What Are My Options - Car Needs Engine Replacement Just After 4 Years

it sucks, but if you did not do the required maintenance checks they are within their rights. I believe they put those stipulations in knowing most people will either not know about them (not reading the fine print) or simply forget. I would working with them to see if there is anything they can do, like a payment plan or the like.

1 mom found this helpful

Hi H.,

Call the Attorney General's office in your state and tell them what happened. They will probably want you to put it in writing but this sounds like fraud on Kia's part. The Attorney General's office will probably refer you to their fraud hotline...

You're not out of luck....the squeaky wheel gets the grease...just keep squeaking LOUDLY!

1 mom found this helpful

It's under the 5000 dollar mark so you probably could take them to small claims court without too much trouble. Don't assume that the judge will side with the car dealer. I was listening to a tape from a harvard law school professor that said clearly that the fine print in car warranties don't always hold up in court when people sue car companies. Product liability can't be excused by a lot of verbiage. You won't be out too much anyway if you try.

I know you are upset and I would be too. But unfortunantly when you purchase a car they tell you to read the "owners manual". In the manual it says to take your car in at 30,000 and 60,000 to make the warranty valid. I hope everyone reads your post as it is educational and no one else will make the same mistake. I am so sorry for you as i know this is a horrible situation. But remember, this to will pass.

Typically this doesn't happen unless you run the car for a long period of time without oil, causing the engine to overheat enough to melt the aluminum head to the camshaft... exactly how long was the light blinking before you pulled over?

At this point, look at it this way, if you can't get Kia to replace the engine under warranty, $5k is still less than a new car.

Sorry this happened to you... good luck.

Did you do the 30,000 and 60,000 maintenance? If so, the dealership or garage you used may have a record of those. If not, you may be out of luck. Sorry.

Find the receipts for your maintenance. You should really keep a strict record of that stuff in a file for your car. Did you not get the maintenance done, or just misplaced the receipts for them?? I hope this all gets figured out. Take care and keep searching for the proof. You can request a duplicate receipt from the place the maintenance was done if you know the approximate date and all.

D. P.

Does your warranty state that it was required to have the 30,000 & 60,000 maintenance done? If it does, you have no recourse. If it doesn't, then you have a case. Somewhere you need to put in your wording that you never expected a 4 year old engine to die EVEN IF YOU DIDN'T DO THE MAINTENANCE. That says a lot about the quality of Kia. Heck, I trashed my cars in college and they kept on running!

On the other hand, Kia does not have a good track record of making good quality cars. If you notice, their cars don't stay on the road for long. That is why they are so cheap. You may have to chalk this up to a lesson learned... :(

I ended up upside down with a used Volvo. It stopped running and had 2000+ plus worth of work with another 2000+ expected in a year. It wasn't running and I still had over a year of payments. Lesson learned, the high-end cars (Volvo, BMW, Mercedes) lose their value quickly b/c the cost of fixing them is outrageous! My neighbor has had the same issues with her used BMW. We will never buy high-end again.

I hope things work out for you! Good luck!