New Stinger - Bad Battery Will Not Hold Charge

[Jay Tea]

Greetings Fellow Stinger Lovers

I just picked up my 2018 GT2, and would like to share some frustrations with the car's battery.

I purchased this "new" car, which had been sitting in the dealership's showroom for ~10 months. I'm guessing the car experienced many looky-loos over those months, operating all the hog-hungry electrics (hatch, seats, sunroof, etc), and don't think the dealer ever regularly trickle-charged the battery back to "full"?

AGM batteries do not like discharging below ~50%, especially repeatedly, as this will ruin the battery.

I drove my new car home (~16 hours from dealership). The next morning, I washed / waxed the exterior and leather-conditioned the interior. Leaving the doors open for ~1 hour drained the battery enough so the engine would not start (instead, there was a buzzing / clunking noise from the engine bay). I put the battery on a charger for 6 hours, it instantly began at 10 amps, then declined to 6 amps then 2 amps after several hours, confirming that the battery was very low. After charging, the engine started and ran normally. I then put the battery on a 1 volt trickle charger for 2 days to "top it off". Didn't do any good, as the battery is too weak to start the car this morning.

I will make an appointment tomorrow to have my closest KIA dealer (1 hour drive away) replace this worn-out battery on my "new" car, hopefully under warranty? This is not the way to start a new relationship with a fun-to-drive car!

Has anyone else in the Stinger universe experienced a "new" vehicle with a bad battery?

 

[SKStinger]

Greetings Fellow Stinger Lovers

I just picked up my 2018 GT2, and would like to share some frustrations with the car's battery.

I purchased this "new" car, which had been sitting in the dealership's showroom for ~10 months. I'm guessing the car experienced many looky-loos over those months, operating all the hog-hungry electrics (hatch, seats, sunroof, etc), and don't think the dealer ever regularly trickle-charged the battery back to "full"?

AGM batteries do not like discharging below ~50%, especially repeatedly, as this will ruin the battery.

I drove my new car home (~16 hours from dealership). The next morning, I washed / waxed the exterior and leather-conditioned the interior. Leaving the doors open for ~1 hour drained the battery enough so the engine would not start (instead, there was a buzzing / clunking noise from the engine bay). I put the battery on a charger for 6 hours, it instantly began at 10 amps, then declined to 6 amps then 2 amps after several hours, confirming that the battery was very low. After charging, the engine started and ran normally. I then put the battery on a 1 volt trickle charger for 2 days to "top it off". Didn't do any good, as the battery is too weak to start the car this morning.

I will make an appointment tomorrow to have my closest KIA dealer (1 hour drive away) replace this worn-out battery on my "new" car, hopefully under warranty? This is not the way to start a new relationship with a fun-to-drive car!

Has anyone else in the Stinger universe experienced a "new" vehicle with a bad battery?

I haven’t but I’m curious how you charged the battery? Did you remove it when you charged it the first time? There is a jumping/charging point in the engine fuse compartment. Did you use that one? Putting a charger directly on the battery while the cables are connected will damage your electrical system.

You’re probably right that the extended time in the showroom without a charge damaged the battery. I’m sure the dealer will replace it for you.

 

[MerlintheMad]

No. But I did experience a brand new battery going bad in less than two months on my mom's Elantra. It simply would not hold a charge over even a few days. Dead as a doornail, several times. And by then I accepted that I wasn't inadvertently leaving something on, draining the battery; the battery was simply a dud. Exchanged it at O'Reilly's for new and no problems after that.

So I think you have a combo going: a less than stellar battery to begin with (it happens), and what you described: sitting too long on the dealer's lot. Once you get it swapped (under warranty for sure, either Kia's or the battery's), you'll be a happy Stinger driver.

 

[Jay Tea]

Hi SK,

I charged at the fuse compartment (jump / charge terminals).

Don't believe I damaged anything, as all in-car electrics work perfectly, and after a few hours on 2 amp charge this afternoon, the car started normally so I could bring it back inside the garage.

I know that AGM batteries used in data centers / UPS arrays are much less tolerant of draining than traditional "flood" lead-acid batteries. I'm surprised KIA upgraded the Stinger to use AGMs (not sure how 'rugged' these batteries will be in automobile applications), although KIA's excellent engineers probably never anticipated the excessive use and thorough draining their batteries would get sitting on the show-room floor!

Thanks for your response.

 

[Jay Tea]

Hey Merlin,

Thanks for sharing. Yep, I make certain the ignition is turned OFF when I park Stinger (my Prius screams at me if I get out of the car with the ignition still ON ... it has taught me well).

I hope you are correct about the dealer providing a new battery.

Thanks everyone

 

[MerlintheMad]

I hope you are correct about the dealer providing a new battery.

A good dealer will. They used it up, after all.

 

[moinmoin]

AGM batteries do not like discharging below ~50%, especially repeatedly, as this will ruin the battery.

This quote seems to differ from your experience, but have a look at full article below, it's interesting:

"The leading advantages of AGM are a charge that is up to five times faster than the flooded version, and the ability to deep cycle. AGM offers a depth-of-discharge of 80 percent; the flooded, on the other hand, is specified at 50 percent DoD to attain the same cycle life. "

Learn what differentiate AGM from other lead acid battery types
https://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/absorbent_glass_mat_agm

It may just be a bad battery.

Congrats to you new car and good luck with your replacement battery.

 

[Jay Tea]

Yes, I got that backwards! Thanks for clarification.