2023 Kia EV6 Problems

The ICCU on the car died in the middle of the street, car would not shift out of park. Car completely died after a few minutes.

ICCU failure. I charged overnight at my home L2 charging as usual. I backed out of my garage and heard a loud pop. Almost immediately an “check electrical” warning came up. The car went to turtle mode and then completely died. The car was towed and I was informed the ICCU needed to be replaced. The car had all previous checks on ICCU performed (per mailed recalls) and was updated and passed each time.

The ICCU on the car died in the middle of the street, car would not shift out of park. Car completely died after a few minutes.

First ICCU the power completely went out on 2/23/26. Power went out again April, 2026. Currently car is immobile and unreliable and not safe for driving due to power failures. Towed car to Kia Cerritos. Car supposedly "fixed" (with other issues I've reported to KIA of America & CA BAR/DMV) Currently 12V battery is not holding charge as of 4/27/26, 4/28/26, and 5/2/26. I received a letter from KIA stating ICCU and inability to charge, Keep this Letter in your Glove Box for a free diagnosis and possible no cost servicing. As an older American this is inherently unsafe, as I travel for work and cannot be stuck on the road. The vehicle suddenly loses power in traffic. It simply stops running. This is my 5th attempt to file this very complaint between April and 6/14/26.

While driving southbound on the [XXX] in a rented 2023 Kia EV6 from The Hertz Corporation, picked up in [XXX] on XXX, the vehicle entered "Power Limited" mode without warning. The vehicle lost normal propulsion and decelerated from highway speed to a crawl, forcing 4-5 emergency stops onto the highway shoulder over several miles while semi-trucks passed at 70+ mph in live traffic, with two minor children in the vehicle. The vehicle was ultimately abandoned at a highway rest stop on Hertz Roadside Assistance's instruction and towed. This vehicle was subject to three NHTSA recall campaigns for the ICCU defect that produces exactly this failure mode: 24V057000 (SC295, driveshaft, notice mailed XXX), 24V200000 (SC302, ICCU 12V charging failure/Power Limited mode, notice mailed XXX), and 24V867000 (SC327, expanded ICCU remedy superseding SC302, notice mailed XXX) — all mailed well before this vehicle was rented to me on XXX. Under 49 U.S.C. §30120(i), a rental company may not rent a covered rental vehicle subject to an unremedied safety recall. I am requesting NHTSA use its inspection authority under 49 U.S.C. §30166 to determine whether Hertz completed the required SC327 remedy on this vehicle before renting it to me, and to review Hertz's fleet-wide recall compliance for its Kia EV6 inventory. This does not appear to be an isolated incident: NHTSA complaint ODI XXX, filed XXX, describes a near-identical failure — a rented 2023 Kia EV6 (Dollar Rent A Car, a Hertz-owned brand) losing power and shutting down multiple times on the freeway during a single trip, also towed. Two renters, two Hertz-family rentals, same defect signature, five months apart. Hertz has been on written and verbal notice of this incident since XXX, and I sent a formal written demand on XXX with a response deadline of XXX. As of this filing, Hertz has not responded. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

While driving a rented 2023 Kia EV6 on the freeway, the vehicle lost power and shut down completely, without warning, on multiple separate occasions during a single trip. This occurred at highway speed in live traffic, creating a serious risk to vehicle occupants and surrounding traffic. The vehicle was a rental (Dollar Rent A Car); no external damage or collision was involved. The vehicle has since been towed.

The ICCU on the car died in the middle of the street, car would not shift out of park. Car completely died after a few minutes.

Iccu failure with Kia ev6. Unreal that this car has not had a recall yet. It is totally unacceptable that this car can at any time fail. Car will not start and shut down while I was driving. Luckily I was beginning to park when it happened

I was driving in heavy rain on a busy highway (I4) and the lane assist pulled me off the road to the road hand side and then cut across all lanes of traffic to the left hand side. It also engaged emergency braking going forward when there was no reason to do so. Many times when I am backing up, it's engaged emergency breaking when there is no risk of collision. Finally, the front sensors are very inconsistent with when they go off. Today I was not moving and neither was the car ahead of me, first it told me I was too close (yellow) on the left bumper, then it turned off and told me I was too close (red) on the front, turned off again and went back to yellow on the right and then turned off again.

