Do you leave your car plugged into your home charger all the time at home.
A famous EV acronym is ABC "Always Be Charging". If you leave it plugged in that might help.
Most EV's never completely turn off unless there is an option in the menus to do that. They use the 12 volt battery to run fans and pumps etc. to keep the car comfortable.
For instance, I just learned today that OTA updates are always downloaded in the background whether it is parked or being driven as long as it has a cellular signal like the 4 mBps (bad) at my house or the 671 mBPS (Excellant) signal parked near a cellular tower.

 

I have heard OTA updates happening in the background are a concern. I did have it plugged in, but not charging. My charge hit 80% (which I have the car set to stop charging at that point) and I hit the "stop charging" button on my ChargePoint app.

 

An informal poll on Reddit shows out of 130 cars, 30 have experienced this issue and many are in the shop with Kia engineers trying to figure out what it is. Some blame the digital keys. Others say that keeping the charge lock option shuts on 12v Regen. No one really knows.

 

Our car is also in at the Kia service center after having them replace the 12v from another EV9. They are bringing in an engineer from Korea supposedly to diagnose the issue. But we have 130 miles and the 12v died twice after being jump started from the tow company.

Spoke to the service center and they have yet to replicate the 12v drain issue, I am thinking it has something to do with the digital key being in close proximity triggering the car to turn on since our car is in our garage.

 

Not sure if this will help you out, but in this video this guy has some ideas to potentially stop the battery from draining. Seems a lot could be fixed with a software update.

Also part of a group someone had a base trim awd, parked outside all night -30C (-22F) Had no issues other than some obvious range decrease.

 

check out the redit ev9 posts (https://www.reddit.com/r/KiaEV9/) - lots of 12v threads there with ton of info on what others are sharing and some idea.

I personally haven't had the issue and it's been almost a month. I'm also kinda taking precautions by not setting up things like fingerprint and digital key that some think could be one of the reasons for the 12v drain. some think is leaving the charge cord in. some think just a bad batch of batteries.

 

Thanks for the comments. If that video has any truth, I definitely have a digital key on my phone (and run back and forth passed the garage in my house all day) ... and because it was my first couple weeks, I didn't have an L2 charger installed yet (just got it) ... So once the car got around 5% battery I plugged it in with a trickle charger. I used that for about 4 days straight and only unplugged it to pick up my kid from school. So it was about 23 hours a day for 4 days or so with the charger lock engaged. So if a digital key and charger lock are two possible culprits, both are possibilities for me.

 

You really shouldn't let your battery get down to 5% in daily usage. Just like charging the battery to 100% and leaving it there for a long time, letting it get down below 20% is Bad for the battery if left there. If you are doing a trip and doing multiple charges it is not a problem.
Level 1 charging (120 volts) does not provide enough power to make up for preconditioning. If you have a Level 2 charger (240 volts) using a 14-50 connector or hardwired, the car will draw power from the Level 2 if it is plugged in and continue charging the batteries.

 

I've not had this issue coming at 16k mikes and almost two years of ownership.
I do keep an eye on the battery. When it discharges (car off) to <12.59V, charging starts. This is repeatable.
I'm not sure the Kia charge profile is very good for lead acid long term life, according to Battery University Side note, I see LiPo drop in replacements and this profile doesn't look good for those either.

 

Well my situation was really annoying. We were called last week to pick up EV 9. We showed up they seemed really concerned. I ask to see vehicle. They kept delaying for 45 minutes. We finally asked where's the car is are there any issues?? After delaying for another 20 minutes. They finally drove us down the street dealer storage. The EV 9 bricked 1 block away from the dealer. We were shocked but i guess not surprised that something was up. They couldn't get it power up. They had 6 techs looking at it when we drove by. They took us to storage to pick another EV9. Lower grade trims are all they had. So we drove away. We are glad all this happen before we signed any paperwork. We owned two Mach-E and Kia Niro plug-in. We never had any issues. I don't think we will be following thru with the purchase of the EV9.

 

I really would put this more on dealer ineptitude and less on the car.

