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Invoking the Lemon Law

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19K views 39 replies 20 participants last post by  EV64G  
#1 ·
Hello,

I'm curious if anyone here has gone through the lemon law process with their EV6 in the United States? I realize state law may vary, but the idea is probably pretty similar across states. How did you start the process? How did Kia respond and how quickly? Interested in hearing some experiences.
 
#2 · (Edited)
Requirments do, indeed, vary by state.

Start by carefully reviewing the lemon law applicable in your jurisdiction to ensure that you are keeping the required records

In my state, before you can file with the state you have to document one of several possible qualifying issues, THEN you have to notify the MANUFACTURER, in writing by certified mail in order for the manufacturer to have the opportunity to have the issue(s) corrected.

It's not a short, convenient or easy process.

"If the manufacturer has failed to correct one or more nonconformities within a reasonable number of attempts but does not provide a refund or a replacement vehicle, consumers may invoke their rights through arbitration. Depending on the circumstances, a consumer may go through either one or two arbitration programs."

If, after the one or two arbitration rounds you remain dissatisfied you can take it to the States arbitration board.

Translation...you will have been messing around with this for 12-18 months before it gets resolved. That's why most consumers end up trading the vehicle instead of trying to lemon law it. Who can manage working around a $500-$800 a month non functioning car for 12-18 months "hoping" for a manufacturer buyback?
 
#3 ·
Requirents do, indeed, vary by state.

Start by carefully reviewing the lemon law applicable in your jurisdiction to ensure that you are keeping the required records

In my state, before you can file with the state you have to document one of several possible qualifying issues, THEN you have to notify the MANUFACTURER, in writing by certified mail in order for the manufacturer to have the opportunity to have the issue(s) corrected.

It's not a short, convenient or easy process.

"If the manufacturer has failed to correct one or more nonconformities within a reasonable number of attempts but does not provide a refund or a replacement vehicle, consumers may invoke their rights through arbitration. Depending on the circumstances, a consumer may go through either one or two arbitration programs."

If, after the one or two arbitration rounds you remain dissatisfied you can take it to the States arbitration board.

Translation...you will have been messing around with this for 12-18 months before it gets resolved. That's why most consumers end up trading the vehicle instead of trying to lemon law it. Who can manage working around a $500-$800 a month non functioning car for 12-18 months "hoping" for a manufacturer buyback?
You raise some great points there. I will initiate steps on it to keep my options open, but you are right in that it may move quite slow or not at all. It may depend if Kia is acting in good faith. Depends on the severity of the issue too since you can't get much for trade-in if the car doesn't move then you have to eat thousands out of pocket in losses.
 
#7 ·
Dscoti linked to another post with more detail. But basically, the battery (12v not the big battery) was dead when I came out one morning in September. The problem then began happening more frequently to the point it was a daily occurrence (sometimes twice a day). Jumping the car became like turning the key. After 3 weeks int he garage, they think it's an Amp, but I'm not certain that is the case. The part has been on backorder as they don't seem to have an excess of Amps in the US.

Kia also put out some dealer service advisory (apparently short of being a recall notice) and dealerships are aware of this. I learned this in my most recent update with the dealership's service team.
 
#5 · (Edited)
IMO, humble or not 🤣, @Undsputed should have posted this in his original post. Explains more than he does here.
Admin’s: Maybe merge this under the original?
 
#6 ·
Sort of but at this point the matter isn't about 12v issues (something that looks significant and perhaps related to the Amp that they should've recalled). Instead it's more about general experiences with the lemon law and how Kia interacts with EV6 owners. Unfortunately this car is an expensive experiment for the average user.
 
#10 ·
What behaviors and communications from Kia indicate a lack of concern?

Once you invoke lemon law the manufacturer will cease repair attempts. If you' ve followed your state's formal procedures and actually initiated the process, the manufacturer is likely to go radio silent awaiting the due process of the lemon law in your state.

My brothers corporate (conventional ICE) vehicle was down for 7 weeks waiting on a part. It's not just Kia.
 
#11 ·
What behaviors and communications from Kia indicate a lack of concern? Once you invoke lemon law the manufacturer will cease repair attempts. If you' ve followed your state's formal procedures and actually initiated the process, the manufacturer is likely to go radio silent awaiting the due process of the lemon law in your state. My brothers corporate (conventional ICE) vehicle was down for 7 weeks waiting on a part. It's not just Kia.
I did file on 5/13 and was told Kia Consumer would get back to me 5-7 business days. They have yet to reach out to me concerning this. They have to initially respond. They cannot by law keep you waiting. They too have a timeframe that must be followed.
 
