The problem is using EA. You never know what you're going to get or if you get anything at all if 3 out of 4 are down and the last one available has a Bolt using it charging from 5%.

 

You didn't say where you are located. If you're somewhere in the Rockies with cold days already your battery may not have been conditioned to optimum temperature for a fast charge. You can manually begin battery conditioning before you reach a charging destination. Learn how to find the toggle in your menu options.
The particular charger you plugged into may also have been derated by EA. When you see you are getting a pitifully slow charge try moving to another pedestal or consider moving to a nearby alternative to EA if one exists, i.e., EVgo, Ionna, etc. Another alternative is to use a Tesla site that you've confirmed is open to non-Teslas. At least 85 kW at a steady rate will get you to 80% without the hassle you experienced. Finally, be aware that shortly after reaching 80% you may be treated to the "Korean Siesta" during which charging plummets to around 4-5 kW for maybe ten minutes and then shoots back up to a healthy rate.

 

I've used EA a lot, and many times one of the units might not be up to 'par', when it comes to speed you expect... one location in Chipley, FL off I10 is an example. One unit worked at only 43kw, which I knew was problematic... I moved to the unit right next to it, and received the anticipated 120-180kw speeds...

while any 'advertised' 350kw or 150kw stated speeds are 'maximum', that doesn't mean you'll ever see that... many vehicles will never charge faster than almost 150kw, regardless... you might see over 200kw once in a blue moon, but I don't bank on it...

if you use Tesla Superchargers, you might only see a max of 85kw... which is 'normal', at least right now, for EV9 models...

at a recent 'RED E' station, which are uncommon in our travels, it started at a 17kw for a minute, which is unnerving, but, with patience, it ramped up to the more expected 60kw from then on... their stations, at least at this location, max out at 60.

 

That is common for EA stations. When I am travelling with the Lightning (150kW max) although I try to leave the 350s open, that is not always possible. Many times I have encountered 350kW chargers that charge at a really slow rate, switching to the 150 kW when available puts me back up to 150kW. I suspect that there may be a heat issue with the pedestals.

Unless you really need the range, it is better to charge to 80% especially with the fast charging Kia. The charge rates really slow down above 80% and it is harder on your battery - and at a working 350kW charger it takes very little time to add 10%. I believe that it is better for the battery to arrive with a really low state of charge than it is to fast charge above the recommended percentage.

The Tesla adapter has been a game changer.

 

...

The Tesla adapter has been a game changer.

Agree on the Tesla adapter being a game changer as it gives me much more piece of mind knowing I have many more options. The other thing I've found is that although they're a lot slower (80kwh or so max with my EV9) then EA at 350 kwh, there a LOT more chargers per stations. I like the fact that EA chargers are at many Walmart's, Sam's Clubs, and Meijer's, but generally there are only 4-6 vs up to 20 Telsa stations.

 

sometimes you get the max speed of 215kW, and sometimes you get 50kW. It all depends on your car and the station you're on.

EA stations are some of the most poorly maintained charging stations out of any company. They have so many out there which I believe is part of the reason. I'm guessing they can't hire enough people to fix them.

 

Every DCFC session is unique, depending on ambient temperature, HVB temperature, state of charge, as well as the capability of the charging station. A full charge curve looks something like this.

This charging profile is achievable whenever the HVB temperature is between 77F and 150F. Personal best is 245kWh at about 80F and 55% SOC. I've also maxed out at 35 kWh... at about 20F, so 40-45F HVB*. Yes, preconditioning would have helped, but circumstances don't always allow.

I was at 60% and wanted to charge to 90%

At 60% SOC, you're past peak energy transfer. A cool HVB explains the rising charge power: charging heats the HVB, allowing it to take higher charge power. Look into pre-conditioning the HVB if you want to do better.

* The HVB temperature controls keep the HVB in the 40-90F range, based on lots of cold starts, and a few high-current DCFC sessions.

 

Way too much analysis here when the only problem was that OP didn't precondition the battery. That's all. It warmed up during charging, and the speed increased.

 

preconditioning does not change how the CHARGING UNIT works, only how easily the vehicle accepts the power, in SOME conditions - those of us who don't 'pre-condition' aren't at some type of disadvantage just because we don't - I've seen the highest Charging speeds at the hottest part of the day with no 'extra' preconditioning - the vehicle has been driving for many miles, if not hundreds, and is already 'ready' for full power...

