Kia dealer has my SoulEV for 3+ months

[chrislarsen3]

Hey, i have a 2017 Soul EV+.

Bit of history-
Late 2022 I got my battery replaced (was a month out of warranty but kia still honored it and was able to do it free of charge to me, yay I loved them for that) by a dealer here in NC that hadnt ever seen an EV in their shop but they got it done with kia phone assistance. They didnt recalibrate (or didnt do it propery) so it was messed up range reporting wise. Brought it back and they did the recalibration and it reported 120, so i let it slowly come back down into normal range. Otherwise everything was going great thru sept 2023.

Sept 2023 we got a recall notice to bring it in for a sw update on the charging. Did that.

2 days later we started getting weird power issues like the entertsinment system would go out and/or freeze up until turning the car off and back on again. Brought it in and they said that the support bulletin says if the recall update isnt good a new battery is needed.

They've now had my car since september (! With no new battery ordered!) and keep stringing me along.

My personal feeling is they messed it up when doing the recall update in september and no are in problem territory with kia warranty dept when trying to work thru ordering the new battery but dont want to tell me they messed up. I have no way of knowing though and they still have my car!

I'll be calling Kia HQ to see what the situation is from their perspective but wanted to get some opinions here first in case anyone has any enlightening experiences or feedback.

TIA!

 

[JejuSoul]

Hey, i have a 2017 Soul EV+.

Bit of history-
Late 2022 I got my battery replaced (was a month out of warranty but kia still honored it and was able to do it free of charge to me, yay I loved them for that)

Hope your car gets fixed soon.
A small mistake in your post though. The US battery warranty is ten years. In 2022 you had at least 4 years left.
Kia didn't do you a favor, they just did what they were supposed to do.
Note the latest safety recall is not effected by the warranty.
Your first replacement was a warranty issue.
The latest issue is not. It is part of the safety recall.
For more info read this thread :- Battery Recall for cars with E400 high-voltage battery.

Here's the warranty info for the manufacturer's Battery Capacity Warranty of the older 27kWh cars. There is a 70% limit based on the original usable capacity. It applies to the car not the first owner.

The warranty manuals are here.
USA: 2017 Soul EV Warranty Manual
Canada: 2016 Soul EV Warranty Manual
UK: Warranty Terms and Exclusions

The Korean warranty is 10 years, 160,000km to 70% SOH.
The United States is 10 years, 100,000 miles to 70% SOH.
The Canadian warranty is 8 years, 160,000km to 70% SOH
The United Kingdom is 7 years, 100,000 miles to 70% SOH.
Europe is 7 years, 150,000km to 70% SOH.

 

[chrislarsen3]

The US battery warranty is ten years. You had 4 years left.

Seriously? I love you! thanks for the quick response with that super helpful tidbit.

 

[FLKiaEV]

Seriously? I love you! thanks for the quick response with that super helpful tidbit.

Yeah, and even better, the warranty covers not just the original owner but subsequent owners too. When I was researching which used EV to buy (because I couldn't afford a new one), that was the main point that made me go with Kia and I have not regretted that decision. But that was only 2015 to2018 model years. After that they modified the warranty. It's still a good warranty, but I don't believe it covers the full EV system including the main battery for subsequent owners but only the original owner. If someone has a 2019 or newer Kia or Hyundai EV maybe you can fill in the details.

 

[chrislarsen3]

Super helpful. You rock

 

[raskal]

Super helpful. You rock

What mileage do you have on the car? The warranty is 10 years or 100,000 miles

 

[chrislarsen3]

ah good distinction. There are only like 45k miles on it.

 

[raskal]

ah good distinction. There are only like 45k miles on it.

as an aside, my 2017 has 54,000 miles and is under 70% SOH so it will be getting a new battery soon too. Well, who knows what "soon" means, but hopefully sometime this year.
From my reading, I'll need to implement a way that we only charge it to 80% capacity so that it won't need another one

 

[JejuSoul]

Yeah, and even better, the warranty covers not just the original owner but subsequent owners too. When I was researching which used EV to buy (because I couldn't afford a new one), that was the main point that made me go with Kia and I have not regretted that decision. But that was only 2015 to2018 model years. After that they modified the warranty. It's still a good warranty, but I don't believe it covers the full EV system including the main battery for subsequent owners but only the original owner. If someone has a 2019 or newer Kia or Hyundai EV maybe you can fill in the details.

