Consumer Reports Stinger Reliability Rating

[MisterMac]

CR, I've used it for years. Having owned 79 automobiles, I find CR to be far less than accurate. Yet, it is another point of data we can use to complete as close to full picture as possible.

Paint issue: As of this morning there are 5,420 members on this forum. 157 have identified some type of paint issue. Those who have paint issues have complained about it enough to make it the number one topic of forum discussion. Yet, the other 5,263 have not complained about a paint issue.

Perhaps not all 5,420 own a Stinger. I wager most do or did.

I also wager a huge percentage of Stinger owners bought it because it is sexy as all get-out. If they had a paint issue, they'd be highly ticked, most likely find the poll (heck, it is most always in the "New Posts" highlighted area.) Pretty much can't miss the thread. Once you read some of the thread it is close to impossible to avoid going out to look over your Stinger with a magnifying glass, much like a gemologist would scour a diamond for imperfections....

157 / 5,420 = 2.9%.

It seems to me that Merlin is much closer to being correct than incorrect about the incidence of paint issues.

Out of total Stingers sold, 5,420 is a statistically significant sample.

 

[MerlintheMad]

How many of you are worried it's going to happen? Be honest! When I noticed "mine's got it too" I felt like I received a terrible diagnosis from a doctor.

Not particularly. But I am not in denial.

Your point about down the road problems is the strongest; because everything ages and decays. But will the Stingers not showing any paint issues in their first or second year suddenly show evidence of oncoming problems?

The most terrible diagnosis any car comes with is that it is a mortal object. So it's just a matter of when. I already decided (as I bought the car) that a repaint is in my future, maybe even not too distant future: I wanted competition orange; yellow was a GT where I bought my Stinger, so that was out (needed a GT1 to get all three "must have" features), otherwise I'd have settled on that rare eye popping color. But since I could not get competition orange, and yellow was out, I went with what my wife wanted most (silky silver) and determined that when the paint starts to look tatty I will get a solid repaint.

In other words, I made up my mind that since the Stinger is everything I hoped it would be, I was going to keep this car for years, most likely far beyond the point where the paint still looks good. As things are turning out, that could be anywhere from as early as a couple of years to a guess of half a dozen. I'll be really surprised if factory paint on any MY18 Stinger still looks great after six years. And that's too bad. Kia could have done better.

(Bad paint micro blue gt These "new" door edge bubbles, that, it is reported, get bigger and then burst and release watery goo, are possibly the ticking time bomb that is affecting a clear majority of Stingers: but it is too soon to tell; I only first heard about it yesterday, and the post introducing the rest of us to it is only a couple of days old.)

 

[MisterMac]

Not particularly. But I am not in denial.

Your point about down the road problems is the strongest; because everything ages and decays. But will the Stingers not showing any paint issues in their first or second year suddenly show evidence of oncoming problems?

The most terrible diagnosis any car comes with is that it is a mortal object. So it's just a matter of when. I already decided (as I bought the car) that a repaint is in my future, maybe even not too distant future: I wanted competition orange; yellow was a GT where I bought my Stinger, so that was out (needed a GT1 to get all three "must have" features), otherwise I'd have settled on that rare eye popping color. But since I could not get competition orange, and yellow was out, I went with what my wife wanted most (silky silver) and determined that when the paint starts to look tatty I will get a solid repaint.

In other words, I made up my mind that since the Stinger is everything I hoped it would be, I was going to keep this car for years, most likely far beyond the point where the paint still looks good. As things are turning out, that could be anywhere from as early as a couple of years to a guess of half a dozen. I'll be really surprised if factory paint on any MY18 Stinger still looks great after six years. And that's too bad. Kia could have done better.

Hopefully not turning this into another paint problem thread.

My micro blue GT, now covered with ppf on the entire front end, and ceramic coating elsewhere has not encountered any additional paint problems since the bumper was replaced.


(Bad paint micro blue gt These "new" door edge bubbles, that, it is reported, get bigger and then burst and release watery goo, are possibly the ticking time bomb that is affecting a clear majority of Stingers: but it is too soon to tell; I only first heard about it yesterday, and the post introducing the rest of us to it is only a couple of days old.)

 

[Stingkia]

Un

So, for someone still on the fence about getting a 2019 Stinger GT2 AWD vs a Model 3 vs A5/S5 Sportback, what should I do?

Unless you are a street racer, or have a very small wiener (for which you need to compensate), the Stinger Premium 2.0T is a terrific buy. My loaded-with-tech-features Premium was OUT-THE-DOOR for under $34K (Koons' Kia, Woodbridge, VA). I have a Stinger with plenty of power and good gas mileage ... and an extra $15K to put to work in the stock market.

 

[westcoastGT]

....and a small wiener !!

 

[MisterMac]

Un

Unless you are a street racer, or have a very small wiener (for which you need to compensate), the Stinger Premium 2.0T is a terrific buy. My loaded-with-tech-features Premium was OUT-THE-DOOR for under $34K (Koons' Kia, Woodbridge, VA). I have a Stinger with plenty of power and good gas mileage ... and an extra $15K to put to work in the stock market.

Say what? This comment takes the immature comment of the day award.

 

[westcoastGT]

Say what? This comment takes the immature comment of the day award.

