Uh-oh - Gear oil leak

[ksoul2084]

Took my 2016 soul out for an errand when I returned I noticed a rather large puddle of an oily substance on the floor directly below the motor. Imagine my ironic shock when I realized that my electric car had come down with a pretty large oil leak.

I removed the plastic guard to see where the oil was leaking from.

https://imgur.com/a/hlz30FL

Appears to be leaking where the left side of the axles exits the "reduction gear mechanism".

The vehicle has 155,000KMs on it, so is still covered under the EV System Warranty, but not the general 100K warranty.

I know the "reduction gear" is listed as part of the EV Warranty, but was wondering if anyone had experienced this type of leak before and if it was repaired under warranty?

 

[notfred]

I haven't experienced it myself, but that looks like a classic driveshaft seal leak.

 

[JejuSoul]

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At 155,000km you seem to have been 'lucky'. Getting this issue just 5,000km before the warranty expires.
I haven't heard of anyone else getting this issue, but I am sure they will.
Also I was surprised this was EV System not Drivetrain. Again, you are 'lucky'.

 

[ksoul2084]

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At 155,000km you seem to have been 'lucky'. Getting this issue just 5,000km before the warranty expires.
I haven't heard of anyone else getting this issue, but I am sure they will.
Also I was surprised this was EV System not Drivetrain. Again, you are 'lucky'.

Well I will wait to see that KIA agrees that it is a warranty item before celebrating. My car needs a battery replacement as well so hopefully that can all be done at once.

 

[ksoul2084]

I called KIA Roadside assistance and they came and towed the car to the nearest KIA dealer in Calgary, AB.

Dealer called and said they can't touch it because they are not EV Certified. Gave me the Canadian corporate number for Customer Assistance. So I called that number and explained the situation, they quickly realized that the nearest EV-certified dealer was 586km away. I mentioned my two warranty claim issues; A) the Reduction Gear assembly oil leak, and B) the reduced battery range (currently reads 47.5% SOH). After some further discussion she agreed to have Roadside Assistance pickup the car at the KIA dealer in Calgary and transport it to Vernon, BC.

So far so good...

 

[ksoul2084]

An update on my car's repair.

KIA Customer Care Canada delivered the car to the nearest EV certified dealer in BC, approx. 450KMs away. They ran the diagnostics, etc. and filed for the battery replacement under warranty at my request (no fee). KIA approved the replacement and the battery has just arrived at the dealership. All this has taken approx. 6 weeks.

As for the axle seal leak, apparently not covered under the EV drivetrain warranty but turned out to be a less difficult fix than I thought it might be so won't be too expensive.

I will post again once the repairs are completed.

 

[ksoul2084]

Okay, here's the final follow-up.

Car arrived at the KIA dealership in BC around June 4th, I picked the car up last weekend (Sept. 4th), so basically 3 full months later.

Work that was done:

* Fixed left-side crankshaft seal: $230
* New front brake pads and rotor machining: $350
* AC test and recharge: $100
* Installed new battery modules as per warranty claim: $0

So I now have a fully working car, with functioning A/C and 111% SOH on the battery pack.

Part of the delay was due to the Vernon dealership being new to EV certification and having to order some things they didn't have, like a heavy-duty lift table to manage the 600lbs battery pack. I knew it wasn't going to be a quick fix so all things considered was okay with the time required.

Drove the car home from Westbank, BC to Airdrie, AB a distance of 644km over the beautiful Canadian rockies. Stopped to fast-charge the car 6 times, each stop taking an average of 25 mins. All but one of the chargers was free too, sponsored by the BC Hydro power company.

Interestingly at one charger capable of delivering 100kw via Chademo it reported delivering 63kw to my car, which I thought was restricted to 50kw...

Anyway, kind of a fun trip in the end and I'm happy to have my repaired car home again.

 

[DrivingForce]

How did they know you needed new battery modules? Was there something wrong with your car?

I find it interesting that the "reduction gear" mechanism has fluid in it. It makes sense, but I think a lot of people imagine that EVs are maintenance free. Sure, there's a lot less moving parts, but these days gasoline cars require very little maintenance through 100k miles.

I think the main things that a gasser needs through 100k miles that an EV does not are engine oil changes (maybe $500-1000 worth), engine air filters (maybe $100 worth), and brakes (maybe $2000-3000 worth). Everything else seems to be about the same with an EV.

 

[ksoul2084]

How did they know you needed new battery modules? Was there something wrong with your car

KIA Roadside assistance had picked up the vehicle at my house and shipped it to an EV-certified dealer in the next province. Once KIA had the car in their possession I let them know that it had greatly reduced range and that I'd like them to check if it qualified for a warranty battery replacement. The dealer ran whatever tests they run and submitted the paperwork to KIA, which was approved. No hassle there really, didn't charge me anything for the tests either. I knew from using the SoulSpy app that the battery SOH was 58% or something so didn't expect much pushback.

I find it interesting that the "reduction gear" mechanism has fluid in it. It makes sense, but I think a lot of people imagine that EVs are maintenance free. Sure, there's a lot less moving parts, but these days gasoline cars require very little maintenance through 100k miles.

Yeah, it was a bit ironic that my EV left a small puddle of gear oil on my garage floor. :shock:

I think the main things that a gasser needs through 100k miles that an EV does not are engine oil changes (maybe $500-1000 worth), engine air filters (maybe $100 worth), and brakes (maybe $2000-3000 worth). Everything else seems to be about the same with an EV.

..and gear and transmission fluids, belts, ...and gas, lots and lots of gas.

I'm at the point now that my tolerance for disgusting smelly and often loud gas and diesel vehicles is extremely low. In 10-15 years we'll all be looking back thinking "what the hell were we doing to ourselves"? Much like back when smoking was allowed on airplanes and in bars, seems incomprehensible now.

 

[IanL]

I'm at the point now that my tolerance for disgusting smelly and often loud gas and diesel vehicles is extremely low. In 10-15 years we'll all be looking back thinking "what the hell were we doing to ourselves"? Much like back when smoking was allowed on airplanes and in bars, seems incomprehensible now.

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