Rattles/Tickles/Squeaks: complaints filed, BUYER AWARE

[MenShengFaCai]

After 3 months and 5 trips to dealerships, I decided to file complaints against Kia as I have exhausted all options. Next step will be arbitration-small claims court. The rattles and tickles and squeaks are driving me mad.

For potential buyers, BE AWARE of the issues.

Other issues I have experienced includes failed entire spark plug coils and plugs, and shaky HUD unit that is similar to the known issue in Genesis G70.

Attached is my complaint filed in both Office of the Illinois Attorney General consumer protection and U.S. DOT National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for potential structural safety concerns.

I bought the car used from Naples INFINITI a year ago and the car started to developed 3 different rattles and creaks at sunroof, body frame near A/B pillar, and rear axle.

Being a 2018 model, the car is well within the 5 year bumper to bumper warranty from manufacturer (transferable). I went to local Kia dealer, Napleton's Kia of Urbana, for 4 times to get it diagnosed or repaired with no results. They could not figure out the problem, and a corporate tech rep came to examine the car and claimed it is within specs and needs no repairs. Till now, I have exhausted all options provided by dealership or corporate customer support, and I was refused to be serviced or assisted anymore.

The rattling and tickling are very obvious, and are widespread issue confirmed by owners on internet forums. Some dealership in USA and Canada have even diagnosed and repaired the issue.

My following email sent to service manager Josh Berbaum at Kia's dealership in Urbana summarized the issue, attached as follows.



Hi Josh,

Thanks for you help today, and attached are reported issues and fix done other Kia dealers. I believe we can agree on there is at least one type of creaking-rattling sound, from moon roof area when going over imperfections on road.

I have 3 rattles/creaks from different areas, all are not rare according to consumers. There are many posts about it in the forum below, and long term reviews from major auto media all pointed it out as well.

One of them could be structural , I hope it could raise the awareness of Kia USA. I'd like to have an idea on how soon shall I expect replies as well, and channels to file complaints over a potential structural issue.

1. Sunroof area creak when going over tiniest imperfections on road, whether it is open or closed.

According to this post, user westcoastGT has his sunroof creak fixed by replacing faulty sunroof rails at North Shore Kia in Canada. They should have this on file and could be helpful on my car's diagnosis.
Got my sunroof frame replaced , the noises have gone ...............so far !


2. Tick around head height near between A pillar and B pillar

According to user Darren1556 in this post, it is indeed a STRUCTURAL issue of the car.

The dealership Gus Revenberg Kia Windsor Ontario Canada first tried the sunroof fix like above, did not solve his issue. Then they did the following:

"It was the joint between the windshield frame and where it meets the top of the a-pillar. Having my roof completely exposed the tech stuck something in the bad joint and the noise was gone. I'm not sure if they put a spot weld in the end or tweaked the metal permanently."

Creaking noise driver-side dash area?

3. Thud sound from rear when going over moderate bumps.

This one happens not so often and seems to be a newer issue as mileage accumulates. I'd like to have the previous two issues fixed before diving into this one.

Rear thud sound going over bumps - not the ballbearing in a can sound

 

[Revvdmedia]

Good on you for pushing this. The more people that bring this to Kia's attention, the more consumers will have fixes for their vehicles. I recall the Ford Focus RS having noises from the B pillar which ended up needing weld(s) to repair the issue and was a TSB of sorts due to the prevalence of the issue. I don't doubt the possibility of this being the case on our cars.

One thing to note, does your state allow for Lemon Law? If I were you, I'd demand a new car on lemon law considering you've had 5 unsuccessful repair attempts. We don't have such luxury here in Canada, otherwise I'd be raising more of a stink on my sunroof rather than trying to do my own diagnostics so they don't blacklist my car after the repair as they pretty much said they would.

 

[DiabloStinger]

I dont know.. your claims of a structural underlying issue are a bit of a stretch. Are you sure you aren't just hyper focused on these issues?

I'd recommend to research what automotive engineers do to these cars in a virtual environment before you use circumstantial reasoning to make a claim of a structural fault.

The hatch think/rattle is just a gap in the two plastic hatch/body latches... The sunroof rattle can be resolved with a new sunroof frame. You take a second hand account of a ''fix' that sounds more like the reasoning of someone looking for a rational explanation. The pillar noise is not common, but could possibly be a wiring harness clamp or airbag module that is loose.

 

[MenShengFaCai]

I dont know.. your claims of a structural underlying issue are a bit of a stretch. Are you sure you aren't just hyper focused on these issues?

I'd recommend to research what automotive engineers do to these cars in a virtual environment before you use circumstantial reasoning to make a claim of a structural fault.

