Kia initial Quality Scores BS?

[CaliSting]

ok 6000 miles on my 18 Stinger GT2. 5000 Miles. Warped brake rotors, hatch rattling, stereo resetting to rear speakers, paint defects and had one time where car wouldn’t start when I pushed start button.

How in the hell does Kia score so high on JD power initial quality? My Dodge Durango RT has had zero issues for 3 years and 65000 Miles! Yet Dodge is lowest on JD Powers.

My 2015 Porsche hasn’t had a single issue.

Reading forum others experiing same issues . Seriously wondering if I should hold onto this car.

 

[mldavis2]

9,000 miles, two long road trips and my GT2 is perfect so far.

 

[BlaydeX15]

Some people just have all the (bad) luck!

I don't think the Stinger is taking any initial quality awards next year, first model year woes and all that, but you're definitely in the 'above average' category for amount of problems. Most people see nothing. The dealers will have already fixed the trunk rattle in any cars on the lot. Paint is already known to be a hit or miss. The brake rotors seem to be super uncommon, and the stereo resetting is as well, but can be fixed with a software update. Not sure on the push start, never heard any complaints.

Plus, the initial quality survey is given out about one month after purchase. How many of these problems had you noticed at that point?

As for me, I've not noticed any issues besides the trunk rattle. Will get that fixed soon, but for now a thick rubber washer in each of the round back stoppers is holding me over.

 

[TazDevil62]

Same here, no issues whatsoever...… and I don't drive lightly. Have to say this car takes some serious abuse from me, and she still looks as new as the day I bought here, with a little over 5300 miles on it.

 

[MerlintheMad]

C. 7,400 miles; two road trips; also, not a single glitch of any kind. I hope that your issues are easily addressed.

 

[Weareblondi]

ok 6000 miles on my 18 Stinger GT2. 5000 Miles. Warped brake rotors, hatch rattling, stereo resetting to rear speakers, paint defects and had one time where car wouldn’t start when I pushed start button.

How in the hell does Kia score so high on JD power initial quality? My Dodge Durango RT has had zero issues for 3 years and 65000 Miles! Yet Dodge is lowest on JD Powers.

My 2015 Porsche hasn’t had a single issue.

Reading forum others experiing same issues . Seriously wondering if I should hold onto this car.

if you look far back enough, your durango had serious issues when it was first introduced. had years of revisions. same with your porsche. this is a clean design, there is going to be teething issues. as for brake rotors, i drive hard, mrs drives harder, no warping. i personally know several other members here on the forum, and they beat on their cars..no warped rotors. might just be a bad batch from factory. radio resetting is causing you that much heartache as to want to get rid of the car? mine has reset itself a couple of times, is it annoying, yes, but its not something that bothers me too much. i hate having to reset it to sport everytime and turn off the auto start/stop. as for hatch rattling, my car dealer warned me against slamming the rear hatch. also, haven't had the rattle. my first year durango had a leaking sunroof that was replaced. twice. and it still leaked. turns out the drain tube was kinked because of.....bad design. all first year cars will have some sh*t wrong with them, also why the second years have more options included because people will comment that they didn't get x.y or z included. its just a car, bro.

 

[Mach_Tuck]

Dont forget the "typical" crowd that Kia sells massive amounts of cars to. Stinger buyers are but a very small subset of the overall Kia customer. Customers, whom, more than likely, dont ever notice the small things and have no issue going 20K between oil changes. An "enthusiast" is always going to find more issues than the average consumer. Dont get me wrong, little rattles and issues like the speaker fade bug the living shit out of me too, however, if you asked my wife if she hears the rattle she would most certainly say no and no way in hell she is noticing the speaker fade.

Look at this way, if the speakers fade to rear, just turn up the volume so you wont hear the rear hatch rattling!

 

[Weareblondi]

i agree, but, i think that it is the opposite. an enthusiast will do what is needed to fix them problem while the housewife or family man will sit and get pissed about the fact that he can't listen to his 80's mixtape cause the speakers reset to the rear. thats just me. i will fix any problem until it annoys me and then i will go to the dealer and let them have it. as for my wife, if the car started rattling, she would just blame me.

 

[Mach_Tuck]

i agree, but, i think that it is the opposite. an enthusiast will do what is needed to fix them problem while the housewife or family man will sit and get pissed about the fact that he can't listen to his 80's mixtape cause the speakers reset to the rear. thats just me. i will fix any problem until it annoys me and then i will go to the dealer and let them have it. as for my wife, if the car started rattling, she would just blame me.

You get blamed too...thought it was just me!!

Agreed that an enthusiast will fix it now. My friends think my M3 is "always" broken...nope just constant maintenance and upkeep to ensure no costly issues down the road.

