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

[scharn]

Hey guys I am (kinda) new here and noticed chips on my yellow stinger as well. Where can I find information about the stop-sale or any other goodness? I will continue to read through the thread to see if my question is answered here but the yellow stop sale convo grabbed my attention.

Read through it will be worth your time.

 

[somedudedontknowwhoheis]

Well, no good update right now...

• Still waiting to hear from the first dealership I took my car to (Different from the one i purchased it at (MUCH closer)).. Called the premium KIA Motors Americas line, and they haven't received any of the pictures the dealership took... of course.. The dealership wont return my calls.

• Took my car in for its 6000 mile this morning to the dealership I bought it from, farther away from home/work, talked to them about it, and they are just saying its all rock chips.
• Ya, NO, 36 different spots in a month... 12/17 build. 36 spots in one month must mean I've trailed rocktrucks for the first 5000 miles..

Funny, that was basically me back in January, though I had half the number of spots at the time. Dealer said the same thing, rock chips. Though I got a paint protector afterwards and touch up paint (removing a lot of the evidence) it wasn't until last month did I realize others were having this issue too and started a case with Kia (didn't know it was an option when I went in only weeks after buying the car). Build date 10/17. I've probably hit that same number as yours though, since then, as they keep happening.

I took my car in on the 5th and still haven't heard anything from Kia, no one has reached out to me. Sometimes it seems like I'm dealing with a different company than others in this thread are. If they don't get back to me early next week I guess I'll reach out again shrug

 

[jondyer]

I was texting my sales rep (who is actually pretty cool) and I asked about the chip, and asked "warranty?"

His initial response was: "I'll ask but I know there is no warranty for paint chips like that. Looks like something kicked up and hit it."

Looks like a bit of an uphill fight for me. Oh well.

 

[Tonkabob]

The Stinger is one of the cooler cars that i have owned, but until they address the existing and future paint issues I can't say i would recommend anyone buy one.

 

[CoconutRob]

The Stinger is one of the cooler cars that i have owned, but until they address the existing and future paint issues I can't say i would recommend anyone buy one.

Man, that really sucks. They really need to make it right with all of you. This really deterred me from buying one. Glad to here the 19s will be shipping soon to see if the brake, paint, and seat issues are corrected before my purchase in Nov-Dec. Otherwise the only other car that' meets my criteria and made me smile after test drive was Lincoln MKZ., but I really want a stinger and hope they fix. Good luck all!

 

[scharn]

So I called Kia, and they told me I have to take it in to the dealer where they will take pictures and make the case #. I call up the dealer and they say they will take pictures but will need a case # from kia... haha we'll see what happens. At this point I'm happy I leased it, I just want it in the system that any paint crap that will happen over the next 3 years will not be on me.

I'm torn on what to think of Kia and the Stinger. I'm a car guy, so me getting a stinger and thus a KIA made me a brand ambassador of sorts. Not just talking about the countless random strangers i've had come up to me about the car, but all my coworkers, neighbors, and family. People that know me know that anything I buy is thoroughly vetted and must be good, so when people were initially shocked I got a kia their perception of the brand at least slightly changed.

But now how do I tell them about this car... This isn't like a broken gas cap, paint is not an insignificant part of the car. I spent 2 months tracking my car down, getting it shipped from Alabama to me in CA. Not sure what to think at this point. Who knows 3 years from now if nothing else goes wrong maybe I get to walk away from the car and feel pretty good, maybe not though.

 

[CoconutRob]

So I called Kia, and they told me I have to take it in to the dealer where they will take pictures and make the case #. I call up the dealer and they say they will take pictures but will need a case # from kia... haha we'll see what happens. At this point I'm happy I leased it, I just want it in the system that any paint crap that will happen over the next 3 years will not be on me.

I'm torn on what to think of Kia and the Stinger. I'm a car guy, so me getting a stinger and thus a KIA made me a brand ambassador of sorts. Not just talking about the countless random strangers i've had come up to me about the car, but all my coworkers, neighbors, and family. People that know me know that anything I buy is thoroughly vetted and must be good, so when people were initially shocked I got a kia their perception of the brand at least slightly changed.

But now how do I tell them about this car... This isn't like a broken gas cap, paint is not an insignificant part of the car. I spent 2 months tracking my car down, getting it shipped from Alabama to me in CA. Not sure what to think at this point. Who knows 3 years from now if nothing else goes wrong maybe I get to walk away from the car and feel pretty good, maybe not though.

How are your brake rotors and seats?

 

[scharn]

How are your brake rotors and seats?

Car only has 1020 miles on it, but brakes are fine zero issues, and the seat looks fine so far.

 

[AV8R]

The question I ask is why only blue and yellow?
Secondly all the paint on plastic body parts, compared to rest of car, is very thin , why?
Lastly the headlight areas are caused by move,met between the headlamp and the panel so it chips.
Solution to last issues is repaint the bumper properly at the dealers expense.

 

[MerlintheMad]

I am so sorry for your wife's new car. Here's to happy endings!

(heh, I didn't quote him: this was directed at "christie", the only one I know of who owns TWO Stingers!)

 

[MerlintheMad]

I hope y’all get Kia to pay for these issues. Some of those “chips” are way too uniform to be actual chips. Thought I was in big trouble a few hours ago when the hail started. Fortunately, it didn’t get beyond marble size. No damage. Had 3 vehicles sitting out, so it could have been ugly. I tried to move the Stinger under a huge tree to blunt most of the hail. Those suckers hurt when they hit you.

