A mechanic who specializes in performance vehicles was shocked by a message on his daily driver. Parker Jones (@stangryafterdark) began driving a 2013 Kia Optima Hybrid as a means of helping him save money on commuting.
However, after testing the limits of his Optima’s gas tank, Jones was greeted with a warning. He documented it in a viral clip that’s garnered over 117,000 views.
Jones’ video begins with him recording his car’s dash. The odometer displays a variety of warning lights. One large, orange indicator depicts a fueling station, with a smaller, identical icon beneath it. Additionally, there’s a flat tire icon also glowing on the dash.
However, there is one warning message that dominates his odometer.
“Refuel now to prevent hybrid battery damage!” it reads. Parker writes in a caption for the video, “My bad I didn’t know it was that deep.”
The TikToker narrates his shock after seeing the message on his vehicle. It clearly indicates he has no more fuel left in his car. Following this, the TikToker remarks he had no idea re-fueling on empty could harm hybrid batteries.
“I was indeed cutting it a little bit close,” he says. “But I did not know that that was a thing.”
Too rough
He refers to previous videos about his hybrid vehicle, and how viewers told him to take better care of it. Jones admits that he’s been riding the car rather hard, to the point where it feels like a gratuitous punishment.
“I feel bad you guys tell me not to neglect the Kia,” he says. “Lowkey the Kia’s my favorite investment ever. I’ve saved so much money with this car and here I am, I wouldn’t even say neglecting it. I’d say this is straight abuse.”
Next, Jones says while he did see the gas light turn on in his vehicle, he still opted not to fill up.
“To be honest I saw the light blinking for fuel. But I didn’t want to pay for the prices where I was at so I was like I can definitely make it home,” he shares. “And then it started saying I was gonna damage the hybrid battery.”
The driver said he was shocked to see the message pop up on his car’s dash screen. “I think it went full EV mode, which it’s not made to do,” he continues. “And it started getting very upset. So, this is probably gonna be the most expensive fuel fill-up on the Kia. I don’t know how much gas this tank holds. But I think we’re gonna see the max.”
Fueling up
Following this, Jones’ video cuts to him recording the pump. He selects regular fuel, which is retailing for $3.139 per gallon at the station.
“Actually not that bad,” he says, of the gasoline’s price. Then, his video cuts to the final result of his car’s fill-up. He spent a grand total of $50.32 for a little over 16 gallons of gas.
Jones posts a greenscreen containing information about his vehicle. According to the assessment, he’s rolling around in a 2013 Kia Optima Hybrid, which has a 17.2-gallon fuel tank. The car, on average, can travel around 37 miles per gallon—35 in the city and 39 on the highway.
“Let’s see how many miles this’ll get us,” he states, hitting the car’s push-to-start button. The odometer indicates its “Distance to Empty” is “576 miles.”
Jones thought the number was “a little light.” Next, he concludes his video by explaining what his reason for uploading it is.
He says, “I’m doing this to publicly hold myself accountable. I should not have treated the daily like this. Don’t let me do it again.”
Low fuel warnings
Other Kia drivers say they’ve received this same message on their hybrid vehicles. One poster on the Kia Owners Club wondered how hitting empty on a gas tank could damage a hybrid battery. They asked, “But surely that doesn’t happen? If the car is out of petrol and down on charge, won’t the software just stop it to make it behave like a conventional car when it runs out of fuel?”
One commenter responded to their query, stating that pretty much all hybrid vehicles come with this same warning. Furthermore, they referenced this Auto Blog article which delineates what happens when hybrid vehicles run out of gasoline.
The outlet decided to test these scenarios for themselves with different vehicles. As it happens, cars from different manufacturers reacted to the dearth of fuel in varied ways. Chevy Tahoe and Silverado Hybrids simply shut down, even if the hybrid battery was fully charged.
However, with a Toyota Prius, they noticed that a fully charged battery does allow for some electric-only driving. But since the car isn’t designed for this function, there are some restrictions. First: the car will hit a maximum speed of 18 miles per hour. Second: depleting the charge in the hybrid battery. These units are designed to always keep a bit of charge in them.
@stangryafterdark My bad I didn’t know it was that deep #stangry #mustang #carcommunity #carsoftiktok #moxyperformance #hybrid #kia #twinturbo #fyp ♬ Storytelling – Adriel
Regen
Technology like regenerative braking constantly feeds power back into the hybrid battery pack. This battery then, at certain times during commutes can help offload the fuel strain of accelerating/coasting on a highway. It’s a constant give-and-take that results in better driving efficiency and more miles per gallon.
However, these hybrid battery packs are fairly large and are often made of lithium-ion. This is indeed the case for the 2013 Kia Optima Hybrid in Jones’ video. It’s well-documented that allowing lithium-ion batteries to fully die can reduce its long-term charging capacity.
Additionally, this same logic applies to “over-charging” lithium-ion batteries as well. That’s why it’s best to keep these batteries charged, and at its maximum, have them filled to around a 90% max capacity.
If your car allows you to use the hybrid battery to “limp” to a gas station, fully depleting its power could harm it. So, don’t abuse it, as Jones did to his whip.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Kia via email and Jones via TikTok comment for further information.
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