 

[CaliSting]

if you look far back enough, your durango had serious issues when it was first introduced. had years of revisions. same with your porsche. this is a clean design, there is going to be teething issues. as for brake rotors, i drive hard, mrs drives harder, no warping. i personally know several other members here on the forum, and they beat on their cars..no warped rotors. might just be a bad batch from factory. radio resetting is causing you that much heartache as to want to get rid of the car? mine has reset itself a couple of times, is it annoying, yes, but its not something that bothers me too much. i hate having to reset it to sport everytime and turn off the auto start/stop. as for hatch rattling, my car dealer warned me against slamming the rear hatch. also, haven't had the rattle. my first year durango had a leaking sunroof that was replaced. twice. and it still leaked. turns out the drain tube was kinked because of.....bad design. all first year cars will have some sh*t wrong with them, also why the second years have more options included because people will comment that they didn't get x.y or z included. its just a car, bro.

Have to disagree I owned new Boxster in 98 not a single issue until I sold it with 65k miles 4 years later. Newer Durango based on Mercedes platform in 2011 was relatively trouble free just like my 2015. Just saying initial quality stuff from JD power is a joke. This Kia has had way more issues than any car I have owned in 30 years. Owned 21 new cars in that time many new models. Bought first Honda Civic Si in late 80s not a single issue, several Nissan Z cars no issues. New model Miata no issues, new model Toyota’s no issues. Even new model VW Jetta and new Audi A4 model no issues so guess I have been spoiled as this car is racking up issues like no other I have ever owned. Sorry but this car is a lemon. I hope Kia gets message this is BS even for new model. Y car isn’t even first batch.

I’m sorry but crap in paint and couple of flakes on new car isn’t acceptable. Warped rotors in 3000 miles, rubber trim hanging out of rear gap between window and hatch. electrical Gremlins. ....slam hatch? How do you do that? I only use electric open and close? Car is rattling and squeaking inside as well. Many of these are quality issues any post release testing on their part would ave found. Seems like they just pushed to production schedule without checking quality.

Oh well guess I will live with it and hope for best. Just disappointing as all rave about Kia quality. That’s a joke. Kia for me has offered poorest quality in product and service so far. Buyer beware if youre considering this car. Its more like owning an Italian car with out sexy Italian girlfriend.

Well one thing we have going is this car seems to be a marketing failure. Sales numbers now in decline. Not many of us on roads. So this might turn into cult car especially with G70 and its more main stream appeal likely canablizing Stinger sales in near future. Stinger may be the modern day Edsel!

 

[Paul32]

Have to disagree I owned new Boxster in 98 not a single issue until I sold it with 65k miles 4 years later. Newer Durango based on Mercedes platform in 2011 was relatively trouble free just like my 2015. Just saying initial quality stuff from JD power is a joke. This Kia has had way more issues than any car I have owned in 30 years. Owned 21 new cars in that time many new models. Bought first Honda Civic Si in late 80s not a single issue, several Nissan Z cars no issues. New model Miata no issues, new model Toyota’s no issues. Even new model VW Jetta and new Audi A4 model no issues so guess I have been spoiled as this car is racking up issues like no other I have ever owned. Sorry but this car is a lemon. I hope Kia gets message this is BS even for new model. Y car isn’t even first batch.

I’m sorry but crap in paint and couple of flakes on new car isn’t acceptable. Warped rotors in 3000 miles, rubber trim hanging out of rear gap between window and hatch. electrical Gremlins. ....slam hatch? How do you do that? I only use electric open and close? Car is rattling and squeaking inside as well. Many of these are quality issues any post release testing on their part would ave found. Seems like they just pushed to production schedule without checking quality.

Oh well guess I will live with it and hope for best. Just disappointing as all rave about Kia quality. That’s a joke. Kia for me has offered poorest quality in product and service so far. Buyer beware if youre considering this car. Its more like owning an Italian car with out sexy Italian girlfriend.

Well one thing we have going is this car seems to be a marketing failure. Sales numbers now in decline. Not many of us on roads. So this might turn into cult car especially with G70 and its more main stream appeal likely canablizing Stinger sales in near future. Stinger may be the modern day Edsel!

7 weeks old, 1500 miles, GT1, no paint, rotor, hatch, sound issues. Perfect so far, think you may have gotten one of the rare cars that got most of the problems. I understand your frustration but it is not the norm.

 

[Barple]

Have to disagree I owned new Boxster in 98 not a single issue until I sold it with 65k miles 4 years later. Newer Durango based on Mercedes platform in 2011 was relatively trouble free just like my 2015. Just saying initial quality stuff from JD power is a joke. This Kia has had way more issues than any car I have owned in 30 years. Owned 21 new cars in that time many new models. Bought first Honda Civic Si in late 80s not a single issue, several Nissan Z cars no issues. New model Miata no issues, new model Toyota’s no issues. Even new model VW Jetta and new Audi A4 model no issues so guess I have been spoiled as this car is racking up issues like no other I have ever owned. Sorry but this car is a lemon. I hope Kia gets message this is BS even for new model. Y car isn’t even first batch.

