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Energy flow between gas engine and battery in Kia Sorento PHEV
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By Justin Hart Dec 2 2021 - 3:57am

Kia Sorento Plug-in Hybrid Drive Modes Continue to Mystify

I am getting closer to an answer. However, I am still a bit puzzled by the way the 2022 Kia Sorento PHEV decides which mode, hybrid (HEV) or electric (EV), to operate in when I have placed the vehicle into the Auto mode.
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Today I performed a new test, as described in a previous article. I drove a roughly 23 mile loop (22.3 miles) twice, once in Auto mode (which leaves it up to the vehicle to decide whether hybrid or electric propulsion is optimal), and once manually selecting between the two. I did this after my first test yielded surprising results; the vehicle stayed in electric mode when I figured it would switch to hybrid. After my second test, I am surprised yet again though this time I feel like I have gotten closer to understanding exactly how the Kira Sorento PHEV “thinks”.

Here’s what happened: On the first loop, in Auto mode as soon as I pulled out of my garage, I started on my route to the freeway (.7 miles from my house). At the crest of a steep hill halfway to the freeway, there’s a stop sign. When I was pulling away from the stop sign, the gas engine suddenly fired up. I looked down at the instrument cluster to check and the car said I was still in EV mode and Auto was showing (and the battery was fully charged!). There was no illuminated “HEV” light to be seen. What was going on?

I coasted downhill most of the rest of the way to the freeway. The gas engine kept running (even though I was coasting). This was totally unexpected, and I wondered why it happened. I think it is probably because I mashed the accelerator down a little too hard on that steep hill at the stop sign. Once the gas engine comes on, it may not shut down right away if the engine block is cold and it was since I hadn’t started the engine before. This makes sense as it would protect the engine from lots of short duration operation, which can wear it out faster.

I came to another stop sign just before the freeway, and then the engine turned off. I glided on electric power onto the onramp, which heads down a long hill, and mashed the accelerator to get to 60 mph before the end of the onramp, which is about a quarter mile down the road. Doing this turned the gas engine back on and that is when I may have distinguished an important part of the Sorento’s decision making logic. Technically, I am guessing, but I noticed when the tachometer needle (right side) touched the second peg in the “Power” band, that is when the gas motor woke up. Below is the point on the tach I am referring to and I think, but will have to test another day, that regardless of which mode the Sorento is in (even in EV mode), when it hits this mark the gas engine comes on:

2nd peg in Power band of tachometer

On with my first loop! The Sorento switched into hybrid mode just before I merged onto the freeway. Traffic was slower today with lots of rubber banding. There were multiple sections on the freeway where 30-40 mph was as fast as I could go. After about 4 miles, it opened up, but the vehicle remained in HEV mode throughout. Also, I noticed that the gas engine warmed up very quickly (via the temperature gauge). Only 8 minutes into the trip and it was already close to optimal temp (1/4 of that in EV mode). I assume that, by design, the gas engine will quickly reach optimal temperature.

The loop included about 11 miles of freeway driving and I hit speeds of up to 75 mph, briefly. I then exited to a 2 lane 40-50 mph highway that goes between two small mountains. There was no traffic to speak of on these roads, so I drove the speed limit or a couple clicks over the rest of the way home. What surprised me here, just as it had as I started out, the gas engine remained on almost the entire way, even when coasting! I could get it to go to sleep sometimes by coasting for a tenth of a mile or so and then very gently pressing on the accelerator, but once the tach got about 1/3 of the way through the “Eco” zone, the gas engine came back on. It felt like the Sorento PHEV was taunting me. You think you’re smarter than me? I’ll show you! Regardless, even though the first loop, in Auto mode, was done mostly in HEV mode, I still got pretty good gas mileage:

Kia Sorento PHEV instrument cluster showing fuel economy

48.4 miles per gallon, in a 6 seat SUV/family hauler is nothing to sneeze at. But still, I felt like the Auto mode had let me down. I knew there had to be a way to do better.