While driving southbound on the [XXX] in a rented 2023 Kia EV6 from The Hertz Corporation, picked up in [XXX] on XXX, the vehicle entered "Power Limited" mode without warning. The vehicle lost normal propulsion and decelerated from highway speed to a crawl, forcing 4-5 emergency stops onto the highway shoulder over several miles while semi-trucks passed at 70+ mph in live traffic, with two minor children in the vehicle. The vehicle was ultimately abandoned at a highway rest stop on Hertz Roadside Assistance's instruction and towed. This vehicle was subject to three NHTSA recall campaigns for the ICCU defect that produces exactly this failure mode: 24V057000 (SC295, driveshaft, notice mailed XXX), 24V200000 (SC302, ICCU 12V charging failure/Power Limited mode, notice mailed XXX), and 24V867000 (SC327, expanded ICCU remedy superseding SC302, notice mailed XXX) — all mailed well before this vehicle was rented to me on XXX. Under 49 U.S.C. §30120(i), a rental company may not rent a covered rental vehicle subject to an unremedied safety recall. I am requesting NHTSA use its inspection authority under 49 U.S.C. §30166 to determine whether Hertz completed the required SC327 remedy on this vehicle before renting it to me, and to review Hertz's fleet-wide recall compliance for its Kia EV6 inventory. This does not appear to be an isolated incident: NHTSA complaint ODI XXX, filed XXX, describes a near-identical failure — a rented 2023 Kia EV6 (Dollar Rent A Car, a Hertz-owned brand) losing power and shutting down multiple times on the freeway during a single trip, also towed. Two renters, two Hertz-family rentals, same defect signature, five months apart. Hertz has been on written and verbal notice of this incident since XXX, and I sent a formal written demand on XXX with a response deadline of XXX. As of this filing, Hertz has not responded. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

I was driving on a residential street at fairly slow speeds, like 25 mph. There was a stop sign so I engaged the brakes and the car did not smoothly slow down but instead it felt like the back tires locked up and a skid started and I actually went into the intersection before coming to a stop. There was no ice, no sand, just the road surface and the skid in the rear of the vehicle.

My 2023 Kia EV6 experienced a sudden ICCU and 12-volt system failure while traveling approximately 50 mph. Without warning, the vehicle instantly lost propulsion and all electrical power. This included loss of steering assist, braking assist, hazard lights, shift capability (unable to shift into Park), and even the ability to lock the doors. The failure effectively “bricked” the vehicle in motion. I was only able to get the vehicle off the roadway because the road happened to slope downward into a nearby lot. Steering required significant physical effort, the brake pedal went completely hard (“dead”), and the vehicle offered no functional parking brake or Park engagement once stopped. Because I was on a hill, we had to allow the car to roll to the bottom until it met a curb to prevent movement. After power loss, the doors could not be locked at all. This type of unrecoverable electrical failure creates an extreme safety hazard for the driver, passengers, and surrounding traffic. There is no pre-warning and no diagnostic indicator. The ICCU fuse appears to fail spontaneously and renders the vehicle uncontrollable in several critical respects. This is not an isolated issue. ICCU failures have been occurring across the Kia EV6 and Hyundai Ioniq 5/6 platforms for more than three years, including on brand-new 2025 models. The persistence of this defect across multiple model years indicates that the underlying design or component defect has not been resolved by the manufacturer. Given the suddenness of the failure, the total loss of vehicle control systems, and the long history of similar incidents reported by other owners, I am now hesitant to drive the vehicle due to the unpredictable and dangerous nature of the defect.

I was driving my Kia EV6 2023 on I-110 in California when the driver rear tire suffered an instantaneous deflation. I was driving at or slightly below the 65mph speed limit, there was traffic in front and to the rear of me, the road surface was excellent. The tires had 11556 miles of use and were operating at the correct pressures as the vehicle has a tire monitoring system. The ambient air temperature was circa 76F. I was able to exit the freeway with some difficulty. The tire was a Continental Cross Contact 255-45 R20. I have been driving for nearly 60 years, had a wide range of cars and tires and never experienced an incident like that described which has all the indications of a product defect.

Car vibrated to degree it was hard to control. Initial tire balancing did not fix the issue. The tire was removed from the rim and a separated balled-up foam tire liner was found and removed. My concern is if this happens again in one of the other tires and causes an accident.

Heating system fails to generate sufficient heat to defrost windshield or prevent ice buildup in the winter, also impacts the temperature of the cabin. No error codes are generated but it appears the PTC heater is not functioning as expected.

A small amount of snow / ice is sufficient to prevent the windshield wipers from returning all the way to the original starting position low on the windshield. For some reason this prevents them from functioning entirely - they just get stuck in a loop trying to go all the way down. I am able to lift them up manually but they won't do so under wiper motor power / while driving. I have a video that clearly shows the failure mechanics that this system won't allow me to upload.

