Car stuck at dealer for 3 months awaiting warranty battery replacement (2017 Soul EV)

[spidermonkey]

For those that didn’t get a loaner or rental, that is bad. Don’t settle, escalate, especially that there is precedent from people here that Kia does offer loaners/rentals. I bet filing a small claims/serving the dealership would change their minds. We were fortunate to have a loaner for the 6 mo repair/replace (did take some conversation when they didn’t or offered ICE). We are keeping the car and just received the $3500.

It falls upon the dealership to provide a loaner, Kia corporate made it very clear that their policy is to reimburse customers for the cost of a rental up to X amount of dollars per day after repairs are complete.

 

[RubberToe]

Wife called the Kia case handler yesterday, and they still want credit union statements showing that the car is paid off. Not sure why the title isn't good enough. The wife told them if it's a matter of figuring out how much interest was paid on the loan, then we are happy to not have that included in the buyout offer if it will speed things up.

But... <drum roll> we have a new development. Last two days the car is no longer charging. Tried both timed charge and untimed charge. We are thinking of just dropping the car off at the dealer despite the service center not being open today. The car is parked in an underground garage and at this point just want to make sure that we don't have to file a claim on the $1m insurance rider that the HOA required when I installed my EV charger back in 2015.

Heading down to check it out myself right now, will post additional information should I see it. Same error both yesterday and today. Both J1772 chargers verified to be working so the issue is with the car.



Update: Just got the OK to drop the car off at the dealership this morning!

RT

 

[JordanRieger]

OP here.

It's so ridiculous that they calculate the buyback offer based on your original purchase price + interest - depreciation. It should simply be based on the current fair market value of the vehicle. (What if I bought it off my uncle for $1?)

Latest update: Around 2 months after sending me the buyback offer, they determined that they wouldn't be able to honor it because they simply couldn't figure out how to transfer the title (legal ownership) of the vehicle from a Canadian owner to their American corporation. Obviously that is BS; it's possible to sell and import vehicles back and forth between Canada/USA, and people do it all the time. They just couldn't be bothered with the hassle of figuring it out.

That was 2 weeks ago. So my only recourse was a goodwill payment. I came up with a number (around 1/3 of the market value of the car) based on other offers I've seen on this forum and elsewhere, and the fact that I had no working vehicle for ~9 months and no loaner/courtesy car. They accepted immediately (I should have asked for more!)

And meanwhile, they finally sent a remanufactured battery to the dealer, who installed it. I travelled down to the States to get the car back, and the range is good, maybe even better than brand new. Only problem is that DC fast chargers won't charge it past 93% (I tried 3 different chargers.) But I only trickle-charge at home anyway, so that doesn't bug me much. (It might be due to the new battery having a slightly higher capacity than stock.)

As the car was sitting for long, its 12V battery also died, and the dealer refused to replace it without authorization from Kia. The dealer sounded even more frustrated than I am; he wouldn't even risk supplying a $200 battery until he had the payment from Kia, as he doesn't trust them to follow through in a timely fashion. Kia provided the authorization to replace the 12V battery, but they didn't relay it to the right person internally, and it never got to the dealer. So to expedite things, I said I would just bring a new 12V battery with me, install it myself, and send Kia the receipt for reimbursement. They agreed to that, and that's what I did. So now I'm just waiting another "45 to 60 days" to get the actual cheque :-|

 

[MarkCapeCod]

I believe you will find that the Kia BMS will shut off fast charging at 94%. It does on my 2018. It was 84% on earlier models.

 

[CoachME]

Has anyone actually received the goodwill payment?

 

[RubberToe]

Wife called the Kia case handler yesterday, and they still want credit union statements showing that the car is paid off. Not sure why the title isn't good enough. The wife told them if it's a matter of figuring out how much interest was paid on the loan, then we are happy to not have that included in the buyout offer if it will speed things up.

But... <drum roll> we have a new development. Last two days the car is no longer charging. Tried both timed charge and untimed charge. We are thinking of just dropping the car off at the dealer despite the service center not being open today. The car is parked in an underground garage and at this point just want to make sure that we don't have to file a claim on the $1m insurance rider that the HOA required when I installed my EV charger back in 2015.