Loop 2 was actually done several hours later, just as it was getting dark a little after 4pm in Seattle, these days. The temperature outside was still in the upper 50’s (61 when I did the first loop), in December, in Seattle. The world is turning upside down I tell you! It feels like September out there. I intentionally kept the PHEV in EV mode until about 4 miles into the test in order to better simulate how I would use it on a longer trip. I want to use up enough of the battery at the start so that I can fully capture braking and coasting regeneration; if the battery is full when I go into hybrid mode, I’ll miss some or a lot of that “free” electricity.

At 4 miles I switch to HEV mode and drive the next 7+ miles on the freeway at speeds between 60-75 mph. When I exit the freeway and come to a stop at the end of the offramp, I switch back to EV mode. Traffic is much heavier here this time through the loop and it takes about an extra 10 minutes to finish the drive. My 9 year old daughter is really going to enjoy this. That’s not sarcasm by the way. She is in the middle row behind me, with nothing to play with or occupy her mind besides the “chill” house music on the XM radio station I tuned in to. “Turn up the radio please!” she says, and proceeds to call out her kitten’s name to the steady beat of the music. Note, she is doing this because the kitten’s name is Chili, and she thinks that’s the name of the radio station. See, traffic isn’t always such a bad thing.

Not surprisingly, the Sorento stays in EV mode the rest of the way home. I am being careful not to punch the accelerator, and the vehicle has adequate power to make it up hills without need of gas assist as long as you aren’t laying into the pedal too hard. I get home, and sure enough, I am smarter than my Kia Sorento PHEV, this time:

Kia Sorento PHEV instrument cluster showing better fuel economy

151 mpg, with a kid in the back seat and the headlights on and the house music thumping, is much better than 48.4 mpg. So, not that I have definitively figured out how the algorithm in the Kia Sorento PHEV works in Auto mode, I have gotten closer. Hey Kia, would you be open to providing us with more specific information on how your PHEVs decide when to be in HEV or EV modes?

Until we might hear from Kia, additional tests may have to prove things out and I am planning my first real road trip for more testing, after I can get a shattered window replaced on my Sorento (thanks criminals!). Here’s how I think it works though: There is a speed at which the gas motor will come on and I believe it is around 75 mph (I read this online, but haven’t tested it yet, technically). There is also an accelerator position or tachometer peg at which point one can also force the gas engine to come on (see my first photo, above). This sounds familiar. I read in a European Kia PHEV user forum that someone had heard from Kia Italy, regarding the Kia Exceed PHEV, that speed and accelerator position are two factors. If that is true for the Sorento, that means there are also road conditions that might encourage the Kia PHEVs to turn on the gas motor (something else I will have to test the first time I take it offroad or in the snow I guess). We’ll have to keep testing for now. Please leave any feedback or your own testing results below in the comment section.

Justin Hart has owned and driven electric vehicles for over 14 years, including a first generation Nissan LEAF, second generation Chevy Volt, Tesla model 3, an electric bicycle and most recently a Kia Sorento PHEV. He is also an avid SUP rider, poet, photographer and wine lover. He enjoys taking long EV and PHEV road trips to beautiful and serene places with the people he loves. Follow Justin on Twitter for daily KIA EV news coverage.

