A/C Issues and warranty

[powell0892]

Several weeks ago I took my Stinger in to have the dealership order new trim pieces as I was having the infamous fading and peeling issues. Dealership got the parts on order and said it would be a couple of weeks, in the meantime, I started having some issues with my AC not blowing cold air. It would either blow warm or cool while the AC was on but never cold, I decided not to test the waters too much as it was already going to the dealership so, I ran it without the AC. I got a call from them yesterday saying there was definitely something wrong but they could not determine what it was. Fast forward a couple of hours and they call back saying they drained the refrigerant and I had about a 1/4 of what is required and they would try to determine where the leak was at. Closing words before they got off the phone with me was "we will have to check to see if this will be covered under your warranty". I'm no rocket scientist but....shouldn't a AC malfunction in a 30k mile 2019 Stinger be covered under warranty? Just trying to make sure I have my facts straight for when they call back later today.

 

[nhcowboy28]

Tell them to suck your Ferrero Rocher’s.

 

[MerlintheMad]

Refrigerant is covered under all conditions for the first twelve months; and after that if associated with a warranty repair. Otherwise, you'll be paying for the replenishment of refrigerant. If you lost volume, it isn't a failure of the AC; it's a leak, and that could easily be a "Basic" (bumper to bumper) warranty issue, which of course you're well within (five years and 60K miles). In that case, a warranty repair was for a fault that caused you to lose refrigerant: and I would expect replenishment to be covered.

 

[powell0892]

Refrigerant is covered under all conditions for the first twelve months; and after that if associated with a warranty repair. Otherwise, you'll be paying for the replenishment of refrigerant. If you lost volume, it isn't a failure of the AC; it's a leak, and that could easily be a "Basic" (bumper to bumper) warranty issue, which of course you're well within (five years and 60K miles). In that case, a warranty repair was for a fault that caused you to lose refrigerant: and I would expect replenishment to be covered.

Thanks for the explanation.

There was leak and they could not determine where it was coming from, they filled it back up and included the dye, told me to drive it until the AC starts malfunctioning again at which point I bring it back. They did require me to pay for the refrigerant this time and told me once they determine where the leak is coming from they will pay for the second fill up. Everyone was extremely nice and I felt like they went out of their way for valet pick up that is outside of their range, with that being said I didn't feel like arguing over $75. Now, if I have to pay for anything on the second trip, that will be a different story!

 

[SoCalSHO]

Wait, it is Kia manufacturing that screwed up the A/C, not you. It is a defect, there is no way you should pay for anything. It is not a wear item like brake pads. It should not leak. You need to get your money back.

Just another reason reason Kia does not do well, the service department.

 

[Shrikecorp]

This sounds exactly like what's just happened with mine. Dealer. Ugh. Time to yank the JB4. Not much I'm interested in doing about the Injens and the springs. What are the odds they tell me to pound sand?

 

[JAI-STINGER]

Thanks for the explanation.

There was leak and they could not determine where it was coming from, they filled it back up and included the dye, told me to drive it until the AC starts malfunctioning again at which point I bring it back. They did require me to pay for the refrigerant this time and told me once they determine where the leak is coming from they will pay for the second fill up. Everyone was extremely nice and I felt like they went out of their way for valet pick up that is outside of their range, with that being said I didn't feel like arguing over $75. Now, if I have to pay for anything on the second trip, that will be a different story!

No Sir, that is covered under warranty! They would not have gotten 1 cent from me!

 

[WRXtoStingerGT]

THIS IS WHAT STARTED HAPPENING TO ME A FEW DAYS AGO!

What a garbage brand my goodness lol! I'm at 13 months and less than 7000 miles and this nonsense starts. This should absolutely be covered under warranty.

No offense powell0892 but you should not have paid. I understand that "it's just $75" but that's exactly the nonsense bullshit that let's these backward dealerships take advantage of people. I'm glad everyone was nice to you and used kind words and made you feel loved and appreciated. I'm sure their tone would not have been so pleasant if you told them you're not paying for a blatant defect on a brand new "flag ship" model halo car that should be covered under warranty.

What a backwards and joke of a car followed by terrible dealerships and service departments. Of course I'm sure the people who cant admit that Kia builds garbage are going to rush in here and start defending this. Pathetic. It really is. If I have to pay a penny to have this crap fixed when I lose a day of work bringing it to the dealership I'm done.

 

[MerlintheMad]

THIS IS WHAT STARTED HAPPENING TO ME A FEW DAYS AGO!