#12 ·
There are some interesting discussions on Quora about experiences with Hyundai buyback process. I start researching because my car is in the shop waiting for an ICCU. The most important is to know the law in your state and potentially in the state you purchased the car if not the same. In my area a car would qualify for lemon law if it sits in the shop for more than 30 calendar days (day 25 you can send Kia a certified letter) or if it goes into the shop 3 times for the same issue under warranty. There should be some information on your state attorney general website.

From what others have been saying you deal directly with the manufacturer not the dealership. One even had the car repaired and driving it while still negotiating a replacement or buyback because the repair took more than 30 days.

My understanding is that invoking lemon law is the last resort, an intermediate step would be to open a case with Kia and request an offer for buy back or replacement. Replacement is probably the best case for both, Kia can resell it as certified pre-owned and you get a new car minus depreciation. My understanding is that the car can be replaced on your title and loan and you don't have to pay registration fees or refinance at higher rates. There is a formula to calculate depreciation, roughly 10% for one year and 10K miles.
My understanding is that manufacturers will get stuck with a car with salvage title if is declared a lemon, they would avoid that. Unfortunately not many people know their rights, and the information is readily available.
 
#13 ·
The dealer can do several things for you: diagnose the issue, order the part and fix the car, also can give you a loaner or arrange for a rental on Kia's dime. Availability of parts and a possible buyback is on the manufacturer. In my case I'm open to all possibilities and it depends how confident I'm with the car once it gets repaired. I will also have to way in the way the manufacturer treats me as a customer. For now I can't complain, but the time is ticking, I will see how do I feel on the day 30 LOL
 
#16 ·
Well people, I own a 2022 Hyundai Ioniq 5 SEL rwd and got the dead 12v battery problem.
I won't bore you with all the details, but.... I brought it to Hyundai service dept. on Oct. 31, 2022, and it is still there.
Yup, nearly 7 months. I initially started the LL process myself by following the guidelines on the FL Attorney General's website.
I soon after decided to hire a law firm to represent me because I paid a dealer markup of $3,500 when I bought the car,
along with $900 dealer fee, and I wanted to make sure I would get it all back.
In the meantime, I was able to receive $7,150 on last years tax return from the federal rebate program.
So, even with a law firm (and I use this term VERY loosely) fighting on my behalf, I MAY receive my $$ next week.
I will be receiving everything I paid minus the mileage fee they charge being deducted from my payout.
And even though Florida LL states the manufacturer must pay my legal fees, Hyundai chose to only pay for half ($1,500)
and make me pay the other half. My attorney said I could sue them for the other half but basically told me it's not worth the hassle,
and I agreed, as that may have prolonged my case. The way I look at it is that I'm still ahead as I got the fed rebate.

FYI... my car died with only 1,170 miles on it. I did have use of a loaner the entire time (Sonata), but bought a 2023 Tesla Model Y Performance
on March 21, 2023, and it has sat in my garage unused since then as I had to keep insurance on my Ioniq 5 while it sat at Hyundai, so I didn't
want to have to pay insurance on 2 cars. It kills me to look at it sitting in the garage - very sad, but I will hopefully be using it soon.
I don't like paying for gas, but I do like putting the miles on the Sonata instead of the Tesla.
For those wondering why I bought the Tesla when I did, those that don't know, the wait to receive a Tesla after you order it is unknown.
You just don't know how long it will be until you get it. Mine took less than 2 months of waiting, and I never expected the lawsuit to take
so long to settle. Surely, I didn't think it would take 7 months.

To sum up - if you are thinking of filing a LL claim, be prepared for huge delays in your settlement - months and months.
 
#17 ·
Hi all, I'm new to this forum with a 2022 GT Line AWD (01/2022 build) and about ~23k mi. I'd like to know if anyone here has successfully lemon lawed their EV6 or if a buy back or swap with the manufacturer was successful. My car is going on day 11 at the dealer on its 4th attempt to fix a constantly failing 12V battery. After the 3rd failed attempt at a fix at a Kia dealership, I had to jump start the car 7 times in 7 days prior to driving it straight to the dealership from a grocery store parking lot (where I jumpstarted the car last) with a crying baby in the car. As much as I enjoy the car when it is functioning, the honeymoon with the car is over and I would like to hear if any success stories exist here with negotiating with Kia.

