "wrong" order including opening the door before switching off the ignition. Also if you forget to put it in P and try to lock it.

Yeah, maybe that's just it. I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong, but next time I'll concentrate on what steps I'm taking to switch things off/on before I leave the car.

Stefs_42 wrote: »

Mark1916 thanks so much for valuable link!
Now Ive got question to ye all guys new and not so new Niro owners. Do we all be getting 12V battery issues at some stage or are thery just isolated cases with some software bugs when HV battery unable to look after 12V bat?
Would I better of investing into smart battery charger from day one? Is this now a status quo with all EVs now?

My understanding is that if the 12V battery is let get to a very low charge state it will cause problems (the internal charger sees it as a fault and won't charge the battery?).

It appears that the solution might be to give the battery a good charge with a smart charger before use (maybe in dealer's before delivery) and most of the problems should be eliminated, as the internal charger should keep it topped up from there, if not disabled.

Stefs_42 wrote: »

Mark1916 thanks so much for valuable link!
Now Ive got question to ye all guys new and not so new Niro owners. Do we all be getting 12V battery issues at some stage or are thery just isolated cases with some software bugs when HV battery unable to look after 12V bat?
Would I better of investing into smart battery charger from day one? Is this now a status quo with all EVs now?

It wouldn't hurt to have one either way. My hybrid Niro's battery crapped out in Mc Donald's carpark one month after I got it :rolleyes::pac:.. After that I got a battery pack/jump starter on Amazon for around €35 and touch wood have never needed to use it. Send to addresspal as any I looked at wouldn't sent to ROI/NI.

championc wrote: »

I have the Noco Genius 5 Smart Charger, but I really think I'll buy a Nico Genius Boost GB20. Then you will never be stuck, and it can stay in the car permanently, since it's so small.

This is the road I went down. I cancelled the AA/Kia Assist, cancelled the garage (somewhat motivated by the fact that the car seemed to have picked up 400kms on the odometer between when it was towed away and when I got it back), cancelled the replacement vehicle, and got myself a charger and a jump starter kit. I left the battery on the charger for a few hours which didn't seem to make any appreciable difference, but the Nico Genius Boost worked like a charm and now has permanent residency in the car (general word of advice - don't keep it in the boot, as it's quite tricky to access when the 12V battery is dead). Needless to say, I'm a bit of a laughing stock after spending €40K on a car that, three months on, I need to pop the bonnet to start. It does seem to be alive this morning, so I'll see how things fare over the next week, and decide then if it needs to go back to the garage, for some more swapped parts and mysterious mileage.

[Deleted User] wrote: »

I can only imagine People telling you "serves you right for buy an electric car" and they'll all be telling everyone "electric cars are unreliable" because of your story which will get altered 1000 times as the news of this really bad electric car spreads through the neighbourhood lol

Jaysus, go easy, it was just an idle comment. Some frustration is understandable, given the circumstances. Thankfully, there are a number of helpful posters on the forum, providing useful information.

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Ah get over yourself, was a joke ffs.

I'm a little sensitive today.