The hatch think/rattle is just a gap in the two plastic hatch/body latches... The sunroof rattle can be resolved with a new sunroof frame. You take a second hand account of a ''fix' that sounds more like the reasoning of someone looking for a rational explanation. The pillar noise is not common, but could possibly be a wiring harness clamp or airbag module that is loose.

Please refer to the link I provided here in 2nd item. Creaking noise driver-side dash area?

"It was the joint between the windshield frame and where it meets the top of the a-pillar. Having my roof completely exposed the tech stuck something in the bad joint and the noise was gone. I'm not sure if they put a spot weld in the end or tweaked the metal permanently."

I did not mention other non structural rattles in the report to NHTSA

 

[MenShengFaCai]

Good on you for pushing this. The more people that bring this to Kia's attention, the more consumers will have fixes for their vehicles. I recall the Ford Focus RS having noises from the B pillar which ended up needing weld(s) to repair the issue and was a TSB of sorts due to the prevalence of the issue. I don't doubt the possibility of this being the case on our cars.

One thing to note, does your state allow for Lemon Law? If I were you, I'd demand a new car on lemon law considering you've had 5 unsuccessful repair attempts. We don't have such luxury here in Canada, otherwise I'd be raising more of a stink on my sunroof rather than trying to do my own diagnostics so they don't blacklist my car after the repair as they pretty much said they would.

I will do a bit more research. Lemon law typically applies to new cars, and my issue here is they do not recognize this is an 'issue' so although I have been there many times no 'repairs' are actually attempted.

 

[Stiletto]

Resurrecting this thread to see if there was a resolution. Kia is blaming my sunroof creaks on aftermarket parts (rims and springs), even though the noise was there before those were installed. And, this is a widely known issue.

 

[Luc343]

There are so many people that say it is fine to mod your car and the warrentee will not be effected, however, as soon as something goes wrong, the mods are going to be the first thing pointed out as a reason for not honouring the warrentee.

No one knows what the previous owner did to the car either. It could have been returned to stock before you brought it.

I really hope you get all this sorted out and get your car repaired...

 

[Stiletto]

There are so many people that say it is fine to mod your car and the warrentee will not be effected, however, as soon as something goes wrong, the mods are going to be the first thing pointed out as a reason for not honouring the warrentee.

No one knows what the previous owner did to the car either. It could have been returned to stock before you brought it.

I really hope you get all this sorted out and get your car repaired...

Not sure how the laws are Down Under, but in America, attribution has to be shown. Thus, pointing to a catback as the causality for brake failure will never hold up in court. Or rims and springs causing chassis flex.

I'm the sole owner of my vehicle.

 

[Revvdmedia]

Not sure how the laws are Down Under, but in America, attribution has to be shown. Thus, pointing to a catback as the causality for brake failure will never hold up in court. Or rims and springs causing chassis flex.

I'm the sole owner of my vehicle.

I am 100% in favor of everyone having every squeak, rattle and noise rectified, but in your case if your wheels are larger than stock (therefore lower profile tires than stock), plus lowering springs which MAY increase firmness of suspension, a stiffer ride can exacerbate rattles. I totally understand and believe that you had the issues prior, but I hate to say that the dealer may have a leg to stand on considering those two points I made on stiffening the ride. Of course if you have comparable sized wheels and tires and the lowering springs have not changed ride quality whatsoever, I retract that claim.

 

[JohnH]

There are so many people that say it is fine to mod your car and the warrentee will not be effected, however, as soon as something goes wrong, the mods are going to be the first thing pointed out as a reason for not honouring the warrentee.

No one knows what the previous owner did to the car either. It could have been returned to stock before you brought it.

I really hope you get all this sorted out and get your car repaired...

When reading your post, I immediately thought that, "No one knows what the previous owner did to the car either. It could have been returned to stock before you brought it."

I feel really bad for you. I would keep filing the complaint.

Was the car certified by the dealer when you purchased it? And, the damn car is under warranty.

 

[Stiletto]

I am 100% in favor of everyone having every squeak, rattle and noise rectified, but in your case if your wheels are larger than stock (therefore lower profile tires than stock), plus lowering springs which MAY increase firmness of suspension, a stiffer ride can exacerbate rattles. I totally understand and believe that you had the issues prior, but I hate to say that the dealer may have a leg to stand on considering those two points I made on stiffening the ride. Of course if you have comparable sized wheels and tires and the lowering springs have not changed ride quality whatsoever, I retract that claim.

I'm familiar with NVH associated with modifications. And if this weren't a common issue, I'd be inclined to agree. However, this issue IS well documented across the globe. Kia simply does not want to eat the cost of replacing the the entire assembly, so they're using the very loose connection of aftermarket to create an out.

The spring rate of the Ark GT-F is close enough to stock, which is why I went with them. Similar situation with tires and rims...not far enough off to cause THAT much vibration.