Spectra Paint Quality?

in Kia
Hi,
I am still loving my Spec 5 overall but recently have noticed how easily the paint chips - approximately 15 spots on my hood and front side panels. I took it to the dealer for a routine service & pointed out these spots - zero feedback from the dealer other than to say that this is to be expected nowadays that leadbased paints are no longer used & I should invest in a hood deflector. I have read earlier posts that the paint quality was a problem, but am seriously unhappy with the feedback I received - I can't believe that this is to be expected from a new car (1 year) driving primarily on paved roads. Plan to take it to another Kia dealer in town & see what they have to say - told the dealer as much but received no further response.
Feedback sought & much appreciated.
Cheers,
Still a Canuckkiafan
I am still loving my Spec 5 overall but recently have noticed how easily the paint chips - approximately 15 spots on my hood and front side panels. I took it to the dealer for a routine service & pointed out these spots - zero feedback from the dealer other than to say that this is to be expected nowadays that leadbased paints are no longer used & I should invest in a hood deflector. I have read earlier posts that the paint quality was a problem, but am seriously unhappy with the feedback I received - I can't believe that this is to be expected from a new car (1 year) driving primarily on paved roads. Plan to take it to another Kia dealer in town & see what they have to say - told the dealer as much but received no further response.
Feedback sought & much appreciated.
Cheers,
Still a Canuckkiafan
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Can you all post some specifics about your cars on here? Things like:
- Color of your car
- Road conditions you primary drive on (gravel, pavement, etc.)
- Month year and month/year built
My 2004.5 Spectra EX sedan has 23k miles, and is sand beige (gold).
My paint looks fantastic. I drive almost completely on pavement, so flying gravel usually isn't an issue. I've had two small nicks by a headlight that I've had to touch up, and that's it! Was there a paint formulation change between 2004.5 and the more recently built models? I was at my dealer today and mentioned this this thread to the service department, and they said that they haven't had any out-of-the-ordinary cases of paint chipping on Spectras or Spectra5s coming through.
My dealership experience(s) have also been good. Waaaayyyy better than any experiences I've had at the Ford dealers I've frequented in the past.
The bottom line is that I think it would be good for you all to use this forum to compare (specific) notes in the open where everyone can see them... including Hyundai/KIA.
-SM
Keeping my fingers crossed,
Melissa
If you open up the driver's door, the sticker showing the build year/month will be either on the "B pillar" section of the body (the part to the right of the door opening), or the end of the door (facing you) itself.
Mine was built in March 2004.
-SM
Melissa
My Spec5 is Volcano Blast red. The date built is listed as 01/05.
I drive only on paved roads - have taken approximately a dozen trips on gravel over the past year, but since I don't drive rally style, definitely do not think this would be a contributing factor.
I do not have a hood deflector yet, but will likely get one. Thing is, there are marks all over it - side panels, doors too - it just does not make sense to me. I've owned & driven various vehicles in my 20+ years of driving, and and have never ever seen the likes.
I actually purchased the clear coat warranty, so have to take it in soon for it's annual inspection. If not satisfied with service at the original dealer, will ask for the cost of this back + be taking business elsewhere.
As I said, I still do enjoy the car overall, but because of this, am disappointed with both the quality + service.
I'll post once I've taken it in, likely next week.
ckf
Melissa H
My 2002 Kia Spectra GS has the " CLassic Red" paint and it is still gorgeous. The clear coat is there and doing its job.
The car has numerous chips from stones and such , but we used the touch up paint to keep them in check.
We are located inn upsate New York near canada and we park the car indoor from Dec to March. The rest of the time it is outdoors.
once a year we wax it.
so I think you have defective paint, and the automated robot painting that day was malfunctioning.
Apart from this, I really am still enjoying the car and have absolutely no other complaints.
CKF
well the regional manager looked at the paint job 3 weeks ago, but never returned by call. I have been very busy, but this week i am going to followup on this. other than yourself, how many people have you been in contact with that are having paint chipping off their Kia.
Helene
There are about 5 folks on this site that have had similar complaints; other than on this forum, however, I haven't been in contact with anyone. There have been replies on this site that indicate this issue is not unique to KIA, but I still think it's completely unnacceptable...my car is just over one year old and it's scary to imagine what it will look like in another year.
As I said, I did provide feedback that I was not satisfied after my previous service visit and they now appear to be trying to resolve this issue....stay tuned for details on the outcome!
