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2019 Kia Stinger GT Fire
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

DELAWARE, OHIO -- I leased a 2019 Stinger GT after turning in my Optima a year early. I leased the car on 12/18/18. Within the first 30 days my rear defroster made a popping noise and shorted out. I took it back to the dealership and they supposedly fixed the issue. On May 14th on my way into work the car made the same noise. I called the dealership to have it looked at again. I got into my car after work, within a few minutes I could smell smoke and pulled over on the side of the highway. I opened the hatchback to see the rear defroster compartment melted away and then flames shot out of the hole. Within 4 minutes the car burned down to the frame. A formal investigation was completed with my insurance company, Kia, and the NHTSA. Kia accepted responsibility for the fire. They bought the car back from the insurance to hide a fatal flaw in the car. After weeks of failing to return numerous calls and emails to Kia attempting to understand what the next steps are, we finally received a call stating that they were willing to reimburse us for the contents in the car- WHICH THEY HAVE to do. After several more phone calls and emails, a supposed manager named Jeff C. contacted us (of course they have no email address, last name or phone number). After going back and forth he offered to refund us the $2000 we put down on the car only 5 months earlier stating it was the cost of ownership! After asking we found out that if we accepted, we would have signed off our rights to any future actions. The fire department told me the only thing that saved my life was that I can a full tank of gas so it did not blow cause of the lack of fumes. I was minutes away from picking my 6 year old daughter from school. The fire started right under where her booster seat was. The supposed manager stated over and over this is just an inconvenience. Its a little more than that, I am lucky to be alive and not dead.Lastly, every post we make about what happened on their website, they promptly remove. Another indication that they are trying to hide this issue.

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Astonishing How Kia Motors and Parent Company Hyundai Has Achieved Growth the Last 5 or 6 Years!
StarStarStarStarStarBy -
Rating: 5/51

IRVINE, CALIFORNIA -- My entire family has just finished converting all of our Ford, GM, Chrysler vehicles over to KIA and Hyundai cars and SUVs. Most of this was attributed to the poor customer service and warranty service we all experienced, and add that to the shoddy quality of the vehicles we had. Collectively we now have no issues with the Hyundai/KIA vehicles we have now... But the dealer experience was a breath of fresh air... No scamming, no lying or hidden agendas. Every buying experience was great.

The vehicles themselves are well-assembled, quality is obvious a real value with these cars, and the amenities and standard level of unexpected equipment is quite unusual in these price ranges. The paint is perfect... deep and rich and applied perfectly. Issues are non-existent as far as things we had to take the cars back to the dealer for corrections.

Over all, quite a good value, and 4 of these Hyundai and Kias are made in the USA! We are satisfied and pleased, and will continue to purchase these fine cars and SUVs into the future. The dealer we purchased at, is not high pressure. They are honest and above board, have a huge selection, will let you drive anything on the lot without showing an attitude, and really appear to know their cars very well. We live in Orange County, California.

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Leasing / Service / Finance
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

Let me start by saying I have purchased 5 Kia vehicles. They have all been great cars. I just turned in a lease vehicle but did not buy another as I am in the process of building a house and can't change my finances right now. The dealership told me an independent appraiser would inspect the vehicle and send a letter if there were charges. There were scratches on the vehicle and I will gladly pay to have them repaired.

I was told by two different mechanics/body guys that it would cost around $300. The appraiser quoted $1,640! The scratches were $900! They want to charge me for indentations from a car seat which I never had in the back seat. They want to charge me for "dirty" sun visors! The charges are extremely outrageous.

I have ten days to have a private appraiser licensed by the New York DMV to inspect and submit a new appraisal. Problem is, I now live in Georgia. Second problem. When I moved to Georgia they raised my payment by $17! When we asked why, we could not get an answer. 20 months at $17, $340! Third, my wife had a flat tire on her Soul. No spare. She called Kia roadside assistance and waited five and a half hours for a tow truck! We had to wait another three hours at the dealership because they didn't have the right tire even though my wife called them 5 1/2 hours earlier! Great service!

I looked at a new SXL Optima at the Savannah dealership where all this great service has been happening and the sticker said $38,000. The salesmen said that was a great, already discounted price. I went to their website and the same exact car was listed at $32,000. Do NOT deal with the Savannah Kia dealership. My opinion. It's a shame because I do like Kia vehicles.

