Discussion of Stinger paint quality (Was - Paint Chip Issue)

[Get Stung]

I read about this headlight paint issue
So I took a peek at mine (2 week old panthera. metal) 1/18 build date

 

[StungnTn]

I'm curious how long everyone is going to wait before they apply PPF. I received most of my paint chips before the first 1000 miles, which would happen in less than 30 days in my case. I'm contemplating shelving my car for two months after the repaint or just walking away all together. I definitely feel a certain amount of shame for going with KIA and then experiencing this type of issue.

 

[MerlintheMad]

Went to a dealer lot today (sunday so i could look around without anyone bothering me) and noticed that every single one of the 8 new stingers on the lot had chipping on the bumpers under the corner of the headlights. The damage ranged from very minor to quite obvious. Colors were blue, grey, and white. Every single car had it. I cant imagine how bad these cars will look like in 5 years if the paint is that fragile.

I'm sorry, your credibility is damaged by your earlier posts. To corroborate your assertions I will have to do a little looking myself. Shouldn't be too hard. Stay tuned ...

"I'm baaack"...

Here's the text of my observations and conclusions:

The pictures are of an examination of the total Stinger inventory at Jerry Seiner KIA on 30 July 2018. The purpose of the examination was to ascertain what, if any, issues with paint failures or flaws exist among said-inventory.

1. Yellow, GT. Pristine clean: I couldn’t even find any road damage on it; the paint is perfect. (This car was returned, in just the last three days, after four months; it was purchased a day or two before I got mine on the 26th of March of this year. Interestingly the tires are halfway worn out. So the owner was having fun to say the least. They are trading it in for a Sorrento; reasons unknown to my sales rep, James Templin.)

2. Black, GT2. Clean.

3. Micro Blue, GT2. Clean. Has PPF from the middle of the hood forward.

4. Red, GT2. Clean. PPF over the grille only.

5. Black, Premium. Small chip starting under forward lower corner of driver’s side headlight assembly. Chip along the rear edge of hood, to primer coat, above the right windshield wiper (but does not line up with it).

6. White, Premium. Noticeable chips under both headlight assemblies (forward lower corners, as typical). This is the worst damage from headlight assembly rubbing observed on any of the cars. The primer coat is visible; and the paint edges appear to be starting to peel up.

7. White GT2. Small chip starting under forward lower corner of driver’s side headlight assembly.

8. Black, GT1. Small chip starting under forward lower corner of driver’s side headlight assembly.

9. Red, GT. Clean.

10. Black, GT2. Clean.

11. Red, GT2. Clean.

12. White, GT2. Extremely small chip starting under forward lower corner of driver’s side headlight assembly.

13. Black, GT. One small nick that looks like road damage under the right brake scoop. Clean otherwise.

14. Red, GT2. Clean.

15. Red, GT. Just arrived; still under its hood and roof plastic. Extremely small chip starting under forward lower corner of driver’s side headlight assembly. Otherwise clean.

16. Red, GT2. Clean except for a very small road nick under right headlight assembly. (This is the showroom car. Nobody would see the teensy nick but me.)

Conclusion: There is no evidence of failing paint on these cars (with the possible exception of number six). Remarkably, the four month old Sunset Yellow still looks like it came off the showroom floor. Half the cars have zero issues of any kind with the paint. And the other half shows only a single point of damage on six out of the eight cars; the other two showing only two points of damage; all such imperfections (with the exception of number six) being extremely minor and explainable as damage and not paint failure.

 

[eflyguy]

Your experience matches mine at a local dealer. Some headlight rubbing issues but the rest was OK.

Pity you couldn't ascertain build dates on those. Wonder if it's on the window sticker?

 

[MerlintheMad]

Your experience matches mine at a local dealer. Some headlight rubbing issues but the rest was OK.

Pity you couldn't ascertain build dates on those. Wonder if it's on the window sticker?

I didn't look, because my reason for this was to cast doubt on @forzanerazzurri assertion that all eight Stingers had chipping paint. Either that dealership got extremely, unbelievably unlucky with their inventory, or our compadre on the Stinger Forum was seeing what he wanted to see. A bit of collected dirty rain water back there in the crack beneath the corner of the headlight can appear to be paint failing. But I made sure it is not before moving on to the next car.

