"Refill Inverter Coolant" warning after Battery Pack Replacement

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Nightster

Nightster

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Hello everyone. 2 weeks ago, I had my lithium-ion battery pack replaced under the recall. Now, I keep getting a "Refill Inverter Coolant" warning message, that goes off sometimes, only to return at some point the next day. Looking under the hood, the coolant reservoir is at the max line. Is anyone else having this same issue? Thanks!
 
Nightster said:
Hello everyone. 2 weeks ago, I had my lithium-ion battery pack replaced under the recall. Now, I keep getting a "Refill Inverter Coolant" warning message, that goes off sometimes, only to return at some point the next day. Looking under the hood, the coolant reservoir is at the max line. Is anyone else having this same issue? Thanks!
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Possible air in the system, sensor might think level is low. Proper purging by the dealer as indicated in the related battery pack replacement TSB might be required. This is assuming the coolant pumps are working as they should. Take it back to the dealer and have it checked;)
 
electriceddy said:
Possible air in the system, sensor might think level is low. Proper purging by the dealer as indicated in the related battery pack replacement TSB might be required. This is assuming the coolant pumps are working as they should. Take it back to the dealer and have it checked;)
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Thanks, electriceddy! I had previously called my dealer & made an appointment about this, but they seemed surprised about this issue. I then cancelled the appointment, as the warning message went away. But now, it keeps coming back, on & off. I didn't want to take my car there, and the warning message doesn't display for them, and then they tell me nothing is wrong. But yes, I will phone them & tell them that this issue only started after the battery pack was replaced.
 
Nightster said:
Thanks, electriceddy! I had previously called my dealer & made an appointment about this, but they seemed surprised about this issue. I then cancelled the appointment, as the warning message went away. But now, it keeps coming back, on & off. I didn't want to take my car there, and the warning message doesn't display for them, and then they tell me nothing is wrong. But yes, I will phone them & tell them that this issue only started after the battery pack was replaced.
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Ya, if there's air in the system the "bubbles" with move around (like a spirit level) causing the intermittent sensor readings.
 
Nightster said:
Thanks, electriceddy! I had previously called my dealer & made an appointment about this, but they seemed surprised about this issue. I then cancelled the appointment, as the warning message went away. But now, it keeps coming back, on & off. I didn't want to take my car there, and the warning message doesn't display for them, and then they tell me nothing is wrong. But yes, I will phone them & tell them that this issue only started after the battery pack was replaced.
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The procedure is documented here on page 13 of this TSB. Takes about 30 minutes running the coolant pumps to bleed the air out of the system.
 
Nightster said:
Thanks, electriceddy! I had previously called my dealer & made an appointment about this, but they seemed surprised about this issue. I then cancelled the appointment, as the warning message went away. But now, it keeps coming back, on & off. I didn't want to take my car there, and the warning message doesn't display for them, and then they tell me nothing is wrong. But yes, I will phone them & tell them that this issue only started after the battery pack was replaced.
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I just noticed the manufacture date in your avatar, while you have the car in for the bleeding procedure have them check that this original coolant pump recall was addressed. Contamination in the form of corrosion from gradual leaking can affect the wire harness connectors.
 
electriceddy said:
I just noticed the manufacture date in your avatar, while you have the car in for the bleeding procedure have them check that this original coolant pump recall was addressed. Contamination in the form of corrosion from gradual leaking can affect the wire harness connectors.
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Thank you for this info. I have never been notified of any coolant pump recall. Entering my VIN # on the Hyundai Canada recall website does NOT list any coolant pump recalls.
 
Well, yesterday the dealership did the Inverter Coolant Air Bleeding Procedure, and topped up the reservoir. They said the vehicle was not showing any trouble codes. They also said that nobody else is reporting this kind of problem. But today, my Refill Inverter Coolant warning message came on again. It's very annoying, as it stays on and covers up the whole digital speedometer display. Anybody else having this issue, or is it just my bad luck?
 
I've seen quite a few reports of this on global forums, especially after a traction battery replacement. It's not clear if it's a sensor fault or an actual low level.
But certainly nobody here can fix it, only your dealer can.
 
KiwiME said:
I've seen quite a few reports of this on global forums, especially after a traction battery replacement. It's not clear if it's a sensor fault or an actual low level.
But certainly nobody here can fix it, only your dealer can.
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Thanks for the info, KiwiME. Ugh, yes, I will have to make another appointment with my dealership and tell them that the issue still persists. My reservoir is full, so I think either air bubbles, defective sensor, or coolant pump issues.
 
