Forward collision avoidance, electrical system, and powertrain issues are among the causes of complaints received by the NHTSA from vehicle owners
Launched in 2021 as a 2022 model the Kia EV6 is a popular “green” choice vehicle. But it’s not without problems, primarily ICCU failures, issues with brake lights malfunctioning, and difficulties relating to charging. By mid-July 2023, it was clear that the 2023 Kia EV6 is no different to the 2022 model in terms of problems, with electrical and brake problems topping the list of NHTSA complaints from owners.
Click on other model year to view more problems: 2022
It’s never easy to assess problems with new vehicles until they’ve been on the road for a while. For instance, between April 4, 2022 and July 26, 2022, only seven complaints had been lodged with the National Highway Traffic Administration (NHTSA) about the 2022 Kia EV6. By July 20, 2023, this number had escalated to 58 complaints. In a shorter period, between May 26, 2023, and July 21, 2023, seven complaints had been lodged with the NHTSA about the new 2023 Kia EV6. Who knows how many there will be this time next year?
The interesting factor is that of the 58 complaints registered for the 2022 model, 31 relate to the electrical system and 10 to brakes. There are also three complaints listed as Unknown or Other about charging problems. The ratio of electrical and brake-related complaints is not unsimilar for the 2023 model, with five electrical system complaints and two that relate to brakes. And most of the electrical issues relate to charging problems.
Other components and systems highlighted by complainants are the fuel/propulsion system, powertrain, and vehicle speed control. Ironically, these three relate to a complaint that relates to the power cutting out as the warning message “Check electric vehicle system” appeared. It was diagnosed by the dealer as an inverter issue.
| Complaint Category | Number of Complaints |
|---|---|
| Electrical System | |
| Unknown Or Other | |
| Power Train | |
| Engine | |
| Fuel/propulsion System | |
| Service Brakes | |
| Vehicle Speed Control | |
| Electrical System:horn | |
| Electrical System:wiring:connectors/plugs:accesory Power Outlet/jack/port/usb/sae/cigarette Lighter | |
| Exterior Lighting |
Most of the electrical system complaints are about charging issues. Of the eight manufacturer communications on file with the NHTSA, three relate to battery charging or unexpected drainage of the 12-volt battery in Kia electric vehicles (EVs). The first two, technical service bulletin (TSB) ELE283 and TSB ELE295, provide the procedure required to update the software logic of the vehicle charging management system (VCMS). These were issued in January and May 2023 respectively.
The most recent communication, PS748, refers to an ongoing investigation by Kia to find the cause of this “unexpected drainage.” Their most recent assumption is that it might be caused by “third-party applications used by the customer that are causing excessive Kia Connect connections to the customer.”
Here are some examples of complaints that relate to battery-charging issues.
“This car advertises that it is capable of fast-charging on a level 2 charger up to 50 amps. I purchased a level 2 charger capable of 50 amps, but it causes the EV6 to overheat and stop charging. The dealership installed TSB ELE283 but this does not fix the problem and is not an acceptable fix.”
Having owned the EV6 for five months, he says he has taken it to the dealership three times for failing to charge. “Kia has admitted that their dealerships don’t have the capacity to charge at the higher speeds, so they cannot replicate the issue and just keep giving me my faulty car back. While the expectation is that the car can charge at 48 or 50 amps, typically it fails at 40 amps and users are forced to reduce it to 36 amps, which is not what was advertised.”
Another owner states that the charging process stops abruptly. “I will restart it and it fails minutes later.” The dealership has examined the vehicle twice and can’t find a cause. The owner “found an update” that the dealer tried, but it didn’t resolve the issue. “My concern is the safety of the car, due to the high voltage used to charge the car.”
An owner from Arizona believes that the charging problem “is temperature related and the vehicle cannot charge high current in such extreme heat.” He states that the problems started when the temperature rose above 90 degrees. “It will charge for a few minutes (and) then fault.” However, he has been able to use the charger on other vehicles without issues.
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Lemberg Law is already investigating complaints from 2022 EV6 owners who say that the brake lights don’t trigger when they use i-Pedal mode. There are no manufacturer communications on the NHTSA website that indicate the automaker is taking any action to rectify the problem. Nevertheless, 2023 owners are complaining about the same issue.
The first complaint sent to the NHTSA is about this issue. “While using i-Pedal mode the brake lights do not engage unless fully off of the accelerator. Even a large deceleration force does not engage any of the brake lights when coming to a full stop quickly. This is very dangerous as drivers behind cannot tell you are decelerating quickly.”
The other brake-related complaint expresses the same problem. “When using i-pedal driving, it isn’t necessary to use the brake pedal to stop the EV. The EV6 will only illuminate the brake lights when the accelerator pedal is completely released, or when the brake pedal is depressed. Since using i-pedal driving does not require depressing the brake pedal to stop, the following vehicle has no indication or warning that the EV6 is stopping. I have experienced several instances of near rear-end collisions because of this dangerous issue with the Kia EV6.”
When he emailed Kia to ask if there was an OTA fix, they replied, stating they weren’t aware of any updates for the feature.
“Curiously, Kia’s parent company Hyundai, whose Ioniq 5 has the same problem, is receiving a fix which will illuminate the brake lights while using the same i-pedal driving programming as the Kia EV6.” Going on to say that he has turned off the feature for now, the complaint continues. “I hope NHTSA takes this dangerous situation seriously and provides legislation to force auto manufacturers to adjust the conditions when brake lights must illuminate.”
Do you think your 2023 Kia EV6 might be a lemon? If you do, it’s a good idea to ask a lemon law firm to evaluate your problems. This is something that Lemberg Law will do free of charge.
Every year auto manufacturers are forced to replace, buy back, or pay cash settlements to thousands of lemon owners. All you need to do is call our Helpline or fill out a contact form right now and we’ll do what we can to help you. The law says that Kia must pay the legal bills for lemon law cases, so it’s not going to cost you.
Brian Jones spent more than 30 years working as an ASE Certified Master Tech and Parts Specialist at multiple dealerships. Brian has become an authority in the industry, traveling across the country to consult for car dealerships and contributing his expertise as a writer for several major automotive publications. In his spare time, Brian enjoys working on pickup trucks, muscle cars, Jeeps and anything related to motorsports.
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