So I am dropping my Stinger off for Repaint...

[A Member Who Left]

I sent an email to Colby at the VIP KMA (Kia Motors America) line basically saying:


I wanted to point him to this forum and specifically my topic (this one) and the main Paint Chip Issue topic.
Waiting to hear back.

Wow is all I can say and very very sorry you are going through this. Not going to repeat a possible route of attack from prior posts. Maybe we should all write Colby a special note here.

 

[Joseph Spiegel]

Luminary, I’m so sorry for what you’re going through. I have to just think, Kia is not a high end car company, no matter what they produce. Emotion has to leave the equation. It’s an expensive car from a cheap car seller. Nothing will ever change. I wish you luck but take the buy out if it’s still on the table sans a lawyer. No emotion, just get your money back every cent. No miles no nothing deducted. Your time and grief is worth money too. Just as a lawyer if you need too.

 

[Luminary]

Your time and grief is worth money too. Just as a lawyer if you need too.

Thanks so much @Joseph Spiegel and everyone else who has helped with advice and encouraging words. I am still hoping to keep this within KIA and get something done about the paint (let's not even go into the hatch rattle). I am probably one of KIA's biggest fans ever since my 2005 KIA Sadona. 7 KIA's now, no issues with any of them (paint included) until the Stinger. I get it is a new model, and there are going to be "Bumps in the road", but the whole repaint issue is just really leaving me feeling like brand loyalty means nothing.

 

[Tobstertx3]

Considering you have had 7 Kia's and no paint issues until the Stinger, I wonder what has changed?

 

[MerlintheMad]

Considering you have had 7 Kia's and no paint issues until the Stinger, I wonder what has changed?

That is the poser. I am not getting a perspective on this. Very little has been said on this forum about other Kia experiences prior to Stinger. It would be instructive to hear more than just Luminary's experiences. I still believe that the failures of Stinger paint are very small in number compared to the total sales (well over 12K by this point, worldwide). So the chances of seven cars (all Luminary's) having any paint issues remain small. She got unlucky with the Stinger and landed here; where other failed paint jobs are gathered to angst over their shared grief. I would like to hear other observations about Kia paint quality, not just these few Stinger failures.

(Oh, and what I think about Luminary's latest update: masking tape left on?! Seriously!?? I would be back to them pronto and ask them WTH is going on with that? Anything else out of order, pile it on: grief added to grief. Make noise. But don't get irrational or even emotional about. Be emphatic and immovable in your expectations; that they be met 100% or else you'll raise the roof. You already are. Don't stop. You've said it's your "baby". I believe you. I wouldn't go for a buyback myself unless the car started to flake out on me generally. Paint? Pshaw! That can be fixed.)

 

[A Member Who Left]

This is why I would say buyback, buyback, buyback and start truly fresh.

My 2017 Sportage with 17k on it seems to be holding up well. Has about as many chips upfront as the silver Stinger......couple at most. However, it also has paint in places the Stinger does not.......under hood, etc.

 

[Volvowith18psi]

What is your build date?

My build date is 01/18.

 

[MerlintheMad]

However, it also has paint in places the Stinger does not.......under hood, etc.

Seriously? Your underhood is a different color? Primer? What?

 

[A Member Who Left]

Seriously? Your underhood is a different color? Primer? What?

The Sportage has full paint and clear coat under the hood. The Stinger has no clear and just enough base cost to cover the metal.

 

[PieceOfChum]

I have a Grey and can see CORROSION blistering through the paint in the engine bay......

Wow corrosion already that is terrible. My brother in-law has a Subaru Legacy that had rust on the trunk lid after only a few months of ownership. The weird thing was that it didn't seem to get worse beyond a certain point and the lid is still good after 130k miles and 8 years of ownership so maybe ths corrosion won't get much worse.

 

[MerlintheMad]

The Sportage has full paint and clear coat under the hood. The Stinger has no clear and just enough base cost to cover the metal.