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Miserable Customer Service/Business Practices
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

CALIFORNIA -- I would give them zero stars if that were an option. They mistyped my address and my husband's name on some paperwork. When I called to get this fixed, I was able to get the address corrected but they refused to spell my husband's last name correctly unless they talked to him personally, even though they have the leasing paperwork right in front of them and can see that his last name and mine are the same. They absolutely refuse to fix their mistake.

The documents they sent me are something they filled out with an incorrect address and incorrect last name and expect me to get it notarized and send back to them. Otherwise, I will have to pay taxes on a leased vehicle. I honestly think they did this on purpose hoping that I would not notice, or that the time would be up and I would have to pay the $1500 for the taxes on the car. I can't believe anyone can be that ignorant when typing in names and addresses.

The customer service person and supervisor that I talked to just kept saying the same thing about how my husband would have to call and get his name corrected even though they knew it was incorrect and it was their fault. This is ridiculous and there is no reason they could not fix a simple misspelling and send me the correct paperwork.

Of course this is the just one of a number of problems I have had with the financing department and Kia motors. I absolutely will never get another Kia. And I advise anyone thinking of dealing with Kia to seriously investigate other options. I like the car I have but despise the customer service and how they do business. As soon as I can get rid of this leased vehicle, I will never do business with this company again.

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Bad Service - Felt They Tried to Intimidate Me- Gender /Age
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

CARBONDALE, ILLINOIS -- Kia 2009 Sorento had new tires installed and back brakes 1-27-2014, & at that time the oil pan gasket and value gasket was replaced. Had been notified of the oil seepage in Dec. 2013 and since they said not urgent I had work done in Jan. 2014. In Feb. 2014, noticed what I thought was oil leaking on my carport; took car in to dealership and was told they had failed to reconnect a coolant hose. April 8 2014, took car in for regular maintenance, oil change and lube; checklist and computerized invoice was folded in half and handed to me with no comment made about any problems.

The next day (4-9-14) I reviewed the inspection checklist and saw the notation that there was an oil leak from the oil pan gasket and the value cover gasket; these had been replaced 1-27-14. On the computerized invoice it stated that work was recommended but not performed that I would have work performed later. This statement was untrue, I had not been notified of the problem. I talked with Ser. Dept. Mgr. 4-9-14. Made arrangement to get loaner car when work could be scheduled; the gaskets had to be ordered. I told him of the false statement on the invoice. He questioned the tech and was told "he thought he had mentioned it to me".

Finally got car in for repairs 4-14-14; drove loaner home, got call car was ready at 245p. When I got home, I compared the inspection sheet from 4-8-14 and 4-14-14... Tire tread depth and remaining brakes front and back were grossly off... From 4-8-14 to 4-14-14 I had only driven 154 miles (mileage is noted on the inspection sheets). I called again 4-15-14. Excuses were made but tech finally said the inspection 4-8-14 was correct. They had hurried to get my car finished and had not done measurements correctly. Things went downhill from there, was contacted by a Manager later that day and told him the entire problem.

On 4-16-14 was contacted by Public Relations who tried intimidation by asking several times "what would it take to make you happy." The third time, I said "pay off my car and give me a three year lease on a new Kia Sorento (no, I did not want or expect that at all but was really tired of this conversation)." I was told, "let me see what I can do."
Long and short is, as of this date have heard no more from that Kia dealership.

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After numerous recalls
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

LOVELAND, COLORADO -- After repeated recalls
Kia Soul

So let's face it, we all have good and bad experiences. This one is the true nature or the Kia brand. The 2014 Kia soul was my second brand new Kia. I was up to this point a fan of the vehicles. Great gas mileage and safe. But the last month ended that. The vehicle has 105k, after trying to deal with Kia at 89k because of the catalytic converter failure code, they said the cat was my problem. But a few months later got a recall for the ecu program failure that over heats the cat to burn off emissions causes engine failure and destroys the catalytic converter. So I brought my car back. Guess what, catalytic converter was bad and the car burns 1 quart of oil every 500 miles. They replaced the cat did a firmware update on the ecu. I told them about the oil consumption. They had me bring it back 3 times for a consumption test, which it failed. They did a compression test which it also failed. Then called me to tell me it was not covered. Made a case to Kia consumer affairs, HA. And the joke begins. They said the engine would still need to throw codes for engine damage. But if you flash the ECU it thinks everything is as it should be. Tuning 101 Kia. So they will not fix it
Talking to Aamco (real mechanic) he stated that if the engine burns to hot for to long trying to clear the catalytic converter it will destroy rings and varnish cylinders. Hmm, sound like he knows what the so called master tech at Kia doesn't. So of course I now have a car that has been dealer serviced for its life and has failed at 100k. I have other vehicles from the big 3 with double the mileage and no problems. So I guess my lesson is don't buy knock off vehicles from a company that only consumes and doesn't care about you. Be warned that these vehicles will fail. Prematurely. You will be stuck with a paperweight. They will refuse to fix anything under warranty, it will be your fault. I am ashamed that I did not see this coming