CKF
For the benefit of the rest of us KIA owners out here, could you grab a digital camera, snap some shots, and post them up on Yahoo or freeservers.com, or somewhere like that for us to see?
I'm reading some intriguing descriptions above about "bubbles" on doors, massive chipping, etc.
Since my 2004.5 Spectra EX hasn't shown any signs at all like those above (even after 25k miles), I'm really curious to see these.
The quality of the paint on my Spectra was one of the first things that caught my eye when I looked it over. It's the Sand Beige metalflake, and it was perfectly smooth, glossy, and with no orange peel. I just looked over a friend's new Chevy Malibu, and though it was a nice car, the car's paint job made look for a 'SunKist' sticker on it. :P
Here's my ride:
-SM
princessmelissa @ yahoo.com
I got two estimates per the Kia dealer shop manager. Both stated that that the chipping was excessive and one felt the bonding process was the problem. I gave the estimates to the dealer who said he wanted a cause for the chipping. Maybe he would be happy with a chemical analysis....regardless, they have not been honoring the paint warranty and certainly are not customer oriented. I will pursue this through the channels as appropriate.
Do they want a happy customer? I wonder.
It's been awhile, but thought I'd give an update. Service rep at my dealership in Ottawa took photos & sent them in for feedback & tried to make a claim under the warranty. As per most other attempts on here, it was refused.
Am still happy with performance of the car which is good, guess I'll be paying for the paint job myself. Not sure what the cost will be, just took it in for an assessment for both paint & body work, lower side doors were schmucked by a [non-permissible content removed] when parked!
If anyone else has any news, do post!
ckf
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We have about 15,000 miles on it, and the paint is already chipping AND rusting!!! My husband mentioned it to the dealer today, they said its not covered under the warranty, but they will see if they can buff the rust spots out. My husband's concern (& mine) is if its chipping and rusting already...what is it going to look like in 2 years? 5 years? 10 years? It will be a rust bucket and the warranty won't mean diddly! We knew that Kia's weren't high end vehicles, and we purchased this as our work vehicle, but c'mon. Rust after 8 months and 15,000 miles??? That is just crazy.
So the next time I went in to have the car serviced, the Manager tried to say, that because a rock had hit my windshield in between time that was the cause of
my paint problem... Well if you saw these spots you would know that was impossible and he knew it was also, he was just being a well, u know what..... These spots were from the factory, it was like they didn't have enough paint left in the can, it was like someone got lazy and forgot about refilling the can. They are white and have gown since. Also I am getting chips, I have one on my passengers side door.. It really saddens me... I could cry to be honest with you.. I have taken good care of my car.. I only have 13,000 miles on it.
It upsets me to think all of us pay dearly for our cars and the paint is under warranty for three years or 36,000 miles I checked in the book. I don't see what the
problem is. People will say bad things about them, They will get a bad name, and now they do not get my money anymore for service every time. I go to someone
else, because I do not trust them. So they have lost a customer and I will always tell people to stay away. Why encourage people to buy a car that the company does not honor their warranty. Don't get me wrong I love my Kia, aside from the paint and the customer service... This is my very first brand new car, I am 47 years old.. I was so proud..But now I discourage people from purchasing a Kia, why would I want others to have the same problems.
To me GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE is everything. GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE brings people back every time. Some companies just don't realize that. Obviously KIA is one of them. I would willingly travel a distance, to get good customer service as I know most people would. If they would HONOR THEIR WARRANTY then I would change my mind, but until then, it stays as is. I have one more dealer I am going to try.
ProudNani
I took the car to two KIA dealerships without results. They say the external damage is not covered after the first year.
There is no impact from rocks and we drive the car in the city on the paved roads. I have never seen anything like this before and called KIA Canada only to hear the same excuse from them. They say in order for them to fix the problem there must be a hole underneath of the areas that the paint is coming off. They also try to blame the problem on bird dropping or some other material. The fact is that
we keep the car very clean and as a matter of fact about
a month ago that I took the car for general service to
a KIA dealership they washed the car very well ant did not mention any paint problems to me.
I appreciate any suggestions.
When you mention rust on the rear quarters "behind the back doors", are your referring to the area near the bottom of the rear doors that tends to get stone chipped?
I've noticed stone chipping going on in that area of the quarters, but no rust. It probably helps that I've touched up the 3-4 I've gotten on both sides with my factory touch up paint.
