Dealer replacing instrument cluster lens - Should I be worried about creaks and rattles?

[leecm]

Hi all,
Long story short, the lens (clear barrier that sits in front of gauge cluster) was scratched by the kid in detail the day I bought the car. The dealership used a plastic polish to buff the scratch out, but I realized later that once bright light hits it you see the polish swirls.

Since I bought the car at a dealer 200 miles away, KIA Corp arranged for a local dealer to replace the lens at no cost to me. They estimate that it will take three hours to complete the job. Does anyone know what all is required to replace this? Are they going to have to disassemble my entire dashboard?

I am very concerned about creaks and rattles after they've finished. I plan on taking pictures of my entire dash/trim (in case they scratch something) as well as video of me pushing the dash in various places to prove that there were no creaks, rattles, or loose panels before the work was done. I asked the service manager about the possibility of the work introducing creaks and rattles and he said that anytime work like this is done there will always be a chance of it happening.

Does anyone recommend that I take any other precautions?

 

[westcoastGT]

.........what a dilemma ! I could not live with scratches or rattles /creaking ...............I think you have to cross your fingers and hope for the best ...............Make sure they agree that there is no other damage to your interior before starting , the aluminum trim is very soft and easily damaged ( I made my dealer replace my drivers door panel due to their damage during my sunroof replacement ) keep us posted

 

[BertBert2019GT]

There’s a few members who have already swapper a GT2 gauge cluster for their GT unit. Do a quick search and PM those guys for their input! Considering the biggest hurdles seemed to be getting the dealer to switch the 1’s and 0’s necessary for eliminating the CEL’s— and I don’t remember reading about any issues with the pull and replacement of the actual unit— this should be a stress free swap

 

[Nuthadey]

There’s a few members who have already swapper a GT2 gauge cluster for their GT unit. Do a quick search and PM those guys for their input! Considering the biggest hurdles seemed to be getting the dealer to switch the 1’s and 0’s necessary for eliminating the CEL’s— and I don’t remember reading about any issues with the pull and replacement of the actual unit— this should be a stress free swap

Read the post before replying, quickdraw. He asked about potential creaks, rattles, and scratches forming from the dealer swapping the lens covering the cluster, not about compatibility issues associated with swapping in a non-compatible type of cluster.

Leecm, I've personally had bad luck with rattles and bad service from Kia. If it were my choice to make I'd live with the scratches instead of risking them damaging something or causing issues down the line that they may not be willing or able to correct. Because my opinion of Kia's service departments is so low there would be no need for a risk/benefit analysis. I would never let a service "tech" from Kia remove any part of the car's interior unless it was absolutely necessary.

I guess what you should ask yourself is is removing the scratched plastic worth the risk? How much confidence do you have in the service department to correct it?

 

[SteveCo]

As the car is almost new, you're not dealing with brittle old plastic retaining clips, etc. that will easily snap off. I had my head unit replaced, which involves dismantling a surprising amount of the dashboard, and it looks perfect with no noises resulting from the work.

 

[smmrfld]

You’re almost guaranteed that something worse will happen than scratches you can only see in bright sunlight. Leave it alone.

 

[leecm]

Well now you all have me reconsidering this. Do you think it would be worth it for me to get some plasticx, some tape and a polish pad and try to polish the swirls out? Maybe they just didn't polish long enough?

 

[BertBert2019GT]

Read the post before replying, quickdraw. He asked about potential creaks, rattles, and scratches forming from the dealer swapping the lens covering the cluster, not about compatibility issues associated with swapping in a non-compatible type of cluster.

Leecm, I've personally had bad luck with rattles and bad service from Kia. If it were my choice to make I'd live with the scratches instead of risking them damaging something or causing issues down the line that they may not be willing or able to correct. Because my opinion of Kia's service departments is so low there would be no need for a risk/benefit analysis. I would never let a service "tech" from Kia remove any part of the car's interior unless it was absolutely necessary.

I guess what you should ask yourself is is removing the scratched plastic worth the risk? How much confidence do you have in the service department to correct it?

Whoa. I just thought it would be beneficial for the OP to ask someone who already replaced theirs to see if there were any sounds that came with the swap. Happy Holidays!

 

[leecm]

Whoa. I just thought it would be beneficial for the OP to ask someone who already replaced theirs to see if there were any sounds that came with the swap. Happy Holidays!

I got what you were saying. Thanks for the advice.