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Customer Service Is Only For The Credit Worthy
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

SHEFFIELD, ALABAMA -- After having my credit reviewed and my mother's credit reviewed, the salesman wanted us to drive a 2015 Kia Soul. I had called the Sheffield, Alabama dealership prior to my going to Kia to inquire about an advertisement I heard over the radio for Labor Day. The advertisement reported that with an $88 down payment, employment, and a certain income per month, one could be approved to drive a new vehicle off the lot. If the dealership was unable to live up to it's word, the customer would be paid $1000.

I shared with the Manager, Daniel during our phone conversation that I had a very negative experience with the Sheffield dealership in the past. He assured me that there would not be a problem, and told me to come on down to the dealership and ask for him. Prior to my driving the Kia Soul, I reminded salesman that I did not want to even drive a car if the down payment was going to be higher than the $88. He assured me that mine and my mother's credit had been checked. He proceeded to tell me that after speaking with the manager, Daniel that there would be no problem with financing.

After numerous phones calls the next day, with no response, I continued to seek the status of my application. During one attempt, I was transferred to the finance department to be told that my application had not even been reviewed, and assured that Daniel would return my phone call. This afternoon, I called the dealership to learn that Daniel is off today! I was transferred to the finance department to be told that they would have to call me back. Believe it or not, the finance manager called me back to tell me that I needed $2500 to $3000 down. I even inquired about their advertised program "$5000 above blue book value on any trade" to be told that a car payment would probably be over $800. I asked to speak with the owner of the dealership or be provided a number for the corporation. The finance manager informed me that the owner was very busy and he would hate to take a message from me and the owner not be able to return my call. I requested a return call from the owner and the Manager, Daniel.

I will be documenting the days, and seeking the guidance of an attorney. Sometimes in life, one has to stand up for what is right. I don't want this dealership to harm other individuals. Shame on their practices!!

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Acceptable Kia Problems
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

OAKVILLE -- With my new purchased 2016 Kia Sorento, the body lines do not match up where the driver's door meets!! The bottom half of the rear edge of the left front door sticks out and I couldn't get it fixed at your Lockwood Kia service. This is a big deal to me on a brand new $30k car. After a month and bringing car to the service 3 times, I am told that couple of inches is acceptable both from Lockwood Kia and Kia Canada customer service. They expect me accept this and I have questions for them. What else acceptable on Kia cars? What does bumper to bumper warranty means? Stay away from Kia. They can't even adjust a door.

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100K Warranty Is a Joke
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

Covered as part of the drive train. Odd, given that no idler pulley equals inoperative engine. They went on to say that if it were the idler pulley that serves the water pump it WOULD be covered... leaving me thinking, "Doesn't that serpentine belt serve the water pump?" I took it straight from the dealer to our local independent repair shop, where the mechanic looked at it and said, "There is only ONE idler pulley; the only other related device is a tensioner."

He added that he would have thought it would definitely be covered by a drive train warranty since I wasn't going to be driving it without it! This was followed by a call to the Kia consumer service number, where the gent I talked to informed me that NO idler pulley (whether there be one or a hundred of the little suckers) is covered. My conclusion is that the 100K drive train warranty is a sham, and this is one family that won't be replacing its Kia with another Kia product.

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Financing
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

CALIFORNIA -- Purchased a Kia Sedona, financed a quarter of the total to get the thousand dollars off. I have no problems with the vehicle, my first payment to the loan I put $3000 down, only required $158.00 per month so I can pay as I want. But the second month payment which was covered, they put down on my credit report as being late. I called them up to get this corrected. They said they did and then found out they reported twice as two late payments!! So I paid off the entire loan, now they are reporting I'm late again with a zero balance. And let's talk about the harassing phone calls and auto redial's. I will never finance through these people again!!! I give them a -0.

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Kia Motors Rating:
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1.4 out of 5, based on 27 ratings and
89 reviews & complaints.
Contact Information:
Kia Motors
111 Peters Canyon Rd.
Irvine, CA 92606
800-333-4542 (ph)
949-468-4905 (fax)
www.kia.com
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