I don't think this is true. In the UK at least the EV warranty has not changed. Their current website states.
"Our car warranty is also transferable, so you can benefit from a higher resale value when it comes to selling your Kia. "
From :- Electric Car Battery Cover & EV Warranty Protection

 

[RubberToe]

Our 2015 has been in the shop for about one month now. Kia provided an EV6 loaner. The 10 year battery warranty is due to expire in a few months. Question: If Kia just sits on the car till the 10 years are up, is the battery then out of warranty and they are no longer on the hook to fix it?

RT

 

[IanL]

No, if the dealer has submitted the case for a replacement battery to KIA, and they have accepted it, you will be ok, however long the delay.

 

[nickfank]

My local dealer had my 2016 for over a year during the mid to late pandemic because they had problems diagnosing and then sourcing parts for what was clearly an electric problem. However, Kia paid for a Niro EV rental during the entire time, so I'm not complaining. (We loved the Niro!) The only downside is that the Soul smells a little musty now because it sat without any air circulation during most of that time. I'll probably fork out the money to have it professionally cleaned.

The irony- Due to info gained on this forum, I was able to tell them exactly what the problem was when I dropped it off. They ignored that diagnosis, and then one year later, came up with the same diagnosis.

 

[ClayPete]

I am in the same boat. Did the recall on the battery harness and went into turtle mode the next day - dealership suggested it was unrelated even though it was the next day but reset the software and that seemed to fix things. 6 weeks later when it got cold out it went into turtle mode again - I assume recreating the issue from after the safety recall.

When I called the dealership they informed me they had no record of the fix the day after the safety recall - and had only logged that visit under a separate small issue that I had asked about.

I took it to a different dealership and it has been there for 2.5 weeks. Hope it doesn't turn into months like yours!

 

[thzzh4]

Hey, i have a 2017 Soul EV+.

Bit of history-
Late 2022 I got my battery replaced (was a month out of warranty but kia still honored it and was able to do it free of charge to me, yay I loved them for that) by a dealer here in NC that hadnt ever seen an EV in their shop but they got it done with kia phone assistance. They didnt recalibrate (or didnt do it propery) so it was messed up range reporting wise. Brought it back and they did the recalibration and it reported 120, so i let it slowly come back down into normal range. Otherwise everything was going great thru sept 2023.

Sept 2023 we got a recall notice to bring it in for a sw update on the charging. Did that.

2 days later we started getting weird power issues like the entertsinment system would go out and/or freeze up until turning the car off and back on again. Brought it in and they said that the support bulletin says if the recall update isnt good a new battery is needed.

They've now had my car since september (! With no new battery ordered!) and keep stringing me along.

My personal feeling is they messed it up when doing the recall update in september and no are in problem territory with kia warranty dept when trying to work thru ordering the new battery but dont want to tell me they messed up. I have no way of knowing though and they still have my car!

I'll be calling Kia HQ to see what the situation is from their perspective but wanted to get some opinions here first in case anyone has any enlightening experiences or feedback.

TIA!

I had a similar situation happen with my 2016 Soul EV. 9 months dealer had it and they did not provide a rental or anything. After my research it falls under lemon law and I could have gotten more out of Kia but they just paid me for the months they had it. Finally with a replaced battery it’s up to 120 mile range and it gets the job done as my work car. The only thing that would make it better would be allowing us to update the modem to be able to use the app again.

 

[nileriver]

I have a 2016. The ten year warranty on the battery will expire in December 2026. I will not exceed the mileage limit by then. I have not had it tested yet, but I strongly suspect that the battery is below the 70% threshold. I have procrastinated dealing with it, as the range I do have is sufficient for almost all of my driving. But this winter has been brutal on my range. A lot of y’all on here have had some bad experiences with Kia and/or their service departments at the dealerships. All of this information on here from you guys has been very helpful. There are conflicting reports about loaner vehicles being provided by Kia when they sit on these repairs for months. Does anyone know the definitive?

