Well I've run into some bad luck with my Soul EV+.
The vehicle has 170,000 km on it and is thus out of warranty. I took it to a local shop to have the axle seal replaced as it had started to leak again (was fixed once before). Everything seemed fine after that repair but within a few days my wife reported that it sounded "louder" than before. We then left on vacation for 10 days, and my son drove it everyday and didn't notice anything wrong until the gears stopped engaging fully and he limped it home the day before we returned from vacation.
At this point, putting it in R or D, the motor spins incredibly fast and it sounds like only a small portion of the driveshaft from the motor is engaging with anything in the gear box, kind of bangs and lurches - really nasty sounding.
I'm assuming I'm going to need a replacement gear box. I don't want to take it to the KIA dealer as it's off warranty and the will cost too much and a new replacement from KIA would be 4-5$K USD, from what I can tell, which is more than I'm willing to spend. So as an alternative I've found a local shop that specializes in working on used EVs (not a KIA specific dealer) that is willing and able to do the work (experience with EVs, lift tables, etc.).
Now I'm hoping to find a lightly used reduction gear box at a wrecker somewhere for a fraction of the cost of a new one. So consider this a call for help, if anyone has any leads on where (or how) I might find a used but working 2015-2018 KIA Soul EV gear box anywhere in the continental US or Canada, please let me know. All help is appreciated!
The vehicle has 170,000 km on it and is thus out of warranty. I took it to a local shop to have the axle seal replaced as it had started to leak again (was fixed once before). Everything seemed fine after that repair but within a few days my wife reported that it sounded "louder" than before. We then left on vacation for 10 days, and my son drove it everyday and didn't notice anything wrong until the gears stopped engaging fully and he limped it home the day before we returned from vacation.
At this point, putting it in R or D, the motor spins incredibly fast and it sounds like only a small portion of the driveshaft from the motor is engaging with anything in the gear box, kind of bangs and lurches - really nasty sounding.
I'm assuming I'm going to need a replacement gear box. I don't want to take it to the KIA dealer as it's off warranty and the will cost too much and a new replacement from KIA would be 4-5$K USD, from what I can tell, which is more than I'm willing to spend. So as an alternative I've found a local shop that specializes in working on used EVs (not a KIA specific dealer) that is willing and able to do the work (experience with EVs, lift tables, etc.).
Now I'm hoping to find a lightly used reduction gear box at a wrecker somewhere for a fraction of the cost of a new one. So consider this a call for help, if anyone has any leads on where (or how) I might find a used but working 2015-2018 KIA Soul EV gear box anywhere in the continental US or Canada, please let me know. All help is appreciated!
