[Formula1Fan]

I think its high time Kia start focusing on the actual quality of mechanicals, they have put very high quality materials on the interiors and giving high features. Probably paid lot of attention there and not on the basic mechanicals which is the issue here, also, all the mass reviewers always talk about this high level interior quality but do not focus on the long term usage of the car which leads biased opinions and common man like us buys a product on these reviews.

[Bsimhan]

Originally Posted by landcruiser123

. Clearly seems like the casing isn't within tolerance levels and they tried filling the gap with extra sealant.

Wouldn't this have been picked up at the factory itself during assembly? Quality these days is becoming more of acceptance sampling than anything else. Imagine if the gentleman had been on a trip out of town or to some remote location and this had happened!!
I do hope that KIA makes it right with the customer.

[fhdowntheline]

Can we at least stick to calling this a "Kia " issue rather than a Hyundai-Kia issue ? They have a separate identity in all aspects in India, from manufacturing plants to service centres.

[mrinmoy_s]

Originally Posted by fiat_tarun

Slightly different view here.

Yes, Kia / the dealer have screwed up with the an improper sealing of the transmission, but at the end of the day it is a seal and as long as it isn't leaking anymore it should be fine. The sealant applied at the dealer end will never have the finish of the factory which has a mechanized process. The transmission is anyway hidden under the chassis and and as long as it does its job it should be ok.

Slight disagreement here. First of all, the gearbox assembly is almost like a bough-out part for car manufacturers and thus Kia just have to issue a new part without much intervention in the rest of the car. And from my little engineering experience, seals are naughty parts and a seal that looks as shoddy as the one in the OP's car's gearbox, would most probably won't hold for long (it may be holding today). In a factory (of the gearbox manufacturer), such seals are fixed with recommended tools that ensure proper pressure on the mating surfaces and the dealer can't reproduce the same with a torque wrench. More so, if the casting has a defect resulting in uneven mating surface, it can't be sealed without a proper machining.
While, this is acceptable for a car that's getting repaired, its just not acceptable in a new car.
Getting an extended warranty may save the OP from financial damage but it wouldn't save him the mental agony because he may have to give his car to the ASS guys much more than a regular new car owner. I would recommend him to push as much as possible for a new gearbox even if that means stretching the ongoing agony longer. Most modern cars are modular in design and thus swapping the gearbox can be done easily by the dealer without having to worry much about factory finish there.

[Neversaygbye]

Going by different threads across manufacturers and models in this forum it seems that first product iterations across all manufacturers should be a strict no-no.

However, in this particular case it does look like there was something done at the dealership rather than this being a defect straight out of the factory. Ideally Kia should replace the transmission without fuss.

In my own experience there have been issues with my new car for both of my recent purchases - one door of my Beat had to be replaced due to rust within a year of purchase and the steering column of my Vista was replaced in the first service due to a squeaking noise from a damaged bush that came up within just a few days of driving the car. In both cases there was no hassle and the entire experience went smoothly and I wasn't charged a penny. Just that the car remained at the service centre longer than usual.

I hope it is a similar experience with Kia. While it is really painful and disappointing to have this happen to a brand new car, these things do happen across all manufacturers so how Kia handle this is what I would be really interested in seeing.

[Aafaq]

Such things really spoil the new car experience.
As far as I could see it, the part has been tempered with and they have failed to seal it back properly.
Going by these instances I believe the vehicle should be thoroughly inspected during PDI including underbody and engine bay for any kind of defect.

[saisree]

That's a bad experience for a new car. Not happy with the way dealer/KIA has acted upon on this issue till now.

If I were you, Get the seals done properly to an acceptable quality, do an extensive testing, check the leakages, confirm the quality of the job done and say thanks. Keep a check on the leakage periodically.

Try to get the job done in writing, get some freebies like service coupons, get additional extended warranty free of cost. Additionally, this gives two benefits.

1. You will be saved from another shoddy job from the ASC for a transmission change. Its even more bigger job. Remember these ASC's are new just like the KIA brand itself. Tech expertise, with in the pool of technicians in the ASC will be relatively low.
2. You will have a better rapport with the ASC for all your future transactions with them

[Col Mehta]

Feel sorry for the owner.

Just hope that KIA doesn't take its name too literally - KILLED IN ACTION. Because it won't be too long before customers start looking at what competition has to offer..

[shaheenazk]

Originally Posted by GTO

Man, these guys are suffering some serious quality issues!

How is it so that this vehicle wasn't leaking oil before it was sold? Why wasn't it checked for at the time of PDI? I highly suspect that this particular car is a lemon and sold off to the unsuspecting customer after doing a botched up job.

[batladanny]

Originally Posted by GTO

Man, these guys are suffering some serious quality issues!

Can we have a separate mega thread for all reported KIA issues/defects? It can be a locked one where mods just post a summary and a link to the original post so that the actual discussion is carried out in separate dedicated threads with the mega thread just serving as an index.

(Can do this for every manufacturer actually)

[Maverick5490]

Originally Posted by fiat_tarun

Slightly different view here.

Yes, Kia / the dealer have screwed up with the an improper sealing of the transmission, but at the end of the day it is a seal and as long as it isn't leaking anymore it should be fine. The sealant applied at the dealer end will never have the finish of the factory which has a mechanized process. The transmission is anyway hidden under the chassis and and as long as it does its job it should be ok.

It's not just about re-sealing. They need to identify why this issue came up in the first place, secondly is there any consequential damage to the components of the gearbox because of leaking oil, and also need to make sure the dealer has added the right oil following protocols.

[aniketi]

These are some serious issues and customers should go to consumer court for such serious issues. Oil leakage looks like a manufacturing fault and user should ask for replacement only. If I face such issue, I will stick for replacement only. No repair job is accepted at any cost. If dealer is trying for it, report to Kia directly. Make some noise on social platform and make sure to get car replacement only plus few freebies for all the mental harassment you faced.

[ramzsys]

Offtopic, but relevant:

In one of the regular services in my ecosport, within the warranty period, ford service guy didn't tighten the oil drain nut properly. Within 1000 km, it fell off(on the sump guard), and i stopped car immediately after seeing the low oil pressure light.

The service manager apologized and to assuage me, he took a compression test and explained that there was no damage to the engine and if any problem arises, they would take care. That made me drive out of the service center with peace.

Cars should be sold/bought/maintained based on strong fundamentals, not by the bells and whistles of flashy ads, quality of plastics/fabric and such PR dramatics.

[raunaqv471]

This is outrageous to say the least . A couple of days ago, I just stumbled upon a thread about a brand new sonet with a busted engine mount. Also innumerable seltos braking issues . Kia really needs to get their ducks in a row if they intend on staying relevant. This could also be a leaky washer gasket on the drain bolt or a case of poor quality materials of alloys used for the transmission. Either way unacceptable. Full investigation should be done and needless to say the dealer should be make good the same free of cost. The gear oil dipstick level should also be monitored for few days post repair just to be sure. And to think we had perfected manual transmissions already. Also it should be ensured that the correct variant of manual transmission oil is added. Running any transmission low on oil always could be catastrophic, so I'd push for a free replacement considering the age of the car.

[vaish9925]

Crank pulley falling off, paint chipping in new cars, multiple DCT failures, cars catching fire, and the most important of all, pathetic safety ratings of its so-called premium offerings, its high time our reviews include "Quality is a hit/miss" in Hyundai/Kia models.

Regards,
Vaishak Murugesan.