Manufacturers dangerous fault - were do you stand with an older vehicle?

techiejen

I have an issue with my Kia Sorento - the fuel tank is "de-laminating" basically the inside is flaking off and this makes the vehicle cut out because it detects a fuel pressure error.

In my case this was very dangerous as I have an auto, so had to pull over to restart the vehicle as you can only restart in park. If this had happened on a motorway I could have been killed and I classify this as a very dangerous fault.

Kia will normally pay a "goodwill" gesture towards at least the parts, however because my car is an import from EU they will not pay anything.

My car is a 2006 - and this fault affects Sorento vehicles from 2004-2007

Where do I stand with consumer law? This fault is so dangerous I'm surprised its not a recall issue, and I would have thought the tank is not fit for purpose.

I'm just wondering whether I could pursue Kia in small claims?

DUTR

If you think it's dangerous, then how much is your life worth to you?

poppasmurf_bewdley

techiejen wrote: »

I have an issue with my Kia Sorento - the fuel tank is "de-laminating" basically the inside is flaking off and this makes the vehicle cut out because it detects a fuel pressure error.

In my case this was very dangerous as I have an auto, so had to pull over to restart the vehicle as you can only restart in park. If this had happened on a motorway I could have been killed and I classify this as a very dangerous fault.

Kia will normally pay a "goodwill" gesture towards at least the parts, however because my car is an import from EU they will not pay anything.

My car is a 2006 - and this fault affects Sorento vehicles from 2004-2007

Where do I stand with consumer law? This fault is so dangerous I'm surprised its not a recall issue, and I would have thought the tank is not fit for purpose.

I'm just wondering whether I could pursue Kia in small claims?

My Dad had exactly the same problem with his 1937 Ford 8.

The car was always stopping because the carb was blocked by the gunge from the petrol tank.

I would hardly call it dangerous. It just goes to show that in 75 years motor manufacturers haven't learnt a lot.

WestonDave

It might be dangerous but after 7 years its going to be hard to show that its not at least partly down to wear and tear. Not fit for purpose isn't going to help you as its a Sale of Goods Act remedy against whoever sold you the car not the manufacturer. (If you bought a Bosch washing machine from Comet and it dies 2 weeks after the warranty runs out, you are stuffed because your contract was with Comet (who no longer exist) not Bosch).

Its further complicated by being a grey import.

In short don't waste your time and money claiming against Kia - you'll just have to get it replaced on your tab.

techiejen

poppasmurf_bewdley wrote: »

The car was always stopping because the carb was blocked by the gunge from the petrol tank.

I would hardly call it dangerous. It just goes to show that in 75 years motor manufacturers haven't learnt a lot.

Ah but this doesn't splutter and stop - this literally turns the car off, so you lose power steering and have to coast to a safe place to restart - hence if you were in an outside lane of a motorway, you'd have to drift across all lanes to reach hard shoulder and if you couldn't do that safely you'd be stuck at a standstill.

Also grey imports - isn't this were EU law kicks in? The car came from Cyprus which has the same specifications as the UK?

vikingaero

Using Small Claims isn't going to work.

Kia UK never sold you the car. They never received any payment for "handling" your vehicle because it was a grey import. Any claim will have to be against the selling dealer in the UK, the distributor in Cyprus or Kia in Korea as the original manufacturer. Kia UK may handle any claims for Kia Korea.

If the fault is as dangerous as claimed then surely it's worth repairing at your own cost now rather than if it happens?

DUTR

techiejen wrote: »

Ah but this doesn't splutter and stop - this literally turns the car off, so you lose power steering and have to coast to a safe place to restart - hence if you were in an outside lane of a motorway, you'd have to drift across all lanes to reach hard shoulder and if you couldn't do that safely you'd be stuck at a standstill.

Also grey imports - isn't this were EU law kicks in? The car came from Cyprus which has the same specifications as the UK?

We the readers cannot instruct Kia UK, if the intermittent symptoms are as you describe, then why would you be putting yourself, passengers and other road users in such a vunerable situation?
From what I know, if a car is deemed dangerous irrespective of age, the manufacturer will recall the vehicle to modify the vehicle as necessary.
Fix the car or sell it .

bigjl

Every auto I have owned you have been able to start it in neutral aswell as park

How do you know the tank is delaminating?

Did you look inside?

And no Cyprus vehicles are not the same spec as UK vehicles.

Motorpoint brought loads of Cyprus spec Subarus into the UK a few years ago and airbags were an option, wheels were different and the warranty was only 2 yr EU wide warranty rather than the extra 3 rd yr dealer warranty you get in the UK

Scrootum

The only possible redress you may have is with whoever sold it to you. And that is unlikely.

techiejen

To answer a few of the questions - yes I'm getting the work done irrespective as its currently dangerous, however I took it to the Kia garage as they thought Kia would contribute as they have had this happen before and Kia normally does contribute if its tank de-lamination.

Retrospectively, I should have gone to my local garage as would have been cheaper!

De-lamination was suspected and then confirmed by Kia garage, it is a known issue - so if anyone has surfed here with a Kia Sorento cutting out this is probably your cause!

This problem is not because its an EU spec model, its because they had a batch of badly lined tanks affecting their Sorento models.

Beachview_2

Have you thought about contacting Honest John? You'll get good advice on there.