Grand Kia

To begin I would never recommend a KIA to another person and I will emphatically preclude this review with

BUYER BEWARE

for all KIA products and advise against purchasing any KIA product.

I have had multiple issues with KIA in the 11 years I have owned my car. After multiple attempts to resolve a faulty shift system that caused shut down of shifting package while driving steep high altitude grades, multiple replacement of parts under warranty at no cost to dealership, and second guessing replacement of my shift kit, wiring harness, TCM, by tech services... I researched the issue and discovered a service bulletin dated 2004 that stated the transmission to TCM wiring was not shielded enough from the alternator which was a MFG. DEFECT, allowing the alternator radio frequencies to interfere with the transmission signaling (shutting the shift package off between 3rd and 4th gears). I purchased the car in 2005.

This was an all dealership and mechanic service bulletin which means that KIA knew about this issue, but refused to acknowledge it to customers or fix it properly without a battle. It also meant that I was driving a car that weighed too much for its 190 HP engine and had to use the braking system to drive to and from my home in the mountains due to inability to downshift the transmission; hoping I would not be killed in this dangerous automobile.

By the time this was diagnosed BY ME after much struggle and condescension from the tech services people and multiple managers (dealership high attrition), and poor response from the regional rep and KIA customer affairs, the warranty and extended warranty I had purchased to try to diagnose the car had run out and I purchased the part myself and paid for its installation in what was obviously a chronic problem from the POINT OF SALE and should have been rectified under the Colorado Lemon Law or KIA warranty.

This rectified the issue with shift kit but not the issues with KIA.

I then had a subsequent issue with the damage the techs had done to my car (side wiring harness cover and shift kit faux wood console trim-out were broken) as it took 6 years to get them to agree to fix the damage they had done and when parts were ordered they were repeatedly sent incorrect parts.

I have the same situation occurring at another local dealership with the rear spare tire deck lid part that has been ordered 3 times and sent as an incorrect part 2 times.

As a result of KIA's ineptitude and failure to send correct part in a timely manner the party who was paying for the part (after 2 trips to return or refund incorrect part and approximately $120.00 in lost employee time, has refused to pay for the part.

Kia has a responsibility both physical and fiduciary to it's customers who purchase cars. KIA has grossly overstepped professional etiquette and contract responsibility on a local and State/Federal level for the issues I have had with the Sorento luxury model SUV I purchased form them in good faith 11 years ago.

Word of mouth is still a deciding factor in success in the American business model and people need to know that if you choose to buy a KIA and god forbid you have problems with it, KIA has a very clear history of ignoring those problems (Mfg. defects) until your warranty runs out, or recommending you buy or trade up to a newer more expensive model (rather than building a quality car they can stand behind).

This lack of character and integrity shows in the customer affairs reps who treat those who have legitimate claims with aggressive condescension, cutting them off mid sentence repeatedly (Jeremy #45986) stating that the issues they create with their unprofessional behavior and response are not KIA's problem, and in general failing to resolve even the issues they have created with this unprofessional way of doling out customer punishment... I mean service and issue resolution.

As of this letter I am still awaiting the receipt of the faux wood console trim part (after 4 consecutive orders) at one dealership and problem resolution on the rear spare tire deck lid part (after 3 consecutive orders) for the problems KIA created with that specific part and its payor.

I am writing this letter after an aggressive and rude call from KIA Corporate stating the MIA part came in at the dealership, and a subsequent call 5 minutes ago to the first dealership that revealed it was yet again the wrong shift kit part, a denial of knowledge about the second part issue which was added in my phone call with KIA to the claim last week, and refusal to make right the problems they created with payment on that second part

We are now approaching the 6 month mark and I have been fighting KIA for 11 years to try to get them to make good on their product and their commitment to customer satisfaction.

This is the most unreliable KIA dealer that I've ever had yo deal with. They rebuilt a KIA Rondo engine for my father a few months ago and to show just how professional they are they didn't even offer a service follow up to change the break in oil or check their work, plus when they first delivered the completed car it was so full of grease where the mechanic had been in and out of the car that the carpets where nearly unreconizable .

What has happen tothe American Pride the we so thrive on in ythis country?

Has it gone by the wayside like or workmanship? I wonder?