Valve Stem Warranty

[Hoonin]

Do any of you guys know if the valve stems are covered under warranty on our cars? I’m constantly losing pressure when traveling and I travel 200 miles the pressures in some tires will drop from 38 to somewhere around 27. My car is a 2018 and has just hit 23,000 miles. KIA is telling me that they aren’t warrantied. I was told since the valve stems can be separated from the TPMS sensors they aren’t covered.

Another thing I was told, that any warranty that is tire/wheel/valve stem related is void if you have someone other than kia repair a tire... wtf. I was here originally to get a service, have two tires replaced, and have the valve stems hopefully replaced under warranty. I stupidly told their tech to be sure to replace a particular tire because I had installed a patch close to the sidewall so I could wait for 2 matching replacement tires to arrive. They jumped on that statement as a means to void my warranty... if there is one.

I had requested that the two new tires be installed on the rear, they installed them on the front and claimed that because it’s AWD, they had to do it that way. Does anyone know if that that statement is true?

Also, check your tires for alignment issues. My front tires were worn horribly from the car being out of alignment. I’ve never seen such bad wear on a newer car with 23k miles on it! I feel stupid for not checking sooner, however I’ve only owned the car for 2 months at this point.

I’ve worked in the auto industry (including repair and heavy truck maintenance). This all seems kind of odd to me. It’s was also infuriating how many times that I had to explain that the tire pressure loss is not temperature related and only occurs when I am driving and the tires are warmed up. Wtf.... I also spotted the horrible uneven wear on the tires, how did their tech not see this? I truly hate going to any repair shop, especially a dealership and always do my own repairs. This time around, I want to do everything I can to preserve the warranty on this car.

 

[Hoonin]

Update: After a 4 hour alignment, stem check, and service. This is what I come back to.

 

[87and66]

Update: After a 4 hour alignment, stem check, and service. This is what I come back to.

its probably obvious and I'm just missing it, but what are we supposed to be seeing here?

 

[Hoonin]

its probably obvious and I'm just missing it, but what are we supposed to be seeing here?

Hard to see in the pictures, the skirt is crushed in two areas. They also scuffed the textured lower part of the front bumper. Luckily I inspected the car before I even started it. They are replacing it..... let’s see how well the paint matches and lasts.....

 

[D.J.]

Probably this

 

[D.J.]

Who diagnoses the valve stem as the issue?
Are you certain that the valve stem is faulty?

Are you certain the valve core alone is not faulty? and no punctures in the tire?
How did you confirm the fault?

 

[87and66]

Hard to see in the pictures, the skirt is crushed in two areas. They also scuffed the textured lower part of the front bumper. Luckily I inspected the car before I even started it. They are replacing it..... let’s see how well the paint matches and lasts.....

can't trust anyone not to screw up your car. really sucks. I hope it comes perfect for you

 

[Hoonin]

Who diagnoses the valve stem as the issue?
Are you certain that the valve stem is faulty?

Are you certain the valve core alone is not faulty? and no punctures in the tire?
How did you confirm the fault?

I replaced the valve cores myself, the issue did not go away.

 

[MerlintheMad]

I feel to ask the same question: why do you suspect the valve stems first?

Update: After a 4 hour alignment, stem check, and service. This is what I come back to.

This has occurred quite a few times as reported on the forum. For some reason, morons work in service centers: they don't even know to line up the jacks with the lift points on the car: just kick those under and crank her up. "It's so hard to find good help these days."

Do any of you guys know if the valve stems are covered under warranty on our cars? I’m constantly losing pressure when traveling and I travel 200 miles the pressures in some tires will drop from 38 to somewhere around 27. My car is a 2018 and has just hit 23,000 miles. KIA is telling me that they aren’t warrantied. I was told since the valve stems can be separated from the TPMS sensors they aren’t covered.

As the valve stem is part of the OE wheel, I would expect any OE wheel valve stem to be covered under Kia's bumper to bumper warranty. An aftermarket valve stem, no; that would be the warranty of the wheel manufacturer, or the TPMS manufacturer if different.

Another thing I was told, that any warranty that is tire/wheel/valve stem related is void if you have someone other than kia repair a tire... wtf. I was here originally to get a service, have two tires replaced, and have the valve stems hopefully replaced under warranty. I stupidly told their tech to be sure to replace a particular tire because I had installed a patch close to the sidewall so I could wait for 2 matching replacement tires to arrive. They jumped on that statement as a means to void my warranty... if there is one.

