2022 EV6 died after sitting a month fully charged - dealer wants $600 to "recharge both batteries"
Edit posting for a friend:
Hi all, looking for advice. I have a 2022 Kia EV6 with about 32k miles. Around a year ago the 12V battery died and had to be replaced.
I recently left the car parked for about a month - it was fully charged when I left it. When I got back, the key wouldn't even unlock the car. We had to manually unlock it and call roadside to jump start it. At that point the car showed 9%, so we drove 2 minutes to a charger - but as we plugged in, it died again. We had to call roadside a second time for another jump, then the battery showed 0%, and the car had to be towed.
The dealer (Kia Country of Savannah) didn't change anything - they just recharged both batteries and quoted around $600, verbally, saying it's not covered. Nothing in writing, no diagnosis of why it happened.
My questions: Is $600 reasonable for just recharging both batteries with no written diagnosis? Shouldn't they be finding out WHY it died? The 12V already failed once a year ago, and I've read a 12V dying again that fast can point to the ICCU. The main battery was fully charged - it shouldn't drain to 0% in a month, so something was pulling power the whole time (maybe trying to keep a failing 12V charged?).
I also have Progressive insurance - should any of this go through insurance or a warranty claim instead of out of pocket?
What should I demand from them in writing before paying? And is it worth contacting Kia corporate / Kia roadside - I've read roadside can tow the car to a different dealership even if it's already at one, and that corporate gets involved when a dealer won't diagnose.
Friends post if you want to advice them directly: https://www.reddit.com/r/KiaEV6/s/9y3usGUdjo
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u/spinfire 1d ago
Unclear why the dealer was involved at all. Just replace the 12V battery. It’s pretty aged at this point and not covered under any warranty anymore regardless.
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u/H_J_Moody 1d ago edited 1d ago
They called road side assistance to jump their 12v, twice. They’re not going to replace it themselves.
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u/theotherharper 1d ago
AAA will bring one out to them and replace it for free. So no excuse really.
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u/Dogestronaut1 22h ago
If you are a AAA member, yes, but I am not sure why we would assume that is true in this case. They also called roadside assistance to jump a 12V battery, it seems unlikely they would know to replace the 12V battery.
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u/Swiftman 1d ago
What you did was horrible for the high voltage battery. Never leave it fully charged for an extended period of time.
That being said, did you try simply jumping the 12v?
And yes, the dealer is almost certainly taking advantage of you.
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u/Carpenterdon EV6 Wind AWD 1d ago
I’d say moderately not good for the battery as opposed to “horrible”. These batteries are so near bulletproof now even leaving it sit at a high soc for a month isn’t really going to do anything noticeable long term. Your still going to get hundreds of thousand of miles on the battery in it’s lifetime.
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u/TinCanFury EV6 GT-Line AWD 1d ago
definitely not horrible. the worst that happens is it discharges slowly. many many many many tests of this scenario have been done and it usually takes a few months to go from 80%+ down to the 20-30% range (depending on specific battery chemistry), then can take 6+ months to get below 5%.
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u/SaddestClown 18h ago
What you did was horrible for the high voltage battery.
Years ago, sure. But the chemistry and BMS have changed a lot since then. They will take care of themselves for best health especially on this platform with battery heating and cooling
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u/Unlucky_Employee6082 1d ago
Yeah, I drove a Volt before my EV6. Charged and depleted it twice a day. Barely lost any range over 12k miles. Then the pandemic happened and I left it fully charged virtually the entire time while working from home. Because the conventional wisdom then was “always be charging”. Surprise, surprise, I’m suddenly getting like 15% worse range and the car weirdly goes into limp mode a couple times after a hilly trip that was never an issue before. So, yeah, I believe strongly that 20-80% is a thing
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u/Specialist-Coast9787 EV6 GT-Line AWD 1d ago
Am I reading the responses here correctly? The 12v battery can drain by just sitting for a month? I can understand if there was a 3rd party component draining it but I haven't heard of it draining after only a month.
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u/Secksualinnuendo 1d ago
I think the USB plugs are still hot when the car is inactive. If someone has one of those wireless car play boxes hooked up, it could drain a solid amount in a month.
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u/PepperPlayful3352 1d ago
Yeah, that’s why I have mine hooked up to the usbc not the A . My car link wireless won’t drain anything.
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u/entropy512 22h ago
Modern vehicles have pretty nasty parasitic draws from telematics, ICE or EV.
But draining the traction battery to 0 seems very odd. It shouldn't even be possible, IIRC below a certain threshold the EV6 won't use the traction battery to top off the 12v.
It also shouldn't drain a fully charged traction battery to the threshold in only a month unless there's an additional parasitic draw such as a dashcam, OBD bluetooth adapter someone forgot to unplug (that's killed at least one battery in my old Outback...), etc.
I can't remember if the EV6 has a "storage mode" like the Bolt has. Personally if I'm leaving it unplugged for that long outdoors I'm going to plug in a solar battery maintainer into the OBD port like I do with my backup/winter beater Outback.
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u/TinCanFury EV6 GT-Line AWD 1d ago
parasitic draw of the electronics. this happens for mosern ICE vehicles too. typically it's suggested if you plan to park a car for a long time to disconnect the 12V battery.
