I thought I saw it mentioned in the forum here (somewhere), but I'd have thought a good reason for having the vehicle inspected by a competent service department would be to make sure there isn't a leak that could cause further damage, before blindly topping it up.
And what do they mean by "designated coolant water" ? it might be safe to top up small amounts with de-ionized or distilled but I wouldn't risk it without being sure. The coolant isn't just water!

 

Just out of interest; Is that the same blue I used to have in my Cortina, or is it a new coolant and they ran out of colours, so it's come full circle now?

 

I had the same thing in my PHEV. I mentioned it to the garage when I took it in for it's first service and they topped it up. Didn't charge me for it either.

 

if it was a fancy coolant, the reservoir cap would have a wire seal on it like the Leaf and my Golf (which has pink coolant).

Waterless coolants do exist so beware:

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BEVs could do worse than just using a regular light [engine] oil rather than water based coolant, and share it with the gearbox to warm it up quicker, such is the lower need for carrying waste thermal energy away.

Maybe some sort of bio-oil, to keep up the enviro mental-credentials

 

If your coolant level is low, then you have a leak and the first thing you need to do is find it before you do anything else.


"blue" coolant in asian cars is not the same as "blue" coolant from eurocarparts, etc. It's usually DiaQueen or similar - a nearly transparent blue vs the darker blue at most factors

Super Long Life Coolant (SLLC) | Engine | ILLUSTRATED SERVICE & PARTS GUIDE | MITSUBISHI MOTORS - Toyota, Nissan and the korean makers all have their own branding

Don't use "blue" coolant from a motor factor or you risk damaging the water pump (there are abrasives in it)

The European equivalent is GM's orange "Dex-cool" coolant (or Triple QX orange if you're going to Europcarparts)

You can Buy DiaQueen coolant in the UK but it's 3-5 times the price of the orange stuff (£28-35 quid a litre!) - that said, if you use Dex-cool you'll need to dump the entire coolant loop, flush with deionised water (it's about £5/5 litres) and then refill

Distilled/deionised water for topup/flush is ok. TAP WATER IS NOT (scaling issues)

Ideally you should buy the kia/hyundai branded stuff if you can get it at a reasonable price and make sure it's the same colour. Don't mix coolants or bad things may happen (best case shortened coolant lifespan, worst case accelerated wear of water pump and other parts)

 

Blue coolant in Kia/Hyundai cars is Low Electrical Conductivity. It should be topped up with the same type fluid which should be available from your dealers' parts dept.

The filler cap is tamper protected and has a special label - The cap is not easy to undo.

John.

 

You could just insist on them seeing the car rather than trying to second guess what type it is.

As has been mentioned, it should be a sealed system in that it should never leak unless there's an issue. I'd take it in for them to find the source of the leak first.

 

It is very special stuff. Don’t add anything other than the genuine Hyundai/Kia stuff. Definitely no water!! You should report them to Kia UK for saying to put water in! That’s outrageous.

It’s electrically non conductive. The Kia dealers should have it in stock. Iirc it’s £25 for a 2L bottle. The car holds a whopping 14L iirc!
They should top it up for free, as it is not a consumable item, they did with mine at the first service, though I had to argue the point as tgey were about to charge me for it. It will have left the factory at the correct level, but with a trapped air pocket which eventually burped its way out into the reservoir. Then the fluid level drops to replace the burped air.

It will get replaced at the 3rd service and unfortunately we will have to pay for it then. Damned expensive service!!

The cap is sort of tamper proof…… It turns the opposite way to normal to unscrew it!

Peter

PS My level dropped 2 days after I took delivery! It was below the minimum but above the outlet pipes, so I knew it was ok until the first service. It’s not a leak, it didn’t drop any further in the entire year. Though it does normally go down in winter a little then back up in summertime

 

Hi Peter,
Thank you so much for posting this, I had no idea that the Inverter Coolant Cap unscrewed clockwise, and I am sure many people on hear were completely unaware of this.
I have purchased the Inverter Coolant as you know from one of my earlier posts, but I had not gotten around to toping the Coolant up as it is in-between min and max at the moment, so just been out, unscrewed cap clockwise and topped up, it only took a little coolant, 60ML to bring it back up.
Steve

 

As above, they suspected some kind of trapped air bubble in mine which eventually burped it's way out. It's remained at the same level since they topped it up, so a leak seems to have been eliminated as a cause at this stage.

 

In my Golf GTE, the coolant for the battery has its own expansion bottle which is sealed with a crimped wire loop on the cap so they will know if you've tampered, and presumably decline a warranty claim on the battery.

