Alternator OEM KIA or Bosch

Get the Bosch, including the warranty from them, and be done.

Bosch has a support site that shows what alternators they recommend for your VIN number. AL20X (65A) and AL172X (65A) are the two Bosch shows. However most of us know the original was a 90A unit AL30X.

After getting mine rebuilt 3 times and still having the same problem, I ended up getting a Bosch factory rebuilt one. Cost-wise I don’t think it was significantly more than one rebuilt by a shonky auto electrician and in the long run would have been cheaper.

Mine was my alternator. Never had battery issues but once I replaced it with a new bosch all the electrical gremlins the car had went away.

Alternator wise, I'd definitely spend the money and acquire a nice Bosch unit to replace yours if you were gonna swap it.

What brand alternator did you use? If not OE, Bosch, or Valeo, change it again.

B5/5.5 alternators come from two vendors, Bosch and Valeo. I've heard they're not interchangeable because of different pulleys.

Alternator. And unlike prior generations of Bosch alternators you can't replace just the regulator, which is usually what fails. Gotta buy the whole piece.

ended up going with a Bosch remanufactured alternator. Installed it today, went super smooth, charged up the battery as I was installing it, got everything buttoned up and started it up. Battery light still on, voltage is at around 11.9 and dropping. Will randomly jump up to 14.4 volts, no correlation with revving the engine or putting a load on the electrical system.

So I bought a new alternator off of Rock Auto that I was amazed that I had to re-use my old pulley? But when I went to put the pulley on, the nut stripped on the new alternator like instantly. The whole ordeal is trash