What warranty? Kia doesn't deal with tire warranties at all; that is the tire manufacturer's warranty.

Where is "here"? A Kia service center?

I had requested that the two new tires be installed on the rear, they installed them on the front and claimed that because it’s AWD, they had to do it that way. Does anyone know if that that statement is true?

Utter bollocks. The AWD is rear biased drive and therefore the rear wheels are doing the main power distribution. If you said "replace my rear tires with these new ones", and they put them on the front, then they screwed up. Is this a Kia service center? I've never heard such a lame excuse.

Are you running staggered? Because if so, the rears cannot go on the front anyway. Check to make sure that they didn't put your rear wheels in front!? Heh!

Also, check your tires for alignment issues. My front tires were worn horribly from the car being out of alignment. I’ve never seen such bad wear on a newer car with 23k miles on it! I feel stupid for not checking sooner, however I’ve only owned the car for 2 months at this point.

"Worn horribly" isn't very precise. A picture or two of the wear would be helpful. After c. 22K miles, my front Michelins were shot; I had a piece lifting from the outer edge of the LF tire, the tread on the outside was gone; but the center tread was still at c. 3mm minimum. I don't blame the alignment, since I would take full advantage of a cloverleaf onramp to test cornering ability of myself and the car. Also, I had no doubt finished off that already advanced wear to the outside edge of the FL tire by cavorting on the Dragon the week before replacement.

I’ve worked in the auto industry (including repair and heavy truck maintenance). This all seems kind of odd to me. It’s was also infuriating how many times that I had to explain that the tire pressure loss is not temperature related and only occurs when I am driving and the tires are warmed up. Wtf....

That sounds temperature related to me; operating temperature, not ambient, of course.

I also spotted the horrible uneven wear on the tires, how did their tech not see this? I truly hate going to any repair shop, especially a dealership and always do my own repairs. This time around, I want to do everything I can to preserve the warranty on this car.

At a normal maintenance prior to my road trip (that precipitated replacement of the front tires), the tech made a video on his phone that he emailed to me; and it showed him inserting the tread depth gauge into the center of the LF tire and declaring "5mm of tread left, so, no issues, tires are fine for now" (words to that effect). He didn't say anything about the uneven tread wear, i.e. the fact that the outside was clearly worn to the point of gone. "They" just don't see things a lot of the time.

The warranty is in full force if you have documentation to show to Kia, i.e. receipts. They are clear about this: work on the car does not have to be performed by Kia: only a licensed service center of your choice. Doing work yourself could be problematic, I suppose. But even then, if you have receipts of the parts and materials used, and document all oil changes, etc., in conformance with Kia's service schedule, other than a potential cretin on the other side of Kia's personnel validating warranty claims, I wouldn't borrow trouble. If there is one thing I've picked up reading on here for over a year and a half, it is this: Kia Corp. is a complex of competent and incompetent people, and it's a crap shoot which one you'll get when you approach Kia for satisfaction.

 

[Hoonin]

Tried to get some better pictures. Got home and found the bottom engine/trans cover not secured back up. After I explained the TSB for the rear hatch bang, they completely ignored me and just inspected it for $75 which I refused to pay. The freaking bill for a mobile 1 oil change, rear hatch inspection, 2 tire replacements, 1 tire (I had brought a new one with me), and 4 valve stem replacements.......... $785.00 before having the $75 removed for the deck lid. So approximately $585 without the cost of the tire. Wtf?

I can’t believe this sh$&. I wake up on the weekends and look for places to go so I can take the car for a spin. Today, I just want to throw the car in the garage and not look at it.

Cherry on top, I wanted both old tires back and insisted on loading them myself. Get to my car and the dirty/greasy tire was sitting in the back covering my panels and seat with gunk.

If this was a base, bare bones soul, that I had just spent 17k on, I’d be just as pissed.

 

[MerlintheMad]

The freaking bill for a mobile 1 oil change, rear hatch inspection, 2 tire replacements, 1 tire (I had brought a new one with me), and 4 valve stem replacements.......... $785.00

Unfreakingbelievable. You picked a crap service center for sure. So sorry! Rapists is what they are. Find somebody else and put out the word online pronto, at Google, Yelp, anywhere else that has comments for this business, because they sure gave you the "business".

 

[Hoonin]

Unfreakingbelievable. You picked a crap service center for sure. So sorry! Rapists is what they are. Find somebody else and put out the word online pronto, at Google, Yelp, anywhere else that has comments for this business, because they sure gave you the "business".