 

Yes, so probably don't buy a used GTE with the seal missing unless the service record mentions why.

 

Thanks to everyone for your help in this. I have now sent an email to Kia UK pointing out the difference between what is stated in the manual and what I was told by the dealer service department. I will let you know what they say. Hopefully they will contact the dealer and correct them so that damage is not done to other Kia EVs in the future. I will then get back to the dealer and get it topped up with the correct stuff but will also keep a close eye on the level myself to make sure that the system is not leaking.

 

The Ampera is similar and it's clear dealers don't do it properly based on the hours and costs folks have reported for that. Doesn't matter too much, so long as the warranty book gets a stamp and there aren't any major air locks, the bubbles will work their way out eventually. Almost certainly the reason for the OP finding their levels low.

 

Time will tell. My prediction is that despite the fangled process and equipment there will be a thread on here absolutely flooded with folk having their coolant level mysteriously drop within hour/days/weeks after that dreaded 3rd hyper expensive service. Mark my words!! I can see into the future, honestly 😉. Peter

 

GM created a profoundly simple solution to discovering that issue ... set the recommended 'refill' level to the top of the bottle rather than the middle.

 

Well! I have had a reply from Kia Customer Services.

First - what I said to them. Having quoted was in the manual I wrote:

I therefore phoned the service department of the Kia dealership where I bought the car to ask them if they could top it up for me. They said that they could but I could easily do it myself as it just needed water to top it up. This is clearly contrary to what it says in the manual and I would be grateful if you could clarify the position for me. I have been told that the blue coolant in Kia/Hyundai cars is low electrical conductivity and I certainly do not want to do any damage to my car (or have the dealer inadvertently cause damage) by adding water. Please advise.​

And now - their reply:

Thanks for your recent contact and your feedback.​

It’s great to hear you’ve purchased a Kia Niro 4+, welcome to the Kia family.​

I’d recommend you contacting your local dealership to obtain this information, if you are unhappy with the information, you have been provided, you’re welcome to reach out to another Kia dealership for their opinion.​

We’re unable to provide technical information as I’m not technically trained.​

Please see the link provided for you to be able to find all dealerships within your area.​

Find your Local Kia Dealer | Kia UK​

If there is anything else I can help you with, please get in touch via email or phone on 0333 2022 990.​

Kind regards​

So, in a nutshell, the advice is that I should contact my local dealership (who have already given me wrong information) and if that does not work then I should try another dealership to see if I can get correct information from them! As far as Kia Customer Services UK is concerned - they haven't got a clue. And what is someone not technically trained doing dealing with customers' problems? Surely the issue could have been passed on to someone who does know what they are talking about!

I am now going to contact Kia UK again to ask how I can contact someone who has been 'technically trained' to a level where they are competent enough to answer my enquiry.

I see that they have also sent me another email about a "survey regarding your interaction with Kia customer services." That's going to be fun!!!!!

 

Well! I have had a reply from Kia Customer Services.

First - what I said to them. Having quoted was in the manual I wrote:

I therefore phoned the service department of the Kia dealership where I bought the car to ask them if they could top it up for me. They said that they could but I could easily do it myself as it just needed water to top it up. This is clearly contrary to what it says in the manual and I would be grateful if you could clarify the position for me. I have been told that the blue coolant in Kia/Hyundai cars is low electrical conductivity and I certainly do not want to do any damage to my car (or have the dealer inadvertently cause damage) by adding water. Please advise.​

And now - their reply:

Thanks for your recent contact and your feedback.​

It’s great to hear you’ve purchased a Kia Niro 4+, welcome to the Kia family.​

I’d recommend you contacting your local dealership to obtain this information, if you are unhappy with the information, you have been provided, you’re welcome to reach out to another Kia dealership for their opinion.​

We’re unable to provide technical information as I’m not technically trained.​

Please see the link provided for you to be able to find all dealerships within your area.​

Find your Local Kia Dealer | Kia UK​

If there is anything else I can help you with, please get in touch via email or phone on 0333 2022 990.​

Kind regards​

So, in a nutshell, the advice is that I should contact my local dealership (who have already given me wrong information) and if that does not work then I should try another dealership to see if I can get correct information from them! As far as Kia Customer Services UK is concerned - they haven't got a clue. And what is someone not technically trained doing dealing with customers' problems? Surely the issue could have been passed on to someone who does know what they are talking about!

I am now going to contact Kia UK again to ask how I can contact someone who has been 'technically trained' to a level where they are competent enough to answer my enquiry.