Pre-condiitioning is more appropriate when the battery is COLD, and/or when you are DC Fast Charging without already having driven many miles to warm the pack, in COLD climates, especially...

many DC Fast Chargers have internal issues, or reasons, why they are derating, or limiting, their output, at any given moment... it has little if anything to do with the vehicle attached to it.

 

The problem wasn't the charger - it ramped up as the charge session continued.

 

Which makes the point that chargers would benefit from DISPLAYING the max charge rate the CAR is willing to accept. As it is, we don't know who to blame, and thus how to fix it.

I'm sure they don't want us to know that their 350KW charger is only capable of 40KW right now, but I suspect that more often it is the CAR that is the limit.

 

50kW is awfully low unless you are in extreme weather conditions, and seems to be the default for fast chargers that are having issues. I have only seen this behavior at EA stations, and switching pedestals has worked to give me full power. It is just part of the EV dance unfortunately. It is an annoyance to be charging at Chevy Bolt speeds (or VW e-Golf) when you have a car that charges really fast, so swap cables and if that doesn’t work then put in enough to make it to the next station.

This is where you will appreciate the Tesla adapter.

 

50kW is awfully low unless you are in extreme weather conditions

It isn't, unless you consider 50F "extreme." In the EV6, with a minimum cell temp anywhere below 50F, charging will be throttled to 50kW. I'm not sure about the EV9 but considering the smaller battery option is lower capacity than the EV6, I'd expect at least the same throttling or worse. Given "57" kW from OP, that would make sense to me for even the larger pack option.

Preconditioning is critical in fall/winter/spring

 

A few things to keep in mind (some already pointed out to some extent):

1. The charger's 350 kW rating is what the charger is capable of... the car also has a separate maximum charge rate. For the EV9 that's about 218 kW, which I've gotten to several times at an EA station.
2. As you get to a higher state of charge, the charge rate will slow down, especially once above 80%.
3. The car's battery cannot receive it's maximum charge rate if the battery is cold.
4. If you're charging at a V3 Tesla supercharger, if you have a CCS port, you will not get above 85 kW. If you have a 2026 EV9 with a NACS port, you will not get above 125 kW. These are limitations on the car-side as the V3 superchargers use a 400 V architecture whereas the EV9 uses 800 V architecture, so the car needs to step up the voltage and the onboard hardware has a limitation to do that.

 

Normally after 80% the charging system slows because it is almost full. The slow build up of kw is probably because you did not precondition the battery. I am been using EA stations and have never had any issues.

 

So I’ve had nothing but good experiences at EA. First I know that even though it is an ‘up to 350kw’ charger few if any cars can actually get that rate in the US. My EV9 gets about 235 kw, if it’s at around 20% SOC. Then there is a nice long flat charge curve until about 70% when it will slow down gradually until 80% when there is a significant drop in rate. I usually stop there. No need to go higher. And I always make sure I precondition if it’s needed.

 

Same with me, mostly. I've done several coast to coast trips in our Niro and ID.4 and several other shorter trips (so far) in our EV9. 95% of that charging was at EA stations. The vast majority of the time, the charge rate hits the max that the car can take. I've had a few chargers that wouldn't start but was able to move to an adjacent one. Had one charger in Albany NY that wouldn't go above 25KW (on a 350KW) so we abandoned it and decided to charge farther down the road. (Unfortunately, nothing else down the road worked! Fortunately, we got home without charging anyway.)

We've used EA because we had free juice with both the ID.4 and the EV9 and the EA chargers are plentiful and fast most of the time. We've about used up the free juice and the Kia Charge Pass makes it SO much easier to use other networks so my charging will be more like gas from now on -- stopping wherever is most convenient. What a concept!

 

Not sure how many long trips you take (i.e. how often you need to use DC fast charging) but my EA free charging still has some free balance for my April '23 EV6 AWD. From that you can tell most of our driving is within the 300 mile or so range we have been getting from the EV6. I love having free charging on the long trips we take and the 3 years for that credit to last.

The "YOUR MILEAGE MAY VARY" concept applies here (i.e. to EV charging).

This is one of the variables with EVs which differ from ICE vehicles. Fueling time for an EV can vary more than it does for ICEs. It would be nice to expect to get the maximum charging rate all the time, but as you have just seen, that is not always going to be the case There are some things that can help predict what to expect - but may not be under your control, and some things that ARE in your control as well. In the future, new battery chemistries could eliminate this variability, but for now it is what it is.

