Hello everyone,
I just took my wife’s car in for its first service and found out there are a couple of recalls, including parts for the seat heater and a new engine assembly, besides the peeling window trim we mentioned. They offered a loaner while the work is done, but it likely won’t be a Telluride. This is our first new car, and we bought it to avoid issues like this, but now, with about 6k miles, they want to replace the engine, which seems contrary to the benefits of having a new car. Has anyone successfully convinced Kia to replace their car with a new one and take back the current one for the recall, possibly to resell as a CPO? If so, I’d appreciate any advice on how you approached this, either in the comments or via DM.
Just wondering if you checked this sub before posting. To answer your question, we had the engine assembly replaced in our SXP Pro, and we haven’t had any issues since. The work was done at 3,500 miles, and we’re now almost at 6,000 miles. Kia went above and beyond by replacing the entire lower engine assembly rather than just the valve springs. This means you get brand-new, pre-assembled parts from the factory instead of having components disassembled and reassembled.
I’ve decided to only lease cars after buying two brand-new ones that turned out to be lemons. Government pressure on car manufacturers to increase efficiency has led to such tight tolerances that failures are not uncommon. From now on, it won’t be my problem.
Yes, I searched but didn’t find any comments about people being successful, so I thought it was worth asking. I’m not a car expert, but replacing the entire engine seems much more invasive than just changing valve springs. I assume they’ll need to work on a lot of unrelated components to remove the engine. I’m also concerned about how this affects maintenance schedules—if the engine mileage differs from the car’s mileage, how do you keep track of things to ensure warranty coverage?
What you’re referring to, getting a defective new car replaced, is known as “lemon law.” Check the lemon law for your state to see if your situation meets the criteria and follow the process if you want to pursue it. You might or might not need a lawyer for this.