[Mjkelly5a]

On Friday I got a warning on my dash that the Inverter Coolant was low. It was well below the minimum. There is nothing i can find in the manual. I took it in, they inspected the vehicle but couldn't find anything. They topped it up asked me to watch it daily but bring it back in a month anyway.

After less than 40 miles over 1 day its back to under minimum again. So it's going back tomorrow for a resolution. Apparently this has happened in the past with air bubbles in the system but after 4000 miles I fail to see how that could still be an issue.

Thing is I asked for a bottle of the fluid or the spec so I could buy it from Halfords etc. It is a Kia supplied fluid @ £75 for 2 litres (NOT a typo £75) and I can find no spec anywhere so I can't buy it. Nothing in the manual about it that I can find.

Does anyone know were I can find the actual spec or even what it is called?
Anybody else experienced this?

I must insert a note of caution here. The 2019 FE came with green coolant and you apparently can add ionised water: do not take my word on it but on the FB forum and at the dealers this was stated. On the 2020 Blue fluid you absolutely must not add water - go figure.

 

[prawlin]

Interesting to read this. It sounds like you may have a leak to me. My (Blue) coolant has been below the minimum mark right since I took delivery, not had the warning though (yet!) . I was considering going back to the dealer and asking for a quick top up, though I feel they would probably want it booking in for 'diagnosis', so I haven’t bothered, too much hassle. I also searched online to try find a bottle of the stuff myself but failed. I don’t think mine has dropped any further in 6 weeks/650 miles. You must be on a level surface when inspecting it as it varies dramatically on an incline. I had wondered if there was air bubbles in the system from the factory which subsequently burped out causing the slightly reduced level.

The blue type is quite special low (electrical) conductivity stuff. I knew it was said to be expensive but didn’t realise it was quite that much! Apparently it has to be entirely replaced at 3rd (or maybe 4th?) year service, which makes the service outrageously expensive sadly. You must not add ANY water or any other type of coolant. It went Blue with the 2020 model apparently.
Pic shows mine the day after delivery. It hasn’t changed since then AFAIK.

Peter

 

[prawlin]

Actually ****, after considering this a little more, yours might not have a leak. Presumably, in order to throw a low level warning, it might have drawn air in due to the outlet pipe not being fully submerged. This might cause the warning trigger? It might also mean that you will need several top ups to get the level back up as your induced air bubbles gradually burp out in use, after they topped it off.

All speculation of course but it seems plausible to me.

Peter

see this too.....

 

[Mjkelly5a]

Actually ****, after considering this a little more, yours might not have a leak. Presumably, in order to throw a low level warning, it might have drawn air in due to the outlet pipe not being fully submerged. This might cause the warning trigger? It might also mean that you will need several top ups to get the level back up as your induced air bubbles gradually burp out in use, after they topped it off.

All speculation of course but it seems plausible to me.

Peter

I'm with you. Apparently it's a very large coolant system. It was on my mind to suggest this to the dealer.

 

[prawlin]

Funny how the on screen message describes it as 'inverter coolant'

I'm with you. Apparently it's a very large coolant system. It was on my mind to suggest this to the dealer.

Yup. I believe it circulates through the big battery, the inverter, the traction motor etc etc. Lord knows how much it contains..... l shudder to think!

Ironic that the warning display just calls it 'inverter coolant' lol.
I bet many others have this fluid below the minimum level. I would be interested to know guys. Please check yours!

Peter

 

[dk6780]

So where has the coolant gone? Or was it just not completely filled by the factory in a system that you are not even allowed to remove the filler cap on? It's a fault either way.
Out of interest, how does the level change with temperature? If the car is hot after a fast run/rapid charge does the level change?

 

[Mjkelly5a]

So where has the coolant gone? Or was it just not completely filled by the factory in a system that you are not even allowed to remove the filler cap on? It's a fault either way.
Out of interest, how does the level change with temperature? If the car is hot after a fast run/rapid charge does the level change?

They can’t find a leak and there is no sign off coolant in my garage floor and there is a filler cap that you can remove and fill the bottle.

It’s doesn’t change with temperature it is the same now as when I parked it up from a 15 mile long run 4 hours ago.

But I’ll be a little more observant in that tomorrow.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[T67M]

After 2000 miles, the coolant in my MY2020 Kona is still pretty much bang on the maximum mark.

 

[prawlin]

They can’t find a leak and there is no sign off coolant in my garage floor and there is a filler cap that you can remove and fill the bottle......

You probably don’t want to hear this, but if there is a leak, it could well be inside the big battery housing. So your leaked fluid could be sloshing around inside the (watertight?) HV battery case (hence why no visible drips etc). You can be pretty certain they won’t have looked inside the big battery casing during their leak inspection process.

If this type of internal hemorrage has occurred before (with a possibly disastrous outcome!) that might totally explain why they did a sudden mysterious running change from the very cheap everlasting available anywhere green stuff (conductive) to this hyper expensive short life specialised blue stuff (non conductive)?

Food for thought maybe

Peter

 

[Ian]

Perhaps:-

Asian Blue Coolant

 

[Mjkelly5a]

You probably don’t want to hear this, but if there is a leak, it could well be inside the big battery housing. So your leaked fluid could be sloshing around inside the (watertight?) HV battery case (hence why no visible drips etc).