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Comments

JonF wrote on December 8, 2021 - 8:12pm
I actually work for KIA here in North Carolina and we have a customer experiencing the same issue. I'm going to have my Service Manager look into this tomorrow and hope to have more information.
JustinHart wrote on December 9, 2021 - 3:25am
I would be very interested to hear what your Service Manager says. But, just to be clear, are you referring to my “issue” with figuring out the algorithm or behavior of the Sorento PHEV in Auto mode, or my smashed out rear passenger window? The window is my only real issue (not that it’s an issue with the vehicle... just a very long wait for parts... going on 3 months now). The behavior of the car is just interesting and a topic that I know many other owners/prospective owners are curious about. :)
Doris wrote on March 30, 2022 - 12:32pm
I’ve never owned a plug in hybrid. Took it across country when it had less than 400 miles. Fully loaded, averaged 22 miles a gallon. Was told by Kia dealership it was because I was traveling average 75mph using cruise control. Explained since electric charge had run out and I wasn’t really using the brake much the car was running as a non hybrid and getting non hybrid gas mileage. I confess I really don’t understand what all the symbols mean and it’s taking me a while to memorize them. When I’m home I plug my car in overnight, filly charged I take my daughter to work almost all freeway speeds 8 miles away. Get home and the electric capability is almost depleted at just over 16 mile round trip. Went out of town not loaded no other occupants and still used gas motor almost all the way (again using cruise). Same gas mileage as the trip fully loaded. This is the first new car I’ve ever owned, it was a gift from my kids but I can’t afford to drive it more than 10 miles away from home as almost everything for me involves driving on the freeway. I’m not understanding why once the plug in charge runs out and I’m on the freeway it runs basically as a non hybrid rather than as my Prius did using mostly the charge stored from when I do use the brake around town. I’m also not understanding why if the plug in charge range is 32 miles mine is almost gone after 16. Does this mean in real world use these cars are really only good around town and not on the freeway or long trips? I’m so disappointed I could just sit down and cry, this car was intended to prevent me from being so housebound due to high gas prices but in reality my 2008 Ford Escape non plug in hybrid averaged about 10 miles per gallon better on the freeway at 70-80 (often if you DON’t go 80 you’d get run over or shot in a road rage incident in Southern California)
Justin Hart wrote on April 2, 2022 - 4:00am
Thanks for your comments and questions Doris! In short, your dealer is correct. The reason you are getting disappointing fuel efficiency results is because you are (apparently) driving at a high rate of speed and may be accelerating hard (because it isn’t necessarily the case that both are true, but together they are the biggest factors in your efficiency). I don’t say this to reprimand you or judge. I am simply stating factual information about the impact of speed and the application of the throttle. The faster you go, the harder you press down on the pedal, the worse your fuel efficiency will be and there is no escaping that no matter what vehicle you drive or fuel that you use. But you may not need to despair. Here are some tips and explanations: your Sorento plug-in hybrid can and does operate exactly like your Prius did when it is in HEV (hybrid) mode, and uses energy captured from breaking and coasting to move the vehicle. In fact, relative to its size, it can actually regain and use more momentum turned into energy than your Prius did (because it is bigger and breaking generates more electricity and the battery can hold much more than your Prius did). But to achieve the fuel efficiency you hope for, you are going to have to learn to drive it more gently. That’s impossible, you might think, in Southern California. I grew up in San Diego, and just drove through LA and San Diego multiple times over the last 6 months and while I know many people do drive 80 mph or faster, I saw far more people driving around the speed limits of 60-70 mph than going that fast. If you simply slow down, and drive the speed limit, you’ll automatically improve your fuel efficiency greatly. Then, if you learn to alternate modes (by pressing the EV/HEV button between the front seats) at the appropriate times, you can maximize your economy further. When you know that you are going to drive 30 miles or less, you can simply keep the car in EV mode most of the time. As long as you don’t press too hard on the accelerator, (keep the right side “tach” needle in the “Eco” zone) you can stay in EV mode until the battery is depleted. However, if you know you are going more than 30 miles, or if you know you will have to accelerate hard, push the EV/HEV button until the car says you are in HEV mode as you are accelerating to freeway speeds or shortly thereafter (if you have time to gently accelerate to speed. Though it takes some practice to be gentle on the accelerator, you can do it and greatly increase your fuel efficiency. Of course, if that isn’t something you want to do, that’s okay. You might be better off with a 100% electric vehicle (if your goal is not to use gas). I know California has extra state incentives on top of the federal incentives for the purchase or lease of new EVs. Good luck!
