Battery Basics

A vehicle’s battery sends power and engages the starter and provides the juice for all the bells and whistles on your vehicle. Extreme temperatures, either hot or cold are a battery’s worst nightmare. Hot temperatures often result in battery failure.

You can bring your vehicle in for a complimentary battery charge test. Our diagnostic machine will tell us if your battery has a bad cell or insufficient cranking amps. It will also recommend a new battery if needed. Sometimes it will tell us to charge the battery and retest. If this happens or if your vehicle is slow to start, you may wish to replace before you have a car that will not start.

The average lifespan of a battery is three years. What affects battery lifespan?

• Leaving lights on when car is turned off
• Leaving a phone charger or other device plugged into your USB port
• Extreme temperature fluctuations or excessive heat or cold

If your car will not start, we recommend that you call Kia Roadside Assistance.  Jump starting a car can be dangerous unless you know what you are doing. If you connect cables to the wrong terminals or overcharge your battery it can literally blow up.

Kia uses Interstate batteries engineered especially for Kia and Hyundai vehicles. We have a special on batteries this month to help you get through the hot summer.

If you have any questions or would like to have a battery charge test please contact us.

Kia Country serves the Greater Charleston area. If you live outside this region, please contact your local Kia dealer or Kia Motors America.