What a garbage brand my goodness lol! I'm at 13 months and less than 7000 miles and this nonsense starts. This should absolutely be covered under warranty.

No offense powell0892 but you should not have paid. I understand that "it's just $75" but that's exactly the nonsense bullshit that let's these backward dealerships take advantage of people. I'm glad everyone was nice to you and used kind words and made you feel loved and appreciated. I'm sure their tone would not have been so pleasant if you told them you're not paying for a blatant defect on a brand new "flag ship" model halo car that should be covered under warranty.

What a backwards and joke of a car followed by terrible dealerships and service departments. Of course I'm sure the people who cant admit that Kia builds garbage are going to rush in here and start defending this. Pathetic. It really is. If I have to pay a penny to have this crap fixed when I lose a day of work bringing it to the dealership I'm done.

J. D. Power. Virtually every car enthusiast who writes reviews about the Stinger and other Kia models. You got a less than stellar example of the Stinger; too bad, and I'm sorry. If your attitude reflects reality, where are the other "choir" members that you are singing with?

 

[WRXtoStingerGT]

J. D. Power. Virtually every car enthusiast who writes reviews about the Stinger and other Kia models. You got a less than stellar example of the Stinger; too bad, and I'm sorry. If your attitude reflects reality, where are the other "choir" members that you are singing with?

Merlin I love you and I love these forums but c'mon. I know you're a die-hard Kia fan and this website is a business for you. I completely understand and respect that. You and I have been on the same threads where people are complaining about their brakes vibrating, their paint chipping/peeling, interiors rattling, and many other threads complaining about pretty "mixed" service department experience.

I understand you lose money when people leave the Stinger (or rather the Kia brand) but we should shine light where it needs shining. I have many friends who work for many different brands (Volvo, Honda, Toyota, Lexus, Tesla, BMW, etc.) and I can swear to you I have yet to see any other brand new car have issues with its AC like this one. I've spent a few hours now searching this forums (and Kia Stinger Forum) and it's common enough.

I have owned my car for about 13 months and less than 7000 miles. The MSRP of my car is over $40k USD brand new (thankfully I paid far less OTD). The Stinger is advertised as the halo car of the brand. Do you really think it's appropriate for my Stinger's AC to stop working this early?

This is just like with the brakes messing up. Eventually my problem got fixed. So far so good. But I have, on video record, the service manager and lead technician telling me that this is "a pretty common problem with Stingers with Brembos" and that I was not the first one they have seen. No one else I know, with far heavier and more powerful cars, had such brake vibration problems. I never had problems and I had two cars before the Stinger that I beat on daily and took to the track often in the summer. Yet I was told (and many others were told who complained about the brakes vibrating) that driver error was the reason for the brakes vibrating by people on this forum. Very interesting.

I don't want Kia to go out of business. I want Kia to become successful. I want them to become the next Toyota someday. I think they have potential. But it's comically backwards how when people complain about the car's build quality, reliability, or Kia's dealerships and service departments people get triggered and start defending them blindly. It's not productive.

Back to the original post. I don't think he should have paid $75 for something that should be covered under warranty. At the same time though I am not surprised. Again, if Kia wants to genuinely bring in more customers from the higher name brands they need to improve their service departments and dealerships.

That's just my two cents. What the hell do I know, right?

 

[stoopid]

Thanks for the explanation.

There was leak and they could not determine where it was coming from, they filled it back up and included the dye, told me to drive it until the AC starts malfunctioning again at which point I bring it back. They did require me to pay for the refrigerant this time and told me once they determine where the leak is coming from they will pay for the second fill up. Everyone was extremely nice and I felt like they went out of their way for valet pick up that is outside of their range, with that being said I didn't feel like arguing over $75. Now, if I have to pay for anything on the second trip, that will be a different story!

They should reimburse you for the original $75 once the leak is verified, since it's a defect/warranty issue at that point. I do understand the initial charge, but they don't get to keep that and they don't get to top the refrigerant off again and call it even. All work once a leak is found is warranty work. You basically paid for them to perform the diagnostic on a what will inevitably become a warranty issue.

 

[MerlintheMad]

I know you're a die-hard Kia fan and this website is a business for you.

Huh? I'm retired and this forum is a hobby and nothing more: hobbies are outlets/escapes from certain issues with real life, nothing more.

The reason why you "hear" from me so much in support (praise, even) of Kia is because nobody was more surprised than this boy when they produced the Stinger: and, in over three years, mine has rewarded me with an experience as perfect as a mechanical device can deliver.

