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

[JB_Soul603]

Joined forum to jump into this topic. Thanks all for the comprehensive reporting of your situations. My current status:
-Own a 2016 Soul EV which had a battery replacement in +- 2019 (prior to my ownership)
-Had the BMS software update from May 2023 installed
-Car drove fine for about 10 months
-Dreaded Turtle appeared one day (a month or so ago)
-Towed to dealer last week
-New "software updates" and recalls were applied
-Turtle icon still illuminated
-Service Advisor communicated, "We have confirmed with Kia that your vehicle does qualify for battery assembly replacement." The batteries are "manual release parts" which means ETA is unknown.
-Waiting...

 

[RubberToe]

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

Ok, I was wrong about the "resting comfortably in our garage" part. Mrs. Toe about once a week or so takes the car around the block for a quick spin just to see if it is still resting comfortably. This morning the car wouldn't start, and throwing all kinds of error messages. We initially thought it was the 12V battery, but AAA checked it and it was recently replaced and is fine. The tow truck driver somehow got it out of the underground garage and onto his truck. Just took it to the service center. I told Mrs. Toe that she should INSIST that the car be kept at the dealer as we will not be driving it and given all the issues it is having, we don't want to risk keeping it around in our garage. Seems like a reasonable request. We will see what happens.

RT

 

[RubberToe]

Joined forum to jump into this topic. Thanks all for the comprehensive reporting of your situations. My current status:
-Own a 2016 Soul EV which had a battery replacement in +- 2019 (prior to my ownership)
-Had the BMS software update from May 2023 installed
-Car drove fine for about 10 months
-Dreaded Turtle appeared one day (a month or so ago)
-Towed to dealer last week
-New "software updates" and recalls were applied
-Turtle icon still illuminated
-Service Advisor communicated, "We have confirmed with Kia that your vehicle does qualify for battery assembly replacement." The batteries are "manual release parts" which means ETA is unknown.
-Waiting...

This sounds a lot like our chronology. Keep detailed records of all time in the shop, number of service visits, etc. You may end up hitting the $17,500 lottery like we might do!

RT