Andrew wrote on December 11, 2021 - 1:04am
I too have a 2022 sorento phev and trying to figure out the algorithm. I wish there was a way to adjust how aggressively it used the battery in HEV mode. I don't have a charger at home and when I charge in town by the time I get home the battery is nearly depleted. Interested to see what you find out.
JustinHart wrote on December 14, 2021 - 1:30am
Me too! I will certainly be experimenting to see if I can’t manually control how much it uses HEV mode when there is sufficient charge in the battery to still drive in EV mode. If I were in your scenario I might try putting the car in EV mode to start, then switch it to HEV mode after getting on the highway/the fastest section of my drive home, and then switching back to EV mode when exiting the faster section or highway. But if that’s most of your route, maybe that won’t make a difference.
GLENN DELLINGER wrote on January 6, 2022 - 7:58am
I have a 2022 sorenti preview and want to know when I take my trip to the mountains next week what is the best mode to go in. I drive 45 miles to work everyday and having charging stations where I work. So ev mode is way best for this. I guess I want to know how do I know what modes to use?
Justin Hart wrote on January 6, 2022 - 3:57pm
Hi Glenn! Will you have a full load of people and or cargo? Are you towing anything? Assuming you are not already taxing the vehicle with a full load, you might be fine just keeping it in EV mode as you do for your commutes. Of course going up a mountain will drain the battery faster, and not knowing how far you’re driving before you get to the upward part of your mountain drive I would suggest the following: 1. don’t use up all of your battery charge first, you might need it for a boost if the mountain passes are steep or long. Maybe keep at least half your EV range “in reserve”. 2. Regardless, if the pass is very steep or long and you need more power to maintain speed, put it in Sport mode. This will be less fuel efficient, but there is no way around that, going uphill is always less efficient. It depends on whether you need extra power or not though. If the mountain pass isn’t too steep or long, you may not need the Sport mode. If you have 4 adults in the car with you plus a load of stuff, you may want the Sport mode regardless. It’s your friend when you want more power... and note when the gas engine is producing more power than it needs, some of that will go back into the battery for “storage” too. :) Good luck and travel safe!
Andrew Byington wrote on January 7, 2022 - 2:51am
I would use automatic mode for your mountain trip. I drove from Idaho to Colorado through a fair amount of mountains and it did great. Went 700 miles and still had a fair amount of battery left over so I used ev mode for the last 20 miles.
Jan Tomasik wrote on January 7, 2022 - 9:06am
Hi Glenn. I went over few longer trips recently (far behind the battery range) and to mountains with fully loaded car as well. There is this one - poorly described in manual feature - AUTO mode. From the observations I had, in this mode car is using battery more than in the HEV mode, but definitely not all the possible time as in EV mode. Somehow it calculates the driving conditions and switches into EV mode only when it can have biggest impact on overall driving efficiency (or at least so far I believe so). With this mode it could easily happen, you will have 80% battery even after 100 miles, based on the road type and driving style. Maybe give it a try and when you are getting closer to your destination and there is still some juice in the battery, switch it then to EV to get maximum from the battery range (we don't want to come to destination with battery still charged, do we?). Once the battery reaches some level (in my case it varies between 12%-20% based on the conditions) it is then automatically keeping car in HEV mode, maintaining some battery level so you have always available power from both engines when you need it. Even when climbing the mountains with fully loaded car in my case, battery level never doped below 9% - of course, I had family in car and roads were snowy, so it was rather calm drive than sporty one. Maybe if I push on gas more, electric motor would drain battery even more. If you will find some closer details how AUTO mode works, let us know please.
