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Reviving the dead.

Posted: Sat Feb 08, 2020 3:56 pm
by HaxbyPete
I went out to my Niro4 HEV 2020 on the driveway last evening to go to the local chippy only to find that it didn't respond to my remote key fob. No flashing lights, no opening wing mirrors, no key-less entry to unlock the doors even. NOTHING !

So I took the key out of the key fob and opened the drivers door with it. Sat in the car but the car was ABSOLUTELY DEAD ! No ignition, no dashboard, I couldn't even move the gear stick out of Park !

Why, I wondered ? I had been driving the car earl;ier in the day. It was on the driveway all afternoon and had been into it during the afternoon. As I was gardening the car recognised the key-less entry fob in my pocket and opened and locked the car each time I passed it by. So it was 'alive' then alright. But by 5.30pm it had gone dead ! Had the battery been flattened somehow ? Will I have to recharge the battery ? Will I have to find somebody with jump leads as my car won't budge at all !

I was about to call the KIA Lease company this morning to ask whether I should call their roadside assistance number as a 'breakdown'. But first I called my local KIA dealership where it will be serviced. Their very helpful service manager, Andy, asked me to go into the car using the key to unlock the drivers door. Sit in the drivers seat and look to the right of the steering wheel. Below there is the cluster of switches and buttons and one which has a line diagram of a battery and says '12 volt re-set'. Press it.

A small green light came on in the instrument cluster.

"Press the ignition button" he said. I did and the car spring back into life ! BINGO !!

It seems that this car is too clever by half. If it senses that you are running the battery down (by passing to and fro with the keyless entry fob in your pocket) or you have left the lights on or whatever else might run the 12v battery down when not running to recharge, the car will disconnect the battery through this 12 volt re-set circuit.

So remember that button if your Niro appears to have gone dead on you ! Thank goodness for a helpful local KIA dealer !

Re: Reviving the dead.

Posted: Thu Feb 27, 2020 7:31 pm
by Jangles
I have seen that button there and have wondered how it works, I was too lazy to look it up in the owners manual!

Re: Reviving the dead.

Posted: Fri Jul 31, 2020 3:15 pm
by h2onorth
Yes this is a modification on post 18 models only and is designed to prevent the 12 volt battery becoming discharged! It goes into safe mode as you have found.
Interesting addition I wonder why it was introduced since I have not heard of too many 'non silly' flat batteries on Niro

Re: Reviving the dead.

Posted: Wed Sep 30, 2020 12:12 am
by deguy
Now I don't use my car much (working from home), the battery goes dead in 1.5-2 weeks, which is a right faff, because I have the older model requiring a jump start. The first couple of times I even did that by climbing through the car into the boot to get to the battery, before I remembered there are terminals in the engine bay, even if the battery is in the boot!