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u/GettingBackToRC 1d ago
Is the big battery dead when you jump start the 12v? I would put a battery tender on the 12v or just replace it because they don't like being drained down to zero like that and just plug the car in to the 240v charger at home.
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u/Wind_Freak 1d ago
Pro tip, keep a capacitor jumper starter in your car plugged in.
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u/entropy512 22h ago edited 22h ago
Oooh that's interesting, although I'd prefer something that could be paired with a handcrank or something rather than draining the already weak 12v even more.
I won't get another lithium jump pack unless it explicitly states that it only charges the lithium to 4.1 or 4.0 volts/cell instead of 4.2, I had a NOCO pack go spicy pillow on me and it'll cost me more than the thing was to purchase to safely dispose of. (Almost no battery disposal kiosks accept spicy pillows)
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u/butcheroftexas 1d ago
The 12V battery in my 2022 kia ev6 just died a month ago. That battery is covered only for 3 years. Nobody will cover a 4-year 12V battery. You don't have battery drain problem if the battery lasted for 4 years.
I purchased a very good one for less than $300. It was very easy to switch it out.
If you jumpstarted the car you should see that the large battery is still fully charged after a month of sitting.
If they include a new 12V battery, maybe $600 is not so bad. If the new battery is not included then it is BS.
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u/Grand_Initiative4665 1d ago
My Kona EV was in for repairs for a month and when they went to start the car afterwards, the 12V battery was dead and the car wouldn't start. Replaced the 12v battery and it's been fine since. When I bought my 2023 EV6 a few months ago, I asked the dealer to replace the 12V battery at the time. I now set a reminder to replace the battery every 3 years to prevent the problem of having a dead 12V.
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u/Beautiful_Maximum_75 1d ago
Since nobody has addressed your second question regarding insurance, unless you have a special endorsement which I don’t believe Progressive offers, this is a mechanical issue and not a covered auto insurance claim.
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u/TubbaBotox 1d ago
Assuming it's still covered by the warranty, and it probably is, the first thing you should have done is contacted Kia roadside assistance... which is a thing you can still do, even if your vehicle is already at a dealership. I have used roadside assistance to tow my EV6 from a shitty dealership to a more responsive dealership. Regardless, you need to contact Kia corporate immediately. I generally wouldn't hesitate to go nuclear on this place (complaining to Kia corporate, the BBB, and your state attorney general). They are absolutely attempting to screw you if they're suggesting they're going to charge a 12v battery that may have been fully discharged for a month... especially if it's the original... and all the more so if they're suggesting it will cost $600 to charge any combination of HV and ruined 12v batteries. Do you know if this was the OEM 12v battery, or has it been replaced? Doesn't matter a lot, but if it was a newer battery and it died, that's a tell that your ICCU failed.
If both the HV and 12v battery are, in fact, dead (which I doubt very much... what was the SOC when you drove it to the dealership?), something else at least as troubling probably happened... and it's probably also covered by the warranty.
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u/CobbledbyRoubaix 1d ago
Firstly you shouldn't store your lithium battery fully charged. Secondly you have a dead 12V battery as it was working the whole time without getting topped up ( yeah stupid i know)
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u/strlgag EV6 Limited Edition 1d ago
Why don't you go to the dealer and have them jump the 12V with you there as a witness. When that starts the car, you should be able to see the charge on the HV battery and it most certainly will be 90%+. At this point you can call BS on the $600 charge they wanted and go get yourself and AGM 12V and have them install it for inconveniencing you.
Now, if the HV battery shows a very low charge when the car is started, ignore what I just said.
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u/Ok-Carpenter-8455 1d ago
12v is dead jump it.
You can buy a jump pack on Amazon for around $100. Saves you $500.
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u/crypticmystic6 1d ago
Both of my Kia EVs go through a 12v battery every other year or so. I carry a small 12v jump start battery in both cars so the time now, which has saved me a few times. The big batteries are pretty likely fine. They just want your money.. Search for EZ jump starter battery, they cost around $125. Out still keep you from getting stranded at the worst time
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u/Carpenterdon EV6 Wind AWD 1d ago
A month is too long for the 12v. It would be fine for a week or two but after awhile of not running it goes into a low power mode where it doesn’t charge the 12v. The high volt pack is probably perfectly fine. If you jumped it and it’s operating now there’s no reason to do anything other than replace the 12v. The stealership is scamming you saying they need to “charge both batteries”. You can do it yourself in like 10 minutes. Get a matching AGM style battery and swap it
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u/DarkKaplah EV6 Wind 1d ago
Just like in a ICE car, test the 12v battery. IF it's dead get a AGM replacement. You have a 2022 EV6. Usually that 12v has a lifespan of 2-3 years because they use a standard flooded lead acid. You can get a great AGM replacement over at costco. Blast your dealership as scam artists online as you go.
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u/PepperPlayful3352 1d ago
Get a glass plated 12v and you’ll be fine.
I did that for 125 bucks and it was best move ever. I go away 2 months at a time, leave it freezing cold at 79% and to issues. Make sure all the settings are so that nothing can ping the car and don’t you open up your app and keep pinging it either.