My 2004.5 EX is pushing 50k miles on it, and it has been a wonderful car for me.
I can't believe that you would not recommend a Spectra to someone based on this one problem (if that's all you've experienced).
I've eyeballed SEVERAL Spectras over the past 3 years here in rustbelt Michigan, and I've never seen any rust on the rear quarters of them. Not even in the touch-up zone I described above.
What color is your car? White? Just curious, since any type of minor rust speck would be magnified on a white car.
-SM
If you have any information on who you delat with and the outcome in your case and are willing to share this info with me who knows we all might benefit from a ruling against Kia. I am filing with the State of Mass under the Lemon Law because I bought the car in MA. Since I can't prove defective paint I am making a case of design flaws using their own words against them. If Kia knowingly sold cars starting in 2005 that were desgined so badly that normal road conditions will peel the paint off in under 15,000 miles then it was deceiving the consumer. They also told me that my windshield is severly pitted which means the quality of glass is so poor normal conditions in New England will destroy the windshield.
Any help will be help for all of us. Depending on how I do in MA I will speak with an attorney that handles class action law suits if enough of us are willing to go against them.
Thanks for your time and I hope to hear from you.
Anna Golderese
knowbtr42@yahoo.com
Collectively they can't stand against us.
knowbtr42@yahoo.com
I purchased my red, 2007 Kia Spectra5 LX in September of last year and the roof and trunk have already been repainted due to rough welds (on the trunk) and leftover welding residue (on the roof). In addition, the rub strip was replaced (at my cost) due to blistered paint and an interior trim piece was replaced (again at my cost). This all occurred with approximately 3500 kms on the odometer.
Now, with only 8000 km on the odometer, the paint is chipping off the hood and left rear door. I was amazed to discover the paint chips yesterday – they weren’t on the car when I drove it to work. As the car is new I park it in a location that is away from other cars and can see the car from my office window. No other cars were parked next to mine and the car was not moved all day. In addition, the rear door faced the lawn and not another parking spot. When I left the office there were two chips on the left rear door. There is no other explanation than the paint simply flaked off in the bright sunlight. I am about to discuss these issues with my local dealer, but my expectations are low that anything will be done.
In the past when I have approached my local dealer they insisted that I take the car to the purchasing dealer. When I spoke to a Kia Canada representative they indicated that I could take my car to any Kia dealer to have issues reviewed and (hopefully) resolved. Yet, the dealers refuse to work with owners who purchased their vehicles elsewhere. To get issues reviewed I must drive for two hours to the purchasing dealer.
As an example of a past service experience, I provide the following example:
Several years ago I purchased a used 1989 Toyota Tercel DX from a Chrysler dealer. I had the car serviced at a local Toyota dealer and they noticed small bubbles in the paint on the rear hatch. They informed me hat they would repaint the rear of the car and provide me with a loaner while the car was being painted. When the car was returned I indicated that there was a small amount of overspray and that the work wasn’t all that great. They agreed and had the car repainted. Although I had not purchased the car from the dealer they understood that they represented the Toyota brand and took responsibility for resolving quality issues quickly.
Like many who posted here, this is my first new vehicle purchase. I am very angry that the quality of the paint is sub-par and the service I have received to date is appalling. I would recommend that anyone considering the purchase of Kia look elsewhere. Save a little extra money and purchase a Mazda3 or a Saturn Astra. They are much better vehicles. Please, don’t make the same mistake I have.
If anyone doubts the veracity of the claims made in this email, let me know and I will provide photographs and receipts for the work done to date.
PW
I appreciate your re-capping these events. And nobody beleives you as much as I do. My hood, the front panels, side door panels and the roof all chipping as we speak.
If you could send me photos via email that I can use in court to prove you and your car are real. The name of your dealership and even your name if you do not object. I will gladly provide you my information.
You can email me at knowbtr42@yahoo.com
Again, thanks for responding, maybe I can get some help for all the Kia Spectra owners.
Wish me luck.
Anna Golderese
Apparently this is not a unique for Spectra's or red. My black 07 Magentis with just less than 20,000km on it is similarly afflicted. I dread talking to Kia after reading your experiences.
Ian in Ontario
I will post updates on my progress as it happens. I am going to implement whats called the Lemon Law in Massachusettes and it may take a few months but I plan to nail Kia to the fence.
Good luck to you and keep us posted.