 

[nickfank]

I have a 2016. The ten year warranty on the battery will expire in December 2026. I will not exceed the mileage limit by then. I have not had it tested yet, but I strongly suspect that the battery is below the 70% threshold. I have procrastinated dealing with it, as the range I do have is sufficient for almost all of my driving. But this winter has been brutal on my range. A lot of y’all on here have had some bad experiences with Kia and/or their service departments at the dealerships. All of this information on here from you guys has been very helpful. There are conflicting reports about loaner vehicles being provided by Kia when they sit on these repairs for months. Does anyone know the definitive?

Kia had my 2016 for a year during the pandemic while they messed around with charging system diagnosis and sourcing parts. During that entire time, they providing a Niro EV rental for me. (The Niro is a great car, BTW, was sad we we had to give it back.) I put 14K miles on their rental and Kia didn't gripe once, so I'm a happy camper.

Certainly not definitive, but both they and I assumed the rental was called for by the warranty after the first two weeks had passed without a resolution. They didn't make the offer until they had confirmed that (1) It was indeed a warranty situation, and (2) They'd have to wait at least another week on parts.

I did have an amusing time trying to convince Enterprise rental that they really didn't need me to bring the Niro EV in for an oil change, but I did have to get the tires rotated on it during that year.

 

[Darklight]

My local dealer had my 2016 for over a year during the mid to late pandemic because they had problems diagnosing and then sourcing parts for what was clearly an electric problem. However, Kia paid for a Niro EV rental during the entire time, so I'm not complaining. (We loved the Niro!) The only downside is that the Soul smells a little musty now because it sat without any air circulation during most of that time. I'll probably fork out the money to have it professionally cleaned.

The irony- Due to info gained on this forum, I was able to tell them exactly what the problem was when I dropped it off. They ignored that diagnosis, and then one year later, came up with the same diagnosis.

And you're not gonna share what the problem was?

 

[winepoured]

Hey, i have a 2017 Soul EV+.

Bit of history-
Late 2022 I got my battery replaced (was a month out of warranty but kia still honored it and was able to do it free of charge to me, yay I loved them for that) by a dealer here in NC that hadnt ever seen an EV in their shop but they got it done with kia phone assistance. They didnt recalibrate (or didnt do it propery) so it was messed up range reporting wise. Brought it back and they did the recalibration and it reported 120, so i let it slowly come back down into normal range. Otherwise everything was going great thru sept 2023.

Sept 2023 we got a recall notice to bring it in for a sw update on the charging. Did that.

2 days later we started getting weird power issues like the entertsinment system would go out and/or freeze up until turning the car off and back on again. Brought it in and they said that the support bulletin says if the recall update isnt good a new battery is needed.

They've now had my car since september (! With no new battery ordered!) and keep stringing me along.

My personal feeling is they messed it up when doing the recall update in september and no are in problem territory with kia warranty dept when trying to work thru ordering the new battery but dont want to tell me they messed up. I have no way of knowing though and they still have my car!

I'll be calling Kia HQ to see what the situation is from their perspective but wanted to get some opinions here first in case anyone has any enlightening experiences or feedback.

TIA!

Brand new to forum. Have a 2017 Soul EV. What is considered a "probem battery"? It started out at around 93ish miles and now down to about 70ish. Are they ALL needing to be replaced? I got letter about this but when I called they said we "will get back to you" if there is a problem. Sorry - like I said new to this issue.

 

[raskal]

Brand new to forum. Have a 2017 Soul EV. What is considered a "probem battery"? It started out at around 93ish miles and now down to about 70ish. Are they ALL needing to be replaced? I got letter about this but when I called they said we "will get back to you" if there is a problem. Sorry - like I said new to this issue.

I have a 2017 as well. My range is around 58 miles and they've not authorized an replacement yet, although they absolutely should (there is some discrepancy of how healthy the battery is)

The state of health (SOH) of the battery needs too be less than 70%. I'd guess you're is around 75%.

 

[nileriver]

YMMV depending on use/abuse of the battery during its lifetime, but the average EV battery degradation rate is generally accepted to be 2.3%/year. My 2016 is currently showing ~ 50 mile range at 100% charge. It was put in service just over seven years ago, with an EPA range rating of 94 miles. At average degradation, it should be at 79 miles instead of 50. I realize that battery SOH is calculated differently. But how can it be that a battery that is down to barely over 50% of its original range still has a SOH of >70%? Is this some kind of voodoo math or science that Kia is using?