It appears as though the Hyundai Ioniq 5 might be having a 12V battery issue. As Kia is a sibling to Hyundai, have any of you had a similar issue with your Niro EV?
Posted Mar 28, 2022, 3:04 AM UTC
622
3 months of ownership - 6,000 miles driven.
Nope, our 2022 has been fine so far.
We have a 12v dometic cooler in the trunk that we’ve been using a lot. Wired a dash cam, charge our phones all the time, use the radio and seat heaters, etc. Always running on ignition power of course.
Car is not even plugged in every day and we refresh the app at least once a day to look at the state of charge.
6
Tell me more about this cooler in the trunk? (Also--do we have a 12v outlet back there? I've only had mine a couple weeks and haven't had a chance yet to hand-over-hand the entire thing...)
3
It’s a Dometic CFX3 35 fridge/freezer (brought over from our traded-in Jeep that just so happened to) fit perfectly in the Niro trunk taking up about 1/3 of the space. We use it for grocery runs cutting our need to rush home. Sometimes we also buy bulk perishables (meats) from hour+ long drives. It’s also been great to bring cold beverages, fruits, and meats with us for long trips without needing to think about ice.
No, unfortunately there was no 12v outlet. We ran a shielded hot wire from the fuse panel near the drivers knee area down the drivers side door ledge all the way to the back router under the rear seat into the trunk area. Fuse tapped a blank unused fuse spot that was hot on ignition only. Ground wire on the rear seat bolt visible from the trunk when folded down. The tail end has a cigarette lighter style outlet so the cooler is easily disconnected and removable.
4
Our niro (2020) never had an issue like this and if I am not mistaken You can turn on a setting that the 12V battery is charged via the big battery so it never runs flat.
5
It's called Utility Mode. You can enable it by starting the car with the break pedal pressed, then access the menu via the steering wheel. Select Convenience -> Utility Mode.
4
No, there used to be a separate "battery saver" setting in the binnacle menus for occasional unattended 12V top-ups. It's been removed and permanently enabled in the latest software here in UK/EU because there's no real reason to turn it off.
Utility Mode is for prolonged use of HVAC and Infotainment whilst parked. Yes, it protects the 12V, but the car is essentially "on" but unable to drive when in Utility Mode.
7
Thanks for this info. Sounds like I should have this in my 2020 EU model then since I updated my software yesterday.
3
Hopefully! If you ever see the middle green charging light flashing on its own while the car is parked, the 12V top-up is happening.
5
The reports of 12V problems are very small. The UK consumer organisation “Which?” Reported on over 55,000 cars reliability based on owner’s survey. Less than 1% of E Niro owners reported any fault preventing start, including 12V issues. The UK E Niro owner’s group nearly 3,000 members has held two polls about 12V issues. Less than 5% of Owners reported any issues. These issues get blown out of proportion because new owners, TL:DR the manual and didn’t do their research. They switch the motor off and sit playing with the infotainment unaware that they’re draining the battery. EV 12V has exactly the same vulnerabilities as fossil cars. Drain the 12V and you’ll create problems. The lesson here for all switchers to EV - do your research and RTFM! PS the “Which?” Report confirmed that the E Niro is the most reliable car!
4
The 12V battery drained couple of weeks ago and the car wouldn’t start. Not sure what happened but I had to call Geico roadside assistance to come and give me a jump.
It’s a 2020 Niro EV with ~14,000 miles that I have for 11 months
3
Nearly every one of these issues that I've come across has come down to user error so far, specifically not treating the car like an ICE car. One would not put the electrics on in an ICE car, without running the engine, or having something drain the battery.
There is also a number of batteries per 100 that are inherently faulty. I dont know what that number is, but its probably around 5.
For every 100,000 sales, you are looking at 5000 faulty batteries
So, it's probably no worse than an ICE.
3
I havent had this happen (fully dead), but I do know my battery is not maintained well at 80-100%. Every once in a while I have to go to utility mode and full charge it. I only know this bc I installed an on battery bluetooth monitor.
I do think they should switch to lithium 12V batteries at the very least...
3
My 2020 niro ev had this issue last year. The dealer replaced it free of charge
2
I’m in a FB group for Niro EV owners in my province and lots of people seemed to have a problem with the 12v battery, especially at the beginning of winter. Most ended up having to change it, none got a reason as to why it happened from dealer inspection.
(Note: I have not watched the video ;) )
2
When researching the Niro I heard about these issues, and when I had the dashcam installed I paid a lot more and have a dedicated battery under my driver's seat.
If you pop your hood it looks like a motorcycle battery not a car battery.
ETA: I'm at work and didn't watch this specific video; just this subject has come up a lot in this sub.
2
I have my 2020 for 7 months and 12K miles now with no issues. Outside of a bad battery I think the general reasons for the drain is running something on battery when the car if turned off or extreme weather.
2
Yes. Had this issue and upgraded the size of the 12V and that seemed to solve it.
2
Hyundai/Kia need to issue software updates for pretty much all of their EVs that use these tiny Delkor batteries. The charging needs to be more aggressive when the vehicle is parked, because it often goes too long without being adequately topped-up, and things like this happen. (On vehicles new and old) Or, the vehicle doesn't charge it for long enough, so it's still at a low SoC even after the 12V battery minder cycle completes.
People in warmer climates or with garaged vehicles see the issue less. Our Ioniq EV ('19) had a dead battery after sitting for one weekend indoors, and the dealer said nothing was wrong. (No accessories plugged in, nothing left on) I charged the 12V up to 100% manually and it has been fine ever since, the vehicle just doesn't keep the 12V topped up enough in normal usage.
2
I have had this issue, but it was completely my fault. I left an odb2 dongle plugged in and drained the battery before the main battery recharge happened. A quick boost and I was good to go again.
2
The 12V battery died in my 2019 Niro EV after about a year and a half. I had approx. 12,500km on the car. I charged up the battery but it died 2 days later. I did this 3 times over a week but it wouldn't hold a charge and died in 2 days every time. The dealer replaced the battery about a year ago. If it dies again, I'll get a better third party battery and see how that goes.
2
The Niro (like most EVs) has a smaller 12V batter than gasoline cars because it doesn't need to start an engine. Thus, small consumers like dashcams, lights, etc. can drain that battery more quickly when the vehicle is off. This guy has so much stuff plugged in; I bet one of them stays on all the time and led to the dead battery.
The Niro and Kona have had their share of this issue as well, and I presume for the same reason. I had a Niro EV and now an EV6 and have never had an issue with either.
I’ve experienced dead battery a few times, close enough together that I was somewhat convinced I had a bad battery. Nope. Just cold weather + camping and accessing doors and leaving the back hatch up-that kind of thing.
One good thing that came of it though is I invested in a halo. About 100 bucks and I have tons of peace of mind now. Can jump my 12v if I ever need to and have back up power for my cell phone to boot.