I've had the same experience. Battery was replaced probably a year ago so I doubt it's related, but a couple weeks ago I started getting this intermittently. Took it to the dealer, they did the bleed procedure, but it's back, again intermittently. Will follow up once I take it in again.
 
gonfunko said:
I've had the same experience. Battery was replaced probably a year ago so I doubt it's related, but a couple weeks ago I started getting this intermittently. Took it to the dealer, they did the bleed procedure, but it's back, again intermittently. Will follow up once I take it in again.
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Thanks for this info, gonfunko. Yes, please keep me posted if your dealership finds a solution to this problem. I will do the same. This warning message is very annoying, as it is big and covers up the whole digital speedometer display, until it decides to go off, only to return some time the next day.
 
Took it back in on Thursday, they said the 12v battery wasn't holding a charge and they suspected that was confusing the system more or less. Hadn't noticed any trouble with it but went ahead and had them swap it since it's a few years old at this point and I've heard they tend to be a bit flaky in Konas (and I've got a trip to the Grand Canyon coming up in a couple weeks and would prefer to not have a dead car out there). First few drives were fine, but I got the inverter coolant message again last night, so guess I'll be bringing it in again. Will reply back with how that goes!
 
gonfunko said:
Took it back in on Thursday, they said the 12v battery wasn't holding a charge and they suspected that was confusing the system more or less. Hadn't noticed any trouble with it but went ahead and had them swap it since it's a few years old at this point and I've heard they tend to be a bit flaky in Konas (and I've got a trip to the Grand Canyon coming up in a couple weeks and would prefer to not have a dead car out there). First few drives were fine, but I got the inverter coolant message again last night, so guess I'll be bringing it in again. Will reply back with how that goes!
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Hi gonfunko, I'm sorry to hear this. I haven't yet been back to the dealership to get them to figure out why the last bleeding procedure still did not fix this issue. I beginning to wonder if they're not going to be able to figure out the problem. Thanks for keeping me updated, and I will do the same. Honestly, I'm wondering if there can be some sort of software patch to "ignore" this coolant sensor, so the warning message doesn't appear any more. As I can easily look at the coolant reservoir under the hood, and quickly & easily see that it is full to the max line. Have a fun & safe trip to the Grand Canyon!
 
Nightster said:
Hi gonfunko, I'm sorry to hear this. I haven't yet been back to the dealership to get them to figure out why the last bleeding procedure still did not fix this issue. I beginning to wonder if they're not going to be able to figure out the problem. Thanks for keeping me updated, and I will do the same. Honestly, I'm wondering if there can be some sort of software patch to "ignore" this coolant sensor, so the warning message doesn't appear any more. As I can easily look at the coolant reservoir under the hood, and quickly & easily see that it is full to the max line. Have a fun & safe trip to the Grand Canyon!
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Dealer looked at my car today, and thinks the sensor inside the Electronic Water Pump is not working properly. So they have ordered a new water pump, and will phone me once it arrives. They said there are 2 water pumps, but will replace this one first, and go from there. But from what I have read on other forums, replacing the water pump does not solve this issue.
 
Nightster said:
Hello everyone. 2 weeks ago, I had my lithium-ion battery pack replaced under the recall. Now, I keep getting a "Refill Inverter Coolant" warning message, that goes off sometimes, only to return at some point the next day. Looking under the hood, the coolant reservoir is at the max line. Is anyone else having this same issue? Thanks!
Click to expand...

FJVos, Netherlands: I had the same message, in my Kona EV 64 kW of 2019, but some 6 months after battery replacement. At first it was said:we will check this out and after 2 days it will be allright, probably after replacement of a sensor. But they didn't succeed in repairing, even after a 7 hour check, including setting extra pressure on the inverter coolant system. I am awaiting now the next step. I understood they ordered new parts. A Hyundai technician told me the problem is usually caused bij air in the coolant system. I got the car back. We were advised not to make long trips.
 
Sorry to hear of your warning issue too. After waiting for two months, Hyundai dealership phoned me to say that a new coolant pump has arrived, and that they would like to replace my coolant pump under warranty, as they feel that this is the issue. But in the last two months, my warning light has stopped coming on, so I feel that it was air in the system that finally made its way out. I mentioned this to my dealership, but they still wanted to replace the coolant pump. But I told them that I would rather wait to see if this problem returns, because I feel that it was just air in the system, and if they replace the coolant pump, I feel that air will be re-introduced into the system again, making the warning light come on again.
 
An engineer friend of mine who keeps up with these things has a friend who owns an Ioniq (not the new Ioniq 5). He says some Ioniq owners have reported crystals forming in the coolant system and that shows up on the dash as a low coolant warning. We discussed why crystals would form but couldn't come up with a plausible reason other than mixed coolant types (service or owner error), but it's just a guess.

Perhaps the low coolant warnings reported above this post deserve a wider look by the service folk.
 
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