By AISLING SWIFT
Sunday, June 17, 2007
When Shiree Ingram purchased her 2005 Kia Sorento early last year, she was promised that a few minor cosmetic problems and fan noise would be corrected before she picked it up.
Kia of Naples’ documents also promised the Naples woman something else: “Nothing but great service.”
But since that day, Ingram and her husband, Keith, who travel statewide for their faux painting business, Dry Creek Finishing Inc., say they have experienced nothing but problems. The SUV, which has their business name emblazoned on the rear, has been in and out of the dealership for defects in its engine, transmission, brakes, climate controls, electrical system, peeling paint, windshield washer pump defects, and other “annoyances,” they said.
“The reason we bought a new car is so we wouldn’t have to do anything with it,” Shiree Ingram said of the SUV, which had been used for 3,000 miles by the dealership manager before she purchased it as a business vehicle. “We have had months where it’s been in there every week.”
Although it’s been repaired many times — sometimes repeatedly for the same problem — there seems to be no end. It was in last month for four days and Ingram plans on bringing it in again this month.
So she’s suing Kia Motors America Inc.
She’s not alone in her woes. Dissatisfaction with Kias have inspired consumers to file complaints with the government and manufacturer, prompted recalls, government safety investigations, and numerous Web sites condemning Kias.
Ingram’s lawsuit was filed May 21 in Collier Circuit Court against Kia Motors America Inc. in Irvine, Calif., the sales, marketing and distribution arm of Kia Motors Corp. in Seoul, South Korea.
Kia media officials referred questions to Public Relations Director Alex Fedorak, who said in an email that Kia is familiar with the case and negotiations are ongoing. However, Fedorak said Kia has not yet been served with Ingram’s complaint.
The SUV was purchased from Kia of Naples, which has been under new ownership since November and is now called Williams Kia of Naples. The dealership is not being sued.
Williams Kia of Naples officials said their dealership is not being sued and therefore have nothing to say.
The lawsuit says Ingram purchased the Sorento on Feb. 4, 2006, from Kia of Naples for $25,924.86 based on its warranty — five-year or 60,000-mile bumper-to-bumper coverage — as well as its other warranties. But one defect has prompted five repairs, in addition to at least 13 other problems that required trips to the dealership.
The lawsuit says Ingram gave Kia and its dealerships sufficient opportunities to repair the SUV, but lost confidence in its safety and reliability. Her lawsuit is filed under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, a federal law intended to increase the enforceability of warranties. It also means that if successful, Kia would have to pay fees and costs for Ingram’s attorney, Alex D. Weisberg of Cooper City, who specializes in automobile litigation and Lemon Law cases.
The lawsuit seeks judgment against Kia for the SUV’s diminished value, repair bills, and any costs incurred by inconveniences due to constant trips to the dealership, canceled and rearranged business appointments, as well as attorney and witness fees, costs, and other damages.
“We both swore we’d never own a Kia,” Ingram said in a telephone interview. “But we saw the SUV and we really liked the looks of it. We drove it and were impressed.”
They even looked up reviews and discovered it received good ratings.
“Now we’re disappointed, she said. I personally wish they’d replace it, but I’m not sure I’d let them replace it with another Kia Sorento. But I’d be willing to try. It’s fun to drive. ... I just hope we got a lemon.”
The problems started before purchase, when she spotted cosmetic defects, including scratches. The dealership quickly remedied that. But then there was an inconsistent noise in the air conditioning that sounded like a cricket that Kia thought it repaired.
But the noise returned with a vengeance during a trip to Georgia, when it wouldn’t stop. “They said we just needed the leaves cleaned out,” she said, adding that it took five or six attempts for the dealership to determine the cause.
But this week, while working in Fort Lauderdale, it returned and she plans on bringing the SUV in again for repairs.
Last month, Ingram said they were without the SUV for four days. It was purchased as a work vehicle to transport decorating equipment. “Recently, they decided to give us a courtesy car. ... I’ve been bumped up on the loaner car list. They told me there was a big line,” she said, praising Williams Kia of Naples.
Before that, she said, she and her husband paid for car rentals — if they had two faux painting jobs in two different areas of the state in one day. The inconvenience of driving it to the dealership takes an hour out of their day.
Mostly, the problems are just irritating, she said, not safety related. But they did feel in danger last week when they tried accelerating on the interstate and the SUV wouldn’t speed up.
“That was ... the fourth time it was in for that,” Ingram said. “You step on the gas and you expect to have gas, but you don’t.”
That cost them $400, but it was returned three more times for that problem.
Luckily, she said, the SUV has an override switch to accelerate. Her husband once leaned back in the driver’s seat and it wouldn’t return to an upright position. The dealership fixed it manually, and they had to order another motor.
They’ve had problems with the electric system, fog lights, temperature gauge, and inside lights. She said the door handles have been repainted three times, and the driver’s side mirror lost its paint. And the back door wouldn’t open and the remote control made horrible sounds trying to open it. Due to all the trips to Kia, Ingram said, she knows employees by name.
Weisberg, her attorney, said Kia didn’t respond to their demands so they sued. “She can drive it, but she just continues to have problems,” Weisberg said. “She’s still driving it because she has to.”
Like many, he said, she fell for the warranties and low price that lured others.
Noting that a long amount of time is needed to figure out the vehicle’s problems, Ingram says she feels that Kia needs to offer such large warranties to “work out the kinks.”
The survey by J.D. Powers that Ingram read, reinforcing her desire to purchase the Kia, said that after years of poor reviews, the Kia Sorento took the top spot, “comfortably beating” the prior year’s winner, the Toyota RAV4. “The fact that Kia’s older 4x4, the Sportage, finishes dead last shows how far Kia has come — and how quickly,” the review said.
That year, Consumer Reports ranked it 15 of 19, but called it a recommended model, meaning it not only tested well but showed average or better reliability, performing at least adequately if crash-tested or included in a government rollover test. Other reviewers contended consumers would feel safer sticking with more trusted brands like Honda and Toyota. Only two years before, Forbes wrote about the worse-than-average quality of Kia and its partner, Hyundai.
Kia vehicles have been recalled 10 times, including a 2003 Sorento recall for a fuel leak that could result in fire that prompted Kia to offer to replace a portion of the fuel line.
Richard Hickok is the Tennessee man who set up the Kia Sucks Web site after he said he became fed up with his dealership’s inability to repair repeated problems with his 1998 Kia Sephia.
His Web site — http://www.hickokfamilygenealogy.com/Kia_Sucks.html — flashes “KIA: Krap Imported to America” and says that after numerous unsuccessful repairs to his car, he vowed to his dealership that he’d set up a Web site to warn people about Kias, and that it would be on the Internet until the day he died.
In an e-mail to the Naples Daily News, he said the site was so popular that he’s looking for someone to take it over after his death.
