JillT
New member
Actually I will try that. Has anyone gotten any resolution on this? Just happened and was told to call Kia Corporate tomorrow. Who can help? I am in Los Angeles, CA, USA
Battery Recall for cars with E400 high-voltage battery.
- Thread starter JejuSoul
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pgeller
Active member
You might try David Lazarus at KTLA. He's a well-regarded consumer advocate, and may be willing to give the ball a kick. I'm in Oregon (L.A. native). Good luck. I'm guessing the most SC267 recall victims will end up in this trap.
I don’t 100% believe this yet but today my service tech told me that they spoke to Kia corp today about my specific issue and was told that a software Update would be available next week. I have the same e400 recall for my remanufactured pack as everyone else. Fingers crossed that it is true and works.
pgeller
Active member
That’s hopeful news.
One thing to consider; if the 12V battery has been sitting for a long time it may be sulfated and near-dead. It would be prudent to request they fully test that battery and replace it if necessary, before you drive off the lot. At nearly a decade old, original batteries are living on borrowed time.
Fingers crossed!
pg
One thing to consider; if the 12V battery has been sitting for a long time it may be sulfated and near-dead. It would be prudent to request they fully test that battery and replace it if necessary, before you drive off the lot. At nearly a decade old, original batteries are living on borrowed time.
Fingers crossed!
pg
kimdavi
Active member
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- Jul 25, 2019
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I've been testing my BMS recall SC267 replacement battery in Power-Limp Mode and noticed a consistent downward trend in charging capacity.
I conducted three Car Scanner readings of the BMS SOC after completing a full charge till it stopped. My observation is that voltage cell difference is increasing, and the capacity for full charging is steadily diminishing. From 72.5% now down to 58.5% after one month. That's a 14% capacity drop! I'm worried, perhaps it's time to take my Kia Soul back to the dealership.
Here are the recorded data points:
- March 26: Display SOC 100%, BMS SOC 72.5%, Cell Max/Min volts 4.18-3.86=0.32v
- April 5: Display SOC 79%, BMS SOC 63.5%, Cell Max/Min volts 4.18-3.82=0.36v
- April 26: Display SOC 100%, BMS SOC 58.5%, Cell Max/Min volts 4.18-3.74=0.44v
I conducted three Car Scanner readings of the BMS SOC after completing a full charge till it stopped. My observation is that voltage cell difference is increasing, and the capacity for full charging is steadily diminishing. From 72.5% now down to 58.5% after one month. That's a 14% capacity drop! I'm worried, perhaps it's time to take my Kia Soul back to the dealership.
Here are the recorded data points:
- March 26: Display SOC 100%, BMS SOC 72.5%, Cell Max/Min volts 4.18-3.86=0.32v
- April 5: Display SOC 79%, BMS SOC 63.5%, Cell Max/Min volts 4.18-3.82=0.36v
- April 26: Display SOC 100%, BMS SOC 58.5%, Cell Max/Min volts 4.18-3.74=0.44v
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pgeller
Active member
Is this because, in turtle mode, you cannot fully charge, so cell balancing does not happen? It does seem like the dealer is in your future.
Pg
Pg
The values you are getting from the app are really weird. What is happening with the actual range of the car. Not what the GOM says but how far you can actually drive.
To compare these numbers with my replacement battery when it was 16 months old. :- Analysis of a replacement battery.
A voltage of 4.14V signifies the battery is fully charged when the battery has little degradation.
The voltage spread widens slightly as the battery degrades. This represents the early-years buffer.
Your car charges to 4.18V suggesting battery degradation. Yet the SOH is stated as 110. Clearly a false reading.
On the first and third readings 4.18V is shown as 100% SOC. This makes sense.
But on the second reading 4.18V is shown as 79% SOC. This makes no sense.
The series of values for SOC(BMS) are interesting in that they are rapidly declining.
72.5%,, 63.5%,,58.5%,
Possibilities for this include cells unable to re-balance and / or rapid severe degradation.
Given we don't know which it is I would be careful when driving this car below 20% SOC in case it suddenly loses power.
A range test would help to find out.
BTW - given my earlier assumption about the pack in your car I'm not sure we should use any of this data to determine how the BMS is working because it seems to be so different from the rest.
"My explanation for this is that this is a re-manufactured pack containing cells of very different capacities. Maybe some of the cells are new and some are old. Maybe all are new but they are of different types. No-one (including Kia) knows what is inside every re-manufactured pack."
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Good news about the BMS software they applied for this recall.
The second version which fixes the 'limp mode' issue is now being applied in North America.
In Europe there have been no reports of 'limp mode'.
I suspect they used the fixed version from the start, because in Europe the recall didn't begin until March 2024.
I got the fixed version in March and my car has been fine ever since.
In North America it seems the 50% of hold-outs chose the correct option.
It is often better to wait it out and let others test the new updates.
But. I don't think all the problems have ended.
There is also the issue of lack of 'new' battery packs.
In North America I think Kia has stopped using re-manufactured packs.
( These packs have been a costly failure for Kia, and this fiasco will probably lead to a complete re-design of Hyundai / Kia battery packs. Tesla's choice of thousands of cells that cannot be replaced seems to be the correct one. )
For those waiting for a new pack either under warranty for degradation, or due to this safety recall there may still be a long wait.
The second version which fixes the 'limp mode' issue is now being applied in North America.
In Europe there have been no reports of 'limp mode'.
I suspect they used the fixed version from the start, because in Europe the recall didn't begin until March 2024.
I got the fixed version in March and my car has been fine ever since.
In North America it seems the 50% of hold-outs chose the correct option.
It is often better to wait it out and let others test the new updates.
But. I don't think all the problems have ended.
There is also the issue of lack of 'new' battery packs.
In North America I think Kia has stopped using re-manufactured packs.
( These packs have been a costly failure for Kia, and this fiasco will probably lead to a complete re-design of Hyundai / Kia battery packs. Tesla's choice of thousands of cells that cannot be replaced seems to be the correct one. )
For those waiting for a new pack either under warranty for degradation, or due to this safety recall there may still be a long wait.
kimdavi
Active member
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- Jul 25, 2019
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- 43
Will applying the second version of the BMS software fix the 'limp mode' issue on my re-manufactured pack that was replaced due to a safety recall?
pgeller
Active member
That seems to be the result. We're waiting for a call about my son's 2016 that went turtle-mode immediately after the upgrade, never got clear of the dealer's shop (February).
BassCadet
Member
We got our 2016 back yesterday after waiting over 6 months. Report says, "Concern no longer present." Charged it to 100% and it reported 113 miles which is probably what it was previously. Not really sure since we usually charged it to 80%.
Glad to get it back. The first loaner was good, an EV6. Then they wanted to sell it so they put us into a Niro Hybrid (not plug-in). I did not like that one, no power and had to fill it up once in a while.
Glad to get it back. The first loaner was good, an EV6. Then they wanted to sell it so they put us into a Niro Hybrid (not plug-in). I did not like that one, no power and had to fill it up once in a while.
Russwig
Member
Can you share the circumstances?
spidermonkey
Member
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- Jan 21, 2019
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- 18
Riddle me this, if Kia is still manufacturing electric cars, and the Soul Ev is just a re-tooled gas burner, why cant they focus their efforts on putting the new batteries into the recalled cars? Why put so much effort into fixing or replacing a battery they no longer intend to manufacture?
I have been waiting almost eight months for my car to be fixed. What do you think the end game is for Kia?
Just curious.