 

It is the first months of a new model so you have to be ready for a few issues if you want to be an early adopter. It is frustrating that Hyundai/Kia keep having this issue, though.

To be fair, years ago when I bought a Nissan Frontier it refused to start until they put a new battery in it. The difference is that the dealership just went and grabbed a battery, it seems to take a special dispensation from the Pope for Kia to let the dealers replace a battery.

 

In a perfect world it would keep a float charge (13.8V?) indefinitely I guess, but thats unrealistic since it would drain the HV battery instead. Doesn't look too bad to me. But that battery looks oddly low-voltage, our 8 year old AGM battery in our Passat rests at ~12.6V but in my mind a newer battery should be higher than that unless there is some excessive drain. In theory that voltage is 70-80% charged.

 

I'm curious if the 110v outlet is active and usable when the 12v battery is dead. If so, then you could use the 110v outlet and a battery booster to jump start the 12v. Thinking about how to work around this if you're stranded on a road trip.

 

If the 12V is "dead dead" then nothing works. The 12V is used to open the contactor for the HV battery so no go juice without it.

 

Digital key 2 being an issue seems very likely at this point (and very likely other sleep mode issues as well). Just for reference phones that support UWB (same tech as air tags) and the car can locate each other 100-200 feet away - in theory so the car can be all ready for you when you get there - you don't even need to be all that close but it definitely seems it wakes way to much of the car up at this time. If your phone supports it you could turn off just the UWB portion of your digital key so you can still use it as an nfc key but that depends on the phone if you can or can't. May be safer to just turn off until we have more confirmation that things are fixed.

Unfortunately the more electronic features a car has the harder it is to get the software right to turn on and off the right systems in the right conditions. At least Kia can push OTA updates to just about all electrical systems in the car so these issues should get fixed without going to the dealer for those that have not yet experienced the issue.

Devices with UWB are these so if you got one of those you'd be more likely affected:

• Apple iPhone 11, 12, 13, and 14
• Apple Watch series 6, 7, 8, and Ultra.
• Google Pixel 6 Pro 7 Pro
• Samsung Galaxy Note 20, Galaxy S21, Galaxy S22, Galaxy S23, Galaxy Z Fold 2, Galaxy Z Fold 3, Galaxy Z Fold 4
• Xiaomi Mix 4.

 

There is an option in the iOS wallet app under the digital key to enable or disable passive entry. That might turn off the UWB, but i am not certain.

 

This is how it works in the GV60. Passive Entry = UWB and disabled = NFC Touch

 

Has anyone replaced their 12v battery and re-enabled Digital Key?

Have read in other places this issue is mainly due to poor 12v batteries being provided by KIA.

 

I picked up my EV9 two weeks ago. I've driven about 200 miles. Yesterday morning I went to take my kid to school (had about 70% charge) and the car was dead. After some research, I learned about the 12v needing a jump start, and was able to get Kia roadside out to jump it. I drove it for a bit and went to a store to pick up a unit to jump start it again as a future "just in case" .... when I got home, I put it back on my L2 charger to get it back up to 80% and try to give a little more juice to it. This morning (the next day) my 12v is dead again.

I don't drive a ton, but it's frequently around 10 miles a day. The only issue I can think of is the temperature, which is around 20-30 degrees F outside, and not much warmer in the garage. But would that be the issue? I know I've read now that it's not uncommon to have 12v issues. But after 2 weeks and 200 miles to have it need a jump twice?

Is it weather or something else? Help 🙏

If you plug your vtl (240v/110v) outlet plug it switches on 12v charging. (on my ev6). I tried it and it works. Iv never tried it on a dead/flat 12v batt. But I will if my goes flat. I also have a blue tooth battery monitor permanently attached so I can see the battery charge.

 

You're correct about the first part. However, if the 12v goes flat, your V2L connector won't turn on because the 12v battery opens the contactor to allow V2L or any other system to access the HV battery. There's no other solution than an external power source jumping the car or replacing the 12v battery once it goes bad.