FWIW, my car has the ICCU TSB done (I think that was SC271) a month ago.

I searched this forum for lemon law discussions and aside from an ICCU specific discussion, this was the closest I could find to the topic as my situation is exactly like the OP.

Thanks!
 
#19 ·
Hello, I'm curious if anyone here has gone through the lemon law process with their EV6 in the United States? I realize state law may vary, but the idea is probably pretty similar across states. How did you start the process? How did Kia respond and how quickly? Interested in hearing some experiences.
I received my buy back. Kia bought my car after it was in the shop for more than 30 days. ICU and fuse went bad and they couldn’t get the part so once it was 30 days I called Kia consumer and envoked the lemon law. I waited 3 months after that for the process and got the buy back. Then bought a Tesla which was cheaper.
 
#21 ·
No I called Kia consumer and told them I am claiming lemon law. They them put that in motion and put me with an advisor. Once that advisor contacted me they put the claim on motion which does take a few months. You will have to provide them with your paperwork and will have a case number. Then while I was in a rental from dealer they fixed my car stopped deducting milage (because they take off money due to milage) then I got my Kia back and drove it until the auditing team cut me the check. Then met with a rep at Kia and signed off they inspected car and off I went to deposit my check. Whole process took 5 months.
 
#22 ·
I have a 2023 EV6 GT-Line and I just filed LL in the State of Florida because I leased a long range battery model but my range was way below what it was supposed to be. The window sticker said a range of 310 miles and I took it to the dealer when my range was 160 miles on 100% charge. I have been told so many things by the dealer. The first thing I was told was they physically verified I did not have a long range battery and was told the car was built wrong and the only option was to open a case with Kia and have them do a buy back. Then Kia wanted to inspect the car again when it kept losing range and also taking off almost double the range of what I was actually driving, The second time I was told I had the correct battery and they had looked at old specs, but my battery was only showing 59% life remaining and was bad and it would need to be replaced under warranty. Today, the dealer told me that Kia’s tech line came back and said my battery is functioning properly and nothing is wrong with my car! Wow! I have everything in writing about them physically inspecting the battery and confirming it was a smaller battery and not long range and also texts and recorded calls from the service manager saying the battery was bad and would need to be replaced. However, Kia corporate tech line wants to deny all this and say the battery is functioning properly which is so frustrating and unbelievable. I already sent the manufacturer defect notice and it’s day 4 of 10 for them to respond. My attorney says to give Kia the 10 days to formally respond and if they deny a defect then he will start the arbitration process. The GM and Service Manager sat and met with me and told me to “get the hell out of that car” because it was built wrong and told me my LL claim should be straight forward and undisputed and could be resolved in as little as 30 days. Now, Kia corporate is saying my car with 160 miles on a 310 mile long range battery is functioning properly and it’s because of how I drive and climate. However, I live in Florida where it’s warm and I don’t have range issues due to cold temps. It looks like I will be going through a long lemon law process with my EV6. The dealer gave me a base model Kia Soul to drive in the meantime but corporate wants to put me back in the EV6 and deny any defect. So, I’ll be dealing with a car with extremely low range, unreliable range that deducts about 1.5 times the miles actually driven, a car that goes dead and won’t unlock which has left me stranded in the grocery store parking lot. Won’t be buying a Kia again!
 
#23 · (Edited)
amoore850, that sounds like a terrible experience. I’m still in the middle of my buyback negotiations as well. I was given a base Kia Forte to drive for 2 months while the car was in service. I’m uncertain what Kia will come back with. It’s been 6 weeks of waiting so far since submitting all my paperwork to Kia.

After over 2 months at the dealer, Kia corporate approved the dealer to simply dump in a Napa Auto Parts flooded lead acid battery into my car that could have took 15 min to change back on day 1. So my car sat for nothing and received the same old type of 12V battery which undoubtedly will fail again as I’ve witnessed the orange light more than ever now (likely to the detriment of a bit of range as well, but it’s difficult to ascertain due to the car returning to me in the dead of winter when it was summer the last I drove it).

It seems like most LL stories end with cash in hand. But I wonder if anyone has had a successful swap to a newer, functioning, like-for-like replacement? After driving nearly every new EV in its class and price range, (for my purposes), it’s hard to knock the overall value proposition if only the car would just not die.
 
