I’m sharing this in case anyone else runs into a similar problem.
About a week ago, our car’s 12v battery started dying overnight. Sometimes it would work, but if the car wasn’t used for 2–3 days, it would be dead again. This happened whether the car was plugged into the wall charger or not.
We brought it to the dealership thinking the 12v battery was the issue, but they tested it and said it was fine. They told us there was a consistent power drain for the last 20 days and that they’d need to keep the car for at least 5–10 days to run tests. Since we actually need to use our car, that wasn’t an option for us.
I remembered seeing posts here about similar problems caused by external apps connected to Kia Connect or scheduled charging. I use off-peak charging set through the car, not the wall charger, and it’s been that way since we got it. But then we realized the issue started after a recent trip to the city where I tried using an Electrify America charger that didn’t work. To get their free 1kWh charging promo, Electrify America required access to my Kia Connect account.
Kia Connect doesn’t have a way to see or revoke third-party app access directly. However, I read that changing your account password can block third-party access, so I tried it—and it worked! No more battery drain after that.
It seems Electrify America’s system was repeatedly querying the car’s status and location after the failed charging attempt. This constant querying was waking up the car’s electronics, draining the 12v battery.
If you’re experiencing similar issues, try changing your Kia Connect password. Kia should really implement better controls for third-party access, like limiting how often apps can ping the car or giving users tools to manage access.
I’m glad this worked for me, but it’s frustrating that Electrify America’s system caused the issue in the first place.
When I set up my EA free charging, I just used a coupon code from Kia Connect. I didn’t grant any app access. I think EA just checks your VIN at the charger to validate.
This happens with many third-party services linked to Kia Connect. My utility provider needed access for a discount, and it caused daily 12v battery drain until I changed my password.
sorphia said:
This happens with many third-party services linked to Kia Connect. My utility provider needed access for a discount, and it caused daily 12v battery drain until I changed my password.
But if you never gave access to any third-party app, the drain must be coming from something else, right?
@Peggy
OP mentioned linking credentials to EA, which probably caused a feedback loop. But yes, if there’s no app access, it might be something different.
Peggy said:
Does this only happen if scheduled charging is enabled? I don’t use it, but I do have the EA lease promo plan.
It wasn’t related to scheduled charging for me. That’s a separate issue where some chargers keep the car awake while waiting to start charging, which drains the 12v. In my case, it was Electrify America querying the car repeatedly after a charger error.
If you set a schedule in the car and leave the charger on 24/7, it won’t drain the 12v. But some smart chargers can cause problems if they manage the schedule instead of the car.
I don’t get why EA would ping my car if I never enabled scheduled charging. Also, I set up my Kia Connect account and EA account separately at the dealership, so how could EA have my credentials unless the dealership shared them? Could it be something else like a tracker draining the battery? I have LoJack, but I agreed to it because I’ve used it before.
diallo said: @Kenneth
Definitely. Just pointing out that it’s not a universal EA issue.
It’s clear from OP’s description that the EA app itself isn’t the problem. It’s more likely their backend services getting stuck in a loop after failing to communicate with Kia Connect during the free charging promo.