Kia quality, two words that should never be used together.

[Flameangel]

I own a KIA and I know I bought a KIA.

Perhaps my experience with previous cars has been shitty ( Fords and Holdens ) but Iv'e found Kia to be good, nice looking cars imo and interiorly nice too. When I bought a Optima Platinum with it's reverse camera, heated/ cooling seats, Drl's and panoramic sunroof no other brand could match in price what we paid. We would have had to pay substantially more for a similar package if we had chosen, Ford, Mazda, Honda or Toyota, they just didn't offer the same " bang for your buck ".
After trading it in for my Stinger last year, Iv'e upscaled again, the Stinger is so much fun and much better road handling than my Optima. Obviously can find better road handling, power train and quality in a classy Exotic or High End Car but it would cost exponentially more in purchase and on going maintenance, no thanks.

 

[jaccfrost]

I purchased a brand new 2020 GT1 in Obsidian Black. On the test drive I noticed a small bubble on the dash, I was told it will still be fixed, one month in and still nothing is scheduled. The day after I drove home I noticed some odd milky bluish spots in the paint if viewed in certain light, on closer inspection these spots are on nearly every panel including the sunroof (which is not even painted). The solution is to have some local place repaint the effected areas. . . The image is of the sunroof but the spots on the actual paint appear the same.

I was aware that in the past there were problems with rattles with the hatchback, one would think they would actually fix this problem. Spoiler, they did not. Using some tape with foam on one side I found the spot and eliminated the problem, though it looks like some trailer park solution. The solution to fix the sunroof will be to replace it, I would not be surprised if this becomes a rattling problem too as they have a history with that issue as well.

In summary I regret buying this POS. I will never buy another Kia and will make sure anyone thinking about buying such a piece of trash knows better.



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CB

 

[jaccfrost]

Sorry but it's impossible to take you seriously since your level of pisstivity just doesn't match the so-called problems you shared. At the rate you're going you'll likely need medical attention when you experience an actual mechanical issue.

If you noticed the "small bubble" before taking delivery, why did you take delivery? Why not make them fix it BEFORE you signed or get another one altogether? Actually don't answer, it was largely rhetorical, I don't care about you, just wanted to share how ridiculous you sound; shit happens with cars and any other product touched by humans, so it's inane to write off an entire brand as trash over small, easily-fixable issues.

f*cking BINGO

 

[1RADKIA]

Not that this makes the originator of this post feel any better.. but my take is;
KIA Initially meant - inexpensive POS! As years have progressed - so have they. They didn’t reach automotive nirvana miraculously overnight - but rather continued to strive and improve. They went from laughable - to considerable. Then from purchasable to desirable. They have not achieved automotive perfection thus far... but then - they aren’t the joke many formerly respected car makers have become. I think whether you like it or not - KIA and quality are becoming far more synonymous than many of us ever thought possible.
Me - I used to laugh... now I proudly own. db

 

[87and66]

First new car, first black car. Lesson learned.

same for me. I quickly learned after the first free wash to never let them do that again

 

[Stingin' Away]

Perhaps my experience with previous cars has been shitty ( Fords and Holdens ) but Iv'e found Kia to be good, nice looking cars imo and interiorly nice too. When I bought a Optima Platinum with it's reverse camera, heated/ cooling seats, Drl's and panoramic sunroof no other brand could match in price what we paid. We would have had to pay substantially more for a similar package if we had chosen, Ford, Mazda, Honda or Toyota, they just didn't offer the same " bang for your buck ".
After trading it in for my Stinger last year, Iv'e upscaled again, the Stinger is so much fun and much better road handling than my Optima. Obviously can find better road handling, power train and quality in a classy Exotic or High End Car but it would cost exponentially more in purchase and on going maintenance, no thanks.

I agree with the bang for your buck, it definitely is. But, going into a Stinger, I am not expecting quality control to be that of a Merc or Audi. We get what we pay for. As long as we take care of it and service when we should, it should last a very long time. The warranty is an added reassurance!

 

[Revvdmedia]

And come to think of it there's no excuse for Kia to still be shipping cars with rattles that were identified and TSB'd in the first few months of the first U.S. model year. No 2020 Stingers should have hatch rattles that Kia has been aware of since late 2017.

I may be in the minority but I believe his anger is warranted. Maybe he shouldn't direct it at the entire Kia/Stinger lineup but if I were in his shoes my Stinger honeymoon phase would certainly be over.

I think this is really the best indicator of the truest form of quality. Vehicles are the sum at thousands of parts, it is inevitable that there will be something that causes an issue, if not in mass, at least on some. The engineering of parts and willingness to invest on materials is the first piece of the puzzle. A well engineered vehicle that starts with a great starting point will likely have few errors, and those areas that cannot be fully mitigated of issues will receive some sort of remedial work - like padding or foams on contacting surfaces that may rattle, etc. If a car is not well enough engineered, these issues will rear there head. The manufacturer may not find these issues through their own testing, so it then comes to customer feedback, dealer information systems and a feedback loop that ends up back in Kia Corporate's hands. To your point, if Kia puts in a genuine effort fix the issue, it's likely the TSB will fix most, but maybe not all. The hatch rattle is a perfect example, I agree that this late in the manufacturing stage, the is no reason for cars to still be coming off the line with hatch rattles. There is no TSB for the sunroof rattles, nor is there any guaranteed fix. While the sunroof rattle may be a more complex issue, I don't feel Kia is being as receptive to rectification as they could be, so many dealers write it off as nothing and don't try to fix it. With directive from Kia Corp, and subsequent remuneration, I think the dealers would be more receptive to actually fixing it.

What does this all mean? My opinion is that Kia does not think it is worth their resources to genuinely fix these issues. While not fully apples to apples, I will always recall Ford's approach to the Ford Pinto, death lawsuits were deemed less expensive than mass recall to fix the issue. To the same extent, Kia likely thinks the R&D required to fully fix these issues won't earn them enough additional sales or recognition to be worth the outlay. It doesn't mean that nobody at Kia cares, but appeasing shareholders comes at the expense of quality to the owners. We could have better cars quality wise on average, but the almighty dollar dictates what we will actually receive. Always remember, the Stinger is best compared to vehicles like the 4 series gran coupe, Audi S5, but at about 2/3 the cost. You know that 1/3 cost savings needs to come from somewhere, materials, workmanship, refinement qualities, Kia doesn't want to lose money on a vehicle because that's not a good business model.

 

[P22Tyler]

That’s one system which I’m sure you wouldn’t mind not working. We don’t even get it in the Aussie cars.

Ha ha I actually don't mind the system which is why it's funny, I know many of my American counterparts would rather theirs didn't work.