I want to disclose this is the 2nd time this has happened. I was on the highway when the system failed. Immediately and drastically forced my car down to 25mph on [XXX] going to Philadelphia in the far left lane with no warning. I had to make it across 3 rows of traffic and ride on the shoulder of the highway until I could find a safe place. One ruining the sport tires on the car and probably messing up suspension since these cars are very sensitive and the highway does have those perforated shoulders. While cars zip past me I am having to figure out how to pull over with no force. None of the functions were working. It was traumatizing. Especially to do it again after 6 months ago the same thing happened. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The EV-6 GT auto experienced a loud clunking grinding noise while steering 180 degrees when turning right and then left. The car skidded on the pavement this happened over a period of 3 months when the temperature was below freezing. After 2 service appointments Bridgewater NJ KIA dealership failed to diagnose the problem . On the 3rd visit they confirmed that the noise emanated from the summer performance tires that caused the tires to skid and caused the noise. Their solution was that storm tires would need to be replace the existing “summer tires”The existing tires are Good Year 255/40R 21. Not only that Good Year does not make snow tires of this size but when I first leased the car I was not told that the car would need snow tires to prevent skidding from snow or icy road conditions. There failure to notify car owners in the northeast of this hazard puts drivers at risk and potential for accidents in cold weather temperatures. Since I have not driven the leased car in below freezing temperatures and risk safety and hazards from driving on these summer tires I believe KIA should be held responsible for failure to notify drivers of this condition. I plan to terminate early the 3 year lease and also withhold payment until KIA acknowledges that they failed to identify this safety hazards and then did not offer to replace these tires to prevent future accidents. These “summer tires” were also Not clearly defined as racing tires with inability to provide adequate tread on icy and snowy road conditions. I am submitting this claim to prevent potential car accidents in driving the car in the northeast were weather conditions are periodic snow and icy conditions.

The brake lights illuminate too early and often under [even very] gentle deceleration. My '23 EV6 GT is driven primarily in Level 1 (minimal) regenerative braking mode and the threshold for brake light activation clearly is far too low. The appearance of "riding the brakes" is dangerous because those who follow are not alerted when the driver transitions from [essentially] coasting to actually hitting the brakes. Also, at least in my mid-Atlantic suburban area, even the appearance of "brake checking" other drivers incites road rage, which I experience most days, especially when using cruise control, unless driving with regenerative braking disabled (Level 0). SC273 was necessary and prudent because the brake lights failed to illuminate under significant deceleration, confusing those who follow. SA541 was necessary and prudent because the brake lights illuminated inconsistently on uneven road surfaces, confusing those who follow. Another VCU software logic upgrade is necessary and prudent because the brake lights fail to distinguish between [essentially] coasting vs. significant deceleration, confusing those who follow, and potentially (demonstrably!) inciting road rage. Other owners agree: [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The trunk continues to rattle after multiple trips to the dealership, it has been verified to not be the license plate or any loose components by the dealership. The noise sounds like the trunk latch striking repeatedly during regular driving. The sister model Hyundai Ioniq-5 has had numerous TSBs to fix this issue while Kia EV6 has had none published. And example of the TSB listed is [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

My 2023 Kia EV6 experienced a sudden ICCU and 12-volt system failure while traveling approximately 50 mph. Without warning, the vehicle instantly lost propulsion and all electrical power. This included loss of steering assist, braking assist, hazard lights, shift capability (unable to shift into Park), and even the ability to lock the doors. The failure effectively “bricked” the vehicle in motion. I was only able to get the vehicle off the roadway because the road happened to slope downward into a nearby lot. Steering required significant physical effort, the brake pedal went completely hard (“dead”), and the vehicle offered no functional parking brake or Park engagement once stopped. Because I was on a hill, we had to allow the car to roll to the bottom until it met a curb to prevent movement. After power loss, the doors could not be locked at all. This type of unrecoverable electrical failure creates an extreme safety hazard for the driver, passengers, and surrounding traffic. There is no pre-warning and no diagnostic indicator. The ICCU fuse appears to fail spontaneously and renders the vehicle uncontrollable in several critical respects. This is not an isolated issue. ICCU failures have been occurring across the Kia EV6 and Hyundai Ioniq 5/6 platforms for more than three years, including on brand-new 2025 models. The persistence of this defect across multiple model years indicates that the underlying design or component defect has not been resolved by the manufacturer. Given the suddenness of the failure, the total loss of vehicle control systems, and the long history of similar incidents reported by other owners, I am now hesitant to drive the vehicle due to the unpredictable and dangerous nature of the defect.