Laura Elmore wrote on June 25, 2022 - 4:33pm
I just bought a new Sorento and don't have a high charging plug either but have just plugged into a regular outlet with an extension cord. It takes 10 hours to charge.
William R Lucas Jr wrote on December 15, 2021 - 10:04am
I have the 2022 Sorento Plug in Hybrid. Love it, but one issue. I keep it in ECO and EV mode. When I leave the house with it 100% charged, why does the motor ever kick on? Since I drive only 5-10 miles a day, and I charge it to 100% each night, not sure why I am going through any gas at all???
JustinHart wrote on December 15, 2021 - 10:18pm
I hear you! I am used to the Volt which runs everything on electric when it is in Normal mode (which it is always in by default until battery is used up). But with many PHEVs, and the Sorento too, there are certain conditions that make the gas engine turn on. Understanding these is what all my tests are about! What we know for certain re: the Sorento PHEV: if you turn on the heat to any temp other than “Lo” (which is just the vent) the gas engine will come on to provide heat to the cabin. If you press too hard on the accelerator (push the “tach” needle past the second hatch mark in the “Power” band on the right side tach or gauge) that will force gas engine on (and so far in my tests it turns back off soon after “backing off” the accelerator enough to get out of the Power band). Also, there are other conditions that force or keep the gas engine on (that I haven’t figured out yet). But basically, if you want to keep the Sorento in EV mode you have to 1. Keep it in EV mode, 2. not accelerate too hard, and 3. keep the heat off. If you know you are going farther than 32 miles, you might want to turn on the HEV mode as soon as you get to the highway or the fastest section of your trip. Good luck and let me know if youbhave questions!
Jan wrote on December 25, 2021 - 4:43pm
you summarized it pretty nice. From my knowledge with Sorento PHEV so far, this are the reasons bringing gas engine on even if in EV mode: 1) anytime when there is higher demand on power, than the electric engine could provide (trying to keep the right side meter below POWER section can prevent this) 2) when you are trying to heat your interior, Sorento gets the heat from gas engine (some other PHEV's use electric heat pump instead), so turns it on to heat up. In this case, you can see EV sign still displayed green. that's because you are really powered by ev motor at this time and the gas engine is just iddling and recharging battery, rather than passing some power to your wheels - you can prevent this by not using heating. 3)I think this one wasn't mentioned - whenever there is outside temperature below 15C/59F, sorento heats up it's gas engine, just to make sure it is ready to operate in perfect condition if you suddenly floor the gas pedal and full power output would be needed as combination of electric and gas engine. Once the engine reaches desired temperature, it will again stop it and repeat all process based on the engine temperature if needed. If you are in EV mode, the heating of engine works the same way as in Nr.2 - it just recharges battery. One more point - when the gas engine is on to heat up (for whatever reason) I can see the gas consumption varies based on how much electricity I need for the electric motor. It looks like gas engine at this point doesn't only charge battery, but partially works like generator trying to supplement all electric energy to your electric motor. Finally - AUTO mode - this is mystery for me as well :-) I thought it could somehow work with maps, when you set destination in your car nav. However, I come to my destination (about 120 miles) like with 79% of battery which was definitely not the most economic route and so this hypothesis is proven as a false one :-)
Justin Hart wrote on December 28, 2021 - 2:26am
Thank you Jan! And I suspected there was a temperature where the Sorento PHEV might force the gas engine on, but I figured it would be higher than 59F... I will have to test when I get home (it is below freezing most of the time this week so I should get a chance, soon). I didn’t notice the engine coming on when the temperatures were in the mid 40’s F, but that might have been due to the way I was testing it (with earlier drives in HEV mode). I sure wish Kia would just explain the conditions where the gas engine will turn on in the manual. Oh well, I guess it is also fun to try and figure it out through testing, too. :) Thanks again!!
Jan Tomasik wrote on January 7, 2022 - 8:47am