Heading down to check it out myself right now, will post additional information should I see it. Same error both yesterday and today. Both J1772 chargers verified to be working so the issue is with the car.

View attachment 190

Update: Just got the OK to drop the car off at the dealership this morning!

RT

Wow,
Keeps getting crazier and crazier. The "onboard charger" failed. Just picked up a rental from Hertz (Kia EV6 again) and the service tech said the part is back ordered. The claim amount on the invoice is shown as $3,963. Keep in mind we are still waiting for a buyout offer from Kia Corporate for the car. Why on Earth wouldn't they just keep the car, not fix it, and give up a buyout? Will obviously post again when we hear about the buyout, the onboard charger fix, or the rental EV6 dies again. Our last EV6 rental died in the driveway and had to be towed. I asked Mrs. Toe to please rent an EV if possible, and Hertz provided an EV6 at no additional cost

RT

 

[JordanRieger]

I believe you will find that the Kia BMS will shut off fast charging at 94%. It does on my 2018. It was 84% on earlier models.

That's interesting, because before my battery replacement, DC fast charging would slow down as it approached 100% but would eventually reach it. Maybe the newest BMS limits that to prevent excessive wear/degradation.

My 2017 has no ability to limit charge to 80%, even when Level 1/trickle charging, which is a terrible design as it contributes to early battery degradation. (I've heard this was due to a dispute with the state of California over false advertising of range based on 100% charge versus the default 80% limit on previous model years. If anyone has a link to an article confirming that, I'd be interested.) My hack solution is to use the on-board scheduler to limit charging to 3:00am-8:00am. Five hours a night is usually enough charging to cover my daily driving, since the vehicle is no longer my wife's daily driver and I work from home.

BTW, I still haven't received my goodwill payment, but I was told it could take 45-60 days.

 

[JejuSoul]

... (I've heard this was due to a dispute with the state of California over false advertising of range based on 100% charge versus the default 80% limit on previous model years. If anyone has a link to an article confirming that, I'd be interested.) ...

This change first happened with the Nissan Leaf in 2014.
Kia followed in mid 2016. ( = MY2017 )
Neither Nissan or Kia have ever acknowledged why they made the change.
To understand the history I suggest you read this post from April 2014 :- Limiting the Charge to 80%

There used to be a good article about this on GreenCarReports but the link to the article is no longer valid.
----------------------------

You can see the change in the rated range for the Nissan Leaf in the image below.
The only difference in the car was the removal of the 80% option.



The 80% option on the Soul EV was removed for the 2017 but the EPA adjustment didn't happen until the next year.
This made the battery improvement of the MY2018 look greater than it actually was.

 

[Akovia]

That's interesting, because before my battery replacement, DC fast charging would slow down as it approached 100% but would eventually reach it. Maybe the newest BMS limits that to prevent excessive wear/degradation.

My 2017 has no ability to limit charge to 80%, even when Level 1/trickle charging, which is a terrible design as it contributes to early battery degradation. (I've heard this was due to a dispute with the state of California over false advertising of range based on 100% charge versus the default 80% limit on previous model years. If anyone has a link to an article confirming that, I'd be interested.) My hack solution is to use the on-board scheduler to limit charging to 3:00am-8:00am. Five hours a night is usually enough charging to cover my daily driving, since the vehicle is no longer my wife's daily driver and I work from home.

BTW, I still haven't received my goodwill payment, but I was told it could take 45-60 days.

Huh. My 2016 lets me select an 80% limit. IDK if it actually does that, but the screen indicates so.

 

[Ationg]

How does it let you select a limit of 80% charge? Could you walk us thru the menu steps pls?

 

[JejuSoul]

The settings option looks like this on my car (a MY2015).

 

[Akovia]

The settings option looks like this on my car (a MY2015).

View attachment 194

My ‘16 look exactly the same.

 

[spidermonkey]

Has anyone actually received the goodwill payment?

yes. I received mine in the mail today. That along with fixing my car as per the warranty concludes my dealings with Kia. The warranty still holds for another four years.

