Your questions answered: what’s happening with vehicle-to-grid?

In this edition of Your Questions Answered, Robbo looks at why the movement to use your new EV as a home battery has stalled.

He also tries to solve an issue with a dodgy key fob and wonder aloud why there seems to be fewer cheap used cars on the market.

Got an automotive question but you don’t know where to find the information you need? Never fear, email us here at editor@carsales.com.au

Unfortunately, it seems that Kia has since forgotten about Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) in this model and possibly across their range in Australia.

I've called Kia customer support and they say that the advice given to them as late as September 2025 is that there is currently no availability or plans for V2G in this model (EV5) at least. Presumably they are being asked about it a lot. I asked them to take my request as an owner onboard to make it available.

An article with the current state-of-play for V2G in Australia would be good, especially with multiple EVs now available in the market. – Andrew

Answer: Hello Andrew and thanks for the excellent question.

You’re right, V2G is an important part of the consideration when purchasing a new electric vehicle. We’ll add it to our list of stories to revisit!

V2G basically refers to using the large high-voltage (HV) battery in a new-energy vehicle as part of a loop between the power grid and the home as a power storage unit.

Further to that, using the right software and hardware means that a homeowner can horse-trade electricity with the power company. Doing this means storing energy in the car’s battery when it’s available cheaply, then selling it back when demand and energy prices increase – which fluctuate anywhere between 15 cents and 40c a kilowatt-hour. This means the car’s battery is recharged and discharged more often.

In short, the issue appears to be one of warranty on the vehicle side as none of the car companies that sell EVs are currently prepared to cover their cars – or more accurately, the high-voltage battery – if they are connected to a power grid for the purposes listed above.

I’m the furthest thing from an electrical engineer, but I can see why car companies are keen to ensure that all ends of the transaction between house (and solar array and battery storage), grid and vehicle are safe and secure before warranting a HV battery for such use.

Looking at Kia in particular, the company doesn’t currently support V2G, and won’t warranty the vehicle if someone does find an electronic workaround and something goes wrong.

However, there appears to be light on the horizon. You’ve no doubt seen that AGL is rolling out a V2G trial with a view to a wider release in 2026 – Kia is in the mix along with Hyundai, BYD and Zeekr.

The crux of the matter here is that AGL will be responsible for any warranty issues that come up with the cars, not the manufacturers. My feeling is that the limited trial will be oversubscribed quickly.

I've owned the car from new for a year, and it’s developed a problem with the key fob that I can’t get resolved. No matter how close, how far away, how many times I press the button, the car will simply not open on a regular basis. Sometimes it will open after five tries, sometimes 50 tries, most of the time not at all.

And when I open it with the key stashed inside the fob, the alarm goes off. I don’t keep my key near anything metallic in my handbag and I don’t have any other key next to it. The local Haval dealer has been nice enough and changed the battery once – and (of course) it worked fine in the dealership.

It’s at the stage now where I have had to swap into my partner’s Kia in order to make sure I can get to work on time. It’s barely a year old – it’s still brand new.

I feel so stressed about it and I don’t know what to do next. – Emma

Answer: Hi Emma, what a frustrating issue. I’ve reached out to GWM Haval Australia to see if there’s anything they can add.

Keyless-entry fobs work on a rolling radio signal to ‘talk’ to your car, and the only thing I can think of is that your signal may be blocked somehow. I’ve read of a couple of instances where signals have been blocked by the presence of a phone (though this seems a bit tenuous to me), and if you do have more than one fob on your keyring, it might pay to keep them separate.

I would definitely insist on a replacement fob from your dealer in the first instance. There is an internal aerial in them which may be causing you grief. I’ve also seen replacement aftermarket fobs that retail for about $250 which can be programmed to match your Jolion and might work better than the factory option.

Good luck, and keep pushing your dealer nicely, but firmly to sort it out. That’s what a seven-year warranty is for.

I’m also looking for a manual for the kids to learn on, but there just doesn’t seem to be that many around.

What am I doing wrong? – Brendan

Answer: Hey Brendan, you’re not doing anything wrong at all.

The used car market has definitely changed in the last decade, and not least in where and how you buy the cheapest ones.

One issue you’re dealing with is a contraction in the used-car supply that hasn’t quite righted itself from the double whammy of the COVID era and microchip shortage of a few years back.

New cars were hard to find, so people either flipped their used cars for decent money or just drove them into the ground and chucked them away when new-car supply finally got back to normal.

And even though there’s now an oversupply of new cars, cheap used-car stocks are still thin on the ground, not least because there’s really no such thing as a cheap new car anymore.

While there are still plenty of affordable used cars to choose from on carsales.com.au, the truth is that the cheaper the car, the higher the likelihood that it gets advertised for free elsewhere. Of course, this brings a whole new set of dramas.

One of the advantages of advertising on carsales (caution; blatant plug incoming) is the back-end security that the site offers. It’s a lot harder to post something for sale if the buyer isn’t genuine. And if you’re looking for something for the kids, you definitely don’t want to buy a lemon – or worse, be defrauded out of your cash.

I would actually look to the family-and-friend circle in this instance. You’d be surprised how many cars never make it to any classifieds site because of word-of-mouth. A car might be near the end of rego and needs a service or a set of tyres, but as long as the service book is stamped, it could be a great way to source an affordable car.

Manual gearbox-equipped cars aren’t as thick on the ground as they used to be, either as companies simply don’t sell them anymore.

Kia is probably one of the last hold-outs, along with Toyota and possibly Honda, if you’re looking for small and affordable. I would check out a Ford Fiesta if I were in the market – they were a sweet little thing and very easy to live with.

Got an automotive question but you don’t know where to find the information you need? Never fear, email us here at editor@carsales.com.au

Join the conversation at our Facebook page
Or email us at editor@carsales.com.au