Unbelievable (not you, the fact that this occurred at all). Is this a commonplace thing? I don't see a need for clear coat on the underhood. But a full coating of paint is absolutely required. How many Stingers scrimp on the seldom seen areas? (trunk, underhood, lower inside of doors, gas lid)?

 

[eflyguy]

fwiw, I'm approaching 60k in my 2015 Sorento, and put 45k on the 2011 before that, with no paint issues. My ex's Soul, which I bought for her in 2010, has zero paint issues either.

As evidenced by the build date poll, the worst of it appears to be isolated to just a certain time period.

 

[Ucinn]

Our family has had 3 Sorento's (still have 1), 2 Souls (still have 1) 2 Fortes and a Niro and none of them have had paint problems..only 1 Forte has had any problems at all (2) and both have been fixed under warranty.

 

[Christopher]

Good afternoon everyone. I have a Sunset Yellow Stinger GT2 AWD. I called Kia's VIP line and talked to a representative who opened a case on my car. Currently, I haven't seen any paint issues and I have about 5000 miles on the car since the end of February. The representative called me back the next day and stated that I would receive a detailed letter in a couple weeks. The letter would provide information on financial compensation for the paint issue plus three options. Complete repainting of the vehicle with lifetime warranty on the new paint work, replacement of the car with another Stinger (same trim model) of a different color (of my choosing) since production and sale of the yellow have stopped or Kia will refund the purchase price of the car including all taxes and licensing fees. There is no deduction for mileage.

I'm going to give Kia a lot of credit here... paint issues are not unique to the Stinger or Kia. As a matter of fact Ford has been involved in a few suits regarding flaking paint and corrosion on their Mustangs and even their GTs were prone to blistering. What did Ford doing? Not a thing. Car manufacturers are not required to recall vehicles unless its a vehicle safety issue. Most everything related to engine, transmission and electronics can be linked to safety... except the paint. That said, I think Kia is trying to do the right thing. That said, it sounds like the OP got some crap work done that doesn't appear to be Kia's fault; however, they do need to remedy it. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out, especially on other colors where Kia hasn't officially announced a wide-spread problem.

As far as what I'm going to do... I don't know. I love the yellow, but the only option to keep it is to go through the repainting process.

 

[ant]

Brand loyalty doesn’t matter that much because the manufacturer sells the car to you through a dealer.
They also try to work things through a dealer.

If your dealer sucks, you will probably have a terrible time trying to get anything done. Bad dealers is probably why the car isn’t selling any better. I recently had a dealer ask me to put a 1000$ non refundable deposit..

Of course KIA has to bend over backwards and do something. The stinger is their halo car. If they screw this up (further) imagine how damaging that would be for future sales of existing and new models of the stinger. That’s why they’re not willing to admit that the problem affects more than the limited edition despite plenty of evidence in these forums and others about bad paint in other colors.

It makes me wonder how bad the supply chain and manufacturing process must be. They either don’t know the extent of the problem or they aren’t willing to reveal it. Bad either way. I would expect a VIN range identified by now but they’re only willing to say yellow is a problem. Then they make it seem like a hassle for any other color.

 

[MerlintheMad]

As far as what I'm going to do... I don't know. I love the yellow, but the only option to keep it is to go through the repainting process.

I saw the Yellow returned today at "my" dealership. The owner is trading in for a Sorento (reasons unknown). The paint is perfect on that Yellow. There isn't even any road damage! But, the tires are half gone.

If you want your Yellow, couldn't you sign something that allows you to just resort to the normal 36 month warranty? I.e. waive your rights to the three options that Kia is offering.

 

[MerlintheMad]

It makes me wonder how bad the supply chain and manufacturing process must be.

I don't know what you mean. Evidence points to a small number of affected cars, mainly Yellow. The other failures are spread out over the other colors. There isn't a widespread problem with lots of paint failures. But there are enough to "go around", keep the fora talking endlessly about it, making it seem bigger than it is. Kia is handling this right: go to case by case on the other colors. Stick to the warranty otherwise. Let the Stinger sell itself because it is a great car, a FUN car. Paint can be fixed. And as already pointed out Kia is hardly alone in the paint failure "business". And they are handling it better than just about anybody else.