I've bolded the important part. The Stinger, while a groundbreaking and important car for Kia, is not Kia. Kia makes and sells many, many other cars which form the result of these kind of surveys. I'll probably say that Stinger numbers aren't even a drop in the bucket for Kia.

Yes, some of the issues you are experiencing truly suck (especially the paint) and I hope Kia can provide a solution for you, however as others have mentioned already, there are many other problem free Stinger's on the road and also problem prone copies of the cars you have named.

In essence, these surveys cannot account for every single car that rolls of the production line and can only be used as a general indication for the brand's initial quality. Of which Kia seems to be doing very well.

 

[mldavis2]

Yeah, funny, I've been driving for over 57 years and I've never had a survey from J.D. Powers, Consumer Reports or any legitimate surveyor, so my experience never counts. Yes, I did get one on the Stinger, but it was all on the entertainment system -- nothing on the car itself.

A lot depends on whether you really bought a "new" car or a demo or a reviewer's loaner. Mine had 4 miles on the odometer when it came off the transport, straight from the port of entry. They parked it until I got there to witness the PDI and the car was properly prepped when I drove it away. It is still perfect. If you have a car with multiple problems, then either the tech did not PDI the car properly, or you didn't get a new car, you got a "beater." Out of thousands of happy Stinger owners, one or two are bound to have issues that the dealer needs to address. If the car doesn't get fixed, find another dealer.

 

[CaliSting]

Interestingly enough I was talking with a sales guy at Kia dealer as he was admiring my car while I was there picking up oil filters to do my own oil changes. He was looking at rear rubber trim indicated almost all Stingers he has seen had issue. Rear trim sticking out. That’s just sloppy on a $40 K plus car. He also indicated seeing an unusual number of paint issues on Stingers at his dealership. The fact that contaminants could get into paint booth and get painted over says worlds about quality in Stinger factory. Quality is about consistency and while there are likely some good examples we see lots of poor quality issue reports in forums for a low production number car. My sense is Kia is going to fall out of more premium vehicle market if they keep on making mistakes like ones we are seeing with Stinger.

Issues I have had have little to do with inspection although perhaps somone could have caught rear trim problem. The paint imperfection stuff caught under paint may have been caught but warped rotors and all rattles and squeaks emerged after driving car. My car was 5 mile car. All protective stuff on exterior still. I love antidotal comments that this is exception when all forums are loaded with multiple complaints about same issues on a car that sells 1500 units a month. Not like there is a huge population of Stingers for us all to be complaining about yet. See number of people complaining on this low production numbers car. If you take typical manufacturing measure of defects per million this cars quality excursions are off the scale. Look at reports in this poll.

Paint Chip Issue

So off I go to dealer to see what they will do for me . Will hope for best! Guess I can be happy I have such an awesome warranty. And hey maybe I can get a Turbo Soul loaner car! lol!

 

[NickUK]

Sorry to hear about your stinger and the issues. However how many people do you think come on here and express that nothing is wrong with their car and they have no reported problems and keep us all updated on that progress? It's only when things go wrong that people post, so I think a sense of perspective is in order. Hopefully you can get your problems fixed and I do think you’ve just been really unlucky.

 

[JohnG7]

Have to disagree I owned new Boxster in 98 not a single issue until I sold it with 65k miles 4 years later. Newer Durango based on Mercedes platform in 2011 was relatively trouble free just like my 2015. Just saying initial quality stuff from JD power is a joke. This Kia has had way more issues than any car I have owned in 30 years. Owned 21 new cars in that time many new models. Bought first Honda Civic Si in late 80s not a single issue, several Nissan Z cars no issues. New model Miata no issues, new model Toyota’s no issues. Even new model VW Jetta and new Audi A4 model no issues so guess I have been spoiled as this car is racking up issues like no other I have ever owned. Sorry but this car is a lemon. I hope Kia gets message this is BS even for new model. Y car isn’t even first batch.

I’m sorry but crap in paint and couple of flakes on new car isn’t acceptable. Warped rotors in 3000 miles, rubber trim hanging out of rear gap between window and hatch. electrical Gremlins. ....slam hatch? How do you do that? I only use electric open and close? Car is rattling and squeaking inside as well. Many of these are quality issues any post release testing on their part would ave found. Seems like they just pushed to production schedule without checking quality.

Oh well guess I will live with it and hope for best. Just disappointing as all rave about Kia quality. That’s a joke. Kia for me has offered poorest quality in product and service so far. Buyer beware if youre considering this car. Its more like owning an Italian car with out sexy Italian girlfriend.

