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

[Todd Piefer]

Mine's blue and has a growing number of chips on the hood. To me, they're all very similar which suggests that it isn't likely they were caused by pebbles since those come in various shapes and sizes. And I can't prove this but I believe that a few of them appeared immediately after a basic wash at a Mobil station. It was as if the water pressure was enough to break the adhesion of the paint from the primer.

 

[Bisky]

I'm sorry, but spending $50k on a car and then paint chips appear after several weeks is not something I want to own! Previously owned a 2004 BMW 330i for 10 years and my paint looked showroom new. I always enjoyed detailing that car as the paint seldom showed a flaw. I can't imagine detailing a 2 year old Stinger and seeing more and more paint issues every time I washed it. May look like a great looking car, but obviously not up to standards of the Audis, BMW and Mercedes Benz. What's disheartening is I was ready to pull the trigger on this car. Now my first choice in an Audi A5 sport back. Sorry Kia, don't think you're ready to compete with the big boys yet!

 

[Bisky]

This is the most disheartening thread yet. I have to consider this and whether to buy wait or cry.
I get it’s a first year car but paint? Cars have been painted since the Model-T. Did they experiment in This with some new Green technology? I had a 2002 Acura in silver that had big paint issues. A region rep got the bumper repainted. It was peeling off, not chipping. Something about environmentally friendly paint and it didn’t stick to the plastic parts. Check out old Acura’s and peeling pa8nt, I always notice them. Sigh. I’m following this thread but I was about ready to buy this week. Damn. Sigh.

I hear you brother, this really is a game changer for me too!

 

[Bisky]

The Stinger is on my short list to purchase but this is a absolute and complete deal breaker for me; for someone who likes to obsessively detail my vehicles, this would drive me insane!

Absolutely sir, feel the same!

 

[Bisky]

Thanks for posting - certainly sounds plausible, as the majority of issues I've seen posted have the paint color coat (and clear coat) separating cleanly from the base underneath, as if there is zero adhesion in that area. It seems to be affecting some cars more than others, so I wonder if they made some running changes when they realized they had issues.

GM had a similar problem back in the early 90s. I owned a new Pontiac Cutless Supreme bought in 1991, my first New car Purchase. After 7 months, large flakes of paint would flake off. GM says it was a primer issue that they used. Paid $100 deductible to have the entire car resprayed.

 

[Socalstinga]

Not to minimize anyone’s plight w/ this paint issue(I certainly would be raging)but of 3300+ members on this forum, I don’t think a large majority have had any issues. I wouldn’t bash the car based on dogma and the “unfinished business” into the investigation of this absolute weird paint issue. I WILL be the first to admit that the top clear coat on these cars Are really thin even if my GT1 was “only” a $41k car (if you’re not buying this car on steep discounts or incentives, don’t.. deals are out there).

Personally I think Kia dropped the ball and rushed thru production. Paint can’t be a weak spot for a car that’s THE HALO car. I’m lucky my only paint issues have been the fault of a fallen palette on a SoCal fwy and flying debris. Paint isn’t perfect, a few dumbass quirks, but the car has so far been a blast to drive daily and own...

 

[Stinger GT SS]

View attachment 8320 I posted this earlier. I found a chip at the rear edge of the hood on the driver side, days after getting it May 18th. The dealer is getting a touch up for me, wasn’t in stock in red. Odd color not to have stock? OK, it’s near where the wiper arm would strike but not really as I can pull up arm and it’s not near the chip zone. So some magic would need to apply. A rock hitting at that speed to do the damage would have to have struck the windshield too and would have left a mark, at least logic would seem so. Right now it’s the only one I seem to have. Clear Bra goes on next week. I hope it’s a one off and not just the first. But I am concerned.

By the look on that photo somone has yanked your wiper arm up & created that.

 

[Bobr]

Hmm, my Sunset Yellow currently in production, wondering if that paint issue was fixed there already. Fingers crossed.. If it not fixed, that means they should stop that production cycle, right? No news on that it was stopped for my car.

Done some asking in our Russian community (only several members known to ask) and no complains yet but that's mostly because almost everybody done a protective film on it (I will do as well).

 

[Damien Tech]

Is there a poll somewhere so that we can get an idea of how many are affected?

