[arnsbrae]

Usual symptoms;

1. Nothing or cold air coming through the centre of the car.
2. Precondition not working.

My car was in for the dealer software update in December but that didn’t work.

I had expected the next step to be a new inverter.

However, the dealer asked me to take the car in today so that they could send a picture of the suspect part to Kia! This was at Kia’s (Korea?) request.

It turns out Kia didn’t think the pictures are clear enough so the dealer now has to ”strip the part out” ( their words) to get a better picture! They will need the car for a few days.

I am slightly minded to boost their morale tomorrow when I go in and tell them just to get the freakin’ part replaced and quickly But part of me wants to carry on working with them.

Anyone else had this photograph request or am I being singled out? It would be helpful to hear a few responses so I can present the dealer with some evidence to show I’m being treated differently.

 

[jongodfrey]

just to add to the Symptoms - even when heating working with the heat button the car will suddenly blow only cold air on longer journeys.

I've told my dealer I don't even want to book it in until they have the parts in the UK. It worries me that on other posts Kia seem reluctant to change the HVAC Inverter.

Anybody had both the hardware and software fix?

 

[EV6 Driver]

just to add to the Symptoms - even when heating working with the heat button the car will suddenly blow only cold air on longer journeys.

I've told my dealer I don't even want to book it in until they have the parts in the UK. It worries me that on other posts Kia seem reluctant to change the HVAC Inverter.

Anybody had both the hardware and software fix?

I have had both inverter replaced and software updated, collected the car yesterday and so far all good heating is working.

 

[jongodfrey]

That's great, @EV6 Driver ... does it Pre-heat via the App? I assume that will be coming later but perhaps with this fix?

 

[Mark S]

Just wondering if anyone who has recently picked up their new car has asked the dealer whether the changes for the heating have been done and what the response has been(ie do they know about the issue/keeping quiet about it)?

 

[InspectorGadget]

Picked up my GT Line a week ago. It already had a new inverter and the latest software.

The heating whilst driving works fine, although takes a bit of getting used to as not quite as ‘automatic’ as it would have you believe.

The pre-heat doesn’t work at all - I’ve tried various combinations, plugged in and not, and it only ever blows cold air. I’ve been using remote start as a workaround, but that doesn’t seem to activate the defrost.

Dealer wants me to book it in, but I don’t see the point yet, as there doesn’t appear to be anything new that can be done at their end. It seems they just want to check it themselves so they can report it to Kia, but I’m not wasting half a day for that. Dealer also assured me that they’d check the pre-heat before handover, which they clearly didn’t do, or they didn’t want to tell me it wasn’t working.

 

[Mark S]

Do they offer you a car to use while they faff about with yrs?

 

[Logicpro8]

Just quickly off-topic but in the heating vein... Rear window heating button.... mine is now not working. Does anyone else see this, press the icon but nothing happens, does not turn orange/yellow at all? The front works ok, along with all of the other buttons. Couldn't quite find info on this in the manual, maybe I am blind . Maybe won't allow it to go on if it's warm outside or something weird like that.

 

[arnsbrae]

just to add to the Symptoms - even when heating working with the heat button the car will suddenly blow only cold air on longer journeys.

I've told my dealer I don't even want to book it in until they have the parts in the UK. It worries me that on other posts Kia seem reluctant to change the HVAC Inverter.

Anybody had both the hardware and software fix?

Well, in my case they are definitely trying to avoid replacing the inverter.

The dealer said they would call me today to let me know a courtesy car was ready for collection. At 4.30pm they called to say that “Kia Technical” had said another update was coming soon. They asked me to come in and pick up my own car Instead of the courtesy car.

I said no, it’s January and I’m not taking the car back until they have tried to fix the problem. Somebody more senior is going to call me tomorrow, presumably to try and persuade me to come and collect my car. I don’t think it is reasonable to expect someone to take a faulty car back to wait for some unspecified update at an unspecified date.

I pointed out to them that other people with this issue had the software update and replacement inverters. Why were they taking a different approach with me?

I watched what they were doing today on Kia Connect. They said they were stripping out the part (to photograph it…) but for around 2 to 3 hours the car was sitting with the door open and the climate on at 25.5C. This had the effect of reducing the car’s charge from 61% to 48%. It is possible to heat the cabin but you only get warm air from the top of the car while a cold breeze goes over your legs (this is in auto climate mode). My wife had to sit with her coat over her legs on a long motorway run. No amount of fiddling around gives you warm air through the middle of the car.

I’m baffled as this dealer has been great to deal with hitherto. It looks like some superstar at “Kia technical” is driving this narrative. Does anyone know who Kia Technical is? Europe? South Korea? UK?

I am really pissed off.