You are right Justin, the temperature of forced engine start is somewhere below the one I believed could be a trigger point. Didn't find the break-point yet (if there is any?), so far had a chance only to test about 39F (some unusually warm winter here this year), all the trick was to keep air conditioning system completely off and I was able to drive in pure EV. Actually, I'm pretty happy to know this, now I'm able to do short city commutes in pure EV with 0 gas consumption. As for short distances I'm wearing my jacket on, heated seats and steering wheel does the comfort for me without heating through combustion engine. I noticed that with air system completely OFF, there is still some fresh air coming into car, so I didn't have any issues with humidity inside cabin or lack of oxygen. I would say this is good news helping us to stay more efficient during the winter as well. For sure - on longer journey comfort could be preferred and simple turning the air control system on, will start the engine when needed.
JustinHart wrote on January 8, 2022 - 1:18am
I am doing the same Jan! And it is good news for us because it means we can drive on electricity more often in our Sorento PHEVs. I was planning to take longer road trip tomorrow and write about how far the Sorento PHEV can go on a full charge + a full tank of fuel, but the recent weather around Seattle has turned out to be a problem. There is flooding that has closed part of our route. In fact Seattle is more or less cut off, by road, in all directions except from the north (Canadians can rescue us!). I might have to write about something else... maybe I’ll write about this problem in the context of climate change as a reminder about how important it is for us to all do what we can to address the problem (by driving more efficient vehicles, as a start). Hmmm....
Justin Hart wrote on January 7, 2022 - 2:24am
Jan, as an update I have been able to test my Sorento PHEV temperatures below freezing (as cold as 30F) and was able to drive in EV mode without the gas engine turning on. I intend to test further because I do expect there is a temperature where it forces the gas engine to come on. Now, my vehicle is stored inside a garage, and it may be 10 degrees warmer inside the garage than outside, so it is possible the battery was still well above freezing temps, but I would think that the Sorento “decides” when to turn on the engine based on exterior temperature as measure by its thermometer, not the battery pack temperature (but maybe that isn’t true).
Jan Tomasik wrote on January 10, 2022 - 2:26am
Hi Justin, I was able to reproduce EV only ride in freezing conditions as well. My car was parked outside, so at the starting point all components were on outside temperature (29F) and all went well.
JustinHart wrote on January 10, 2022 - 10:16pm
This is good to hear! I haven’t yet figured out hwo cold it has to be to force the Sorento PHEV to turn its engine on… I wonder if it is in the teens…
shbeb wrote on June 7, 2022 - 8:16pm
Unfortunately my gas engine is turning on for temp less than 70 even as high as 63 F. I drive 12 miles before the engine turn off. This is sad
Suresh Thangavel wrote on January 11, 2022 - 10:00am
All these experiments / tests you're doing are fascinating and interesting. I've got a new KIA Sorento PHEV Trim 4 (UK Model - equivalent of SX-Prestige) about a week ago and still figuring out the best mileage options for motorway driving. Your tests and results are extremely useful, so, thank you! A quick question: Between your first loop / test and your second loop / test, I can see that the mpg for that loop increased considerably (from 48.4 mpg to 151 mpg) which is excellent. Why did the overall trip mpg reduce from 245 mpg to 235 mpg? Just curious.
JustinHart wrote on January 11, 2022 - 11:13pm
Suresh, That’s a great question! I believe the answer to why the overall mpg was reduced after the second test was because the second test also used some petrol. Of course, petrol/gasoline will always result in lower mpg than using only electricity. The second trip used less petrol, but still used some, so the overall, cumulative mpg still got “worse” after the second test. If I had made the entire second test trip on electricity, it should have increased the mpg, slightly. This has been my experience and observation so far anyway. Cheers!
Theresa wrote on January 23, 2022 - 6:06am
When my gas light goes on, I am only able to put in 9.5 gallons of gas or so. Only on the first fill up was I able to put 12 gallons in. I've had the car for 7 weeks and spent way too much time putting gas into this car. The PHEV is nice, but the tank is too small. Any thoughts on why it will only take 9.5 gallons?
Justin Hart wrote on January 25, 2022 - 1:30am