 

[Tonkabob]

I didn't look, because my reason for this was to cast doubt on @forzanerazzurri assertion that all eight Stingers had chipping paint. Either that dealership got extremely, unbelievably unlucky with their inventory, or our compadre on the Stinger Forum was seeing what he wanted to see. A bit of collected dirty rain water back there in the crack beneath the corner of the headlight can appear to be paint failing. But I made sure it is not before moving on to the next car.

I know you are trying to defend Kia on the paint issue but i am amazed at how much damage you found on the dealer lot. Over 50%. Only about 100 have reported paint issues of 5K or 10k cars on the road. The chipping will start after driven off the lot typically in the first few thousand miles after some car washes and bug impacts. I think you just supported @forzanerazzurri's points. I am happy i do not have headlight or back of hood issues that you seem to dismiss. But these cars might still have chipping issues down the road in addition to these other paint issues.

 

[ant]

Only 100 of 5-10k cars? You can’t be serious. Not everyone with a stinger is on this forum. Nor has everyone with a problem reported it on this forum.

I believe there are 4000 members. 2.5%. That’s probably a reasonable lower bound. I wouldn’t look at it as an upper bound as you’re suggesting.

 

[A Member Who Left]

Why would you buy out your lease if you thought you'll be wrangling with KIA? Those of you who have purchase thru finances have a way out. Why does there have to be any unsatisfied Yellow Stinger owners? With all the other color Stingers receiving nothing atm, lets be a little more appreciative.

I leased my car with the intention of buying it. Period. Now I am not sure what to do. I don’t turn in leased cars every 3-4 years like some on this forum. I also expect a $35k car to not have ANY paint issues. Is that too much to ask? Maybe some here enjoy driving vehicles while not minding their paint defects because they can afford a new car every 3 years. I do not. So far I have been lucky and VERY appreciative that my silver does not seem to have these issues. However, it is naive to believe that defects listed across all the colors won’t have a negative impact on future values of every Stinger. Perception can become reality very easily. The educated consumer will research vehicles and their history.

I had to use the Stinger line just to get a fuel pump replaced when a dealer claimed there was no problem. I don’t like having to do that. Maybe some don’t mind being inconvenienced like that for a well known problem. I do.

I also don’t like seeing others being taken advantage of with their problems like @Luminary. For every @Luminary, there are likely several others not even aware that this forum exists that are suffering problems.

 

[Tonkabob]

Only 100 of 5-10k cars? You can’t be serious. Not everyone with a stinger is on this forum. Nor has everyone with a problem reported it on this forum.

I believe there are 4000 members. 2.5%. That’s probably a reasonable lower bound. I wouldn’t look at it as an upper bound as you’re suggesting.

Agree. I'm just saying the only tangible proof we have is the 2.5% lower end as you suggest. So i would guess double or triple that since not everyone is on the forum. But Merlinthemad just found a majority of 16 on the lot have paint issues before even having the chance for mild impacts or rubbing from driving.

 

[Ivansito]

I leased my car with the intention of buying it. Period. Now I am not sure what to do. I don’t turn in leased cars every 3-4 years like some on this forum. I also expect a $35k car to not have ANY paint issues. Is that too much to ask? Maybe some here enjoy driving vehicles while not minding their paint defects because they can afford a new car every 3 years. I do not. So far I have been lucky and VERY appreciative that my silver does not seem to have these issues. However, it is naive to believe that defects listed across all the colors won’t have a negative impact on future values of every Stinger. Perception can become reality very easily. The educated consumer will research vehicles and their history.

I had to use the Stinger line just to get a fuel pump replaced when a dealer claimed there was no problem. I don’t like having to do that. Maybe some don’t mind being inconvenienced like that for a well known problem. I do.

I also don’t like seeing others being taken advantage of with their problems like @Luminary. For every @Luminary, there are likely several others not even aware that this forum exists that are suffering problems.

Yours is a Silver with no paint issue. Enjoy your car. Leave the complaining for those with real issues.