I would suggest that anyone picking up a new EV6 makes sure the dealer has tested the car’s heating properly before accepting it.

 

[JK-KIAEV6]

You could tell them your reject the car to see if there ears prick up.

 

[AMO]

just to add to the Symptoms - even when heating working with the heat button the car will suddenly blow only cold air on longer journeys.

I've told my dealer I don't even want to book it in until they have the parts in the UK. It worries me that on other posts Kia seem reluctant to change the HVAC Inverter.

Anybody had both the hardware and software fix?

Yes, maybe! After getting the inverter changed today, I was going to keep quite on the forum until I had done a comprehensive check. However, seeing this threat, I will report that the preliminary results are positive! The garage seemed confident that it was fixed and the heating certainly performed ok on the drive home but, as others will know, problems have been random so more evidence is needed before this can be confirmed. When the garage called to say the car was ready, I anticipated they would not have tested pre-heating via the app so I asked them to lock the car so that I could activate climate control from my phone. Much to my surprise they messaged back 20 minutes later to say the cabin had heated up. I'll try it again in the morning when the car is frosted.

A liitle bit of backstory to this is that I've written a few emails to Tony Ryan (Senior Customer Service Advisor, Kia UK) and cc'ed to CEO Paul Philpot. Last week Ryan chased the dealer asking them to inspect the car to get part numbers so they could be sure to supply the right replacent part (which sounds similar to the OP's experience). They did the inspection on Friday and whilst the car was there they did yet another software update. Interestingly, I spotted changes afterward to the HUD and centre display but there was no change to the HVAC. The replacement parts arrived yesterday and were fitted today ....taking about half a day to do. Hopefully I will be able to confirm in a day or two that the HVAC is working as advertised 🤞.

Incidentally, the change to HUD and centre display is that both now display a "no overtaking" road sign when driving adjacent to double white lines.....others may already see this? Although I have to say it clutters the display and isn't exactly a "must-have".

And one other observation, on the way back today, the lane assist wasn't functioning despite being activated and the green symbol flashing on and off. I usually turn it off on the lanes but today it kept completely quite when I cut across the corners. Nevertheless I want it for motorway driving so will investigate the settings to see if it's been disabled - any suggestions welcome.

 

[arnsbrae]

Yes, maybe! After getting the inverter changed today, I was going to keep quite on the forum until I had done a comprehensive check. However, seeing this threat, I will report that the preliminary results are positive! The garage seemed confident that it was fixed and the heating certainly performed ok on the drive home but, as others will know, problems have been random so more evidence is needed before this can be confirmed. When the garage called to say the car was ready, I anticipated they would not have tested pre-heating via the app so I asked them to lock the car so that I could activate climate control from my phone. Much to my surprise they messaged back 20 minutes later to say the cabin had heated up. I'll try it again in the morning when the car is frosted.

A liitle bit of backstory to this is that I've written a few emails to Tony Ryan (Senior Customer Service Advisor, Kia UK) and cc'ed to CEO Paul Philpot. Last week Ryan chased the dealer asking them to inspect the car to get part numbers so they could be sure to supply the right replacent part (which sounds similar to the OP's experience). They did the inspection on Friday and whilst the car was there they did yet another software update. Interestingly, I spotted changes afterward to the HUD and centre display but there was no change to the HVAC. The replacement parts arrived yesterday and were fitted today ....taking about half a day to do. Hopefully I will be able to confirm in a day or two that the HVAC is working as advertised 🤞.

Incidentally, the change to HUD and centre display is that both now display a "no overtaking" road sign when driving adjacent to double white lines.....others may already see this? Although I have to say it clutters the display and isn't exactly a "must-have".

And one other observation, on the way back today, the lane assist wasn't functioning despite being activated and the green symbol flashing on and off. I usually turn it off on the lanes but today it kept completely quite when I cut across the corners. Nevertheless I want it for motorway driving so will investigate the settings to see if it's been disabled - any suggestions welcome.

Thanks - very helpful.

 

[Chip]

It would be interesting and perhaps beneficial to know the "old" & "new" part numbers for that inverter.

 

[AMO]

I agree and I tried to get them but because it was a warranty task they wouldn't provide any details.

 

[Chip]

Failing that it would be really interesting to know how or why the first unit did not perform as intended and (if it does) how the new unit does.

 

[jongodfrey]

Yes, maybe! After getting the inverter changed today, I was going to keep quite on the forum until I had done a comprehensive check. However, seeing this threat, I will report that the preliminary results are positive! The garage seemed confident that it was fixed and the heating certainly performed ok on the drive home but, as others will know, problems have been random so more evidence is needed before this can be confirmed. When the garage called to say the car was ready, I anticipated they would not have tested pre-heating via the app so I asked them to lock the car so that I could activate climate control from my phone. Much to my surprise they messaged back 20 minutes later to say the cabin had heated up. I'll try it again in the morning when the car is frosted.