 

[StingerGT68]

Maybe it is time for Sal to send out a note to all members here to take an official poll of color, age and chip count/location. I’m not an attorney, but I can smell a class action case here. What does this do to the value of the car?

I don't think it's time for that, just yet. Let us with open case numbers hear back from Kia first. Again, we don't know how many cars/colors/build dates this paint defect affects. Let's see what Kia will do before we get up in arms.

 

[Falaris]

Added a simple poll at the top. Please answer if you are fairly confident your chips are not the result of expected road wear or other damaging event. Hopefully we can help determine how wide spread this issue is within our community. Feel free to answer NO if you are clear of defects as well.

-Fal

 

[Joseph Spiegel]

By the look on that photo somone has yanked your wiper arm up & created that.

I know. But if you pull the arm back it touches away from the chip. If you get creative, maybe the hood was open and someone yanked the arm at the perfect angle if you can find the combination, maybe with enough force you could strike the area. Odds are low. I certainly wasn’t the one. I learned on this forum before the purchase that the wipers are a trap. Also the trajectory of a rock would be weird as the chip is on the rear edge.
To me paint failure and a wash prep might be the best answer.
One of the sales guys looking at my car spotted the tiny red chip in the black molding and he picked it up and tossed it before I could get it. Sigh. Maybe a paint expert could have evaluated what caused it to fail/chip off.

 

[Joseph Spiegel]

Added a simple poll at the top. Please answer if you are fairly confident your chips are not the result of expected road wear or other damaging event. Hopefully we can help determine how wide spread this issue is within our community. Feel free to answer NO if you are clear of defects as well.

-Fal

No red? I’m the only one with a mysterious issue?

 

[KiaofMuncie]

I'm sorry, but spending $50k on a car and then paint chips appear after several weeks is not something I want to own! Previously owned a 2004 BMW 330i for 10 years and my paint looked showroom new. I always enjoyed detailing that car as the paint seldom showed a flaw. I can't imagine detailing a 2 year old Stinger and seeing more and more paint issues every time I washed it. May look like a great looking car, but obviously not up to standards of the Audis, BMW and Mercedes Benz. What's disheartening is I was ready to pull the trigger on this car. Now my first choice in an Audi A5 sport back. Sorry Kia, don't think you're ready to compete with the big boys yet!

Big Boys? BMW ignored my brand new 550iGT when the paint failed miserably. I had hundreds of dots that looked like the end of a tooth pick. you could see the primer. The front bumper,hood,mirrors,pillars,roof. Said I drove it down a gravel road. Mind you, I had installed BBS wheels with low profile tires. This was not a off road vehicle. BMW dismissed my concerns as quickly as I showed them. No support at all and I had owned plenty of BMW's over the years. Even the "Big Boys" get these things wrong. It is unfortunate it has happened to KIA but at least from what I have seen preliminary they are going to own it. I can't say that from my experience with BMW. I had a Toyota Tundra that was way out of warranty. I had a part fail. Toyota had never seen this happen before to this particular part. You know what they did? They covered it free of charge. You know who bought another Toyota truck? This guy. It is the little things that do matter. I think in the end we will be very thankful that KIA is behind it's owners and this issue.

 

[Falaris]

No red? I’m the only one with a mysterious issue?

Sorry in editing my responses I must have removed the red option!

It is back now but I had to reset the poll. Please vote again...

-Fal

 

[Ivansito]

Have had 5 chips so far. 3 on hood. 1 on fake hood vent. 1 on rear by hatch opening just above right tail light. Touch up paint has done well so far, but doesn't feel right me having to do all this 2 months remove driving off the lot in a brand new car which I am paying a pretty good size payment.

 

[gilthanis1]

I'm sorry, but spending $50k on a car and then paint chips appear after several weeks is not something I want to own! Previously owned a 2004 BMW 330i for 10 years and my paint looked showroom new. I always enjoyed detailing that car as the paint seldom showed a flaw. I can't imagine detailing a 2 year old Stinger and seeing more and more paint issues every time I washed it. May look like a great looking car, but obviously not up to standards of the Audis, BMW and Mercedes Benz. What's disheartening is I was ready to pull the trigger on this car. Now my first choice in an Audi A5 sport back. Sorry Kia, don't think you're ready to compete with the big boys yet!