 

[MisterMac]

This is great research, and I will leave the interpretation to the scientist to debate.

My new bumper is in and being painted now. Prior to installation on my car it will be covered with 3M self healing PPF. Then we shall see if the rest of my paint holds out or not. I found this on the flat top of my hood yesterday...

 

[MerlintheMad]

Agree. I'm just saying the only tangible proof we have is the 2.5% lower end as you suggest. So i would guess double or triple that since not everyone is on the forum. But Merlinthemad just found a majority of 16 on the lot have paint issues before even having the chance for mild impacts or rubbing from driving.

Actually it was half, not a majority. But that's a quibble. I am very detail oriented. Most people are not. And so most people doing what I did would have found little to nothing wrong with any of those cars but Number Six.

Most Stinger owners are going to look at a nick here or there and shrug it off as "driving damage in the real world". If it is failing paint, we won't hear about it for months yet. We don't know how severe this problem is, or if it is a severe problem at all. We won't know until later. But for right now (and I never borrow trouble), all indicators say this is not a yooge problem.

Small concern in the wider world is indicated by how few respondents to this poll there are; even just taking Stinger Forum membership and isolating it, the problem is not a large number of Stingers. Taking world wide sales: there are well over 12K Stingers on the roads right now: they will search the Net just as soon as they notice that their cars are looking like crap, and the cause is not road damage. The very instant they click "Search" they will see this very thread with its poll. And why would a majority go away without participating, to help get the word out? So far, puny response: which means very little awareness of the poll: which must mean, very little problem noticed with Stinger paint ... so far.

 

[MerlintheMad]

This is great research, and I will leave the interpretation to the scientist to debate.

My new bumper is in and being painted now. Prior to installation on my car it will be covered with 3M self healing PPF. Then we shall see if the rest of my paint holds out or not. I found this on the flat top of my hood yesterday...

View attachment 10493

That looks like a paint chip alright and not a road ding. I'm sure you are a hawk watching for anything else!

 

[Tonkabob]

This is great research, and I will leave the interpretation to the scientist to debate.

My new bumper is in and being painted now. Prior to installation on my car it will be covered with 3M self healing PPF. Then we shall see if the rest of my paint holds out or not. I found this on the flat top of my hood yesterday...

View attachment 10493

I have 7 of those on my blue and the only other used Stinger i have seen (also blue) had the exact same chips.

 

[MerlintheMad]

I have 7 of those on my blue and the only other used Stinger i have seen (also blue) had the exact same chips.

Man oh man! That would totally mess with me! Here's the kind of decision making process I'd be going through: Do I apply touch up paint to achieve a satisfactory appearance, then put on full PPF? Or do I open a case with Kia for a full repaint (appealing to their treatment of the Yellow for equal treatment), then put on full PPF? If Kia will only apply the warranty as stated and repaint each of the chips (would look a lot better than touch up paint), can I get them to pay for a full PPF too, so that this doesn't continue to happen? Proceed ...

 

[Mach_Tuck]

I know you are trying to defend Kia on the paint issue but i am amazed at how much damage you found on the dealer lot. Over 50%. Only about 100 have reported paint issues of 5K or 10k cars on the road. The chipping will start after driven off the lot typically in the first few thousand miles after some car washes and bug impacts. I think you just supported @forzanerazzurri's points. I am happy i do not have headlight or back of hood issues that you seem to dismiss. But these cars might still have chipping issues down the road in addition to these other paint issues.

Have to agree here...a better response to defend would have been 1 or MAYBE 2 showing issues on the LOT. 50% is totally unacceptable. I did the same thing at my local dealer, not to the extent you did, and i after the first 5 had headlight issues, one with only 12 miles on it, i decided i had enough and went back into the air conditioned show room.

I would agree that "most" people wouldnt notice this type of damage but this car is not being sold to "most" people in my opinion. That being the case, ANY defect like this is unacceptable. I am fortunate (take that as you will) to have a Yellow that Kia is willing to fix. Other than headlight issue, i have full PPF that was installed on day 2 (70 miles on car) and have zero other issues like some others here do. Even knowing there is a chance that i have covered bad paint makes me sick to my stomach and will allow Kia to attempt to rectify.

