r/kiasportagehybrid

I found an old thread where the advice was to drive for at least 30 minutes after resetting the 12v battery. I didn’t do that because it happened before work and my commute is 15 minutes. I didn’t drive the car for about 36 hours and my car was completely dead so I had to use the physical key to get in and press the reset button.

My question is, can I press the reset button at any time? Could I press it after work (and obviously drive 30 minutes) or should I wait until I have a longer drive planned. I imagine I could press it at anytime I just want a second opinion 🥴

I’m surprised the app doesn’t send a notification about it and that there’s no 12v gauge in the menus.

Additional info that may not be relevant:
2026 SX Prestige

Have nearly 2k miles on my new 26 Hybrid EX AWD with Pano Roof package and thought I would share my experience living with the car. This should all apply for 2027 as it’s a full carryover model.

Should I just get a Tucson instead?
I found the seats in the Sportage more comfortable and having a spare tire on the hybrid trim is nice as well.

How is the ride?
Comfortable and soft. The suspension, especially the rear, gets upset over bumps and broken pavement. On curves especially you can feel it moving around. I attribute that to insufficient damping on these cars. It is a bit more floaty than competitors.

What is my ACTUAL mpg?
Anywhere from 34 to 40 mpg, and that’s not going by the trip computer. Do the calculations at the pump. On the highway you’ll get 35 mpg, local streets you can get over 40 sometimes. I imagine in the winter it will drop as the engine will need to run longer to heat the cabin. Pound for pound I think the EPA estimates pretty much average out across all seasons.

What is it like to drive?
It’s a quick car. But if you are used to driving traditional automatics, the hybrid system has a different feel. Sort of akin to a DCT, you will need to get used to the feeling of the motor acting as the torque converter - creeping the car forward and filling in before the engine clutch can engage. Also has a full brake by wire system. It’s weird on hills. Take it on a good test drive, but it’s nothing you can’t get used to.

Wind noise is very well controlled as is tire noise for the most part however bump intrusions into the cabin are loud and reverberate/echo in the cabin. Like if you’ve ever sat in the back of a Tesla Model Y when it hits a bump. But on a nice relatively smooth road it is really quiet inside.

Headlights?
Not the best but not bad, auto high beams are a bit slow to respond to oncoming cars.

How is the driver assistance?
All trims have hands on detection for the lane centering which is amazing. You don’t need to put torque on the wheel, just keep a hand on it somewhere and the computer doesn’t complain. Lane centering likes to be a little to the right of center in the lane and can’t always handle quicker curves that well or is late to react. Kind of like it’s not looking down road far enough. The adaptive cruise reacts quickly but it’s not as smooth as I would like. I turned down acceleration to the lowest setting that feels the most natural to me. Also sometimes lane departure assist tugs the wheel because it thinks I’m drifting out of a lane that doesn’t exist.

Is it worth it over the gas trim?
Definitely it’s quieter and quicker. Both nice to have as a commuter car.

Are these cars reliable?
So far they have proven to be, the only big mandatory maintenance item that isn’t a fluid or brakes is the HSG belt. Do it by 70,000 miles or EV/Engine engagement will suffer.

Let me know if you have any other questions about it. The rest of the car is very comparable to the rest of the compact SUV segment.

Yo piso el freno, oprimo botón de encendido, paso directamente a D y acelero suavemente. Como lo hacen ustedes ? Estoy haciéndolo mal ?

Has anyone had an issue with their turn signal rapidly signaling? I was on a road trip and suddenly, the left turn signal started to rapidly signal. The right turn signal is signaling at it's normal pace. On my dash, it says to check the turn signal and shows a picture of the left front of the car. Now typically, that means a burned out bulb but all of my lights are active and on, the signal is just rapidly blinking when I turn it on.

Has anyone else had the same issue? I wanted to pose the question here before I take it to Kia. Oh, and my car has 7,000 miles on it.

I have a 2025 Hybrid EX, and at 27,000 miles, one of the drive motors is going out. The dealership has ordered parts and assured me it's okay to drive on. Thankfully, this is covered under warranty, but my question is this...has anyone else experienced this so early into the ownership period and under 50,000 miles?

Edit: drive motor not electric motor.