[Arnold Schw]

Hi everybody,

I got my e-Niro (MY 2020) in December 2020 in the Netherlands.
Since then I drove 4800 km (3000 miles), with mixed feelings. The upside is that the Executive version (4+ in the UK?) is loaded with comfort enhancing goodies. The seats are super, loads of room and of course a smooth and quiet drive.
However, there are some downsides l like to mention, hoping that someone had THE answer/solution.
1. Heater broke down in January 2021. This is fairy common when I see the posts here.
2. Blind spot monitoring: one on the driver side (left in my case) is working well. The one on the passenger side is rubbish. It will spot about 70% of cars and only 10-20% of lorry's... Kia Netherlands say this is 'how it is made and the is no fix'....
3. My main problem however is the (adaptive) cruise control. In both normal cruise contol as well as the adaptive version it holds the set speed, but... Within the set speed the cruise constantly (!) brakes a little bit and then accelerates a bit. So, it isn't smooth. The car is constantly moving (brake-gas-brak-gas-brake-gas). It is more when going (slightly) uphill or downhill. Even a tail wind causes more of the brake-gas effect... Or as my 8-year old said: daddy, why are you braking all the time?? Ehhh, no, that's the car son....
I'm wondering if anyone has the same experience with the cruise? And if so, was there a cure?
Kia Netherlands say this is a 'product feature' and can't be fixed...

I can live with the blind spot not working (but why putting it on a car when Kia knows it is not reliable?). The cruise is a different matter that I would like to get solved. So any help would be highly appreciated.

 

[Rei]

That doesn't sound right at all. I did test drive one a long time ago and don't remember it braking all the time with adaptive cruise control. I'm sure some of the long time owners around here can confirm.

Maybe you could ask to test drive one of their demonstrators and see if it is the same, then they can't tell you that it's just designed that way.

 

[peterca]

3. My main problem however is the (adaptive) cruise control. In both normal cruise contol as well as the adaptive version it holds the set speed, but... Within the set speed the cruise constantly (!) brakes a little bit and then accelerates a bit. So, it isn't smooth. The car is constantly moving (brake-gas-brak-gas-brake-gas). It is more when going (slightly) uphill or downhill. Even a tail wind causes more of the brake-gas effect... Or as my 8-year old said: daddy, why are you braking all the time?? Ehhh, no, that's the car son....
I'm wondering if anyone has the same experience with the cruise? And if so, was there a cure?
Kia Netherlands say this is a 'product feature' and can't be fixed...

I have found the adaptive cruise control on my MY20 4 to be excellent and entirely smooth. I cannot understand why yours should be so uneven. I do have mine set for the maximum distance between me and the vehicle I am following, but it has always operated very smoothly. I generally only use it on motorways (or motorway type roads. Perhaps I should try it on more difficult roads.

 

[Arnold Schw]

That doesn't sound right at all. I did test drive one a long time ago and don't remember it braking all the time with adaptive cruise control. I'm sure some of the long time owners around here can confirm.

Maybe you could ask to test drive one of their demonstrators and see if it is the same, then they can't tell you that it's just designed that way.

When my car was at the dealer for the heater fix, I had two (!) demo cars (My 2019 and MY2021) and both (!) had the same issue... So unfortunately, it's not only my car.

 

[DragonQ]

Doesn't sound right to me. I use SCC all the time, even around town when possible and I don't feel a constant acclerate-brake effect.

 

[Teal9]

Doesn't sound right to me. I use SCC all the time, even around town when possible and I don't feel a constant acclerate-brake effect.

Agreed, mine is first ed, SCC smooth in town with detection set to minimum and mode in eco.
No head nodding

 

[peterca]

A further thought - the car uses regeneration to slow where possible when using adaptive cruise control. My regeneration has always been set to auto. If it is not set to auto could that affect the smoothness of the slowing down?

 

[Edd Beesley]

There’s a “responsiveness” setting in the menu somewhere, how is yours set?

 

[Arnold Schw]

A further thought - the car uses regeneration to slow where possible when using adaptive cruise control. My regeneration has always been set to auto. If it is not set to auto could that affect the smoothness of the slowing down?

Hi Peterca, I used all regen settings from 0 to 3 and auto, all in combination with Eco, Normal and Sport driving mode. Makes no difference...
When slowing down (traffic light, turn) the regen is fine and smooth! It is only when driving on adaptive or normal cc that you feel the car brake-accelerate within the 1km band with of the set speed...

 

[Arnold Schw]

There’s a “responsiveness” setting in the menu somewhere, how is yours set?

I will have look later on. Come back to you!

