I owned this car for 1 month and this is not the first time I have experienced the issue...once at a public charging station and this time in my garage. I connect the charging cable and when battery is charged the port has locked the connector. (This is a feature on the Nissan Leaf that can be manually performed and it is very clear in the manual what to do.) You would think a resolution to this from Kia would be the first link on an online search but I cannot find anything from Kia about it...there is nothing in the manual about locking or unlocking the charge port...doesn't even mention that it can be locked...WTF??
First time it happened I was at a public charger, and resolved it, I thought I understood what I had done to get it to release but apparently "one" of the many things I did released it and I went on my merry way thinking I had figured it out (this was after 30 minutes of internet searching on my smart phone)...
This time, fortunately, I'm in my garage, although, now I will be late for work, if I'm able to go at all...you think Kia will repay my lost wages? I think not...
There is the possibility that something like this could be a serious problem...think emergency of any kind...
The roadside assist that comes with the vehicle is useless for this issue...they will send out a tow truck driver that knows less about the car than the owner...Calling the dealer -- Kia Carland, Roswell, GA -- is apparently also useless... I have been waiting over an hour for someone to return my call after leaving a message with the Service Manager's answering service and talking to an innocent bystander (the receptionist...really nice woman...no hard feelings toward her)...
I do love this vehicle but Kia Engineers need to get off their a-- and fix this problem!!! Or make it easier for the consumer to find the resolution online or in the manual...
They also need to ensure ALL Soul EV owners know how to avoid this problem when they take delivery...
Update from Mar 18, 2017: Obviously, I was very frustrated when this happened to me a second time...when I was scheduled to be somewhere...
First things first, the charging connector is locked when the car door is locked so unlocking your door should release the connector...it apparently was necessary for me to go through locking and unlocking the door a couple times to release the connector. It can be done with the smart key or the door lock switch located on the door handle...information relating to the connector lock can be found on pages 22, 24, 26, 37, 38, 40 of the 2016 Owner's Manual...actually there is a section in the 2016 Owner's Manual titled "Electric Vehicle Guide" with detailed information about the car but it is pre- Section 1, doesn't even have a section number and is only referred to in the Table of Contents.
Now to what I think has made me look like an idiot...my problem was I followed the directions I read in 2016 Owner's Manual under "How To Use This Manual"...it says in the 3rd paragraph..."The general layout of the manual is provided in the Table of Contents. Use the index when looking for a specific area or subject; it has an alphabetical listing..."
Actually, I usually go to the index first because I feel that's more efficient...In the index under the listing "Battery" it sends you to the section discussing the 12 volt battery used to run the fans, radio, etc...nothing about the battery used to propel the car. That battery is referred to as the "High Voltage Battery" but there is no listing for it in the index.
Then I remembered a second (smaller) manual that comes with the car titled "Soul EV - Features & Functions Guide", where I found the section on "Charging Your Electric Vehicle" but in those couple pages nothing is mentioned about the charging connector's ability to be locked...one page has a QR Code to give you a video on charging the car but it needs to be updated and doesn't say anything about the connector lock.
A Kia Carland service person did call me 1 hr 10 minutes after my initial call to them but he had to hang up, to find the resolution, and called me back again 25 minutes later with the resolution.
Even after all this ranting, I absolutely love this car...we have two of them to drive daily and a 2010 Soul ! (Exclaim) to take on longer trips...all are very reliable, well made, fun to drive vehicles.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
I owned this car for 1 month and this is not the first time I have experienced the issue...once at a public charging station and this time in my garage. I connect the charging cable and when battery is charged the port has locked the connector. (This is a feature on the Nissan Leaf that can be manually performed and it is very clear in the manual what to do.) You would think a resolution to this from Kia would be the first link on an online search but I cannot find anything from Kia about it...there is nothing in the manual about locking or unlocking the charge port...doesn't even mention that it can be locked...WTF?? First time it happened I was at a public charger, and resolved it, I thought I understood what I had done to get it to release but apparently "one" of the many things I did released it and I went on my merry way thinking I had figured it out (this was after 30 minutes of internet searching on my smart phone)... This time, fortunately, I'm in my garage, although, now I will be late for work, if I'm able to go at all...you think Kia will repay my lost wages? I think not... There is the possibility that something like this could be a serious problem...think emergency of any kind... The roadside assist that comes with the vehicle is useless for this issue...they will send out a tow truck driver that knows less about the car than the owner...Calling the dealer -- Kia Carland, Roswell, GA -- is apparently also useless... I have been waiting over an hour for someone to return my call after leaving a message with the Service Manager's answering service and talking to an innocent bystander (the receptionist...really nice woman...no hard feelings toward her)... I do love this vehicle but Kia Engineers need to get off their a-- and fix this problem!!! Or make it easier for the consumer to find the resolution online or in the manual... They also need to ensure ALL Soul EV owners know how to avoid this problem when they take delivery...
Update from Mar 18, 2017: Obviously, I was very frustrated when this happened to me a second time...when I was scheduled to be somewhere... First things first, the charging connector is locked when the car door is locked so unlocking your door should release the connector...it apparently was necessary for me to go through locking and unlocking the door a couple times to release the connector. It can be done with the smart key or the door lock switch located on the door handle...information relating to the connector lock can be found on pages 22, 24, 26, 37, 38, 40 of the 2016 Owner's Manual...actually there is a section in the 2016 Owner's Manual titled "Electric Vehicle Guide" with detailed information about the car but it is pre- Section 1, doesn't even have a section number and is only referred to in the Table of Contents. Now to what I think has made me look like an idiot...my problem was I followed the directions I read in 2016 Owner's Manual under "How To Use This Manual"...it says in the 3rd paragraph..."The general layout of the manual is provided in the Table of Contents. Use the index when looking for a specific area or subject; it has an alphabetical listing..." Actually, I usually go to the index first because I feel that's more efficient...In the index under the listing "Battery" it sends you to the section discussing the 12 volt battery used to run the fans, radio, etc...nothing about the battery used to propel the car. That battery is referred to as the "High Voltage Battery" but there is no listing for it in the index. Then I remembered a second (smaller) manual that comes with the car titled "Soul EV - Features & Functions Guide", where I found the section on "Charging Your Electric Vehicle" but in those couple pages nothing is mentioned about the charging connector's ability to be locked...one page has a QR Code to give you a video on charging the car but it needs to be updated and doesn't say anything about the connector lock. A Kia Carland service person did call me 1 hr 10 minutes after my initial call to them but he had to hang up, to find the resolution, and called me back again 25 minutes later with the resolution.
Even after all this ranting, I absolutely love this car...we have two of them to drive daily and a 2010 Soul ! (Exclaim) to take on longer trips...all are very reliable, well made, fun to drive vehicles.
- frustratedevowner, Cartersville, US