Normally you see statements of the max level of charging for both the EV and the charger. But there are a number of factors that can impact the actual charging rate you get in a specific charging session. That is much less noticeable with AC level 1 or 2 charging, and more noticeable with DC fast charging, but applies in either case. Those factors could be in either or both the EV and the charger.

EV ACCEPTANCE RATE and CHARGER OUTPUT RATE you are probably already familiar with, since you have noted the charger's 350 kW rate. The EV9 has, as I understand it, a 215 kW maximum acceptance rate, which a 350kW charger could potentially provide, while a 150kW or lower charger will not. As I am guessing you already know, even if charger says 350 the EV9 will only allow up to around 215 or so.

The charger has some potential limitations. It may or may not be able to get the maximum it needs from the grid (i.e. from the utility that it gets it power from) at any point in time. It is quite possible that the utility connection allows the utility to manage the amount of power to the charging station as part of managing overall grid capacity and utilization.

Extreme temperatures could potentially impact the EV charging equipment as well.

Other EVs charging at the same time could compete for the same charging capacity at that charging location and slow down everybody's charging. This is a simplified description, as there are multiple components to a charging station and charger that could be playing a role in this.

TEMPERATURE is one of the biggest factors for fast charging. Most of the current EV batteries do not like to be very hot or cold, either when driving and even more so when DC fast charging. When it is very hot or very cold outside, that impacts battery temperature.

Recent driving circumstances can also play a role. Intensive driving (e.g. continuous high speed or long steep roads) can increase the rate of battery discharge. Increasing either battery charging or discharging will usually increase battery temperature due to the related high rate of chemical activity in the battery. That could push the battery outside of its ideal charging temperature.

Most EVs, including the EV9, have battery temperature management built in to heat or cool the battery to keep in a reasonable temperature range while driving. That kicks in transparently when you are driving to get the best efficiency from the battery. The EV can measure the battery temp and make adjustments in real time as needed. However how can an EV tell when you are about to charge it?

Batteries are also sensitive to their temperature when charging, perhaps even more so that during driving, so most EVs have a "PRECONDITIONING" feature to get the battery to an ideal charging temperature BEFORE a charging session. When you are in very hot or cold temperatures, or after lengthy hard driving where battery use is especially intense you can use preconditioning to get the battery to the best temperature for charging and get the best charging speed.

In all the EVs I am familiar with you need to tell the car to start preconditioning in advance of arriving at a charging location so the EV has time to optimize the battery temperature. That could take 15-30 minutes in advance of charging.

There are a couple of ways to do this on the EV9. 1) press the EV widget on the home screen, then select the gear icon (settings), and finally under the Battery Conditioning menu tap "Activate". Or, 2) check the EV settings to make sure you have enabled preconditioning, then set a charging station POI as the destination in the EV9 nav system. Plenty of YouTubes on this.

Preconditioning will use the battery heating/cooling system to get the battery to a more ideal temp where the charging control system will allow a faster kW rate. From what I have heard, for an EV9 you want to set that POI as a destination at least 20-30 minutes before arrival so there is time to adjust the battery temperature. So some advance planning can be necessary to get the most out of preconditioning. If you skip that step the EV's charging system is likely to slow charging to match what is a permissible rate for the battery's temperature.

There has been a lot of noise about very cold weather and preconditioning, but very hot weather can do the same thing.

My guess is that you had a hot battery that could have benefitted from preconditioning.

Hope this was helpful. I would love to hear back from you about this as you have more charging experiences.

 

Not sure how many long trips you take (i.e. how often you need to use DC fast charging) but my EA free charging still has some free balance for my April '23 EV6 AWD. From that you can tell most of our driving is within the 300 mile or so range we have been getting from the EV6. I love having free charging on the long trips we take and the 3 years for that credit to last.

The "YOUR MILEAGE MAY VARY" concept applies here (i.e. to EV charging).

This is one of the variables with EVs which differ from ICE vehicles. Fueling time for an EV can vary more than it does for ICEs. It would be nice to expect to get the maximum charging rate all the time, but as you have just seen, that is not always going to be the case There are some things that can help predict what to expect - but may not be under your control, and some things that ARE in your control as well. In the future, new battery chemistries could eliminate this variability, but for now it is what it is.

Normally you see statements of the max level of charging for both the EV and the charger. But there are a number of factors that can impact the actual charging rate you get in a specific charging session. That is much less noticeable with AC level 1 or 2 charging, and more noticeable with DC fast charging, but applies in either case. Those factors could be in either or both the EV and the charger.