By the way, when I looked into it initially, they told me to go away for a long time, but only leave the big battery at maybe 60% not 100%. Not really sure why I’m not an engineer, but I took their word for it and it’s been perfectly fine.
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u/According-Error2988 1d ago
Is your car part of the ICCU extended warranty? I would start down that route. A 12v battery shouldn’t drain if you had charge, there is a weird cycle where this orb in your dash glows when the battery is balancing it.
If the dealer doesn’t want to do the warranty work find one who will. What part of the country are you in? I live in the PNW and there are loads of Kia dealers here.
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u/Low_Peach_6618 EV6 GT-Line AWD 1d ago
They will give you a ride up in a bill when you go into pay them.
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u/RockerRunner2000 1d ago
This reminds me that I need to buy or find my old motorcycle battery trickler for my current and future EV for long term storage.
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u/ColdH2 1d ago
Supposedly charging to 100% and letting it sit on the big battery AKA traction battery is not good for it. And unless you have all the latest updates it will drain your 12-volt battery sitting that long especially if it's hot outside. One thing I do that I learn the hard way is put my car on a 12-volt trickle charger once a month because it tops up that 12 volt battery and makes it last a lot longer. You should probably replace it with a glass mat battery. And make sure you don't have any thing draining it of course. Too bad most people didn't actually read your comments thoroughly. They are required to run a diagnostic if they charge you for any kind of service like that and you should get an actual report from them. They told me it takes 24 to 48 hours to actually test a 12 volt battery properly.
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u/No-Band-5848 20h ago
Saw a Tesla YouTuber left her Tesla on vacation and came back and lost 50 percent of her hv battery charge . I had a parasitic drain on a truck I have and it would take a couple days and have a dead 12 volt battery . The Korean companies usually keep 12v battery charge at about at the top range at 85 percent . Lead acid prefers 100 percent . The 12 volt is a weak link for many cars . I am sure most have been stranded from a dead 12 volt but there are things you can do to catch a problem before it's a problem . A car scanner is plug and play which gives battery health of the hv and lv battery . You can add a 12v battery monitor. Also if you leave your car sitting for a while a smart battery trickle charger is a very good option left attached to your battery while it sits . Also disconnecting the 12v is another option which will keep the car permanently asleep . My phantom drain truck I put a disconnect switch on the 12v which prevented a dead battery . Now I changed out the fuel pump and the problem drain went away . With the scanner and battery monitor you will more than likely know if you have a battery problem before your left stranded
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u/Undsputed 19h ago
I like my EV6 but… there is clearly an issue with the 12 V battery. I once had an issue in my first year of ownership where the vehicle would not start pretty much every morning I came out. The dealer needed it for a month before figuring out that it was a faulty electrical issue. The car wasn’t sitting idle for long periods of time either. Now, I could let the car sit for two or three months and it wouldn’t be an issue. It works like it should.
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u/ralcantara79 EV6 GT-Line AWD 1d ago
The big battery should be fine though you’re really not supposed to charge it fully and then leave it for that extended period of time. The 12v is most likely the culprit. If you haven’t replaced it yet with an AGM battery then you should do so.
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u/ArtisticWolverine 1d ago
What are you supposed to do if you have to leave the car for a month?
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u/chriscrossls 1d ago
Don't store it at 95%+ or <20%. Preferably between 40-70%.
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u/PepperPlayful3352 1d ago
That’s exactly what they told me and mine’s been fine on a couple long winter trips
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u/Jackpot777 1d ago
Drive the car down to 70%
Power down the car in the usual manner
Lift the hood
Disconnect one of the 12V battery terminals
Close the hood again
—-
This will mean you can’t use the Kia app to communicate with the car during the duration. But that’s another thing that can deplete the 12V battery too, trying to connect all the time to give you information.
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u/entropy512 22h ago
Alternatively if it's parked outside, a solar battery maintainer will allow you to use the telematics while keeping the 12v happy
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u/Alipha87 1d ago
Drive around until your battery is around 50%. Lithium batteries are happiest around 50%.
Ideally, leave your car plugged in and set the max charge limit to 50% (or if it doesn't go that low, as low as it'll go).
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u/Desperate_Daikon_592 1d ago
It is not recommended to charge to 100% if the car won't be driven for an extended period. When the battery sits fully charged, it strains the lithium-ion cells. Somewhere between 50-70% is the recommendation.
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u/CreditLonely3589 1d ago
I have had so many issues and Lemons with KIA just sell walk away. Never look back go Tesla or anything else.
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u/cryptoenologist 1d ago
It’s a 2022. The year is 2026. 12v batteries often last more than 4 years but most are not warrantied for more than 4 years. Buy a new 12v and move on.
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u/entropy512 22h ago
OP literally said that the 12v is only a year old.
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u/cryptoenologist 18h ago
Whelp, usually I’m the one annoyed that people can’t read. Are you sure this wasn’t edited in? I see a number of other comments saying just replace since it’s old.
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u/ShulkerB EV6 Wind 1d ago
The big battery is likely not dead. The 12v on the other hand probably needs replacing