Rubbish Kia Warranty - pay to check symptom.

peter_the_piper

The main complainants about Kia seem to have joined and posted at the same time, just to complain.

cajef

peter_the_piper wrote: »

The main complainants about Kia seem to have joined and posted at the same time, just to complain.

And the latest have resurrected a two year old thread to do it.

Mercdriver

buglawton wrote: »

Having been a long term reader of the Honest John column in the DT, I'd been warned off diesels in general and dual mass flywheel clutches in particular (VW Group being a dual mass repeat offender for example). So I've only ever purchased manual petrol cars so far. If you decide to go auto there are again pitfalls: You should go for inefficient but simple torque converter boxes. Other types can be money pits.

I have had the sister brand to Kia, Hyundai and they honoured the 5 year warranty very well on things like rubber damper covers detaching, steering wheel paint peeling off, seats creaking. Plus some recall work. Now I'm nearly at 10 years with it. After all those 'teething' troubles it's been rather reliable.

As they say, your mileage may vary.

Kia use torque converter autos. As do Hyundai.

buglawton

As Honest John regularly points out, yes.

marlot

Mercdriver wrote: »

Kia use torque converter autos. As do Hyundai.

Only on some models. They also have a DCT box.

motorguy

missile wrote: »

You may well have invalidated the warranty to save £100.

No, vat registered mechanic, service book stamped, genuine Nissan parts used, with full Nissan dealer parts invoice to prove.

£100 saved, warranty intact.

motorguy

14wrence wrote: »

Hi,

I bought a Kia, and part of my buying decision was due to the longer than usual 7 year warranty.

Anyway, the Car is now 3 years old, and the clutch has started slipping (mainly only in second gear if any mechanics on here).

Apparently if the clutch is burnt out, this is classed as wear and tear as it is bad driving habits. However if it is a mechanical element of the clutch, then it is covered under the warranty.

This is all fine, I get this. The reason I am annoyed though, is to check if it is burnt out, or a symptom covered under the warranty will cost me £500.... Also how bad driving habits can I have when I have always had older second hand cars in the past and never burned a clutch out yet.

In my eyes - this is a very convenient way to dissuade you from claiming anything under he warranty.

Is this allowed?? Won't a mechanic know just by driving it??

Have I got any grounds to complain??

A local garage will do for £600 the full job. However Kia will charge a further £600 to fix after a £500 diagnosis.

So it seems I have the choice between just paying £600 or I could gamble, and either get it done under warranty, or pay £1,300.

Also does anybody know if there is an ombudsman for this kind of thing. although even if I go to an ombudsman, and they see it in my favour. What's stopping the Kia dealer then saying it is burned out and not covered under warranty now I've got them all peed off??

So that's it. I have posted this for 2 reasons, 1) to ask for any advice from anyone, and 2) If I am going to have to fork out £600 (which I can not afford) to name and shame, Kia and their warranty.

I know its wayyy after the time, but these type of posts come up regularly - if you're absolutely convinced that its mechanical failure rather than your driving habits / style / pattern, then you should have no qualms at all in spending the money on the diagnostic, safe in the knowledge it will be full refunded once its proven to be a fault?

mattyprice4004

Threads like these are why I moved to an auto (that and the awful traffic these days).
You can’t beat a good old torque converter ‘slushmatic’
One on 280,000 miles and one on 196,000 miles here and still okay - the trick is servicing them properly.

Arklight

mattyprice4004 wrote: »

Threads like these are why I moved to an auto (that and the awful traffic these days).
You can’t beat a good old torque converter ‘slushmatic’
One on 280,000 miles and one on 196,000 miles here and still okay - the trick is servicing them properly.

Do you change out the transmission fluid? Asked our independent about it on an 03 Micra but he didn't want to know. Said it could cause problems and to leave it be. It's still pretty pink, only done 40,000 miles.

motorguy

mattyprice4004 wrote: »

Threads like these are why I moved to an auto (that and the awful traffic these days).
You can’t beat a good old torque converter ‘slushmatic’
One on 280,000 miles and one on 196,000 miles here and still okay - the trick is servicing them properly.

+1

It surprises me that for regular cooking variants, manual boxes are still so popular. Cant think of any good reason why someone driving some 1.4 litre eurobox would want to change gear.

Some enthusiasts may prefer a manual box in their "weapon of choice", but for general use an auto is great.