Do I have a chance?

[NorwaySoul]

The battery on my 2015 Kia soul ev started showibg signs of reduced capacity in august. The dealer measured 85%. After that it went down all fall until it reached 72.4 dec 3rd. Since that they measure 72.4 evrery time.

Based on my mileage and how much the chargers give I think I am below 60 now (charging from 2% to 82% the charger gives 12.5 kWh which my my caclulations means 16 kWh to fill 100% of the battery).

Anything I can do? The warranty is 7 years in june, but I only have 250 km to reach max mileage

 

[IanL]

Allegedly, taking the battery down repeatedly to turtle, and charging fast to 100% will cause maximum deterioration.

 

[EVDee]

Sure, but to what lengths are you willing to go?

Basically park that thing with a low state of charge and wait until the spring. You're not going to get an updated SoH until:

-Outside temp is 10C or higher
-You cycle the battery in a particular way to perform a battery recalibration

The cycle needs to be:
Full charge
Discharge to less than 18% (lower the better)
Fully charge without interruption

Good luck!

 

[MassDeduction]

The battery on my 2015 Kia soul ev started showibg signs of reduced capacity in august. The dealer measured 85%. After that it went down all fall until it reached 72.4 dec 3rd. Since that they measure 72.4 evrery time.

Based on my mileage and how much the chargers give I think I am below 60 now (charging from 2% to 82% the charger gives 12.5 kWh which my my caclulations means 16 kWh to fill 100% of the battery).

Anything I can do? The warranty is 7 years in june, but I only have 250 km to reach max mileage

In addition to what others have said, fast charging and fast discharging are both bad for the battery pack. So if you DO charge it then charge it at the highest amperage you can, preferably exceeding 19 amp (and the more you exceed it by, the better). And if you do drive some of those remaining 250 km, try to do so with a lead foot (as much hard acceleration as you can fit in while observing the rules of the road and reasonable safety precautions).

 

[NorwaySoul]

Sure, but to what lengths are you willing to go?

Basically park that thing with a low state of charge and wait until the spring. You're not going to get an updated SoH until:

-Outside temp is 10C or higher
-You cycle the battery in a particular way to perform a battery recalibration

The cycle needs to be:
Full charge
Discharge to less than 18% (lower the better)
Fully charge without interruption

Good luck!

Find a parking garage with type 2 charger and leave it to chasrge to 100? I think the garage is above 10C

 

[EVDee]

Sure, but to what lengths are you willing to go?

Basically park that thing with a low state of charge and wait until the spring. You're not going to get an updated SoH until:

-Outside temp is 10C or higher
-You cycle the battery in a particular way to perform a battery recalibration

The cycle needs to be:
Full charge
Discharge to less than 18% (lower the better)
Fully charge without interruption

Good luck!

Find a parking garage with type 2 charger and leave it to chasrge to 100? I think the garage is above 10C

You're so tight on KM before warranty is up - I wouldn't risk it until it's warmer. For example while the documentation states that one of the conditions for recalibration is an ambient temperature of 10C or higher, I can't imagine they don't also factor in the temperature of the battery pack itself - and if that's the case..

I also suspect once you'll need to recalibrate again after they get a reading below 70% since they like to "update" the BMS to "fix" the issue which resets the SoH to 110%. So you may have to do this twice within your warranty coverage.

 

[IanL]

I also suspect once you'll need to recalibrate again after they get a reading below 70% since they like to "update" the BMS to "fix" the issue which resets the SoH to 110%. So you may have to do this twice within your warranty coverage.

That has happened, but is expressly forbidden by KIA - just call the dealers attention to TSB PS548. Print a copy and insist the Reception attach it to the job instruction.

 

[EVDee]

I also suspect once you'll need to recalibrate again after they get a reading below 70% since they like to "update" the BMS to "fix" the issue which resets the SoH to 110%. So you may have to do this twice within your warranty coverage.

That has happened, but is expressly forbidden by KIA - just call the dealers attention to TSB PS548. Print a copy and insist the Reception attach it to the job instruction.

Despite that - I'd still bet money that they'll insist on needing to recalibrate the battery with the "fix" first before any battery replacement gets approved. They hold all the cards after all..

 

[IanL]

The dealer has nothing to gain by frustrating a chance for a new battery. He gets paid by KIA for fitting it. It is simply a question of getting the technician to understand the issue.

 

[JejuSoul]

-
Don't drive the car any more than you have to.
You want to have enough km left on the odometer so that you can make two round trips to the Kia Service.

To get an accurate reading of the SOH you need the battery to recalibrate.
Take the car to a heated garage. Charge it to 100%
After charging has finished turn on the heater to max. Leave it running until the SOC is about 10%.
Then recharge to 100%.
It is the battery temperature that needs to be above 10C for recalibration to work.
The combination of heated garage, charging and discharging should ensure this.

There's some more info here :- Battery Calibration

 

[EVDee]

The dealer has nothing to gain by frustrating a chance for a new battery. He gets paid by KIA for fitting it. It is simply a question of getting the technician to understand the issue.

Care to explain my experience then?
I had more than 10 visits and had to call corporate myself to get it moved forward since the dealer was useless.

Plan for the worst and hope for the best.

 

[IanL]

Did you get them to read TSB PS548?

 

[EVDee]

Did you get them to read TSB PS548?

Did you? Can you point to anyone that has?

 

[IanL]

The inference is that you did not, so you do not know if it would have been effective. It is obviously a matter of preference, but I take the optimistic view.

 

[EVDee]

The inference is that you did not, so you do not know if it would have been effective. It is obviously a matter of preference, but I take the optimistic view.

So the answer to my questions is: no?

 

[IanL]

I have, fortunately, not had occasion to do so. I believe the person who originally posted the link to the TSB did so, with satisfactory result, but I cannot remember where that was.

 

[BEC]

I did get my dealer to follow that service bulletin before doing the BMS management update and the parking brake recall a few months ago.

Fortunately the US warranty is 100k miles/10 years as I'm at 53k miles and six and a half years and my battery SOH, as reported by Soul Spy, sank to just under 70% after this recall was done and just now reported 77%! Yet my full-charge range is down to ~50 miles as reported by the GOM (which is usually, really, pretty good) and a full charge from <10% takes only three hours on my Level 2 EVSE at the house.

 

[IanL]

Bernard, what was the SOH read by the dealer prior to the update?