Why is my DC charger so slow… anyone else?

Hey everyone. I drive a 2023 Kia Niro EV Wave edition and recently got the charging software update from the recall. Today, I stopped at an Electrify America 375kW charger, and my car only charged at 27kW. Then I went to a ChargePoint / Volvo / Starbucks 125kW charger, and it started at 63kW before settling at 50kW. Why such a big difference? If this keeps up, our road trip is going to be painful with long charging times. Any ideas?

Charging on road trips doesn’t take that long. I take my Niro on long trips often. The real issue is that Electrify America stations usually have just a few stalls, so if they’re full, you might have to wait. Once Kia joins the Supercharger network, this should improve since those locations have way more stalls.

@Nash
Good to know. My worry is that we’ll be stuck on a 250-mile stretch with only Electrify America chargers, and they’ve been really slow.

Brennan said:
@Nash
Good to know. My worry is that we’ll be stuck on a 250-mile stretch with only Electrify America chargers, and they’ve been really slow.

250 miles in winter is tricky. You’d have to go below 20% charge and drive slower, maybe around 56mph.

@Macon
I think he meant there are only EA chargers in that 250-mile stretch, not that there’s 250 miles between them.

Brennan said:
@Nash
Good to know. My worry is that we’ll be stuck on a 250-mile stretch with only Electrify America chargers, and they’ve been really slow.

Which states are you traveling through? I used EA chargers along I-55 in Illinois recently and had no issues.

What exactly are you trying to figure out?

Mason said:
What exactly are you trying to figure out?

Sorry, I meant why the charging speeds were so different when conditions were the same. Battery temp, state of charge, and weather were all identical.

@Brennan
Probably something wrong with that specific Electrify America stall, causing it to limit the charging speed.

Mason said:
@Brennan
Probably something wrong with that specific Electrify America stall, causing it to limit the charging speed.

Yeah, or maybe the battery wasn’t preconditioned properly. The first charger might’ve warmed it up a little, so it charged better at the next stop.

Sounds like that stall had an issue. Make sure battery preconditioning is on and use the car’s navigation to set a Level 3 charger as your destination. Also, if there are 150kW and 350kW chargers available, it’s best to use the 150kW ones since the Niro EV can’t charge above 85kW anyway. That way, you leave the 350kW stalls for cars that actually need them.

@Tobin
Thanks. I have battery conditioning on, but is there a way to check if it’s actually heating the battery or force it to? I’ll try using the Nav system for charging stops. There were four stalls and no one else charging when I was there.