Here is my first service report. Reached 6,600 miles this week so I took the car in for the 7,500 tire rotation and inspection. First service was complimentary (otherwise $16ish for tire rotation). The service guy said I could do the tire rotation between 5,000 and 7,500 to be within the extended warranty terms. Everything in the car was fine. The inspection checklist sheet showed the front tires at 9- and back tires 9+. Brake pads were 10, completely fine. Service guy mentioned the brake pads will last a long time due to the regen braking. When I bought the car, the car came with the Hybrid/PHEV Features manual. The service shop is ordering the EV Features manual for me to replace for free. That will take a few weeks to ship a manual. Apparently there is only one publisher for all car manual/car repair manuals. I asked about the navigation map update. Kia does not update the maps. A company MnSoft sells the updates for $145. https://www.kia-gpsmap.us
Aww....that probably means no software updates either. I did come across a video someplace about updating software in a Kia by loading it onto a USB stick and then going through some set of button pushing to signal the system to update through the USB data port, so maybe this will be an option at some point for our Niros. You can get a pdf manual here. I think I downloaded some other Kia EV documentation from the same site (Mike Murphy Kia).
I hope we can find a way to update the system eventually. We can never be too updated to secure our Internet of Things. If hackers can hack a coffee machine, I definitely don't want my personal data stolen off the car. Thanks for the pdf! I will keep the manual on my phone.
The fear of car hacking for me is less data theft and more along the lines of messing with the controls. Maybe make it so at some point the regen break lever instead makes the car accelerate or something else dangerous.
I just scheduled my 7,500 mile tire rotation/inspection. So, hmm. I certainly want the warranty to stay in effect. If I don't need service for the future, am I safe to just go to a tire place and have the tires rotated? (One reason we bought an ev was to avoid services costs associated with combustion engine vehicles). Thanks!
I'm in a similar mindset as you. I would call the warranty people to confirm. The first service with Kia was free for me, so check with your service department. Alternatively save the free service for when things go wrong.