A very interesting question Theresa. The gas tank on the Sorento PHEV has a 12.8 gallon volume, I believe. I wouldn’t think the gas light would come on with about 3 gallons of gas left in it (that should be almost 1/4 tank), so I wonder if perhaps you might have a vapor “bubble” in your tank? I am getting about 1,000 miles per tank right now (because I mostly drive it in EV mode and have only taken 1 long trip). You must do a lot of driving and the majority of your driving in HEV mode, I am guessing. If you don’t mind, can you tell me something about your typical use? For example, do you drive 100+ miles a day often? Are you able to charge the battery to 100% at least once per day? I would try a different gas station, if you haven’t already, as there could possibly be something up with the pumps. I will try running my tank down until the light comes on and see how much it takes for me to fill it, but that might be several weeks for me. If all else fails, take it to your dealer and see if they can diagnose it. As far as I know the light shouldn’t come on before you have about 1.5-2 gallons left (which means you should be able to put at least 10 gallons in if you drive till the light comes on (this is just assuming that 15% remaining is around the time it would come on).
Theresa wrote on March 13, 2022 - 1:04pm
I have approximately 9500 miles on my 2022 Kia Sorento PHEV that I bought new on Dec 4, 2021. In the three months of ownership, we've continued to have the problem of only being able to get 9.5 or so gallons into the tank at at time (as stated in my previous post). I do travel about 180 miles per day on a minimum of two days per week. My day trip is 75 miles each way of highway driving and then some in town driving at my destination. I use both an at home charger (at my destination) and a trickle charger at my own home. I am not consistent with charging the car as I have often have other cars blocking the charging location. I live in Michigan, so most of my driving has been in 45F and below over the last three months. The car has been driven on an extended trip to South Carolina as well as a few trips to northern Michigan which are 200 miles on each leg of the trip. I've used several different brands of gas stations and they all yield about the same amount of gas being able to be filled in the tank (about 9.5 gallons). I did try to keep putting gas in after the tank clicked off on one occasion--the machine constantly clicked and I kept trying to put gas in-- no gas came out of the tank entry hole, and I was able to get over 11 gallons into the tank before I finally gave up. I'm not sure if this is a good practice, but it did show me that the tank has room, but it just doesn't want to accept the gas from the pump at over 9.5 gallons. Of note, in mid January, if did have the engine light come on and took it to the dealer, They claim that they needed to order a part that had to do with emissions, but that it was safe to drive. They turned off the engine light and the part has yet to come in. I've found no difference in how the car runs with this part being removed. The dealer has no clue as to why my tank only wants to accept 9.5 gallons and said they would look into it. They did perform a RECALL correction by placing a sticker in my car manual book changing the gas tank size form the original touted 17gallon tank. Any advice you can give me on what I should suggest to the dealer as a "fix" for my problem will be helpful.
Bb wrote on May 21, 2022 - 9:33am
I've orders the PHEV and I'm waiting for it to be built. Your driving distance mirrors what I will Be doing on mine. What kind of mpg are u averting and which mode are u using HEV or EV. My drive is 70m both ways and I Can charge at work and home.
Bb wrote on May 21, 2022 - 9:34am
I've orders the PHEV and I'm waiting for it to be built. Your driving distance mirrors what I will Be doing on mine. What kind of mpg are u averting and which mode are u using HEV or EV. My drive is 70m both ways and I Can charge at work and home.
JustinHart wrote on May 23, 2022 - 9:36pm
My average after about 3000 miles is about 60 mpg (gas and electric combined). Some context though: for 5 months I couldn’t drive it very much so most of those miles are from warm weather road trips. In the fall and winter, I’ll do less long distance driving in it and that helps the average creep up. So my guess if you asked me this a year from now is more like 75-85 mpg. I use EV mostly in town/at speeds below 55 mph. I manually toggle between EV and HEV modes with the button between the seats.
GLENN DELLINGER wrote on January 24, 2022 - 9:52pm
Another question about my 2022 Kia serento plug in. I drive 45 miles to work every day and was wondering why it gets so much better mileage going home than it does going to work. I have it fully charged at home before I leave and fully charged from the charging station at work. It got over 100 mpe coming home today and only about 65 going. I checked the elevation by Google and both locations are about the same. Actually the traffic is worse going home and into work I can keep a constant speed. I keep the heat off both ways.

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