Personal experience isn't blind, but it can be narrow. I've never denied the poor experiences of others with this car. And yes, you should not be having AC issues, let alone this early into your ownership. But maybe you aren't having issues; as I said elsewhere, the way the AC is used could account for the variability you observed: it happened to me and I quit trying to manually set the AC. I don't know. Hopefully that is the case and not some actual failure.

The other threads where complaints are aired are all inhabited by the comparative "handful" of Stinger owners experiencing issues. A great example is the original "paint quality" thread, with the poll: I keep bumping it (as on this occasion) and yet total respondents are well under 3% of forum membership; with c. a third having "no issues". Yet that thread has accumulated 145 pages and 2,886 posts. Discussion of Stinger paint quality (Was - Paint Chip Issue)

Clearly, though paint quality can suck on some Stingers, most owners are not expecting more than what we get (which is squarely within industry standard for midrange priced cars). The amount of traffic on the issues of brakes and extraneous noises accounts for nearly all other issues that individuals have with their Stingers. This one, AC issues, has a literal handful of cases on the forum. So, you're acting like a hammer that sees everything as a nail.

Back to the original post. I don't think he should have paid $75 for something that should be covered under warranty. At the same time though I am not surprised. Again, if Kia wants to genuinely bring in more customers from the higher name brands they need to improve their service departments and dealerships.

Hopefully when he gets his AC fixed under warranty, they will deduct the $75 he paid this time since the loss of refrigerant was caused by a failure (a leak). If he asks (if he even has to ask), they should discount that.

 

[WRXtoStingerGT]

Huh? I'm retired and this forum is a hobby and nothing more: hobbies are outlets/escapes from certain issues with real life, nothing more.

The reason why you "hear" from me so much in support (praise, even) of Kia is because nobody was more surprised than this boy when they produced the Stinger: and, in over three years, mine has rewarded me with an experience as perfect as a mechanical device can deliver.

Personal experience isn't blind, but it can be narrow. I've never denied the poor experiences of others with this car. And yes, you should not be having AC issues, let alone this early into your ownership. But maybe you aren't having issues; as I said elsewhere, the way the AC is used could account for the variability you observed: it happened to me and I quit trying to manually set the AC. I don't know. Hopefully that is the case and not some actual failure.

The other threads where complaints are aired are all inhabited by the comparative "handful" of Stinger owners experiencing issues. A great example is the original "paint quality" thread, with the poll: I keep bumping it (as on this occasion) and yet total respondents are well under 3% of forum membership; with c. a third having "no issues". Yet that thread has accumulated 145 pages and 2,886 posts. Discussion of Stinger paint quality (Was - Paint Chip Issue)

Clearly, though paint quality can suck on some Stingers, most owners are not expecting more than what we get (which is squarely within industry standard for midrange priced cars). The amount of traffic on the issues of brakes and extraneous noises accounts for nearly all other issues that individuals have with their Stingers. This one, AC issues, has a literal handful of cases on the forum. So, you're acting like a hammer that sees everything as a nail.

Hopefully when he gets his AC fixed under warranty, they will deduct the $75 he paid this time since the loss of refrigerant was caused by a failure (a leak). If he asks (if he even has to ask), they should discount that.

Fair enough.

 

[nhcowboy28]

Fair enough.

Merlin also gets paid by the post and character count.

 

[MerlintheMad]

Merlin also gets paid by the post and character count.

You mean underpaid. I get a warm feeling, mostly.

 

[WRXtoStingerGT]

Well hopefully between advertisements, monthly subscriptions, and getting a cut from vendors the money coming in is a positive net gain!

 

[powell0892]

Sorry gents! Work has been crazy lately, anyway, I did call to speak with the service manager and was told that I will be reimbursed for the original payment once they determine what is causing it or where the leak is. Apparently the guy that was helping me at the time forgot to mention it. Makes be feel better knowing that now, no issues with the AC yet, must be a slow leak. I will update on the outcome as learn more.

 

[WRXtoStingerGT]

Sorry gents! Work has been crazy lately, anyway, I did call to speak with the service manager and was told that I will be reimbursed for the original payment once they determine what is causing it or where the leak is. Apparently the guy that was helping me at the time forgot to mention it. Makes be feel better knowing that now, no issues with the AC yet, must be a slow leak. I will update on the outcome as learn more.

Glad to hear it worked out!!