Dead EV6

[LIEV6]

The 12 volt battery on my EV6 died. No start, No applications, Trunk cannot open everything is dark. Called Kia roadside assistance (awful experience) and got a jump. Everything came back to life. I took it to my local dealer. The car spent one day and they cannot figure it out. Looking to corporate Kia for technical assistance. Tomorrow will be day 2 Mine is Red but I hope it is not a lemon

 

[Bill Carter]

The 12 volt battery on my EV6 died. No start, No applications, Trunk cannot open everything is dark. Called Kia roadside assistance (awful experience) and got a jump. Everything came back to life. I took it to my local dealer. The car spent one day and they cannot figure it out. Looking to corporate Kia for technical assistance. Tomorrow will be day 2 Mine is Red but I hope it is not a lemon

Mine is red also but the 12V battery is dependable so far. I got it mid-February so it's only three months new. When did you get yours? The battery maintenance routine should be keeping the small battery charged. Any chance you had an unrecognized drain occurring? I hope it gets sorted out quickly. Let us know what technical assistance comes up with.

 

[LIEV6]

I have had my EV6 for 6 weeks. Even with a drain the big battery should keep the 12v continuously charged. Nothing yet. I used to like this car.

 

[Bill Carter]

I have had my EV6 for 6 weeks. Even with a drain the big battery should keep the 12v continuously charged. Nothing yet. I used to like this car.

There are a lot of reasons to continue liking it. It will be helpful to hear what technicians come up with for the cause, so please let us know.

 

[Jim Matthews]

I'm with Bill on this - Hyundai/KIA corporate is deeply invested in the satisfaction of buyers into the EGMP platform.

We have similar problems with our ancient Lexus hybrid - including just getting to the jumper terminals. https://ev6.synology.me/en/topics/chapter7_4_1.html

I expect they will be very keen to help sort out teething pains.

If your local shop is unable (or unwilling) to satisfy your concerns, escalate to the Techline. https://ksupport.kiausa.com/

*****

The real challenge any legacy car maker faces in bringing EVs to market is reluctant dealerships that can't/won't support willing buyers.

 

[Bill Carter]

The dead 12V battery issue has occurred to several others. Here's a report by Out of Spec Motoring about dead battery on an Ioniq 5.

 

[David T in Silicon Valley]

The 12 volt battery on my EV6 died. No start, No applications, Trunk cannot open everything is dark. Called Kia roadside assistance (awful experience) and got a jump. Everything came back to life. I took it to my local dealer. The car spent one day and they cannot figure it out. Looking to corporate Kia for technical assistance. Tomorrow will be day 2 Mine is Red but I hope it is not a lemon

Some few folks have had problems like this in the Niro forum with dying 12V batteries. A few possibilities are presented , from a really crappy OEM battery, to a setting that does not keep the 12V maintained from the drive battery while parked (but that does not explain why it drains!). https://www.insideevsforum.com/comm.../dead-12v-battery-in-2019-niro-ev.9821/page-5

 

[BrionS]

When my Kia Niro EV was about 6 months old I had the exact same dead 12V battery experience. Kia Roadside Assistance was worse than useless but eventually I got on the phone with an engineer tech and he helped me identify the problem and get to the battery despite nothing electronic working (including locks). I don't know if the EV6 has a physical key like the Niro does which allowed me to open the door and access the hood release to get to the battery.

I ended up replacing the OEM battery (which should _not_ have died) with a better-known brand name and I've never had that problem since. I've got an EV6 on order so I'll be sure to keep an eye out for this situation again knowing now that Kia OEM batteries are (apparently) garbage.

P.S. The HV battery was fully charged. When I put the new battery in everything came back to life and showed me the car was 100% charged. I'm not sure why the battery died or why it couldn't be kept charged by the HV battery which is supposed to charge it while sitting unused to keep it from draining completely. I've seen it charging my 12V before (single flashing green light on the dash for the Niro).

 

[insightman]

When my Kia Niro EV was about 6 months old I had the exact same dead 12V battery experience. Kia Roadside Assistance was worse than useless but eventually I got on the phone with an engineer tech and he helped me identify the problem and get to the battery despite nothing electronic working (including locks). I don't know if the EV6 has a physical key like the Niro does which allowed me to open the door and access the hood release to get to the battery.

I ended up replacing the OEM battery (which should _not_ have died) with a better-known brand name and I've never had that problem since. I've got an EV6 on order so I'll be sure to keep an eye out for this situation again knowing now that Kia OEM batteries are (apparently) garbage.

P.S. The HV battery was fully charged. When I put the new battery in everything came back to life and showed me the car was 100% charged. I'm not sure why the battery died or why it couldn't be kept charged by the HV battery which is supposed to charge it while sitting unused to keep it from draining completely. I've seen it charging my 12V before (single flashing green light on the dash for the Niro).

So will you replace the 12-Volt battery soon after you receive your EV6 or will you just carry a spare (and the tools to install it)?

 

[Lee Vining]

EV6 has an indicator light on the dash that illuminates when the 12v battery is being charged:
We’re hearing the problem lies with the 12v battery itself. Some bad ones out there.
We carry one of those pocket size jump starters.
Had the wife practice jump starting the car.
No issue yet.

 

[JOHNFITZ]

The 12 volt battery on my EV6 died. No start, No applications, Trunk cannot open everything is dark. Called Kia roadside assistance (awful experience) and got a jump. Everything came back to life. I took it to my local dealer. The car spent one day and they cannot figure it out. Looking to corporate Kia for technical assistance. Tomorrow will be day 2 Mine is Red but I hope it is not a lemon

Hi, the same happened to me yesterday .My car is 18 months old ,on the dashboard flashing warning lights came on one red battery and one saying " STOP SAFELY AND CHECK POWER SUPPLY" . After that I tried to charge my car on my home charger and it would not take the charge ,after a while the whole car system closed down . I called the AA and a mechanic came later ,he tried to jump start the battery several times each time the car power came on but once he removed the jump starter the power died .He said the battery was damaged and I need to get a tow truck to bring my car to my Kia garage . At the moment its in my driveway with all doors open until i get permission from the garage to send it to them .Crazy when I see all the Forums complaining about the 12V battery system in the EV6 .

 

[Dan Albrich]

My father in law bought an EV6 about six months ago. He likes the car, but the 12v battery has died on him twice. In both cases he had the car towed to a Kia dealership. I spoke with him on the phone. I said I'd buy one of those small 12v Lithium ion 'jump packs' and try that. He indicates the Kia manual says not to use those directly. They have you remove the positive and negative leads, then attach the battery for a period of time, then re-attach. Does that sound right to you?

Also he doesn't let the car sit at all. My meaning is he drives it every day. So the 12v battery dying isn't because the car sits in his garage for a week.

My whole life I've always attached the jump packs to the battery with the terminals still attached. Turn on the jump pack and then try again. But the EV6 is a sophisticated enough EV car that maybe it really isn't safe to do so. I left the phone call with him by saying I would definitely not do anything the manual warns you against. By the same token it seems extreme to me to tow to dealer for this issue each time, go without the car for days, just for what might end up being a jump start.

My father in laws final point with me which I agree with, is any new car that has a problem that can leave you stranded, needed to get fixed pronto. If you don't trust the car enough to drive it, that's very bad. Any advice is welcome. I'll pass it along to him.