For the past week, I’ve noticed the orange charging light comes on every day, whether my car is parked in the garage, at the mall, or elsewhere. It seems to be charging much more often than it used to.
The weather has gotten colder (around the 30s and 40s), so I’m wondering if that might be a factor? When I first got the car during warmer weather, I only saw the orange light maybe once a week.
Another thing I’ve noticed is that the red battery icon during startup doesn’t always appear now. Is that normal? Could these be signs of a problem?
We had a similar issue—our 12V battery died within two years. We switched to an AGM battery.
You should definitely have yours checked. It sounds like the battery might be on its way out.
Edit: By the way, we discovered the dealer had installed a LoJack module on the OBD port that wasn’t activated but was still draining the battery even when the car was off. This probably caused our battery to fail so quickly.
Teo said: @Pace
We’ve only had our EV6 for 2.5 months, so that seems way too soon for a battery to fail. I’ll get it checked out ASAP. Thanks for the advice!
Good call! If it’s bad, I’d recommend replacing it with an AGM battery. Look for Group H5 / 47—Costco and Walmart usually carry them.
AGM batteries handle the power cycles in EVs much better.
@Pace
Thanks for the recommendation. If it’s already gone bad, I’ll definitely look into an AGM. The last thing I need is to be stranded in freezing weather!
Teo said: @Pace
Thanks for the recommendation. If it’s already gone bad, I’ll definitely look into an AGM. The last thing I need is to be stranded in freezing weather!
You should invest in an OBD2 reader and a good app like Car Scanner. It can help you monitor the system closely.
From what I’ve observed, the EV6 doesn’t manage the 12V system very efficiently. What you’re describing might not mean the battery is dying, but an OBD2 reader will confirm for sure.
I have a battery monitor on mine, and it charges about once a day for 30 minutes.
Since EVs don’t have an engine to crank, it can be tricky to know when the battery is failing. They really should have better monitoring or warnings instead of just letting the car shut down unexpectedly.
Did you sign up for any off-peak charging program, or share your Kia Connect credentials with a third-party app?
I did, and it caused my 12V battery to drain so badly that I had to jump-start the car multiple times in a week. Turns out, when Kia Connect gets pinged, the car wakes up and uses a lot of power for about 20 minutes. If this applies to you, change your Kia Connect password.
Teo said: @Fay
Nope, I’ve avoided doing that because I read it could cause issues. Pretty wild that something so small could drain the battery like that.
Got it. Are you driving much? Trips over 30 minutes? Or have you installed anything that might draw power after the car is off, like a dash cam or OBDII reader?
Your 12V battery might be failing. The orange light means it’s charging, but it sounds like it’s not holding the charge well. Auto parts stores can test it for free.
Alby said:
Your 12V battery might be failing. The orange light means it’s charging, but it sounds like it’s not holding the charge well. Auto parts stores can test it for free.
That’s unfortunate. I’ve only had the car for 2.5 months. I’ll have it tested—thanks for the tip!