 

[Xinix]

There’s a “responsiveness” setting in the menu somewhere, how is yours set?

Good remark! Might be that. I join the army of 'doesn't happen to me' soldiers. Mine is set as normal.

When going downhill I can notice the car applying more / less regen to maintain set speed, but it is hardly noticeable and when driving on flat or uphill it is absolutely smooth.

 

[Billy the Kid]

I will have look later on. Come back to you!

From the manual

 

[finchlean]

I have the Soul and have not experienced either of these problems.
As someone else suggested try increasing the distance to leading car in SCC settings.
The blind spot monitoring should be symmetrical. The rear facing radars are mounted in the rear bumper. Do you have a sticker/decal obstructing the radar or has the bumper been hit and now out of alignment?

 

[Arnold Schw]

From the manual View attachment 141348

Couldn't wait what the setting in my Niro was... Is was set on "slow". So I've changed it to "Normal". I will test it on the commute back from the office...
Would be great when this would be THE solution...

 

[Arnold Schw]

I have the Soul and have not experienced either of these problems.
As someone else suggested try increasing the distance to leading car in SCC settings.
The blind spot monitoring should be symmetrical. The rear facing radars are mounted in the rear bumper. Do you have a sticker/decal obstructing the radar or has the bumper been hit and now out of alignment?

I don't use the adaptive cruise control, only the 'normal' one (just speed, not distance).
As for the blind spot monitoring: I didn't notice any obsttructions/stickers, but I'll have another walk around the car.

 

[Nick Heenan]

Hi everybody,

I got my e-Niro (MY 2020) in December 2020 in the Netherlands.
Since then I drove 4800 km (3000 miles), with mixed feelings. The upside is that the Executive version (4+ in the UK?) is loaded with comfort enhancing goodies. The seats are super, loads of room and of course a smooth and quiet drive.
However, there are some downsides l like to mention, hoping that someone had THE answer/solution.
1. Heater broke down in January 2021. This is fairy common when I see the posts here.
2. Blind spot monitoring: one on the driver side (left in my case) is working well. The one on the passenger side is rubbish. It will spot about 70% of cars and only 10-20% of lorry's... Kia Netherlands say this is 'how it is made and the is no fix'....
3. My main problem however is the (adaptive) cruise control. In both normal cruise contol as well as the adaptive version it holds the set speed, but... Within the set speed the cruise constantly (!) brakes a little bit and then accelerates a bit. So, it isn't smooth. The car is constantly moving (brake-gas-brak-gas-brake-gas). It is more when going (slightly) uphill or downhill. Even a tail wind causes more of the brake-gas effect... Or as my 8-year old said: daddy, why are you braking all the time?? Ehhh, no, that's the car son....
I'm wondering if anyone has the same experience with the cruise? And if so, was there a cure?
Kia Netherlands say this is a 'product feature' and can't be fixed...

I can live with the blind spot not working (but why putting it on a car when Kia knows it is not reliable?). The cruise is a different matter that I would like to get solved. So any help would be highly appreciated.

Have you tried turning the regen braking down to the minimum allowed when cruise control is set (eg turn it off completely before setting the cruise control). When regen is set to maximum, this kind of brake-gas behaviour is quite common even when NOT using cruise control and relying on just your right foot, and for obvious reasons this can significantly reduce the range you can achieve...

 

[BillTheButcher]

Another vote for the SCC setting. I drove to the office last week with SCC set to Normal and then changed it to Fast for the journey home later that day just to see the effect. On the way home, the car behaved exactly as you described. I've since put it back to normal and SCC is really smooth again.

 

[Arnold Schw]

Have you tried turning the regen braking down to the minimum allowed when cruise control is set (eg turn it off completely before setting the cruise control). When regen is set to maximum, this kind of brake-gas behaviour is quite common even when NOT using cruise control and relying on just your right foot, and for obvious reasons this can significantly reduce the range you can achieve...

I'll try this one as well. I tried it the other way around: set the cruise and later change the regen levels. That didn't help.
If this is the trick, you always have the following procedure: start, drive out of town, set the cruise, change the regen from zero to 1, 2 or 3. I'm getting tired already doing this every day...

 

[Xinix]

Regen level has nothing to do with it. When the car is running with SCC enabled it regulates regen levels automatically.

FTR I always have level 3 enabled and SCC is smooth as butter for me.

 

[idiotzoo]

Another happy SCC user here. There is a slight delay when first enabling it I've noticed that creates a little hesitation, but the only time it's been a bit strange is once going round a sweeping bend it interpreted a vehicle next to me as being in my lane and slowed down unnecessarily. In several hundred miles of UK motorway driving SCC it's smooth and refined.