I see that they have also sent me another email about a "survey regarding your interaction with Kia customer services." That's going to be fun!!!!!

Bog standard for all 'concessionaires'.

Had that with Renault too.

If you think about it, you actually have to contact at least 2 further dealers to ensure the second opinion is corroborated.

 

That is an utterly appalling response. It’s quite worrying that we have bought into such expensive cars that are loaded with new technology and it seems the national HQ cannot give any useful tech support and advice. Then to more or less say try another dealer to see if they might know any better. I think the cars are great, but the greatness in the company doesn’t extend very much outside of S Korea. Peter.

 

But then you end up with one local dealerships word Vs the other dealerships word. Then how you do you work out who is right?

Well.... As Mr H Hill says........ Only one way to find out!!!!

 

That was pretty much my experience with Kia "customer support" as well. They refer pretty much every technical query to your dealer, even if you tell them that your dealer hasn't a clue, which is why you're contacting them in the first place. And if you do then refer back to your dealer, the first thing they do is call Kia, and the circle is complete.

 

Just had my e Niro serviced at 30,000 miles. Kia Dealer charged for 2.5 units of Antifreeze @£44.98 so bill for £112.45 + 22.49 VAT+ Total £134.94. Either a very big 'Top up' or a very small complete change of antifreeze ?

 

Does your car have the Blue expensive stuff? Some early cars had the cheaper green stuff instaled.

It depends what they class as a “unit”? I suppose a unit is a 5L bottle as shown in pics further up this thread. 2.5 of those would be 12.5l which is in the right ball park quantity for a full coolant change. Also, if it is the blue stuff it should get changed at 30K/3y service.

The astonishing thing is how cheap it was! Have they lowered the price of the blue stuff drastically or have they made a cockup and charged you the standard green stuff price by mistake? In fact the entire service was cheap. The third one is reputed to cost hundreds! Peter

PS Nobody should ever have to pay for a coolant top up within the warranty period! Service replacement yes, but top up in between no. It is not a consumable item. The level should not go down unless there is a leak or a trapped air bubble burps out. If there was ever a leak, that should be a warranty repair. Coolant should never leak out or get consumed.

 

Last month I had my service done. One week later my screenwash warning light came on. I'd barely used it, so quickley came to the conclusion that it clearly had not been topped up as part of the service. Couldn't be bothered to take the car back and rip them a new one, so decided to just fill it up myself. When I did this I just happened to glance across at the inverter cooling resevoir. To my horror it was about 5mm below minimum. Something else that had not been done. That DID make me bothered to take it back. I made them do it straight away, reimburse the cost of the air con bomb and give me 5 litres of screenwash. Still gave them a 1 out of 10 review score. Will not be taking the car back to that particular dealership, next year.

 

Didn't someone get an analysis of the ingredients of this stuff? Same glycol based antifreeze and distilled water? So only possibly a few minor additives different. Some of those additives may not last so long and possibly breakdown to become more conductive electrically. If the battery hasn't leaked internally in 3 years it probably won't unless you have a bad accident. When my 3 year service comes up I might consider getting my car serviced by a non Kia garage if the price is seen as unreasonable. By then we should of seen if any cars with green coolant have had a problem. Just putting my thoughts out there

 

A local, and very good mechanic was going to have to pay well over $200.00 to Kia for 4 gallons of Battery System Coolant (system requires ~13 quarts), and that's before the labor - they say they have the equipment and software, but have not done the coolant flush before. The local Kia dealer says it's $249 for the complete job (plus sales tax). I have read that some dealers will do it for less (or more) but these guys are local.

Probably repeating some previous information, but here's a summary, plus info on a recent call to Valvoline:

Battery System Coolant (BSC-1 and BSC-2) is basically just antifreeze (ethylene glycol) and close-to-pure water, mixed 50/50, with a small amount of other ingredients, and it's designed with very low electrical conductivity. At this point in the US it's ONLY available from Hyundai/Kia. Dober makes it but probably OEMs it only to Hyundai/Kia and perhaps others.

Valvoline-Zerex Asian Blue is antifreeze but it's NOT made for battery system cooling. I checked with Valvoline support on Sept 22, 2023, and they confirmed this, and said they're still working on a BSC replacement for the factory item. There are posts elsewhere ranting about how Asian Blue is useable, but Valvoline says no, and that's right from the horse's mouth.

The reasons not to chance it, of course, are 1) safety - don't want no shorts in the battery system due to coolant leak and 2) warranty, warranty, and warranty!