............and a bad case of buyers remorse................sure the 4 cyl is fine . BUT.....................................why even comment if youre happy and satisfied ???

 

[GronkSoyFiesta]

Un

Unless you are a street racer, or have a very small wiener (for which you need to compensate), the Stinger Premium 2.0T is a terrific buy. My loaded-with-tech-features Premium was OUT-THE-DOOR for under $34K (Koons' Kia, Woodbridge, VA). I have a Stinger with plenty of power and good gas mileage ... and an extra $15K to put to work in the stock market.

I have a GT2 and am not a street racer....oh wait, this explains a lot

 

[phxgt]

61% of the people who took the poll said they have issues with their paint. You turn that into your own data. I can't go any further, because when faced with facts, you change the subject. Others in the forum have called you out. You answer questions with questions. I'm not going to waste my time responding to you because you clearly don't know what you're talking about.

I am late to the party so this may have been asked. I believe you used the number of 66% earlier. Where would you get 66% if the poll says 61%?

Also, with a bit of an issue like this, would you agree that more folks tend to get their two cents in IF they are in fact one of those having issues? Merlins logic is that people having issues with their paint will Google search it, find the poll on this forum, and report it on the poll. Leading to essentially a false positive when it comes to a percentage of those with the problem.

 

[phxgt]

I have a GT2 and am not a street racer....oh wait, this explains a lot

Well you did say you had a couple exes that took half each.

 

[MerlintheMad]

Unless you are a street racer, or have a very small wiener (for which you need to compensate), the Stinger Premium 2.0T is a terrific buy. My loaded-with-tech-features Premium was OUT-THE-DOOR for under $34K (Koons' Kia, Woodbridge, VA). I have a Stinger with plenty of power and good gas mileage ... and an extra $15K to put to work in the stock market.

I carry a derringer. Does that mean I have a big penis? Are you saying something about the size of your jones? Who on this forum cares?

I happen to like your trim, and would have bought that one except I wanted more power for passing and taking full advantage of "windows of opportunity", that I happen to set up, now, because I can. Nothing would frustrate me more than opting for the 2.0T, only to find out that I still can't get up there quickly enough to prevent a mindless pair of hands on the wheel of a mindless rolling roadblock from slamming the door on me. I'm not a "street racer". And I carry a derringer.

 

[westcoastGT]

95 % of the members here drive the GT .......................dont take a knife to a gun fight

 

[MerlintheMad]

95 % of the members here drive the GT .......................dont take a knife to a gun fight

Oh come on, it's not a fight and it's hardly that disparate. The 2.0T is very quick. If it is comparing guns to knives that's not a good comparison. If the 3.3TT is an AR-15, the 2.0T is a lever action Winchester.

 

[westcoastGT]

Oh come on, it's not a fight and it's hardly that disparate. The 2.0T is very quick. If it is comparing guns to knives that's not a good comparison. If the 3.3TT is an AR-15, the 2.0T is a lever action Winchester.

I knew you and your gun toting ass was going reply to this bawaaaaaaaaa

 

[MerlintheMad]

I knew you and your gun toting ass was going reply to this bawaaaaaaaaa

LOL! Sometimes it is fun(ny) being so predictable.

 

[CaliSting]

I have a quality engineering background. There are enough quality excursions I have seen on my car it’s clear this car didn’t have strong quality team in manufacturing. Most of my issues showed up early and all were all reported by earlier buyers of the cars. Clear Kia were more interested in selling units than catching issues early to assure higher quality product. They don’t occasionally pull a car off line and drive it to make sure no issues

Paint defects first discovered in week 1
Brake rotor issues
Sunroof squeaking and rattling
Rear hatch rattling
Stereo resetting to rear speakers
Transmission logic confused occasionally
Engine stumbling occasionally
LSD clunking
Exterior weather stripping coming loose on rear hatch

I play this song now.

 

[MerlintheMad]

There are enough quality excursions I have seen on my car it’s clear this car didn’t have strong quality team in manufacturing.

Here we are again: dueling anecdotes. My anecdotal experience says that the hype in the Stinger promo book is spot on. Your anecdotal experiences don't back that up. And round we go. I believe the lack of complaints (as a percentage of membership complaining about their "low quality" cars) on this forum backs up me and the promo book hype.

 

[MisterMac]

I have a quality engineering background. There are enough quality excursions I have seen on my car it’s clear this car didn’t have strong quality team in manufacturing. Most of my issues showed up early and all were all reported by earlier buyers of the cars. Clear Kia were more interested in selling units than catching issues early to assure higher quality product. They don’t occasionally pull a car off line and drive it to make sure no issues

Paint defects first discovered in week 1
Brake rotor issues
Sunroof squeaking and rattling
Rear hatch rattling
Stereo resetting to rear speakers
Transmission logic confused occasionally
Engine stumbling occasionally
LSD (Limited Slip Differential) clunking
Exterior weather stripping coming loose on rear hatch

I play this song now.

Wow! You should have bought one of those perfect automobiles. Why didn't you?

Oh, wait, because there is no such thing....

 

[DiabloStinger]

I'm driving a 2.0t this week ... It is not something I'd ever buy once driving and owning a GT. It feels as numb as an accord.

 

[MisterMac]

I'm driving a 2.0t this week ... It is not something I'd ever buy once driving and owning a GT. It feels as numb as an accord.

Exactly.