2016 Soul EV BAttery replacement - Out of Stock?

[jando1st]

Hey folks, glad to find this forum. I bought this 2016 with 36k miles and it didn't have the standard trickle charger with it, the dealer had provided one to use from another ev until he could get the Kia charger. After successfully charging it to 100% the range was 52 miles. I tried driving it down as close to 0% as possible staying close by and then charged it again but never went above 52%. I contacted Kia America and confirmed the nearest authorized service center was in Georgia and they made transport arrangements after agreeing it needed a battery replacement. It arrived in Georgia on 10/8/19 and as of yesterday I was told they still don't have even an estimated date for delivery of the replacement battery, that they were on back order. The tech confirmed the battery needed to be replaced and would be replaced with a NEW battery, not a refurb.
My question to this group is, what is the long delay about getting batteries for these cars? The tech told me there was another Soul waiting on a battery that had been there longer than mine.
Any ideas?
Thanks for any replies.

 

[jando1st]

OK, After browsing around this forum and other places I guess I'll shut up about Kia taking so long to fix my car!! I see where 4, 5 and 6 months times were reported for this. It appears it's not just Kia/Hyundia either. Keeping up with battery demand appears to be a common problem.
I would still like to hear any reports from this forum about the battery back log issue.

 

[ksoul2084]

Hey folks, glad to find this forum. I bought this 2016 with 36k miles and it didn't have the standard trickle charger with it, the dealer had provided one to use from another ev until he could get the Kia charger. After successfully charging it to 100% the range was 52 miles. I tried driving it down as close to 0% as possible staying close by and then charged it again but never went above 52%. I contacted Kia America and confirmed the nearest authorized service center was in Georgia and they made transport arrangements after agreeing it needed a battery replacement. It arrived in Georgia on 10/8/19 and as of yesterday I was told they still don't have even an estimated date for delivery of the replacement battery, that they were on back order. The tech confirmed the battery needed to be replaced and would be replaced with a NEW battery, not a refurb.
My question to this group is, what is the long delay about getting batteries for these cars? The tech told me there was another Soul waiting on a battery that had been there longer than mine.
Any ideas?
Thanks for any replies.

I am in a similar situation as you with reduced range and battery SOH on my 2016 of only 60%. I would like to ask how you went about contacting KIA and getting them to agree to transport your car to the nearest EV certified dealer for a battery replacement which is in another state?

In my case I live in Alberta (Canada) but the nearest EV certified dealer is 600km / 400m away in British Columbia. I contacted KIA Canada via their website/email form and I received a call back saying that I would have to take the car myself to an EV certified dealer for inspection.

You are the second American I've seen post that KIA agreed to transport the car for you, so I'm curious how that exchange went?

As for the backlog I've read on the KIA EV facebook group that some folks have been told there is a 2 month delay for new batteries for warranty replacements. Not sure how reliable that number is though.

 

[jando1st]

The dealer where I bought the car initiated the talks with Kia America (Kia Consumer Assistance Center) and somehow had a case number assigned to me. Once I contacted Kia America using the case number, I was assigned an agent to work the case. She handled everything from there including trying to get me a loaner car from the local Kia dealer. They didn't have any so we agreed I would rent a car locally and they would reimburse me at the end.
Have they assigned you a case number? Is the car still covered under warranty? Not sure what differences there are from Canada to American Kia products?
If it is under warranty how can they expect you to pay for transport? It's not your fault they have no dealer presence near you?
Good luck, it's hard enough putting up with not having my EV because they can't provide parts for the repair in a timely manner. I would really be pissed if they wouldn't have provided transport.
I've only driven the car for a few weeks but I am very impressed with the overall quality of the vehicle. It's not a Tesla but it's a fine starter EV IMO.

 

[ksoul2084]

Interesting. I didn't buy my car from a local dealer (none of them handle EVs anyway).

What did you tell the dealer when you took the car in? Did you have any SoulSpy or other data to show the state of the battery?

 

[Goofcat]

I just heard from my Kia dealership that the battery packs are out of stock until mid Jan 2020!

 

[jando1st]

After I charged a couple of times and realized my range wouldn't go above 51 miles I asked them about it. One of the owners there offered to help getting me in touch with Kia America and I went on from there. I had no tools to look at state of battery. This guy has owned multiple brands of EV's and now has a Tesla and wanted to try to make sure I was happy with my purchase at his dealership. Positive word of mouth advertising was his goal I'm sure.
Also, I finally got somewhat of a time frame for the battery replacement. Now it's December 6. Maybe sooner, maybe later?? I'm told the barge going between South Korea and the US will only move once it's full and then it's 30 days on the water to get here. Unclear why this process needs to be so nebulous and unclear.

 

[jando1st]

Hey all, sorry for the delay in finishing this post. I got my Soul EV back from the dealer and the battery was not new, it was re manufactured. The day I picked it up the SOH was 99% with 98 miles of range. I opted to fly in and drive it home instead of waiting for them to transport it home. That was an adventure to say the least!! There were enough charging stations along the route from Kennesaw GA back to Memphis except for one stop in Centerville TN the business had closed and removed the only charger in town. I went on the hunt for 110 power outlets to use. Took me about 8 hours to get enough charge to get to the next charger, in a heavy downpour! I had a 220 outlet installed in the garage at home on a 30 amp breaker so I'm charging from 30% to 100% charge in in about 4 hours. After 6 charging sessions my range has settled back down to its original 93 miles or so.
I'm a happy camper! Kia is reimbursing me for all expenses since they took it away. Car rentals and all expenses for the flight, meals and hotel. Overall a very good experience for my first Kia vehicle and my first EV.

 

[ksoul2084]

That is fantastic. Congratulations!

I wish KIA Canada would offer that kind of support. They want me to transport my car at my expense 600kms away to the nearest EV certified dealer for inspection.

 

[JejuSoul]

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They are not 'out-of-stock' anymore.

I took my white car to the main Kia service center in the city today for a battery replacement.
There were multiple stacks of crates containing new batteries. I counted 36. All for the Soul EV.



I asked about the reason for the delays. Was told the batteries were delayed by the Japan/Korea trade dispute causing problems for the Korean battery makers getting some of the high-tech precursors for the battery manufacturing.

Not sure how true this is because the invoice sheet inside the case said that the batteries were made in September.
I waited from October 16th to December 30th.