2022 Kia EV6

While operating and driving on a busy two lane roadway, about an hour in to a two hour trip, the vehicle displayed “check electrical system” message without warning, then quickly lost power, rendering the car only able to drive at 25 mph for a brief moment, and then, just as quickly, shut down completely and did not operate. I was able to navigate the vehicle from the busy roadway to the roadside, but I barely made it. Under different conditions, such as travel on an interstate at high speeds, this would have proved very dangerous to have a car stop completely dead like this. The car was unable to be started by Emergency Roadside Assistance and had to be towed to the dealer. After a few days the dealer informed me that parts needed for repair would be approximately 7 weeks to be received from the manufacturer.

The contact owns a 2022 Kia EV6. The contact stated while stopped for a traffic signal, and with her foot on the brake pedal, the vehicle lunged forward while the traffic signal was still "red." The contact stated she did not notice any warning lights or chimes. The contact stated she crashed into the rear of the vehicle in front. The contact stated that her front grill, lights, and bumper were all damaged. The contact stated that the radiator was damaged and coolant had pooled under her vehicle. The contact stated that the rear end lift gate and rear bumper of the other vehicle had sustained heavy denting and crush damage. None of the drivers were injured, only the contact's vehicle was towed due to the damaged radiator. The contact stated that she went to a chiropractor's office a day after the accident for neck pain, headache, and upper back pain. The police were on the scene and filed a report. The contact had the vehicle towed to a dealer where it was still being diagnosed. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 3,000. The contact stated that the manufacturer was unable to provide them with recordings from the EDR and that the drive records from that day has zero drives on it. The company claims that the telematics show that it was a driver error but have not provided proof of that.

The on-board charge controller on my EV is drawing excessive current from my Level 2 EVSE portable charger. When my charger is set to 24 amps maximum the car will draw 28 to 30 amps, causing the charger to shutdown and report a short-circuit has been detected. When my charger is set to 40 amps, about an hour into charging the car will draw 46.6 amps again causing the charger to shut down and indicate a short-circuit. My understanding of the Level 2 charging standard is that the charger tells the vehicle its current setting and the vehicle is not supposed to draw more current than the charger tells it. I've done lots of reading online and this is a problem EV6 and Ioniq 5 owners are having with a variety of charger brands and some owners state that the same charger when used with other vehicles like the Mustang Mach E does NOT draw more current than the charger is set to. It seems to me like this is a HUGE safety issue, as excessive current draw is causing the charge cable to get hot and could cause a fire. Kia hasn't indicated any willingness to fix the problem and they don't seem to be treating it with the seriousness it deserves. I took my car to the dealer and they grudgingly applied the only Level 2 software update they had, but it has not made any difference in the problem. Now they say there is nothing else they can do.

Hyundai Motor Group misrepresented a key feature of two new electric vehicles. The models affected are the '22 Kia EV6 and the '22 Hyundai Ioniq 5. Both were advertised to charge from 10% to 80% of battery capacity in eighteen minutes at DCFC chargers. This is done with a feature called battery preconditioning which heats or cools a battery to optimum temperature for rapid charging at DCFC chargers and is necessary for the fastest charging speed when charging a car in cold conditions. The feature is now available via a software update issued in Europe and recently for Ioniq 5 owners in North America. To date they have not offered the update for Kia EV6 owners in the US. This feature is available as mentioned via a software update for early '22 Ioniq 5 models in the USA and became standard on '22 EV6 and Ioniq 5 vehicles built after July '22. It is now standard on all '23 models of both cars. Both these vehicles have a feature called Winter Mode that the Owner's Manual states will heat the battery for charging. However, this is not the same as battery preconditioning. Owners were led to believe that Winter Mode would condition a cold battery to facilitate rapid charging because the Manual and Kia's own press releases made this implication. What is known now is that it does not heat enough. The manufacturers developed a software fix but chose to release it first in Europe and more recently to Ioniq 5 owners in the US but have thus far excluded EV6 owners of '22 models purchased earlier in the year. Kia advertises being able to charge the vehicle from 10% to 80% in 18 minutes. The fine print of the claim states that this is under ideal conditions; Winter Mode was supposed to create those conditions. It does not and constitutes false advertisement. Without preconditioning, charging can take over an hour on a cold day, nowhere close to meeting the advertised claim. EV6 owners want Kia to release the battery preconditioning update to all early '22 EV6 cars in the US.

The headlights on the 2022 Kia EV6 do not provide enough illumination for proper night driving. They are full and barely shine enough for 10 feet out from vehicle. This causes concern for object avoidance and proper identification from oncoming traffic and pedestrians. Kia made adjustments to later year 2022 model years, European models get Matrix lights, and all 2023 model years. IIHS rated 2022 model year headlights as “Poor”.

The 12V Battery running out of charge or discharging causes the car to become inoperable. You are no longer able to lock doors, turn on hazard lights, headlights, air conditioning. A display appears when the 12V does not have sufficient charge but not until you try to turn the car on again. Otherwise no indication leaving one stranded in completely unsafe situations when you’re not able to lock a door.

The rear brake lights do no illuminate under heavy i-pedal and Level 3 regeneration when the throttle pedal is being touched. When moderating the rate of deacceleration with the throttle pedal, the brake lights do not illuminate even during rapid deacceleration. Significantly increasing the risk of getting rear ended in traffic.