2017 Soul battery degradation story

[Calaveras]

I Bought a 2017 Soul EV + in 2019.

The first year or so I got about 100 miles of range which got me to work and back twice. [46 round trip]
I like the car and want to keep it, but the range was showing 56 miles when 100 miles after charging. I have a 1500 foot elevation gain as I return home so it is really closer to 65 miles that I can drive.
I scheduled an appointment at a local Kia Dealer in Stockton and ordered the Soul EV Spy app. It showed 64% SOH which confirms what I suspected. I told the Dealer that I wanted Them to test the State of Battery health and they booked an appointment a month out so that the Kia EV specialist would be there. I dropped it off and they said it had a recall and they would take care of that at the same time. It was recall SA473 which resulted in them resetting the BMS but not checking the SOH. He showed me a screenshot of the diagnostic tool that showed all the cells were between 3.86 and 3.88 and the SOC was 65%. I tried to explain the difference between SOH and SOC but got nowhere. I took the car home after 5 days and had to charge at a level 2 for an hour to make the 62 miles home. The GOM showed 100 miles of range so the BMS was surely reset or replaced.
I am going to drive it for a week or so then take a picture of the GOM and Percent charge when it shows less than 60 miles range. I am considering trying another dealership next time. I could not find a list of dealers that had training in working on EV issues.

 

[IanL]

Whichever dealer you go to, make a copy of this and ensure they understand they must take a record of the BMS data BEFORE doing anything else.

If they still don't understand, tell them that the SOH is a measure of the capacity of the battery, and the SOC is how much of that capacity is currently in it. I often use the fluid analogy, i.e. the SOH is the current size of the gas tank, and the SOC is what percentage of the tank is full.

 

[Calaveras]

Good advice. in a couple weeks the range on the GOM should show a more accurate estimation of range and I will do that.

 

[ksoul2084]

Unfortunately this lack of knowledge is typical of fledgling EV dealers. So frustrating.

You might also try contacting KIA directly via the 1-800 number to open a case. They might be able to refer you to a qualified location, and also provide the tech with specific instructions to test the SOH, etc. based on your problem description.

 

[Calaveras]

It has been 14 days since the BMS reset at the dealer which returned the GOM to 110 miles at 100% and the GOM now shows 65 miles at 100%

I attempted to use SoulEVSpy today and got "unknown deterioration and all of the battery cells except one is blank.
The manual says:
Q: Why does the car show “Unknown deterioration” under “Battery SOH %”, on the
“Car” page?
In the current version of the app, SOH is extracted only for the Kia Soul EV having 27 kWh battery. If
the car BMS has been reset or firmware-upgraded, it will take a number of full charge/discharge
cycles for the BMS to estimate the battery deterioration, which is used for calculating the SOH

I have charged and driven at least 50 miles a day since then.
Am I using the app wrong? I plugged it in, turned it on, the Bluetooth synched, and I drove it a mile or two.
or do I need to keep driving another couple weeks for the BMS data to show up on SoulSpy?

I want to take it to a Dealer, but I want to make sure it is showing less that 70% first.

 

[IanL]

You need to do more cycling of the battery. The dealer will get the same as you are getting from Spy - the BMS is not yet able to provide a value for SOH.

 

[Calaveras]

@IanL
thanks, I will try in another week. With the cold weather coming, I was hoping to get it resolved before the range decreases more.

 

[Calaveras]

After a few more attempts to get the EV looked at by a dealer I finally got it verified. They told me the pack is being assembled overseas and they will let me know when it ships. I kept the vehicle as I do not want to drive a ICE for months. I can get to work and back with about 10-20% left. I have to charge near work if the temperatures are below freezing of I have to do a side trip.
KIa has been good about it but the two dealers I took it to were not as helpful.

 

[BonedaddyBruce]

You said your 2017 Kia was used. Did you buy from the Kia dealership, or other source? Did Kia honor a battery warranty?

My 2017 was bought used through Carvana in 2020. I didn't think the battery was covered outside of original owners.
Got an average of 90+ range for the first couple years. Significantly dropped overt the last several months to about 56 mile range at full charge. Just ordered the dongle to do my own diagnostics before taking it anywhere.

 

[jray3]

Calaveras, glad to hear that you’re getting a warranty replacement, but please charge the replacement daily. Driving 92 miles per charge cycle was a recipe for maximum degradation. These batteries should serve best when cycled between 20% and 80% SOC, or charging up to about 72 miles and not discharging below about 18 miles. Your 46 mile commute is easily within the sweet spot if recharged daily.

Unfortunately the SOUL didn’t include SOC limit settings, but the charging timer can be used to approximately hit the 80% target, or 46 miles is easily replenished overnight on L1, while also generating less heat in the charger and reducing the time spent sitting at 100%. After driving over 200,000 miles in modern EVs and years spent building and modifying them, I’m convinced that the #1 factor in degradation beyond actual miles driven is % of time spent at 100% SOC, and that DCFC use to keep a pack between 20 & 80% SOC will extend service life, compared to deeper cycling.
Sincerely,
Jay

 

[gnad]

My story isa bit different. My 2017 battery degraded to 46 miles, and I took it in. They replaced the battery, then the recall happened, which is a battery modulator I think they said, and now it won't get out of !SERVICE EV! warning keeps popping up. So I have been driving an rentacar loaner.

For those who worry about the Warranty, please know that the 100K warranty on the Battery is MANDATED by federal law. Not by the kind people at Kia (though they might have offered it anyway).

https://www.bing.com/search?pglt=17...dIBCTEyMzEyajBqMagCALACAA&FORM=ANNAB1&PC=U531