A Michigan family leased both the 2024 Kia EV9 GT-Line and the 2024 Hyundai Ioniq 5 SEL AWD, expecting smart EV deals. Instead, battery problems turned daily drives into trips to dealerships, warning lights on critical dates, and even a Christmas-and-holidays
When the Kia EV9 worked, it was everything a family SUV is supposed to be. It looked cool. It drew comments from friends, family, strangers, valets, and dealership employees. It felt pleasant to drive and offered an infotainment interface the family genuinely liked. There was space for luggage and passengers, and older relatives could get in and out without struggle.
But “when operational” became the phrase that carried the weight.
The EV9’s trouble began soon after the car left the dealership. The writer picked up a new 2024 Kia EV9 GT-Line from the dealership and brought it home. then sent photos to his wife. The next step was supposed to be routine: installing his daughter’s car seat. Instead. he noticed the GT-Line’s second-row relaxation chairs were frozen in place—the folded one would not lift. and the upright one would not fold.
The vehicle went back to the dealership the first thing the next morning. He researched the issue online and learned that the salesperson had told him they would need to jump the 12V battery before his arrival. Owners reported the same seat problem on the GT Line after the 12V battery went flat. He expected a software reset to be quick. The fix worked. but the process wasn’t fast—multiple diagnostic tests and back-and-forth with a central Kia service hub stretched the problem to about a week.
During that week, he didn’t drive his own EV9. He gave the EV9 to his wife and drove a dealership loaner: a Kia Niro PHEV that still reeked of the last occupant’s chainsmoking.
The battery problems didn’t stop there.
On December 7, 2025, he charged the EV9 overnight on the home Level 2 charger. In the morning. an email alert showed the charge had stopped at 67%. and a glaring red warning light indicated a problem with the battery system. Four days later, on December 11, 2025, he got the first available appointment—at a different dealership from the first one. By the time he arrived, the battery had drained down to 42% while the car sat in the driveway.
A diagnostic followed. Then, on December 16, 2025, the service department told him the EV9’s battery management system needed a new control module. The dealership had to order the part. The holidays arrived. His family also went through a week-long bout of Influenza A. He spent much of that time on message boards tracking Michigan’s football coaching search.
He checked in on December 29, 2025. The service center told him the part was in and a technician was working on it. and they hoped to get the car back later that day. “Later that day” turned into a far longer wait. The service center didn’t have the car ready until the end of the day on January 9. 2026—nearly a month after he first brought it in.
His wife drove the EV9 for another two months. On March 16, 2026, a second red critical battery error notice appeared. He brought the car to a third Kia dealership on March 17, 2026. Kia told him the following week—after diagnostic back-and-forth with the central Kia service center—that the EV9 required a full high-voltage battery system replacement.
Ordering and installing the new battery system wasn’t the only step. The dealership also had to order and install a new fuse. He was told the car would be ready on April 21. 2025—then picked it up. turned it back on to pick up his kids from school. and immediately received an orange alert to refill the battery system coolant.
He sent the EV9 back on a tow truck. The problem, he was told, was air bubbles during the coolant refill during the battery install. Technicians drained the coolant system and refilled it. He picked the car up again on April 23, 2026.
So far, no battery indicator lights have come on.
Still, the experience left him looking up Michigan lemon laws and calculating what risk actually means in the everyday life of an EV lease.
After that stretch, the fear wasn’t about long-distance range anxiety—it was about driving either vehicle outside rideshare range from their house. If the battery system failed on the wrong day, help wouldn’t be a simple stoplight away.
The family’s second EV lease—Hyundai’s 2024 Ioniq 5 SEL AWD—didn’t escape that reality either.
Their Ioniq 5 trouble began on December 31, 2025. They celebrated New Year’s Eve at the writer’s brother-in-law’s house. The Ioniq 5 was parked in the last space at the end of a one-vehicle-wide, vertical driveway. He tried to leave around 9:00 pm. The car wouldn’t start. blocking most of his wife’s family from leaving—a car weighing nearly 5. 000 pounds isn’t a minor inconvenience when it won’t go.
He decided the issue was likely the 12V battery. The traction battery had about 42% charge remaining. A vehicle-to-vehicle jump attempt failed. Hyundai’s roadside assistance came with a portable jump starter and got the car going around 10:20 pm.
He didn’t see the issue again for a while. and he assumed it was a one-off. possibly caused by draining while the car sat in their driveway while his family recovered from Influenza A. He bought a NOCO portable jump starter and kept it charged in the glove box. He also avoided parking in anyone else’s driveway.
Then it started happening again, sporadically, over the past couple of weeks. It wasn’t clear what was causing it—vampire draining (which he said had been an issue for Ioniq 5s in the past), a failure to charge the 12V under certain conditions, or a battery itself failure after about 8,500 miles.
A Hyundai spokesperson suggested it may be related to a faulty integrated charging control unit (ICCU) fuse. which had been part of a 2024 recall. He said he completed all recalls he was aware of. including having Hyundai inspect the ICCU after leasing the vehicle in May 2024. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recall page shows no open recalls for his vehicle. He also said it’s possible the fuse failed after it was inspected—meaning Hyundai would take care of it free of charge.
But even if a fix exists, his decision-making changed. Under normal circumstances, the Ioniq 5 would be at the dealer getting sorted. With days left on his lease, he didn’t want to risk a potentially substantial repair timeline.
He kept the car on the charger when at home. The portable jump starter turned the situation into a manageable inconvenience rather than an overnight catastrophe. He said the Ioniq 5 stranded him at home only once—when he forgot to charge both the car and the NOCO overnight. He works from home and lives within walking distance of his kids’ school, which made that failure survivable.
After all of this, the question—whether he would buy another Hyundai Motor Group EV—doesn’t have a simple yes.
He would consider another Hyundai EV. He said they’ve had multiple Hyundai vehicles and liked them. He also said the local dealer is pleasant to work with.
Still, he noted that one issue with the Ioniq 5 over two years was becoming “so annoyed by the flimsy stock windshield wipers” that he bought aftermarket ones.
They already replaced the Ioniq 5 with a 2025 Toyota 4Runner hybrid. On paper, it may look like they turned away from EVs. But he said the shift was driven by family needs, not a sudden rejection of all-electric driving. His wife and kids took up skiing. and charging infrastructure in Northern Michigan is “seriously lacking.” He said driving up there in an EV is a pain in the summer. and with range loss in the winter. it’s “untenable.” For him. having one vehicle that can fill up with gas makes more sense—even if it’s pricey.
They’d prefer an EV for the second car, but he doesn’t know what will be available when his EV9 lease expires in about a year and a half, especially given “a raft of cancellations and delays” he’s seen recently.
The replacement won’t be another EV9, he said. “We can’t trust the reliability,” even if their own issues are statistically unlikely.
He also said Kia’s dealer network—at least in Southeast Michigan—isn’t keeping pace with the quality of the cars.
If there’s one brand with a reputation for quality, durability, and reliability, he said, it’s Toyota. And he said they will check out the new Toyota Highlander EV when it launches later this year.
Kia EV9 Hyundai Ioniq 5 EV battery issues 12V battery high-voltage battery replacement Michigan lemon laws EV reliability charging anxiety dealership service timelines NOCO jump starter