I Love EVs, But Kia and Hyundai Are Making That Harder

INSIDEEVS ^ | 22 May 2026 | Ty Duff

[DUMBGRUNT]

My family leased a Kia EV9 and a Hyundai Ioniq 5. It shows your mileage may vary in even the most critically acclaimed electric cars.

...“Later that day” ended up taking much longer. The service center did not have the car ready until the end of the day on January 9, 2026, nearly a month after I brought it in.

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TOPICS: Chit/Chat; Travel
KEYWORDS: automotive; electric; ev; underprepared

[DUMBGRUNT]

Is the warranty extended to cover the lost time the vehicle sits at the dealer?

Not just Kia and Hyundai, a friend had an Audi EV with 12-volt battery draining issues, he quickly dumped and has been very happy with his Volvo.

That said, my sister and some neighbors are happy with their Teslas.

YMMV

[smokingfrog]

Luckily, they were leased so they are not stuck with two 🍋🍋.

[ridesthemiles]

HAVE YOU DISCOVERED YET THAT TO CHANGE A HEADLIGHT IN EITHER ONE:

THE CAR HAS TO GO TO THE DEALERSHIP——THE FENDER HAS TO COME OFF-—THE THUMB SIZED BULB (ABOUT $70) GET CHANGED & THE FENDER GETS PUT BACK ON....ALL AT ABOUT $150 AN HOUR OR MORE.

I DRIVE “OLD IRON”. 2 VEHICLES ==ABOUT 569,000 MILES. NEITHER ONE HAS “ON STAR” TO TRACK ME.

CAN CHANGE HEADLIGHT BULBS ON EITHER VEHICLE IN LESS THAN 45 MINUTES....BULBS COST ABOUT $8.

AM 86 & STILL FEMALE

WOULD NEVER HAVE THESE “NEWER VEHICLES”.

[FatherofFive]

CAN CHANGE HEADLIGHT BULBS ON EITHER VEHICLE IN LESS THAN 45 MINUTES

Except for an accident (someone hit me in a parking lot) I cannot remember the last time I had to change a headlight bulb. At least 20 years ago

[BobL]

“If the EV9 were dead average in that regard, it would mean that about 66 of the 22,017 EV9s that Kia sold in the U.S. in 2024 required replacement. I am one of those few and not particularly proud owners.”

Reminds me of doctors addressing patients who complain about statin side effects (i.e., most of their patients) by saying something like: “You’re the only one complaining”. Same thing with public school teachers when parents complain about their kids not being taught to read - “no other parents are complaining”. Pure Alinsky.

In any case, no, he didn’t ‘win the lottery’. It’s more like: Why would auto companies announce just how crappy their batteries are?

But, no doubt, the EV Apologists will show up here and tell us all just how wonderful EVs are and that we need to “get with it” (but they won’t tell us how much they despise Trump).

[Dr. Sivana]

I cannot remember the last time I had to change a headlight bulb. At least 20 years ago

I might be getting my well-used cars from you! I have had them out (sometimes upgrading) on everything except my wife's 2018 Toyota Avalon, which we bought at one year old from Hertz.

All my cars are pre-LED headlights. That might be a game changer.

[Mastador1]

When an ICE vehicle is in the dealers service department for an extended time is the warranty extended for lost time?

[subterfuge]

You buy a car made in Korea then you get what you deserve. And there are almost ZERO American made cars in the ROK.

But the Koreans are smart in that they keep all manufacturing in-house. Samsung makes all kinds of things besides electronics. Heavy equipment like front end loaders. They make elevators and much more. No Caterpillar or Fords for them.

[IYAS9YAS]

Not just EVs. Co-worker has a new Santa Fe. The big one, not the mid-sized one from a couple years back. His battery will discharge after 3-4 days of non-use. Had it to the dealer several times. No fix. Battery is good they say. Well, then there’s a drain. But they can’t (or won’t) fix it.

[marktwain]

The old headlights were incandescent, which had to be replaced every few years. The new LED bulbs tend to last longer than the life of the vehicle, about 30,000 to 50,000 hours, according to SuperGrok 4.1.

The old incandescent bulbs lasted about 300 -750 hours.

The Halogen bulbs lasted about 500-1000 hours.

[Leaning Right]

It’s not just the newer vehicles

I have a Ford. It’s old, like me. And to replace a tail light the whole assembly has to be removed and replaced.

And of course Ford now longer carries that assembly. Luckily I found a good used one on eBay.

[Blue Highway]

Good point but I’m am guessing no

[Blue Highway]

There is a plant in the US that does make or assemble Kias or Hyundais, maybe both.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

A good friend bought an Audi e-Tron a couple years back. He took me for a ride right after he got it and it was an amazing vehicle.

Then the chronic problems started, just like the author of this article had with his Kia. My friend kept taking the e-Tron back to the dealership for repairs, over and over and over. He finally was able to use the California Lemon Law to get most of his money back. About 70% of the time he had the car it was in the shop!

He was fortunate because he had quickly filed complaints that beat some cut-off point and got his pro-rated money back. Later buyers with the same problems were not so lucky and somehow Audi wiggled out of having to buy them out.

[Blue Highway]

Is that the full EV or the hybrid Santa Fe? I was considering a Santa Fe/Sorento hybrid.

[oldtech]

Some of the European cars that are popular have headlights that require the complete headlight to be replaced (aparrently) at a very large cost. Looking over prices, I found that, on some Porsches, the cost of a headlight replacement can range from $400 to over $8000. No thanks.

[Blue Highway]

I have a 2012 Kia Sportage EX and just within the last year I had to replace the driver side headlight. I changed them both even though the other one was still good. 13/14 years on the original bulbs is pretty good.

[ChildOfThe60s]

Apparently I deserve the best. My family has three sonatas, a 2004, A 2006, and A 2007. All bought new, all have over 100,000 miles. All have been extremely reliable. The 2006 is my daughter’s and she eventually will have to buy a new car because she’s young. My goal because of my age is make the 04 in the 07 my last cars.

I owned four Toyotas in a row when I was traveling in sales. These sonatas are just as good as those Toyotas. And they were a much better buy.

[sasquatch]

Had a great EV as a kid. It ran on 12 vdc. Built it myself driven by servomotor made by TRW (Globe). Self steering and was guided by a slot. About 8 in long. Economical to run; about a quarter for 15 minutes.

[dfwgator]

I had Sizzlers.