 

I picked up my EV9 two weeks ago. I've driven about 200 miles. Yesterday morning I went to take my kid to school (had about 70% charge) and the car was dead. After some research, I learned about the 12v needing a jump start, and was able to get Kia roadside out to jump it. I drove it for a bit and went to a store to pick up a unit to jump start it again as a future "just in case" .... when I got home, I put it back on my L2 charger to get it back up to 80% and try to give a little more juice to it. This morning (the next day) my 12v is dead again.

I don't drive a ton, but it's frequently around 10 miles a day. The only issue I can think of is the temperature, which is around 20-30 degrees F outside, and not much warmer in the garage. But would that be the issue? I know I've read now that it's not uncommon to have 12v issues. But after 2 weeks and 200 miles to have it need a jump twice?

Is it weather or something else? Help 🙏

I had the same problem, I had several incidents like yours, I carry a jump start power unit and it starts right up. I left it at the dealer they were unable to duplicate my problem, they had it for a week without a problem. Brought it home and it was dead the next day, I called Kia and they towed it with tow dollies to the dealer, they tested and found the battery was faulty after 4 days and a special technician visiting the dealer. They replaced the battery and not a problem since. I still have the power pack in the back seat. Just in case.
Good Luck

Mike in SF

 

Are you by chance using the digital key? The dealership still has our car for 2 weeks (2nd time going back to the dealership after they replaced the 12v the first time), they recently called with generic questions with their engineer from Korea on site to try to troubleshoot. (where is parked? are you charging it overnight? was there a key left inside the car? are you using kia access app?

The Kia team said they have to keep our car for a few more days to test but have yet to replicate the 12v drain issue, leading me to think it is the digital key.

 

Is it possible to attach a low amp battery tender to the 12v battery just to make to sure it's always topped off?

 

So I’ve jumped it 3 times now since I got it on 12/30. And that includes 6 days of not driving being iced in.

I can jump it and drive it for a bit. Will the 12v eventually not need jumped anymore, or should I actually get a charger for the 12v to “reload it” and not just a jump starter?

I’m trying to not have to jump start my car every time I get in it. And it’s a lease.

Do I just drive it for a bit and it will recover?
Do I buy a charger and actually charge the 12v?
Do I complain to Kia and get them to replace it under warranty?
Do I just go get another better 12v and it doesn’t matter for my lease?

 

I would have the dealership replace it at this point . Have you tried the things listed to people believe is tied to the 12v dying?

 

Once a 12V lead acid battery has been deeply discharged enough to require jump starting more than once or twice it’s permanently toasted and should be replaced.

 

Here's another YouTube video about the 12V batteries.

 

I’ve had my EV9 for less than 3
Weeks. Week 2 we had an ice storm,
Didn’t move the car for 4 days. I had the auto warm scheduled daily for my normal morning routine and didn’t turn it off thinking it would be good to defrost it a little once in a while. Day 4 the car was bricked, battery was at 58%. Had Kia come jump the 12v, but after looking up the issue I felt really uneasy about it so I ordered a portable jumper.
I also disconnected my remote key and turned off my climate schedule. No issue with it again so far. That was 4 days ago.

 

I’ve had my EV9 for less than 3
Weeks. Week 2 we had an ice storm,
Didn’t move the car for 4 days. I had the auto warm scheduled daily for my normal morning routine and didn’t turn it off thinking it would be good to defrost it a little once in a while. Day 4 the car was bricked, battery was at 58%. Had Kia come jump the 12v, but after looking up the issue I felt really uneasy about it so I ordered a portable jumper.
I also disconnected my remote key and turned off my climate schedule. No issue with it again so far. That was 4 days ago.

remote key, you mean, the phone digital key right?

 

Just got our EV9 back for the 2nd time from the service center today after 20 days. They replaced the 12v battery and said the engineers updated the firmware. I will update to see if this fixed the 12v drain issue as I will keep my digital key enabled.

 

Did the engineer bought some kimchi from abroad? lol.
I am just joking, as I'm also asian, working with software engineers all the time.
Hopefully they hire some samsung phone engineer to troubleshoot these issues.