EV ACCEPTANCE RATE and CHARGER OUTPUT RATE you are probably already familiar with, since you have noted the charger's 350 kW rate. The EV9 has, as I understand it, a 215 kW maximum acceptance rate, which a 350kW charger could potentially provide, while a 150kW or lower charger will not. As I am guessing you already know, even if charger says 350 the EV9 will only allow up to around 215 or so.

The charger has some potential limitations. It may or may not be able to get the maximum it needs from the grid (i.e. from the utility that it gets it power from) at any point in time. It is quite possible that the utility connection allows the utility to manage the amount of power to the charging station as part of managing overall grid capacity and utilization.

Extreme temperatures could potentially impact the EV charging equipment as well.

Other EVs charging at the same time could compete for the same charging capacity at that charging location and slow down everybody's charging. This is a simplified description, as there are multiple components to a charging station and charger that could be playing a role in this.

TEMPERATURE is one of the biggest factors for fast charging. Most of the current EV batteries do not like to be very hot or cold, either when driving and even more so when DC fast charging. When it is very hot or very cold outside, that impacts battery temperature.

Recent driving circumstances can also play a role. Intensive driving (e.g. continuous high speed or long steep roads) can increase the rate of battery discharge. Increasing either battery charging or discharging will usually increase battery temperature due to the related high rate of chemical activity in the battery. That could push the battery outside of its ideal charging temperature.

Most EVs, including the EV9, have battery temperature management built in to heat or cool the battery to keep in a reasonable temperature range while driving. That kicks in transparently when you are driving to get the best efficiency from the battery. The EV can measure the battery temp and make adjustments in real time as needed. However how can an EV tell when you are about to charge it?

Batteries are also sensitive to their temperature when charging, perhaps even more so that during driving, so most EVs have a "PRECONDITIONING" feature to get the battery to an ideal charging temperature BEFORE a charging session. When you are in very hot or cold temperatures, or after lengthy hard driving where battery use is especially intense you can use preconditioning to get the battery to the best temperature for charging and get the best charging speed.

In all the EVs I am familiar with you need to tell the car to start preconditioning in advance of arriving at a charging location so the EV has time to optimize the battery temperature. That could take 15-30 minutes in advance of charging.

There are a couple of ways to do this on the EV9. 1) press the EV widget on the home screen, then select the gear icon (settings), and finally under the Battery Conditioning menu tap "Activate". Or, 2) check the EV settings to make sure you have enabled preconditioning, then set a charging station POI as the destination in the EV9 nav system. Plenty of YouTubes on this.

Preconditioning will use the battery heating/cooling system to get the battery to a more ideal temp where the charging control system will allow a faster kW rate. From what I have heard, for an EV9 you want to set that POI as a destination at least 20-30 minutes before arrival so there is time to adjust the battery temperature. So some advance planning can be necessary to get the most out of preconditioning. If you skip that step the EV's charging system is likely to slow charging to match what is a permissible rate for the battery's temperature.

There has been a lot of noise about very cold weather and preconditioning, but very hot weather can do the same thing.

My guess is that you had a hot battery that could have benefitted from preconditioning.

Hope this was helpful. I would love to hear back from you about this as you have more charging experiences.

David’s: Kudos to you sir for that excellent explanation!

 

Charging from 20% to 80% should be fast but i have never been over 212. Others charging near u even slower. I know EV6 can take a higher rate than most EVs not sure about EV9. Everything slows way down iver 80% and crawls above 90%. Socially rude to fast charge over 90% if someone is waiting. Expect 15 min give or take 5 min to charge.

 

EV9's max charging speed is like 220kw or so. The higher the SOC%, the slower the speed. 57kw is slow for 60% if it was not freezing outside. To get the fastest speeds, start at a low SOC%.

 

I can’t believe no one has mentioned PlugShare. I never go to a station without checking PlugShare first, and I always leave a comment for the next guy. “No 3 only gave me 55 kw moved to No 1 and got 200.” I usually know ahead of time that the station is not working correctly and look for another. I have surpassed my 3 yrs of free EA charges and have noticed EA got better the last year of so, most were horrible the first year or so. I have gotten 230 kw many times at an EA station but many times only 100-125. I would also suggest downloading the EA app and check before going to a EA station. Bet there is nothing wrong with your EV9 just picked an in need of repair EA dispense.