buddhaauthor
Well-known member
Hi PopcornAndData,Add me to the list. We got the diagnosis for our 2016 car on 3/27 at Kia of Irvine after about 9 days of them fiddling with it, and we’re waiting for battery replacement #2 with no ETA on it’s arrival from wherever. Linda is very helpful, but likely stuck in the middle of quite a mess. Meanwhile, we spent the first couple of weeks juggling rentals to get one that is below the $43.50 stated coverage by Kia for our 20 year old primary driver … something that the dealer’s rental partner (Enterprise) wouldn’t do. Some of the days will be over the promised amount; some below. Will Kia optimize their reimbursement for each day on each receipt, or let us average it out? I’m fearing the worst.
For reference, this battery that we’re waiting to replace was listed as part number 37510 E4200R in my records from when it was replaced (2/2021). That battery has been really good, and I was feeling really good about Kia for stepping up and providing it. I’m not at all sure how this chapter will turn out, with all those rental charges just piling up for us to pay, hoping they’ll step up in the end. Kinda crazy!
The thing that most amazes me is that Kia wouldn’t just make these customers a sweet offer to buy a new car or to just buy them out without a friction-filled request process. Are these rental car charges plus the cost of replacing the battery really less than doing that? It’s just hard to fathom the business case for that plan. Really hard.
I've had three 2016 Soul EVs. My second was from Kia of Irvine and I had an unpleasant experience there, but at least they do sell a number of EVs and know what they are doing regarding servicing them. I also have a young driver in my home (19) and know how enormously that complicates a rental.
I share your (and everyone's) frustration at Kia's handling of this situation. Still, Kia is a huge, multinational corporation and I reckon their attention to this matter does not rise above the level of the bean counters. When it impacts sales of their excellent new EVs it will rise higher. At that point we will receive reasonable corporate attention. Until then, we should expect avoidance, obfuscation, and whatever other tactical evasions they can come up with. This is why I am still rolling the dice on my excellent 2022 replacement battery.
This post doesn't actually help you, sorry. But I hope it conveys solidarity.
Franz