 

How often is the 12 V battery supposed to charge in the EV6/EV9/Ioniq5/6? Is it supposed to be charged daily automatically or can it be changed via the UI or perhaps a future OTA/manual update? Does it charge when the car is off for few days / parked and would leaving the car plugged in to trickle charge alleviate 12v battery drain?

I’m considering a dash cam once I get the car and likely hardwiring to a powercell 8 from blackboxmycar to do parking mode to alleviate 12v concerns and wondering about same thing plugging in car to keep 12v charged to power the powercell for the dash cam especially if car sat in my driveway for few days or extended vacation but still wanted to keep parking mode coverage (vs an ICE car where the 12v battery would probably just die unless powercell prevents that by preventing drain when too low)

Wondering if trickle charging will keep this 12v at bay until Kia/Hyundai have a solution in general putting my dash cam question aside?

 

BTW using the EVSE to trickle charge and not using a 12v battery tender is what I meant

 

How often is the 12 V battery supposed to charge in the EV6/EV9/Ioniq5/6? Is it supposed to be charged daily automatically or can it be changed via the UI or perhaps a future OTA/manual update? Does it charge when the car is off for few days / parked and would leaving the car plugged in to trickle charge alleviate 12v battery drain?

There aren't too many known specifics about aux battery saver system in the E-GMP cars because Hyundai/Kia doesn't release them and the system isn't simple so it's hard to give factual numbers. It should be capable of charging the car daily if it determines the battery needs it. It operates automatically and none of it can be changed manually. What is known for sure is that the system periodically checks the 12v battery voltage and also the 12v SOH and if it determines they fall under the threshold, it initiates charging. The system can also be in a non-operative state if it has decided that the 12v battery is bad. This happens when it initiates many (10?) charging sessions in a short time frame and does not see that the 12v health is improving from those. It can also be non-operative below a certain HVB SOC to preserve the HVB. The exact threshold of HVB where it no longer operates is also kinda murky. It was believed to be 30% cutoff, but recently Hyundai released a TSB that states they have changed it to a 10% threshold (https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2023/MC-10244986-0001.pdf). No such TSB literature for Kia's have this but maybe it was silently rolled into one of the updates? Either that or it works differently on Kia vs Hyandai/Genesis vehicles...

I’m considering a dash cam once I get the car and likely hardwiring to a powercell 8 from blackboxmycar to do parking mode to alleviate 12v concerns and wondering about same thing plugging in car to keep 12v charged to power the powercell for the dash cam especially if car sat in my driveway for few days or extended vacation but still wanted to keep parking mode coverage (vs an ICE car where the 12v battery would probably just die unless powercell prevents that by preventing drain when too low)

Wondering if trickle charging will keep this 12v at bay until Kia/Hyundai have a solution in general putting my dash cam question aside?

L1/L2 charging will keep the 12v charged, while the onboard charging electronics are active. Meaning, once you hit 80% or 100% or whatever your charging limit is, everything turns off. So L1 charging and reducing the AC maximum current on the EV settings to 60% would prolong the charging session for the longest time period possible.

Another way to indefinitely charge the 12v is to plug in the V2L adapter and power it on. It activates the charging electronics, this time with a slight drain to the HVB battery instead of charging it.

To your last question, yes, in general a trickle charge helps to keep a 12v happy and could be helpful to prolonging a 12v battery that sometimes sees extended periods of time with loads on it, as these E-GMP EV's do. But, it's not clear that everyone having 12v problems is due to a weakening battery that got slowly overwhelmed. Some people get a reading of 3v when they discover they have a dead battery and had just been driving it hours prior. 12v batteries can fail in multiple ways including internal shorting or a bad cell. Some (if not many) of these failures seen are just poor manufacturing quality and something you can't prevent no matter what you're doing.

There are so many threads about this but one that I think has a couple of good tidbits about the 12v battery problem and the aux battery saver system. Might be worth a read

https://www.kiaevforums.com/threads/replace-oem-12v-battery-with-an-agm-one-before-it-fails-your-opinion.9902/page-3