Refill Invert Coolant false warning solved with recall SA512

[snowy2020]

I wanted to post this in case anyone was having the same issue. For the last year, after having the coolant flushed, we’ve had a persistent warning light that doesn’t go away and can’t be cleared. Apparently other hybrid and PHEV Kia’s have the issue as well.

We contacted Kia a dozen times with no help, but another user here posted about a new recall issued SA512 Inverter Coolant Debris Warning that addresses the issue. (Note despite calling them monthly Kia never contacted us about this, we found out via this forum and asked for it at the dealer directly)

The dealer said they were waiting for a new machine that properly clears the alert and reflushes the system, and now that they have the new equipment they can perform the recall. As of now the alert is no longer displaying and I got the car back with the coolant centered between min and max. It’s the blue low conductive coolant. Ours is a 2020 Niro EV EX.

 

[rampart51]

Thanks. My flush is due soon. I'll make sure they do the recall you posted.

 

[snowy2020]

I can't edit the post anymore....the recall DID NOT WORK. After a few days the coolant dropped way low, they refilled it, it's been dropping a little more, but even with full coolant the light came on again.

RECALL DOES NOT WORK.

Back to the dealer...and now, even though I've been trying to get them to fix this car for a YEAR, now that I'm over 60k they say my warranty is done and they will no longer cover any service to the coolant issue. I have to pay in full now, which is exactly what I thought they'd do even though WHEN I WAS AT 40k I asked them what would happen once the warranty expired and they assured me since the issue was reported and ongoing with the warranty intact that I'd still be covered. This feels like a scam.

 

[Goulart]

Hey!
Same here. (Portugal - Lisbon)
Recall performed 31 May 2023 (75,000 Kms ~ 45,000 mi)
Yesterday "Refill inverter coolant" warning appeared, coinciding with hotter weather. Level just bellow Max.
Sometimes warning appears, other times car starts without warnings.

 

[snowy2020]

Hey!
Same here. (Portugal - Lisbon)
Recall performed 31 May 2023 (75,000 Kms ~ 45,000 mi)
Yesterday "Refill inverter coolant" warning appeared, coinciding with hotter weather. Level just bellow Max.
Sometimes warning appears, other times car starts without warnings.

Sorry to hear that. My experience is that it starts out randomly and slowly gets worse until eventually you're resetting the car 2-3 times to get it to go away every single time you start the car. And then...then it will start randomly dinging at you while driving, just to remind you that the light is still covering the dash in case you forgot. I do notice it happens less in cold (like 50 and below) weather.

It looks like there's enough issues to indicate this is a fundamental design flaw with the vehicle, along with the motor failures. These cars are not aging well at all.

 

[CBOW]

After reading of snowy2020's problems I was leery of getting this coolant replacement done, however, when I made the appointment for my latest service my dealer, Kia Marin in Novato, CA, told me they had the machine from Kia that does the flush and had done many of them. I was told that I would need to leave my 2019 Niro EV (31869 miles) for 8 hours, i.e. overnight, and drive home a loaner. I scheduled the service for 7/11/23 but they wanted me to call on Monday the 10th to make sure they had a loaner for me. When I called they said they did have a loaner but that current instructions were that they would need the Niro for 3 days so that they could make sure the cooling system had no blockages, and no air pockets and re-check multiple times after test drives with time in between for issues like the warning light to appear. I got a call from the service department on 7/11 to tell me that they had been able to do the flush and other service on the afternoon of the 10th and that my car was ready to pick up. I was told that they had learned even more about how to use the flushing machine and were now confident that my car would have no issues from the flush. I was able to pick up my car yesterday, 7/12, and now have 58 miles on it since the service and no warning yet. I will post again if the refill inverter coolant light appears and after 500 miles even if it doesn't. I wonder whether this issue is related to dealers not having the machine when trying to do the flush and/or not understanding how to use it properly. Experience in doing the flush seems critical based upon what I was told by the Kia Marin service department.

 

[snowy2020]

After reading of snowy2020's problems I was leery of getting this coolant replacement done, however, when I made the appointment for my latest service my dealer, Kia Marin in Novato, CA, told me they had the machine from Kia that does the flush and had done many of them. I was told that I would need to leave my 2019 Niro EV (31869 miles) for 8 hours, i.e. overnight, and drive home a loaner. I scheduled the service for 7/11/23 but they wanted me to call on Monday the 10th to make sure they had a loaner for me. When I called they said they did have a loaner but that current instructions were that they would need the Niro for 3 days so that they could make sure the cooling system had no blockages, and no air pockets and re-check multiple times after test drives with time in between for issues like the warning light to appear. I got a call from the service department on 7/11 to tell me that they had been able to do the flush and other service on the afternoon of the 10th and that my car was ready to pick up. I was told that they had learned even more about how to use the flushing machine and were now confident that my car would have no issues from the flush. I was able to pick up my car yesterday, 7/12, and now have 58 miles on it since the service and no warning yet. I will post again if the refill inverter coolant light appears and after 500 miles even if it doesn't. I wonder whether this issue is related to dealers not having the machine when trying to do the flush and/or not understanding how to use it properly. Experience in doing the flush seems critical based upon what I was told by the Kia Marin service department.