I hope that this is in fact due to some bad paint batches and it truly does affect only a small number of the total stinger population. I feel that Kia is willing (again take that as you will) to step up here given the newly released model. Will this "willingness" be there towards the end of the paint warranty when the cars have many thousands of miles on them. At that point, it is MUCH easier to dismiss any paint chipping as "road damage." And if you dont believe me, the first two dealers i went to both dismissed me and my headlight issues as "yep, thats AZ rock chipping, nothing we can do."

I am more than willing let Kia try and make this right...if not, then i will be the first in line for follow up action.

 

[ant]

From what I've read, it sounds like..

If you have a problem, ANY problem, call the KIA stinger hotline and get it resolved through there.

Unless your dealer is unusually awesome, you're probably just wasting your time by trying to get a dealer to help you without having KIA corp involved first.

Actually this might be the kind of thing that needs to happen so that KIA corp can have true visibility into the problems. Imagine how many people go to a dealer and complain, and the dealer says some stuff, and doesn't even bother to report it up the chain. As I've said before, at least in the Boston, MA area, KIA dealers seem to care about transactions and not relationships.

 

[Mach_Tuck]

From what I've read, it sounds like..

If you have a problem, ANY problem, call the KIA stinger hotline and get it resolved through there.

Unless your dealer is unusually awesome, you're probably just wasting your time by trying to get a dealer to help you without having KIA corp involved first.

Actually this might be the kind of thing that needs to happen so that KIA corp can have true visibility into the problems. Imagine how many people go to a dealer and complain, and the dealer says some stuff, and doesn't even bother to report it up the chain. As I've said before, at least in the Boston, MA area, KIA dealers seem to care about transactions and not relationships.

Hit the nail on the head. After going through all dealers within 80 miles of my house, finally found a good one looking to have a relationship. At least here, the service adviser was honest enough to say, "nothing i can do about that paint and we will have to submit to Kia Corp for follow up"

Absolutely any issues need to be brought up with the Kia VIP line. Unfortunately, the dealers have no skin in this game.

 

[MerlintheMad]

I think our friend @forzanerazzurri has just received the ban. I cannot directly reply to the above post: I get "The following error occurred:
You do not have permission to view this page or perform this action." First time I've seen that! I guess profanity and direct ad hominem attacks are not permitted, which is a good thing (I have a thick skin, though).

But regardless, s/he appears to not understand context: the headlight assembly chipping is NOT considered a paint failure issue. I don't care how well painted a car is, if the plastic swells and contacts, that design, with the forward end of the long headlight assembly "wiggling" out there, will VIBRATE. The contact point is precisely at the very edge of the paint, an acute edge, so the paint will wear. I found ONE car that looked like the paint might also be failing, which accounts for Number Six's larger, totally visible chipped paint under the forward corners of both headlight assemblies. One out of 16. The rest, taken in context, are either extremely small nicks from driving, or a casual accident (hood rear edge), or vibration from the headlight assembly design. This has zero to do with the issue at hand on this thread. Evidence is that only a small number of Stingers have actual failing, chipping, flaking paint. I find it incredible that @forzanerazzurri found 100% paint failures; but it isn't necessarily what s/he meant: the specific mention was paint chipping under the headlights. Even so, it seems almost as unlikely that 100% out of eight cars would have chipping under both headlights. Out of the eight cars with headlight assembly chipping I saw, only one had chipping under both headlights. But anecdotal evidence remains just that: no conclusions can be made from it.

 

[ScottM]

It looks like @MerlintheMad made note that the paint chips were around the headlight assembly. To me, that's not 50% damage... end of story. That's 50% of the cars, had paint chips, at a specific location on the car(s). This is different than saying 50% had paint chips of all sorts on the cars hood, roof, etc. In any event, this is a relative issue... but it is isolated to a degree. In other words, it's not all cars...from all parts of the country. It's a percentage that no one as of yet has been able to say "this is what has caused it and this is what will fix it in the future". BUT...the one thing we know for sure is that KIA HQ sees it as an issue to some degree.