What Happens When the Electric Kia EV6 Runs Out of Range?

We're approaching the tail end of our time with our long-term all-electric Kia EV6 SUV, and we have yet to experience anything close to range anxiety. This is not surprising. With a MotorTrendRoad-Trip Range of 260 miles and the ability to replenish its battery with 164 miles of range in just 15 minutes, the EV6 makes traveling with an EV easy. But stuff happens. And by "stuff," we're mostly referring to the notoriously unreliable network of public fast chargers. No amount of good planning can save you from that. So what happens when your run your EV6's battery down to zero? We found out the hard way.

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The Plan

Coming up with a solid plan was fairly easy thanks to the learnings of executing this test with our other yearlong test EVs like the Rivian R1T, Volkswagen ID4, and Lucid Air.  This time around, we decided to run this test side by side with our long-term Hyundai Ioniq 5, a previousMotorTrendSUV of the Year winner. We largely expect both cars to mirror each other, but one decision on my part resulted in dramatically different results; more on that in a bit.

Our journey began at an EVgo charging station in Santa Monica, California, where we added just enough juice to drive 40 miles north on the Pacific Coast Highway (or simply PCH to locals) and run out of battery around Point Mugu Rock. We selected this location for its scenery and parking lot off the shoulder of PCH, perfect for loading a debilitated EV onto a flatbed tow truck.

The Journey and the Turtle

Aside from an excruciating pocket of traffic through Santa Monica, the drive on PCH couldn't have been more perfect on that brisk and sunny December morning. The first disruption to the relaxing cruise arrived when a message popped up on the infotainment screen warning us of a "low EV battery" and to "visit a nearby charging station." The battery's state of charge was 10 percent, with an indicated range of 27 miles. That said, we expected the first warning to come sooner. The R1T and the Lucid, for example, both gave warnings at about 50 miles of range remaining.

The next warning arrived when an adorable turtle symbol lit up in the instrument panel, along with another warning message to find a charging station. Here, we had about 2 percent charge; there was no noticeable drop in acceleration, and the Kia was still able to safely reach 65 mph. That changed at 1 percent charge and 2 miles of indicated range, when we noted a slight dip in acceleration.

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"Oh No, I'm Perpendicular to PCH!"

The drama intensified when the battery's charge and indicated range reached zero, along with a "power limited" message. Acceleration became much slower at speeds over 50 mph and gradually diminished from there. At this point we were about 8 miles away from our destination. Thankfully, the EV6 had enough juice to reach Point Mugu Rock, where we strategically circled PCH to ensure we ran out of battery in the safety of its parking lot-sized dirt shoulder.

Unfortunately, the EV6 decided to put an end to our antics right at the edge of the shoulder, perpendicular to the road. The positioning couldn't have been worse for a tow truck. As cars whizzed by just a few feet away from the EV6's nose, I radioed the support crew. Thankfully, we were able to push and reposition all 4,583 pounds of EV6 to a safer spot.

True Zero

Eleven miles. That's how far the EV6 travelled after indicating it had zero battery left. We probably could've eked out another mile or two had we continued to cruise down PCH instead of circling the lot. Obviously your miles may vary based on weather conditions, load, and speed.

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Now We Wait

With a properly drained battery, my next goal was to summon Kia's roadside assistance to get the EV6 to the Electrify America chargers at an outlet mall in Camarillo, California, about 20 miles away. This could be done several ways. The easiest option is to simply push a button next to the sun visor that connects you to Kia customer service. Another option is to arrange roadside assistance on your phone through the Kia Connect app. And finally, you can call roadside assistance directly, which is what I decided to do.

The rep was helpful but struggled to pinpoint Point Mugu Rock despite its prominence on Google maps. Instead, the rep opted to pinpoint our location between two major roads along PCH, a painfully tedious process that took 20 minutes. We later learned that it likely would've been much easier to use the app, which allows you to pin your exact location on a map.

With the location established, the rep dispatched a tow truck and said the estimated time of arrival would be 60-90 minutes. After we hung up, the tow company called me to confirm location and to update the ETA to two hours. After two hours there was still no truck. Instead, I received a text message with a link to a location tracker indicating that the tow truck was still 30-40 minutes away in downtown Santa Monica. Off in the distance, a huge flock of seagulls caught my attention as they plunged into the Pacific Ocean to catch their lunch. The tow truck driver must have been on his lunch break, as well, because the location tracker didn't move for another 40 minutes.

Time To Tow

Three and a half hours later, the tow truck arrived just in time to catch a stunning sunset. Strangely, the driver wasn't convinced the EV6 was an electric vehicle. The debate ended once he peeked into the frunk and didn't find an engine. He then instructed me to put it in neutral, which is when we discovered the 12-volt battery was dead despite our best efforts to preserve its charge. After a quick jump with a portable charger, the EV6 was loaded on the truck, and we were off to Camarillo.

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"Please Trust Me, It's This Way"

Once we arrived in Camarillo, I realized I mistakenly provided the mall's main address instead of one in closer proximity to the chargers. (Like most outlet malls, this one is huge.) The driver did not want to veer from the address he was given despite my efforts to show him the charger's location on my phone. After driving around aimlessly (and a failed attempted to flag down a security guard), he finally relented and trusted my directions.

Once we arrived, I warned him that there's a chance the charger we choose wouldn't work and that we might have to either push the EV6 to another charger or reload the EV6 onto truck to another charger. Given the driver's current mood, this situation was by far the most anxious part of the trip. Before he unloaded, I decided to ask fellow EV drivers for intel on the current state of the available chargers. No one knew. From there, it was the luck of the draw, and thankfully I chose the right one. With the EV6 charging (peaking at an impressive 242 kW), the driver loaded his truck and was on his way. And in about 20 minutes, with 80 percent of the battery replenished, I was on my way, too, with the EV6 showing no signs of trauma from the ordeal.

Lessons Learned

• The most important lesson learned is to avoid running down the battery to zero. If you find yourself running out of range and it becomes obvious you can't reach a charger, find a safe place to stop to figure out your next step. Not only will this allow you to use the climate control system while you wait, but it'll also allow you to more easily drive the EV6 on and off the tow truck and move to another charger if needed.
• If you do run the battery to zero, shut down all accessory items (climate control, radio, etc.) to preserve the 12-volt battery in case the tow truck driver doesn't have jumper cables. Again, a charged 12-volt battery is necessary to shift the EV6 into neutral.
• Requesting roadside assistance through a mobile app is a quicker way to pinpoint your location, which can be helpful if you're out in the middle of nowhere.

For More On Our Long-Term 2022 Kia EV6 Wind AWD:

• The Electric SUV is Now Our 6th EV
• How We Used Our Kia EV6 to Power a House During an Outage
• Sibling Drag Race Fight! Kia EV6 Wind AWD vs. EV6 GT
• Charging Our EV6 on Tesla's Supercharger Wasn't Super
• Telluride or Bust!Attempting a 2,148-Mile EV Road Trip in Our Kia EV6
• An OTA Update Adds EV Route Planner to Our Kia EV6. Is It Worth it?
• The Very Stupid EV Race to Empty Batteries and Back

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