 

[Nedhastings]

yes. I received mine in the mail today. That along with fixing my car as per the warranty concludes my dealings with Kia. The warranty still holds for another four years.

That’s great to hear!

 

[CoachME]

yes. I received mine in the mail today. That along with fixing my car as per the warranty concludes my dealings with Kia. The warranty still holds for another four years.

Good to hear, congrats.

 

[RubberToe]

Wow,
Keeps getting crazier and crazier. The "onboard charger" failed. Just picked up a rental from Hertz (Kia EV6 again) and the service tech said the part is back ordered. The claim amount on the invoice is shown as $3,963. Keep in mind we are still waiting for a buyout offer from Kia Corporate for the car. Why on Earth wouldn't they just keep the car, not fix it, and give up a buyout? Will obviously post again when we hear about the buyout, the onboard charger fix, or the rental EV6 dies again. Our last EV6 rental died in the driveway and had to be towed. I asked Mrs. Toe to please rent an EV if possible, and Hertz provided an EV6 at no additional cost

RT

Car is now back with the onboard charger either replaced or fixed by a software update, I suspect the part was replaced though I didn't look at the repair receipt. Still awaiting the corporate buyout offer. I'll post it if anyone is interested.

RT

 

[RubberToe]

Car is now back with the onboard charger either replaced or fixed by a software update, I suspect the part was replaced though I didn't look at the repair receipt. Still awaiting the corporate buyout offer. I'll post it if anyone is interested.

RT

Well, some unexpected news from KIA headquarters. The buyout offer has been received. Mrs. Toe purchased the vehicle off my lease in 2017 for $17,500. KIA will be repurchasing the vehicle for $17,500. Not quite winning the lottery, but close.

The process is that once the paperwork is signed (that was yesterday), corporate requires 90-120 days to review the case and process the claim. Then the car is returned to a third party entity who does an inspection, takes possession, and gives us the check. When asked about what happens if the car is in an accident before then, the response was that it would be handled via the normal insurance process. Given what the KBB used value is showing, the car will be resting comfortably in our garage for 90-120 days. Mrs. Toe has had incredible luck with EV's, previously having scored a Fiat 500 EV lease for $89 per month. The Soul experience was frustrating, with the car in the shop for months on end, and many trips to the dealer. But in the end getting back the entire purchase prices was an amazing outcome. Essentially driving for free (we have solar) for 7 years.

RT

 

[JejuSoul]

Great news. $17,500 buyout.

Here are the latest KBB prices for a 2017


My 2015 would get about $8,500 which shows buyers aren't taking the warranty expiration into account.
It also seems the battery replacement horror stories on this site and others have had little to no effect on used pricing.

 

[JordanRieger]

OP here. I finally received my goodwill cheque in the mail about a week ago. (It's drawn on a US bank, so it hasn't cleared in my Canadian chequing account yet, but I think Kia America has the money. ) Car is working great with the new battery; range continues to be better than original - probably around 105 miles over the late summer, even with frequent AC use and very hilly local terrain.

 

[nileriver]

I’m glad to see that many on here are finally getting some satisfaction from Kia. I have a 2016+ that was not originally put into service until almost the end of 2016, so I still have a little over two years left on the battery warranty. I expect (hope) to be able to avail it before expiration. Local dealership reported a 75% SOH a bit over a year ago, and it seems to be gradually deteriorating. I appreciate all who have come before me and suffered all the pangs with this situation. It appears that maybe Kia is finally getting it all sorted out. I’m really not interested in a buy-back; I definitely like my car, and would be ecstatic if I can get the results @JordanRieger did, even without a goodwill payment. How does that work though? If the car is (finally) fixed, and a comparable rental was provided for the duration, what is the rationale?

Semi-related question: I’ve had the car about 15 months; 58K mileage at purchase. I have no idea how it was treated prior to my ownership, but I have only ever charged it with level one charging. I always charge to 100%, and rarely let it get below 80% capacity. Should I run it down more? Do some DC fast charging? I really need to get that SOH down to 70%. Would those, or any other measures help?