If this type of internal hemorrage has occurred before (with a possibly disastrous outcome!) that might totally explain why they did a sudden mysterious running change from the very cheap everlasting available anywhere green stuff (conductive) to this hyper expensive short life specialised blue stuff (non conductive)?

Food for thought maybe

Peter

We'll see it's their problem. +

 

[Greg Elmassian]

By the way, there are several manufacturers of the "blue" coolant, certified by Kia, and only slightly more expensive than the green.

A discussion of this fluid ad nauseum is somewhere here or on one of the other 3 forums. I am in the USA, so the brand I bought won't help.

ahh... here is the thread:

low-conductivity coolant

According this doc https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2019/MC-10164177-0001.pdf you can not switch the type of coolant. Does somebody know why? I prefer ofcourse the low-conductivity coolant.

www.speakev.com

I received mine low, like Peter's but after topping up, it has not moved.

A question to clarify: it came low, they topped it up, told you to watch it daily... then was it fine for a number of days, and then dropped all in one day?

If so, I would say another air bubble.... if you lost all that in one day, you would most likely see evidence of a leak, and probably the thing would be dry the next day.

So if my speculation is true, i.e. was fine for a while and dropped in a day, top it up. Make them top it up!

Also in the linked thread, I think there is plenty of info for you to find a place to buy it more painlessly.

Greg

 

[prawlin]

Perhaps:-

Asian Blue Coolant

I’m not fully convinced that stuff is anywhere near the stuff in our cars. It’s US made, Yes it’s blue, and it says meets a Kia spec (from 5 years back, they weren’t even making EVs then were they?) The spec doesn’t say anything about electrical conductivity (unless I’m going blind and missed it).

I reckon the stuff in our cars is rather more special, perhaps even not containing any water in the formula?

I certainly wouldn’t add anything for topping up other than the exact Kia stuff.

Peter

 

[Greg Elmassian]

I think you need to re-read the thread I linked, and you even posted on it!

Of course it contains water, main component.

Golly I hope this does not become like the battery charging threads..

 

[prawlin]

I think you need to re-read the thread I linked, and you even posted on it!

Of course it contains water, main component.

Golly I hope this does not become like the battery charging threads..

I remember that thread quite well Greg. I stopped reading/contributing when it rapidly degenerated into a silly p******g contest.

Peter

 

[prawlin]

..........If so, I would say another air bubble.... if you lost all that in one day, you would most likely see evidence of a leak, and probably the thing would be dry the next day.......

Not so if it has leaked inside the HV battery casing though. You would see no leaks anywhere!

Peter

 

[MarkyM]

Just as an aside, we cancelled a Soul EV MY2020 (I know this is the e-Niro forum but it still applies) order earlier this year, purely due to the servicing costs when they were finally revealed to us 2 days before collection. Firstly it was annoying that it was an annual service, but secondly I was really shocked about the service prices. And as you really want to keep that 7 year warranty in order you feel inclined to return to Kia for these services. I still have the paperwork with me. The 4th year was £277.87 and the 6th year- £493. Hopefully cheaper now. This was all down to the "motor or inverter" COOLANT changes. I mean, even the minor services in between were not that cheap too boot. Basically this EV was costing as much as or even more than an ICE car to service, and these prices and new coolant changes were new on this newer model (and not there for the previous Niro or Soul EVs). And remember they will always try charging for other things when the car is with them- eg- "the tread on one of the tyres is near the limit" "brake pads as well" I just felt Kia or Kia UK were trying to maintain their service charges on these new EVs which they know they would otherwise miss out on if they did not charge for something. Anyway lockdown announced soon after and buying a long range EV when we were most likely not going to do any long distance driving for a while, meant we cancelled the order. They (Niro and Soul) are still great cars, but not as cheap to run as they should be. £75 for 2 litres of coolant?! Does it have gold flakes in it?
An EV should not need annual dealer checks or servicing. There is nothing much to check.
Slightly off topic I know. Apologies.
Hope it is all sorted for you in the end.

 

[Greg Elmassian]

Not so if it has leaked inside the HV battery casing though. You would see no leaks anywhere!

Peter

Agreed, that is true, but the main point of my post is to find out if it was fine for a number of days, and then suddenly dropped all in one day, and if it has stayed stable thereafter.

I If so, then I think another air bubble has been found. Concentrating on helping the OP, not helping you start a pissing match.

Also, for the OP, that thread I linked should answer your questions, started from the Kia bulletin and you can follow the understanding. And many times it is indeed called "Asian Coolant"... the color blue appears standardized, and the Zerex brand I bought references the standard Kia requires.

Greg

 

[ClementsJ]

Funny how the on screen message describes it as 'inverter coolant'

Yup. I believe it circulates through the big battery, the inverter, the traction motor etc etc. Lord knows how much it contains..... l shudder to think!

Credit Neil Jackson.

 

[Billy the Kid]

Funny how the on screen message describes it as 'inverter coolant'

Yup. I believe it circulates through the big battery, the inverter, the traction motor etc etc. Lord knows how much it contains..... l shudder to think!

Ironic that the warning display just calls it 'inverter coolant' lol.
I bet many others have this fluid below the minimum level. I would be interested to know guys. Please check yours!

Peter

13 litres I believe.