KIA Quality

[stoopid]

New car related drama (I guess when it rains it pours). This is the kind of issue I'd actually expect from the car, seeing that most of the non-drivetrain items are parts bin shared with the cheaper Kia products.

2 local Kia dealers I visited are a month out on appointments. I managed to get the window up and have something stuffed between the glass and door on the inside to keep it from easily sliding down, but it's not secure at all. Could probably park at work, but part of my duties require me to go on site to clients and some of them are in busy/higher crime areas. I contacted Kia customer service and await a call back. Told them I'll get it repaired elsewhere and sue them, any judge is going to agree that 30+ days with this issue and no freedom to use the car is unacceptable. And it's not a bluff, I'll take great pleasure embarrassing their overpriced corporate lawyer in court.

Thank god I have a garage. WTF would I do for a month with a window that isn't in a locked/closed position?? Sleep in the car?

 

[Devin]

Could be worse. You could live in Seattle and park outside. Pretty sure we got a couple inches of rain the other day.



 

[stoopid]

Could be worse. You could live in Seattle and park outside. Pretty sure we got a couple inches of rain the other day.
View attachment 76620


Funny I thought about living back East (the "Wet Coast") and how convenient driving around with my window half down in the winter would have been.

 

[NS_Stinger]

It's total bullshit when a dealer tells you that you need to wait that long for an issue that directly affects you using the car. Surely they can either squeeze it in if they wanted. Let us know how it goes.

 

[stingerstevo]

Go talk to the service manager and offer him a case of beer to get you in. My battery was totally shot on my 2022 after just 7,600 miles. Every dealer I talked to said they were out a couple months too. I went to the nearest one and walked in service right around noon on Friday. The guy was standing there by himself and I said hey man I really need the car and I'll get you a case of beer. He laughed and said I don't drink anymore, but if you can leave it on Monday morning, I'll get to it when I can. Monday about 11 they called and said they put a new battery in..

 

[stoopid]

Go talk to the service manager and offer him a case of beer to get you in. My battery was totally shot on my 2022 after just 7,600 miles. Every dealer I talked to said they were out a couple months too. I went to the nearest one and walked in service right around noon on Friday. The guy was standing there by himself and I said hey man I really need the car and I'll get you a case of beer. He laughed and said I don't drink anymore, but if you can leave it on Monday morning, I'll get to it when I can. Monday about 11 they called and said they put a new battery in..

The way I see it, they need to buy me a case for all the hassle.

 

[stoopid]

Updated video (which required me removing the old one).

TL;DR No help from Kia customer service or dealer, ordered and installed parts myself. All in $210, ~2 hours time (could have been less, learning as I went). Only took me 8 days as an amateur to do what Kia couldn't do in less than a month.

 

[Snicklefritz]

I admire gearheads but do not do that sort of thing myself. learning as you go shows self confidence.

 

[NS_Stinger]

I had my door panel off about 1hr ago to checkout my door lock actuator. Taking off the door panel is actually a total breeze, the door panel is build really well and as long as you have a plastic trim removal tool and a philips screwdriver you're set.

 

[stoopid]

I had my door panel off about 1hr ago to checkout my door lock actuator. Taking off the door panel is actually a total breeze, the door panel is build really well and as long as you have a plastic trim removal tool and a philips screwdriver you're set.

The biggest unforeseen obstacle was the door lock wire that wrapped around the door lock mechanisms inside the door (out of sight). Had to unhook it from many plastic tabs to be able to remove it. This was needed to get the wiring harness completely free of the large black regulator component, to install the new one. That required a couple google searches to confirm that no one removes the door lock to replace/swap their regulator, which then had me finally figure out the one wire needed to be unrouted/disconnected. If I knew that going in (had a good youtube video for an Optima I learned most of the process) it would have been maybe an hour total with an extra 15 minutes for cleanup. There are a few subtle difference between the Optima and Stinger door regulator, and I didn't see any Stinger specific step by steps anywhere.

Also making sure the battery was disconnected was a key step I would have overlooked, one of the things on the door is an airbag collision sensor, and messing with these things can trigger the airbag to go off. lol

 

[stoopid]

I admire gearheads but do not do that sort of thing myself. learning as you go shows self confidence.

There's a fine line between bravery and stupidity. I tried to arm myself with enough knowledge going in to eliminate half that equation.

 

[stoopid]

I had my door panel off about 1hr ago to checkout my door lock actuator. Taking off the door panel is actually a total breeze, the door panel is build really well and as long as you have a plastic trim removal tool and a philips screwdriver you're set.

Having done two full speaker swaps in the front doors, re-gluing a loose tweeter, and removing the panel to verify the issue when the window stopped working, I feel like a door panel removal guru at this point. I think it takes me 2 minutes from tools in hand to door panel off.

One thing that's easy to do is to damage the clips on the door panel. I bought some extras to have on hand. Part is 82315-2P000