Seriously?? Read any 'German' forum and you'll see 10x the amount of screwups and ignored problems from these a**holes and guess what? Idiots KEEP ON BUYING THEM.......... I guess they like the fact that they can waste money on a car that isn't worth what you would get from recycling it for metal after the warranty expires.... You can shove your 'standards' with that argument as it holds no merit whatsoever. Ever wonder why there are so many used ones for sale? Nobody wants to suffer the repair bills after the blow up at 60-70k miles.

Either buy the car, or don't, but don't step in here trying to bash a car we bought, and Kia will fix. There's not 1 dam manufacturer in the WORLD today that can mass produce a car with 0 issues. Things will always happen, and it's how the manufacturer responds that makes or breaks them. Kia has not let us down, and I doubt they will.

 

[Ivansito]

Seriously?? Read any 'German' forum and you'll see 10x the amount of screwups and ignored problems from these a**holes and guess what? Idiots KEEP ON BUYING THEM.......... I guess they like the fact that they can waste money on a car that isn't worth what you would get from recycling it for metal after the warranty expires.... You can shove your 'standards' with that argument as it holds no merit whatsoever. Ever wonder why there are so many used ones for sale? Nobody wants to suffer the repair bills after the blow up at 60-70k miles.

Either buy the car, or don't, but don't step in here trying to bash a car we bought, and Kia will fix. There's not 1 dam manufacturer in the WORLD today that can mass produce a car with 0 issues. Things will always happen, and it's how the manufacturer responds that makes or breaks them. Kia has not let us down, and I doubt they will.

Oh my sweet Jesus. What just happened here? I believe everything can be said with the same accuracy and intent while still maintaining civility.

How about this....
May I suggest in the face of this adversity, that we patiently wait for a decision by KIA Motors who at the present time seem to be moving to a potential solution. Lets not get ahead of ourselves for the sake of not ruining or tainting our experience with this amazing car.

hows that?

 

[Bisky]

Big Boys? BMW ignored my brand new 550iGT when the paint failed miserably. I had hundreds of dots that looked like the end of a tooth pick. you could see the primer. The front bumper,hood,mirrors,pillars,roof. Said I drove it down a gravel road. Mind you, I had installed BBS wheels with low profile tires. This was not a off road vehicle. BMW dismissed my concerns as quickly as I showed them. No support at all and I had owned plenty of BMW's over the years. Even the "Big Boys" get these things wrong. It is unfortunate it has happened to KIA but at least from what I have seen preliminary they are going to own it. I can't say that from my experience with BMW. I had a Toyota Tundra that was way out of warranty. I had a part fail. Toyota had never seen this happen before to this particular part. You know what they did? They covered it free of charge. You know who bought another Toyota truck? This guy. It is the little things that do matter. I think in the end we will be very thankful that KIA is behind it's owners and this issue.

Jason, in response to your comment regarding BMW, they too have had issues with vehicle recalls and production problems. But my point is the Stinger is a game changer for this Korean company. To have a "major production flaw" from the get go, only reinforces what the car buying public fears, meaning that the quality of the product is not on the same playing field as the well established German car makers. If I'm willing to take a leap of faith and jump into a Kia, I want the security of knowing that my vehicle will stand the test of time and have a good resale value on the back end. So the question I'm asking is should I buy now and hope Kia works thru the problem or should I wait a few years until they become more of a player?

 

[17th_Letter]

Jason, in response to your comment regarding BMW, they too have had issues with vehicle recalls and production problems. But my point is the Stinger is a game changer for this Korean company. To have a "major production flaw" from the get go, only reinforces what the car buying public fears, meaning that the quality of the product is not on the same playing field as the well established German car makers. If I'm willing to take a leap of faith and jump into a Kia, I want the security of knowing that my vehicle will stand the test of time and have a good resale value on the back end. So the question I'm asking is should I buy now and hope Kia works thru the problem or should I wait a few years until they become more of a player?

wait wait wait, a cosmetic paint issue does not sound like a "major production flaw". I would only use that term if there was like a problem with brakes, seatbelts, engine. If the only problem i have with this car is paint chips, then i consider it to be a rather successful launch. Having had an Audi S4 with turbos that would randomly die, i'm ok with just cosmetic blemishes.