Well one thing we have going is this car seems to be a marketing failure. Sales numbers now in decline. Not many of us on roads. So this might turn into cult car especially with G70 and its more main stream appeal likely canablizing Stinger sales in near future. Stinger may be the modern day Edsel!

Looks like you have been lucky with your other cars and very unlucky with your Stinger- your Stinger results are not usual.

That said, my wife had a Toyota back when we first got married. That car made your Stinger look really good (in every way). That car was a total POS, so much so that I will not even drive a Toyota rental to this day. Shit happens...

 

[ant]

Although the point is true, most people post only when there's a problem, I think there will always be problems whether reported or unreported and the mark of a good company is what company is willing to do about problems. Imagine how many stinger owners there may be that don't even notice some of the issues that are out there, never report it whether online or to a dealer, and just keep going about their day assuming their car is functioning normally?

I think a great car company would proactively triage all reported issues and reach out to owners to get things checked or fixed. This is a much better way to come across as a luxury company that cares about its customers. Most car dealerships focus on making the sale, then they don't give a crap about you afterwards. This is why it's important for the car manufacturer to have a role in post-sales support.

I would like to see Kia push its dealerships to hire people away from luxury dealers like Lexus/BMW/MB so that the dealership can be staffed with people that actually know how to provide end-to-end service. I've been to five kia dealerships in MA now and it appears that everything is focused on pre-sales. Look at what happens when you hire good talent away from other companies, you end up with the stinger. Trickle it down to the dealerships so instead of staffing it full of used car lot people, staff it with people that understand the space. One dealer per 50 miles staffed with at least one person with their head on right would make a huge difference.

Kia is going to fail with the stinger and anything else they attempt to challenge the luxury brands as long as its dealerships continue to focus on transactions instead of RELATIONSHIPS. That said, it is incredibly hard to change the culture of anything, so it's going to be a daunting task. The only way I can see it working is for the manufacturer to take more matters into their own hands.

If they really execute on the standalone Genesis dealerships, I would like to see the Kia Stinger serviceable through them. That would be a great way to start things over on the right foot and just let Kia dealerships be Kia dealerships.

 

[Jingguily]

Have to disagree I owned new Boxster in 98 not a single issue until I sold it with 65k miles 4 years later. Newer Durango based on Mercedes platform in 2011 was relatively trouble free just like my 2015. Just saying initial quality stuff from JD power is a joke. This Kia has had way more issues than any car I have owned in 30 years. Owned 21 new cars in that time many new models. Bought first Honda Civic Si in late 80s not a single issue, several Nissan Z cars no issues. New model Miata no issues, new model Toyota’s no issues. Even new model VW Jetta and new Audi A4 model no issues so guess I have been spoiled as this car is racking up issues like no other I have ever owned. Sorry but this car is a lemon. I hope Kia gets message this is BS even for new model. Y car isn’t even first batch.

I’m sorry but crap in paint and couple of flakes on new car isn’t acceptable. Warped rotors in 3000 miles, rubber trim hanging out of rear gap between window and hatch. electrical Gremlins. ....slam hatch? How do you do that? I only use electric open and close? Car is rattling and squeaking inside as well. Many of these are quality issues any post release testing on their part would ave found. Seems like they just pushed to production schedule without checking quality.

Oh well guess I will live with it and hope for best. Just disappointing as all rave about Kia quality. That’s a joke. Kia for me has offered poorest quality in product and service so far. Buyer beware if youre considering this car. Its more like owning an Italian car with out sexy Italian girlfriend.

Well one thing we have going is this car seems to be a marketing failure. Sales numbers now in decline. Not many of us on roads. So this might turn into cult car especially with G70 and its more main stream appeal likely canablizing Stinger sales in near future. Stinger may be the modern day Edsel!

Your anecdotal evidence is worth nothing compared to statistics.

 

[MerlintheMad]

If you take typical manufacturing measure of defects per million this cars quality excursions are off the scale. Look at reports in this poll.

Paint Chip Issue

164 total votes on a poll that is a month and a half old; 45% of which are "no problem"; and the poll is immediately accessed art the top of the search results on Google with "kia stinger paint chipping". So anyone anywhere in the world can look up this poll and add their vote. Already, out of well over 11K Stingers sold, we have a whopping 164 respondents. And nearly half of them are "no problem" votes. This says that the trouble with paint failure in Stingers is very low to begin with: that c. half those arriving at this poll got there probably more or less by accident (like me); and the "yes" votes were the ones looking for information on their problem: a very small number out of total Stingers sold so far.

Now, if the polls spikes, I will take back my words and admit that the poll's existence was not known till this problem became widespread. But I don't think that it is widespread, so I don't expect the poll to do more than just creep up slowly as it has done from the getgo on June 5th.

 

[westcoastGT]

The IQ poll is for the total Kia brand , sales of Stingers is too low to have a serious impact yet ..............