#25 ·
EV64G- Did you get the buyback resolved? I am in a similar situation and engaged an LL attorney a couple of months ago. Just got the car back after 41 days, this is 4th visit for the same ICCU/Battery problem and they still haven't replaced ICCU, just battery because ICCU is on backorder. Lord knows what they will do when recall comes into effect! At any rate, LL attorney sent letter 2 months ago. Wondering what was your wait after your letter went and you got an offer, I've exceeded all prerequisites for my state's law (NC) to force buyback. I've had an escalated case open since mid-October 2023.
 
#26 ·
@mjcoughlin58 and @EV64G I finally got a resolution to my EV6. First, you don't need an attorney and you should avoid trying to deal with Kia Corporate directly through their consumer affairs. I filed with BBB Auto Line on Feb 2nd after no response from Kia Corporate. Kia was contacted by BBB and was responsive to them within the timelines they require. However, Kia still refused to offer a buy back so we went to arbitration hearing. The hearing was held on March 18th and only the case manager from Kia showed up. I explained my side to the arbitrator and submitted my photos, texts, and evidence by uploading it in their portal in advance of the hearing.

The hearing took about an hour and I didn't receive a decision from the arbitrator for over 2 weeks. It was finally issued on April 1st. The decision ruled in my favor that the car does not conform to standards and Kia has been ordered to buy back my EV6. Kia started sending me paperwork to complete within hours of the hearing decision being entered by BBB Auto Line. However, Kia and BBB both told me it can take up to 90 days for the buy back to be completed which is insane! The process is long, but it's not difficult. My case manager at Kia told me their auditing department gives preference to BBB Auto Line cases over their internal cases and they hope to have the buy back completed within 30-45 days. So, I am currently waiting on their auditing department to verify all the numbers for the buy back and then I will be scheduled to take the car to a Kia dealership and have it inspected by a 3rd party who handles their buy backs and they said they will issue me a check within 24 hours of the car being turned in.

I originally pursued an attorney to represent me, but honestly I feel like we know our experience best and can explain it better than an attorney. The hearings with BBB Auto Line are made for people who represent themselves. My attorney advised me to give Kia more time beyond the required deadlines and I didn't know why that would be in my favor because I wanted to move the process as quickly as possbile. So, when Kia didn't respond to my Manufacturer Defect Notice by the 10th day, on the 11th day I was filing with BBB. Everything turned out good for me and I think it went faster and smoother without an attorney. Your evidence will speak for itself but be sure to take pictures of your range or whatever issues you have, include any written correspondence you've had with the dealership, etc. You can win your own case.
 
#32 · (Edited)
Hi all,
long time since I posted in Jan 2024, but I am actually still waiting for the check from Kia for settlement now. Like amoore850 said, it is a really long process and lawyering up seems to make it even longer.
@mjcoughlin58 , I did get an offer in late (nov) 2024. But believe it or not, the claims and payment process is still pending now. I hope others here have had more success. After the 3rd recall, the car is now working flawlessly and I hope to enjoy it going forward since buy back wasn't in the cards for my selected route of recourse.
 
#33 ·
I JUST got a settlement check from Kia via a lawyer who took $2K of it for very little assistance. I would recommend BBB Auto Line on your own vs a Lemon Law attorney if anyone has to go through the same process. The deal we had with Kia to repay our rental car fees disappeared once we had the attorney and then we barely recouped those plus a tiny amount extra and a lot of fees. Car was working when we got it back but decided I didn't want to continue to deal with issues that Kia couldn't fix and sold it to Carvana as soon as Kia finalized the settlement amount. Glad to be done with the EV6. Moved on to a Rivian R1S.
 
#38 ·
Hi fellow EV6ers, I finally got a check in the mail for my LL case. My blood-sucking lawyers leached 40% of the settlement and I found typos and errors in nearly every document they sent my way to docusign and they were initially very slow with communication and asked for documents 3-4 times despite having received them again and again from me, so I would NOT recommend the Consumer Protection Law Group which calls themselves 247lemonlaw online. It ended up being a somewhat reasonable 4 digit cash and keep settlement in the end. I started in December of 2023, so it was ~1.5 years all-in. I hope @mjcoughlin58 and others have a better time with this arduous process than the likes of me and @cready. I definitely think the recommendation of @amoore850 is spot on to try the buyback/LL negotiating without a lawyer first. Either way, I'm still enjoying the car now that it's problem free.