"Didn't get beyond marble size."(!?) You've got to be kidding! And any paint job that holds up under marble sized hail is not having issues.

 

[A Member Who Left]

"Didn't get beyond marble size."(!?) You've got to be kidding! And any paint job that holds up under marble sized hail is not having issues.

Yeah. Some of the largest hail I’ve seen in the mountains of western NC. Guess I’m lucky with the silky silver. Got the car back today with a new high speed fuel pump as a bonus!! Lol.

 

[GregM]

What I don’t understand with that paint issue is how come this shows up on some cars and not others. I mean all those cars are made the same way in the same factory so they should all have this problem.

 

[Joeh1974]

Well, no good update right now...

• Still waiting to hear from the first dealership I took my car to (Different from the one i purchased it at (MUCH closer)).. Called the premium KIA Motors Americas line, and they haven't received any of the pictures the dealership took... of course.. The dealership wont return my calls.

• Took my car in for its 6000 mile this morning to the dealership I bought it from, farther away from home/work, talked to them about it, and they are just saying its all rock chips.
• Ya, NO, 36 different spots in a month... 12/17 build. 36 spots in one month must mean I've trailed rocktrucks for the first 5000 miles..

Which dealerships if you don’t mind me asking? Picked mine up at Horne.

 

[MerlintheMad]

I just noticed my driver door handle has 2 small chips.. obv we have a wireless key so no key to metal contact... it's a dark base layer.. am I being too anal or is it worth bringing this up with kia? Or touch up n forget?
View attachment 8341

That I would touch up and forget. Probably got nicked. My passenger front door handle, same thing, two tiny nicks. Touch up pen. And done.

 

[Mach_Tuck]

Small flakes missing on my yellow as well right in the corners of the headlights. Just past the PPF.

One is under the light housing so no possible way a rock could hit it there. Just in case they go that argument.

Will see what dealer here says. At least if enough of us complain and have issue, Kia will hopefully have to step up with a recall or something

Hopefully the PPF will prevent any further migration.

 

[MerlintheMad]

View attachment 8594 I noticed a few oddly shaped “stickers” that seem to be located on my back doors and on my rear fender, just behind my back doors. They’re difficult to see, as they match my exterior color. What are these? Should they be removed? See picture provided.

I first saw the driver's side ones and wondered if I had scratches. Closer inspection showed clear plastic patches. I showed my car to a friend and he crouched down to do a double take of the passenger side, and said he thought they were scratches too. I said that maybe the prep guys had missed them and they were some kind of packaging. Heh! As I talked I was peeling to see if they came off easily. Well, yes and no: the smaller ones come off readily, the large one not so much. I ended up pulling all three passenger side stickers off, and instantly regretted it, too late. I left the driver's side alone. Online I ordered replacement patches and they are not cheap!? With shipping, almost fifty bucks. What a maroon. I put them on using the same alcohol solution that is used in a spray bottle with applying protective "bras", etc. It mostly went okay, but I think I didn't use enough alcohol and they stuck a bit sooner than I wanted. I wound up with some air bubbles. Poking these with a needle and squeegeeing them out got most of the air out. A hypo needle did the rest of the air removal. "Mine" look darn near as good as the factory ones still on the driver side.

 

[BlaydeX15]

View attachment 8680 View attachment 8681

Small flakes missing on my yellow as well right in the corners of the headlights. Just past the PPF.

One is under the light housing so no possible way a rock could hit it there. Just in case they go that argument.

Will see what dealer here says. At least if enough of us complain and have issue, Kia will hopefully have to step up with a recall or something

Hopefully the PPF will prevent any further migration.

Mine has the same, however, I think it's a bumper fit problem. Sitting in the heat, the bumper expands, and the headlights press really hard against that corner. As you drive, I imagine they rub the paint off.

When I went to check mine out in the sun today, I had to push really hard on the bumper to move it enough to even see between the headlight and the bumper. Now that it's been sitting in the garage, it's cooled down and there's a gap between the bumper and the headlights without me touching it.

Not sure any paint would stand up to rubbing against the seam in the headlights. My thought: throw a little bit of a rubber pad in there to keep the headlights from rubbing the bumper in that corner.

 

[MerlintheMad]

What I don’t understand with that paint issue is how come this shows up on some cars and not others. I mean all those cars are made the same way in the same factory so they should all have this problem.

Different batches. And from reading through this thread, different colors have different prep and primer. So added together, some cars get shafted.

 

[MerlintheMad]

Wow! What a roller coaster of emotions. I've read the entire thread, hours of reading, couldn't tear my eyes away, like a slow train wreck. Peace! everyone! There are always solutions. If paint issues continue, which I doubt, we will collectively have a lot of bitching to do, to Kia's detriment. They are watching these forums, count on it. And they've put a ton of development and expense and commitment into this car: they can't afford to have it fail. I agree with those who have expressed the feeling that these case by case issues will be met with Kia's cooperation.

But no matter how you look at it, a paint failure in a car that costs this much, after so much hype about how it is here to "sting" the competition by being nearly as good of quality at half the price, is going to bite Kia hard. The only possible answer is to own the problem and repair the damage to customer confidence, and fix the problems causing it.