A liitle bit of backstory to this is that I've written a few emails to Tony Ryan (Senior Customer Service Advisor, Kia UK) and cc'ed to CEO Paul Philpot. Last week Ryan chased the dealer asking them to inspect the car to get part numbers so they could be sure to supply the right replacent part (which sounds similar to the OP's experience). They did the inspection on Friday and whilst the car was there they did yet another software update. Interestingly, I spotted changes afterward to the HUD and centre display but there was no change to the HVAC. The replacement parts arrived yesterday and were fitted today ....taking about half a day to do. Hopefully I will be able to confirm in a day or two that the HVAC is working as advertised 🤞.

Incidentally, the change to HUD and centre display is that both now display a "no overtaking" road sign when driving adjacent to double white lines.....others may already see this? Although I have to say it clutters the display and isn't exactly a "must-have".

And one other observation, on the way back today, the lane assist wasn't functioning despite being activated and the green symbol flashing on and off. I usually turn it off on the lanes but today it kept completely quite when I cut across the corners. Nevertheless I want it for motorway driving so will investigate the settings to see if it's been disabled - any suggestions welcome.

very useful, Tony, thank you!

Also good to know the dealer should be on top of this issue now as we share the same dealer. It would be great if you would keep us up to speed with your findings. Our dealer told me the parts would be in this week so I am hoping they have ordered mine at the same time as yours. Fingers crossed.

 

[AMO]

very useful, Tony, thank you!

Also good to know the dealer should be on top of this issue now as we share the same dealer. It would be great if you would keep us up to speed with your findings. Our dealer told me the parts would be in this week so I am hoping they have ordered mine at the same time as yours. Fingers crossed.

Sorry guys (and gals), I definitely tempted fate by posting results last night. Unfortunately despite the test I described earlier, pre-heating via the app is NOT working - neither on nor off the charger. Using the app this morning when there was a good covering of ice on the screens, the mirrors and rear screen defrosted fine but the windscreen and front windows remained frozen. Checking inside the vehicle, the fan was running at high speed but no warm air was produced. I can only assume that the cabin heat sensed by the garage technician was residual from previous operation and they didn't accertain that hot air was being blown.

 

[JK-KIAEV6]

Sorry guys (and gals), I definitely tempted fate by posting results last night. Unfortunately despite the test I described earlier, pre-heating via the app is NOT working - neither on nor off the charger. Using the app this morning when there was a good covering of ice on the screens, the mirrors and rear screen defrosted fine but the windscreen and front windows remained frozen. Checking inside the vehicle, the fan was running at high speed but no warm air was produced. I can only assume that the cabin heat sensed by the garage technician was residual from previous operation and they didn't accertain that hot air was being blown.

Sorry to reads the news, you would think the dealer would have checked for you as your car was in for this issue as well as other issues.

Makes you wonder what these dealers technicians do.

Hope you and others get it sorted quickly.

 

[arnsbrae]

Sorry guys (and gals), I definitely tempted fate by posting results last night. Unfortunately despite the test I described earlier, pre-heating via the app is NOT working - neither on nor off the charger. Using the app this morning when there was a good covering of ice on the screens, the mirrors and rear screen defrosted fine but the windscreen and front windows remained frozen. Checking inside the vehicle, the fan was running at high speed but no warm air was produced. I can only assume that the cabin heat sensed by the garage technician was residual from previous operation and they didn't accertain that hot air was being blown.

That is a pity but perhaps not too surprising.

As far as I can tell:

The dealer software update does nothing.
The replacement HVAC inverter replacement fixes the heating when driving.
The preheat function doesn’t seem to work for most EV6 owners even with the replacement part.

My dealer has told me (both yesterday and today) that an other software update is coming, though surprise, surprise ”Kia Technical” can’t say when. The dealer is caught in the middle here, but that isn’t helping me.

 

[JK-KIAEV6]

That is a pity but perhaps not too surprising.

As far as I can tell:

The dealer software update does nothing.
The replacement HVAC inverter replacement fixes the heating when driving.
The preheat function doesn’t seem to work for most EV6 owners even with the replacement part.

My dealer has told me (both yesterday and today) that an other software update is coming, though surprise, surprise ”Kia Technical” can’t say when. The dealer is caught in the middle here, but that isn’t helping me.

What I can not understand is Kia are happy to continue to build cars with the issue without putting man power into resolving the issue, guess they say the App is not part of the car and a added bonus otherwise it would have been higher up there list to resolve, unless of course there is so many issues they have not got the people to resolve the issue.

Should really have been picked up in pre-tests before launch.