Kitty, a very entertaining post....especially about the Donuts! lol
At my own dealership, it's usually cookies and coffee. As a diabetic, I do have to take it easy on the cookies. lol
But I'm concerned about the battery thing. I wonder if Kia got a bad batch of batteries, like from the lowest bidder.
As a test engineer at CAT, I tested batteries from all the companies that wanted to do business with CAT.
We gave them a really thorough test, with heat, cold and vibration. Some of the most expensive and highly advertised batteries were the first to FAIL our tests.
Where, brand names that no-one here ever heard of, passed our tests with flying colors. The so-called Maintenance Free batteries, like DieHard, were the worse of all.
We failed every one of them.
When I guy a new car, I pretty well have to take the battery they provide, but when that battery fails, I buy a Full Maintenance battery that I trust, as a replacement.
(I won't even waste my time and gasoline, going back to the dealer. Walmart is only 8 miles away!)
I prefer a Full Maintenance Battery.....That's a battery that I can open up every few months and check the fluid level, and add water if needed.
You can't check the fluid level on a Maintenance Free battery. If it runs low on electrolyte it will die and there isn't a dang thing you can do about it, but replace it. That's a huge Rip-Off !!!! But it does benefit the battery makers. They sell more batteries that way.
I do wish you all the best, with that new battery, but if it's the same brand, I wouldn't count on it too much.
And if there's a problem with the grounding cables, the battery won't charge properly and will fail pre-maturely.
If you were closer, I'd be glad to examine those cables for you and make dang sure they are making good connections.
Mine were terrible, till I worked on them and then added a heavy-duty battery cable from the NEG terminal on the battery to the top of the engine.
Good Luck Kitty!