 

[eflyguy]

Currently, I haven't seen any paint issues and I have about 5000 miles on the car since the end of February.

Can you confirm your build date (sticker on door pillar) and post in the date poll?

 

[ant]

I don't know what you mean. Evidence points to a small number of affected cars, mainly Yellow. The other failures are spread out over the other colors. There isn't a widespread problem with lots of paint failures. But there are enough to "go around", keep the fora talking endlessly about it, making it seem bigger than it is. Kia is handling this right: go to case by case on the other colors. Stick to the warranty otherwise. Let the Stinger sell itself because it is a great car, a FUN car. Paint can be fixed. And as already pointed out Kia is hardly alone in the paint failure "business". And they are handling it better than just about anybody else.

How do you know how widespread of a problem it is? Do all the reports get proxied through you?
All that I can gather is that when people have a paint problem, and they don't have a yellow Stinger, it looks like it's not straightforward to get fixed. Isn't that the heart of the problem here? From what I've read unless your stinger is yellow and you have a paint problem, you're hung out to dry, good luck. That sucks for people considering getting a stinger, or already have a stinger. If they knew what VIN range was affected, then they could at least have some reasonable chance at avoiding buying a problem.

From my point of view the way you write makes it look like you're trying to suppress the visibility of a problem. I'm not sure what good that does anyone. Just because some other manufacturer can screw up the paint doesn't mean that it's ok for any manufacturer to screw up the paint. Clearly you love KIA and that's great, but try being constructive and supportive of others. I'm not sure anyone's trying to hate on KIA.

If you think they can't improve how they're handling this problem then I'm surprised. If benz did this it would probably never fly. They would just throw money at any customer facing a problem with their paint until the customer is happy. Not horse around.

 

[MerlintheMad]

How do you know how widespread of a problem it is? Do all the reports get proxied through you?
All that I can gather is that when people have a paint problem, and they don't have a yellow Stinger, it looks like it's not straightforward to get fixed. Isn't that the heart of the problem here? From what I've read unless your stinger is yellow and you have a paint problem, you're hung out to dry, good luck. That sucks for people considering getting a stinger, or already have a stinger. If they knew what VIN range was affected, then they could at least have some reasonable chance at avoiding buying a problem.

From my point of view the way you write makes it look like you're trying to suppress the visibility of a problem. I'm not sure what good that does anyone. Just because some other manufacturer can screw up the paint doesn't mean that it's ok for any manufacturer to screw up the paint. Clearly you love KIA and that's great, but try being constructive and supportive of others. I'm not sure anyone's trying to hate on KIA.

If you think they can't improve how they're handling this problem then I'm surprised. If benz did this it would probably never fly. They would just throw money at any customer facing a problem with their paint until the customer is happy. Not horse around.

I'm trying for reality. Talk of group action lawsuits and mass buybacks and mass factory recalls are not realistic. They are hype and irrational, imho, of course. And yes, some few on this forum are hating on Kia.

I don't "love Kia". I come close to loving my Stinger. One car. It has behaved itself for c. 8K miles and over four months. So of course my experience is satisfying. It is upsetting to hear of other Stingers being troublesome and disappointing. So I look at solutions. We start with the warranty. Kia has already offered more attention to this than the warranty requires. It looks like they are continuing to address each paint failure claim. It doesn't have to be easy, it just has to be doable. And not everyone is going to be satisfied. Each case will likely take months to resolve. That's too bad for each person with a case in progress. I wish it could be otherwise. But realistically it has to take as long as necessary. @Luminary now gets to go through a rejection. Oh, joy. That stinks. But it isn't Kia's fault.

I do believe that the comparatively few respondents to "our" poll indicate a comparatively few Stingers with paint issues so far. What does it take to participate in the poll? Well under 200 out of 4K forum members so far. That's a puny response if a large number of Stingers are having failing paint. So, I presume that comparatively few Stingers are affected.