It sounds like they did it right! I also read a suggestion that crystallization of the old coolant was the root cause of this issue...so if they got the new coolant in early, flushed it properly, maybe you've avoided the problem altogether, which would be great! If that's the case, maybe mine is so gunked up, the recall isn't working. So far Kia hasn't been able to figure out what to do with mine (been in the shop for a month now). Let us know how things go!

 

[gnorin]

I have a 2019 (bought in 2020) with 35000 miles with the blue coolant and I was due for the coolant flush indicated in my maintenance manual and thought I might as well do the reduction gear oil change from looking at the comments on this forum and I want to keep this car ''until the wheels are about the fall". The technician informed me about an actual "recall" (which I found to be TSB# SA512) and because the car is still under warranty, I would actually not have to pay for the coolant flush. I did not have a “Refill inverter coolant” message ever popping up and actually never had any issues with this car and love it so far. The car was supposed to be at the shop the whole day but got an early call from the shop who mentioned that they had an issue with the flushing machine and I would need to reschedule until they fix the machine. At least I was able to drive the car back. Not sure I will be able to get a loaner next time but reading the TSB I saw this convenient Note: Manually enter sublet code ‘X2’ for reimbursement of one roundtrip rideshare expense or up to three (3) days of rental expense for flushing repairs (Op Code 230020R1 or 230020R0), with supporting documentation. Interestingly, when picking the car back, the guy at the front desk mentioned that they actually only do a filtration and reuse the same coolant which never has to be changed unless it loses it's low freezing point properties. He did not seem to know what he was talking about... Hopefully everything goes well next time I go there.

 

[snowy2020]

I have a 2019 (bought in 2020) with 35000 miles with the blue coolant and I was due for the coolant flush indicated in my maintenance manual and thought I might as well do the reduction gear oil change from looking at the comments on this forum and I want to keep this car ''until the wheels are about the fall". The technician informed me about an actual "recall" (which I found to be TSB# SA512) and because the car is still under warranty, I would actually not have to pay for the coolant flush. I did not have a “Refill inverter coolant” message ever popping up and actually never had any issues with this car and love it so far. The car was supposed to be at the shop the whole day but got an early call from the shop who mentioned that they had an issue with the flushing machine and I would need to reschedule until they fix the machine. At least I was able to drive the car back. Not sure I will be able to get a loaner next time but reading the TSB I saw this convenient Note: Manually enter sublet code ‘X2’ for reimbursement of one roundtrip rideshare expense or up to three (3) days of rental expense for flushing repairs (Op Code 230020R1 or 230020R0), with supporting documentation. Interestingly, when picking the car back, the guy at the front desk mentioned that they actually only do a filtration and reuse the same coolant which never has to be changed unless it loses it's low freezing point properties. He did not seem to know what he was talking about... Hopefully everything goes well next time I go there.

Filtration actually makes sense. There’s a lot of coolant in the loop and this stuff is $60/gal (I had to buy some). People are reporting the flush is costing $180 or so which would be impossible if they were replacing all the coolant.

 

[rampart51]

My 2020 Niro EV EX went in for 37,500 service 2 weeks ago today. I was NOT getting the "refill the coolant" message. They did the coolant flush. I was there for 2.5 hours. I hope I'm not jinxing myself but I am NOT getting the message after the flush. They used the new flush machine. Thanks to the SA512 TSB, I did not pay a dime for the service.

 

[jm31828]

My 2020 Niro EV EX went in for 37,500 service 2 weeks ago today. I was NOT getting the "refill the coolant" message. They did the coolant flush. I was there for 2.5 hours. I hope I'm not jinxing myself but I am NOT getting the message after the flush. They used the new flush machine. Thanks to the SA512 TSB, I did not pay a dime for the service.

It's interesting that on other forums, I was hearing some say that the coolant replacement would cost close to $800.... fortunately for this recall, it won't cost most of us anything this first time.