It was a Kia dealer, I won’t disclose their name though. I want to get this sorted out without any sort of added bs between me and the dealer. People can look up my location and take a guess if they’d like and PM me if they want to confirm.

 

[Luminary]

Wow, unbelievable. You know, and I keep thinking, it takes just moments to check a car over before, during and after any service. Be it aligning the jack points, checking all connections, and wiping down any freaking spills before returning the car to the customer. It is not hard, and goes such a long way between a happy customer and a pissed off one.

A friend of mine keeps running into this at my favorite dealership and I am always blown away at how some of the techs there can be so damn careless. I may be looking for a new service center now as my favorite service writer/manager quit a few weeks ago and now I do not know if I can trust the service center with him gone.

I am so sorry to see this happened to you.

 

[Hoonin]

Wow, unbelievable. You know, and I keep thinking, it takes just moments to check a car over before, during and after any service. Be it aligning the jack points, checking all connections, and wiping down any freaking spills before returning the car to the customer. It is not hard, and goes such a long way between a happy customer and a pissed off one.

@BertBert2019GT keeps running into this at my favorite dealership and I am always blown away at how some of the techs there can be so damn careless. I may be looking for a new service center now as my favorite service writer/manager quit a few weeks ago and now I do not know if I can trust the service center with him gone.

I am so sorry to see this happened to you.

I’m honestly just considering letting my warranty go and servicing the vehicle myself. I’ve always bought used cars with no warranty and serviced every single one... I’ve never ran into any sort of issue or had some careless tech destroy it. I do not trust anyone. What’s amazing to me, is that the tech didn’t even own it, he just parked my car and told the poor girl up front, “he’s good to go!”. He clearly knew it happened too, because the salt/dust was wiped off of the damage when he inspected it.

Luckily their manager seems like he’s handling everything as quickly as he can. He’s the only reason I’m not blasting the business. I’m going to bring up some more issues with the bill and see if he takes care of it. What a nightmare.

 

[87and66]

Wow. It makes absolutely no sense that a "professional" is that negligent. It has me pissed off and its not even my car. Unreal. Sucks owning a nice car and having to worry that its going to come back damaged any time you take it for any kind of service. I guess it stems from techs who don't care about the work they're doing. It's not a passion, its just a paycheck. So screw the customer and the quality of work I guess.

On a side note, the part of your undercarriage cover that is hanging down is normal. They all hang there. Looks like it shouldn't be that way, but its normal

 

[Hoonin]

Wow. It makes absolutely no sense that a "professional" is that negligent. It has me pissed off and its not even my car. Unreal. Sucks owning a nice car and having to worry that its going to come back damaged any time you take it for any kind of service. I guess it stems from techs who don't care about the work they're doing. It's not a passion, its just a paycheck. So screw the customer and the quality of work I guess.

On a side note, the part of your undercarriage cover that is hanging down is normal. They all hang there. Looks like it shouldn't be that way, but its normal

In the pictures it’s hard to see, but there are fasteners that have not been reinstalled on both sides.

 

[87and66]

In the pictures it’s hard to see, but there are fasteners that have not been reinstalled on both sides.

ahh ok. Couldn't tell. I remembered when I first noticed mine hanging, I looked and everything was fastened in. Then I pushed on it and the whole cover had to bend in order to sit flush. looked up some pics and saw the same, so I assumed that was the case here also.

 

[MerlintheMad]

It was a Kia dealer, I won’t disclose their name though. I want to get this sorted out without any sort of added bs between me and the dealer. People can look up my location and take a guess if they’d like and PM me if they want to confirm.

Ah, I think I missed something, then: at 23,000 miles you were in for what the Canadians call a "service 2". This can push up to $200 just by itself. The "service 3" is pushing $400; and the "service 4" I just had done was $776. So, with the other stuff you had done, $785 was probably reasonable. I was looking at an oil change and the price of two tires on; and that total would have gouged you a couple hundred at least; plus the $75 for just looking at the hatch. Still seems like crummy treatment of you, and this Kia service center does not come across as a good one. Especially screwing up your rocker panels. I just can't wrap my head around Kia doing that to one of their own cars.

 

[DaBears4Lyfe]

f*ck man. I dont get how these dealers keep doing this over 2 years into the platform. WTF. this is why i do not go to the dealer for anything.

 

[MerlintheMad]

delete/redundant (look at the whole thread, Dougy, before replying )