My '19 PHEV is outstanding in so many ways. But it has one real annoyance that is a killer in the summer. I had to run my daughter to an urgent care facility Sunday that was 19 miles away. Since I knew I had to wait a while for her, I went to a nearby Blink station to charge back up. I've tried leaving the car "on", turning it off, plugging in and turning it back on, but I haven't found a way to have cold air while the car is plugged in. Since it was 85F outside, I went into the nearby shopping center to wait. But due to COVID, they really didn't want me just sitting in there either. So, has anyone found a workaround to allow the A/C to run while charging? The blower runs just fine, but that doesn't help without the A/C cooling the air.
I considered that, but I wasn't sure it would work in an occupied vehicle, and I hate that it activates the four way flashers when that function is used.
I have not noticed that my car does it's flashers when doing the climate control on.. sorry, must be different for the EV... forgot this is an "all niro" forum, not the EV only
You might have better luck asking on a forum that has more PHEV owners. I think on here we are primarily EV. The Niro EV will allow you to use AC or Heat when charging, I do so frequently. My guess is they are trying to protect you from accidentally giving yourself carbon monoxide poisoning by limiting those options when the ICE is present (if the PHEV is belt driven for AC - I am thinking it doesn't have an electric compressor - then the engine running to cool could pose this risk).
No, the A/C is electrically driven. I can sit with the car on for hours with the A/C running without a problem and no ICE running. It's just the A/C is disabled if the charging cable is connected. Naturally, for heat the ICE has to run. But I can enable that from the Access app as well. It just cautions about the car not being in an enclosed area when using it. I'm one of the moderators at kianiroforums.com, and I've posted the same question there.
No, the PHEV does not have a heat pump. I wish it did, but the battery probably isn't large enough to support it. And of course, I'm only looking for the A/C to function, and that is electrically driven. The ICE isn't needed for A/C.
I had a potential job detail that would have required driving cross-country (Seattle to DC), staying there for up to two years, then returning home. A BEV just wouldn't fit that scenario, so I chose the PHEV. Since the detail didn't materialize, I would have preferred the Niro EV. Even so, the PHEV has reduced my gas consumption about 80%, even before the COVID full-time telework. Gas and electricity combined I'm only paying about 2 1/2 cents per mile to drive. So I don't regret leasing it. If I had known about the inability to run the A/C while charging, it probably would not have influenced my decision. I have about 20 months left on my lease, and I'm pleased enough with the Kia that I will be considering the upcoming EV only platform they are supposed to release next year. Price it right and I might even try to end the lease early and move into the EV.
We were just mildly giving you a hard time, of course your choice made complete sense.... but do consider coming all the way over to the dark side ha ha! Greg
Oh, I am. Absolutely. I love driving in EV mode, even with the limited power of the PHEV. The Niro PHEV only has 60 HP in electric mode, so not a real barn burner. And probably my only real complaint with it, other than the A/C not cooling when plugged in