 

[KiwiME]

That would be a expected price. Among Kona owners some recipients of the campaign were being told that they still had to abide by the exact coolant change schedule event even if the coolant had just been replaced. A petition was raised and not much has been heard about that since. Clearly the special coolant was a bad call by H/K and I would assume that's why it's gone on the 23+ Niro and the upcoming 24+ Kona EVs. The mystery to me is why it's still present on the Ioniq 5 (in just one side of the two-loop system) which has the same external battery cooling plate.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ipy5fgegAoU?feature=share

 

[jm31828]

That would be a expected price. Among Kona owners some recipients of the campaign were being told that they still had to abide by the exact coolant change schedule event even if the coolant had just been replaced. A petition was raised and not much has been heard about that since. Clearly the special coolant was a bad call by H/K and I would assume that's why it's gone on the 23+ Niro and the upcoming 24+ Kona EVs. The mystery to me is why it's still present on the Ioniq 5 (in just one side of the two-loop system) which has the same external battery cooling plate.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ipy5fgegAoU?feature=share

It seems many owners are reporting that with this unofficial recall for the coolant issue both in the UK and now here in the US, the coolant is being replaced with a different type. Should we hold onto hope that this new coolant is not likely to crystalize, and more importantly- could it be less expensive, costing us less for future coolant replacements?

 

[snowy2020]

It seems many owners are reporting that with this unofficial recall for the coolant issue both in the UK and now here in the US, the coolant is being replaced with a different type. Should we hold onto hope that this new coolant is not likely to crystalize, and more importantly- could it be less expensive, costing us less for future coolant replacements?

The new coolant being used is BSC-2. I don't know what the previous formulations cost, but a gallon of the new stuff is $60 (I had to buy a gallon to top off my car rather than drive an hour to the dealer for constant top-offs). Will it not crystalize? Guess time will tell, assuming that's the underlying issue.

 

[snowy2020]

It's interesting that on other forums, I was hearing some say that the coolant replacement would cost close to $800.... fortunately for this recall, it won't cost most of us anything this first time.

I think there's 2 coolant flushes happening here. One the coolant is being replaced (hence $800+) and the other the coolant is being filtered but the same coolant is being put back into the vehicle ($150 coolant changes, like I got). Or maybe the consumer retail price of the special coolant is crazy expensive but the dealers get it for cheap.

I've had the dealer techs flat out tell me that the instructions for the coolant flush were wrong and instructions have changed several times. When they did my recall, the instructions with the recall were apparently wrong, because when it didn't work Kia sent them completely different instructions. Dealerships are getting all kinds of mixed information from Kia. It's a mess.

 

[CBOW]

This is an update to my July 13 post. I'm now at 33557 miles which is 1686 miles since my dealer did the SA512 coolant power flush and coolant replacement. I've had no problem with the refill inverter coolant warning appearing so I believe my dealer did the service correctly.

 

[snowy2020]

This is an update to my July 13 post. I'm now at 33557 miles which is 1686 miles since my dealer did the SA512 coolant power flush and coolant replacement. I've had no problem with the refill inverter coolant warning appearing so I believe my dealer did the service correctly.

Good news! I’m on 500 miles after the 4th attempt to do this recall, and no light yet. They may have finally fixed this particular issue on mine as well.

 

[gnorin]

Alright on my second attempt to get the SA512 recall perform everything worked fine this time and they did not have issues with the flushing machine. Coolant was flushed and replaced. Replaced reduction gear oil at the same time using 2 units of SAR 70W oil at 30$ each and was charged 1hr of time.

 

[EV for Me]

Went into the dealer for 37,500 checkup on my 2019 this week. (I was not seeing the warning message.) Had not previously used them except for the original purchase. (I wanted to try these guys out to see if I could trust them with the ELE234 issue.) They printed out the quote for the checkup which included a $40 oil change, so I had to politely remind them this was an EV. The computer told them about SA512 and they told me they'd need the car until close. That was at 1:00pm. They called me an Uber and sent me home. I called back at 4:30 and they didn't pick up and didn't return my call. Glad I didn't actually need my car. Thanks to this forum and other googling, I was prepared for this possibility. I called at 8:30 next morning and they took an hour to figure out my status. Told me they'd need the car until close. I called back at 3:30 and they said it would be done at 3:55, five minutes before close. This seemed way too convenient that they'd finish carefully and thoroughly testing leaks and connections at exactly closing time but I showed up and picked up my car. They said they did six flushes and everything should be good. I asked about the 37k inspection and they said everything was great, including my 4.5 yr old original 12v battery. Surprise.

I was skeptical of this entire experience but I've had three days of no issues so I'm guessing it's fine.

 

[John B]

Hey All -- Kia did the coolant exchange in December 2023 on my 4 year old 2019 Kia Niro EV. After that I got the warning light to "refill inverter coolant." They did the service again. Same result ... the warning light continued. So they've just done the service for the 3rd time. I've been back and forth with Kia Customer Care. No one is making me comfortable about this. I am extremely close to the end of the 5 year warranty. I have asked about a warranty extension, and this has gone ignored. Do you all think Kia has this figured out, or should I hire a lawyer? Has anyone hired a lawyer or pursued a class action of some sort?