 

[BertBert2019GT]

I guess I should clarify my advice was based off the assumption they would need to remove the cluster to swap the lense.

 

[leecm]

I guess I should clarify my advice was based off the assumption they would need to remove the cluster to swap the lense.

I don't think they will but they'll need to disassemble parts of the dash to get the lens out, so technically anyone who has had work that required dash disassembly would be able to provide useful input. I just bought some meguiar's m10 and m1708 and will start with the latter to try to polish the swirls out. I had considered it in the past, but I really wanted KIA to fix it since it was them that caused the damage in the first place (which honestly has left a bad taste in my mouth since I drove off the lot.)

Now it just makes sense to stay as far away from a KIA dealership as possible unless I absolutely have to go there, so I will try the polish.

 

[Peeso33]

Couldn't some sort of headlight restoration product work in this case?

 

[leecm]

Couldn't some sort of headlight restoration product work in this case?

The products I purchased are commonly used on headlights

 

[Callum]

The paste isn't going to fix it, a new part will. That plastic is too polished, you will never get the same quality of optic on that part with it installed.

Let them replace it.

 

[friss]

I had the same situation happen to my GT2 cluster and had it replaced by the dealer for free. Took a bit to get the lens in but I haven't had any issues after it has been replaced. No new sounds or anything of the sort.

If you're like me it's well worth to get it fixed. Once I realized it was scratched all I could see were the scratches when the light hit it just right.


Edit: picture of my damage

 

[MerlintheMad]

Now it just makes sense to stay as far away from a KIA dealership as possible unless I absolutely have to go there, so I will try the polish.

That's what I would do (first). But make sure the Meg's is the lightest hand polish they offer. The "Clear Coat Safe Polishing Compound" is the one. "For hand application only". "Removes light swirls & hazing". That should be more than enough to make your instrument cluster lens look better. I wouldn't expect perfection. But I bet it'll look good enough.

 

[leecm]

So, tried to take pictures of the swirls with my phone, and while they're slightly visible in my phone's flash, what is REALLY visible is the scratches they put in the shroud surrounding the instrument cluster. I kind of noticed it before but once I got in there and actually took pictures, I noticed just how bad it was. Before anyone asks, yes, I tried using a damp microfiber to clean the areas, just to make sure it wasn't just polish that would wipe away. These are scratches that reappear when it dries.


I can't believe that these "detailers" (who the salesman called award winning the night I bought the car LOL) didn't even tape off the surrounding area before polishing out the scratches they created a couple days earlier. Now I am going to have to call KIA corp again tomorrow and ask that they send the shroud part to the dealer to have them install it while they are replacing the lens.

 

[SteveCo]

If that's the kind of workmanship that dealership is sending out the door, find another door to knock on. Whether these 'award winning' detailers were in house or brought in to do the work, somebody there must have inspected the finished work and signed off on it.

Find another dealer with a good reputation to do the repairs properly - you should send KIA those photos as well, in support of why you want to do that. Those guys concept of 'good enough' is truly abysmal, and I sure wouldn't want them pulling anything apart that requires any finesse.

 

[leecm]

If that's the kind of workmanship that dealership is sending out the door, find another door to knock on. Whether these 'award winning' detailers were in house or brought in to do the work, somebody there must have inspected the finished work and signed off on it.

Find another dealer with a good reputation to do the repairs properly - you should send KIA those photos as well, in support of why you want to do that. Those guys concept of 'good enough' is truly abysmal, and I sure wouldn't want them pulling anything apart that requires any finesse.

Luckily the dealer that did all of this will not be anywhere near my car during this upcoming repair. With that said, I am a little concerned about the quality of service that KIA can provide in general, but I guess I have no choice but to hope for the best.

 

[SteveCo]

Luckily the dealer that did all of this will not be anywhere near my car during this upcoming repair. With that said, I am a little concerned about the quality of service that KIA can provide in general, but I guess I have no choice but to hope for the best.

I don't think it's fair to tar them all with the same brush.

Each of the service visits I've had at my local KIA dealership have been done quickly and professionally, and the work has been of a very high standard - not something I can say about the local BMW dealer (even though they did have an Espresso machine in their waiting area, instead of the standard coffee maker at KIA).

People have certainly had good and bad experiences at different dealers, but I think that pretty much is true across all makes. Check out some online reviews to see what others have to say about service departments at other dealers - and by all means post one about these guys.