His recalled car’s engine died, but Kia won’t replace it or give this London, Ont., man a rental | 24CA News
A London, Ont., man says that after months of trying to find solutions from Kia, he was refused a alternative engine on his recalled automobile, regardless of being lined beneath the automobile firm’s prolonged guarantee.
Six months in the past, Will Larocque’s 2014 Rondo’s engine died whereas he was driving it. When he took it to his native dealership in south London, Larocque stated he was instructed he met the necessities for prolonged guarantee protection resulting from recall points with Kia autos, together with the Rondo.
When he heard it will be not less than a month earlier than his automobile is even checked out, and an additional six-to-eight months to have the engine changed, Larocque tried a special location in hopes of faster outcomes, he stated.
“I needed my car repaired quickly so I had it towed to Kia Dundas who told me they can look at it within the month. I waited, but no calls back or anything. They just kept prolonging it,” he stated.
“They wouldn’t provide me with a rental car or any accommodations for not knowing when my vehicle would be serviced, so I had to buy a secondary car so I could maintain my job.”
Dealership, web site said completely different insurance policies
Larocque was instructed by the dealership that the guarantee has been prolonged to both 10 years or 200,000 kilometres, and he qualifies on each fronts as a result of his mileage is 123,000 kilometres, he stated. But on Kia’s web site, the coverage states that it is both eight years or 160,000 kilometres.
“Being with out my Kia … means I don’t know after I can see my daughter.– Will Larocque, London, Ont.
When contacted by 24CA News, Kia Canada declined to comment or clarify their policy because the matter is being actively investigated.
Larocque says he needs a car to travel back and forth from his job in Woodstock — about 30 kilometres east of London. He also has a daughter that lives in Kettle Point, who he’s unable to see without a vehicle, he said.
“I usually see her about twice a month, so being with out my Kia and being instructed frequently that ‘We do not know when your automobile will likely be repaired’, means I don’t know after I can see my daughter,” he added.
Two months after his Kia died, Larocque bought a used 2009 Volkswagen Golf for $5,000 out of pocket. But that engine also died, leaving him to spend another $3,000 for engine replacement, plus windshield repairs.
Larocque says he’s had to use public transportation and a bicycle to get around the city, bringing his travel and maintenance expenses close to a total $9,000.
After the wait period at the Dundas location, Kia did a diagnostic test on Larocque’s car and told him they found two misfire codes, leading them to believe he drove it without oil, so they rejected his coverage, Larocque said.
Larocque denies that, stating he’s kept up with his Kia’s maintenance for the four years he’s owned it, including regular oil changes. Three months before his engine died, Larocque had an oil change done, and documents shown to CBC News verify that.
“There’s no leaking oil, no black smoke popping out, the engine itself was nice up till it simply went poof,” he said.
WATCH | The problems with Canada’s recall system:
Many Canadians might have a recall on their car and they wouldn’t even know it. We investigate a recall involving over a million Canadian cars, and thousands of spontaneous engine fires and failures.
Tricky situations and no accountability
Engine failures on Kia vehicles are one of the most common complaints that George Iny at the Automobile Protection Association (AMA) says he has received in the last three years.
“It’s a difficult scenario — you are lured in by the hope that an present security recall which has a beneficiant doubling of the usual guarantee goes to cowl you to get an improved engine at nearly no value to your self, however you are not instructed that delay might run into months,” Iny said.
Iny’s heard from consumers who say that in many cases, Kia’s reasons to deny them coverage have been due to missing service records from previous owners. This practice is prohibited in Quebec under the Consumer Protection Act , but can still be argued in Ontario, he added.
There’s no leaking oil, no black smoke popping out, the engine itself was nice up till it simply went poof.– Will Larocque, London, Ont.
“There’s a design drawback with these engines, it is severe and so they’re not tolerant of working low on oil so if it will get down greater than a litre, you possibly can get extreme injury,” Iny believes.
“The house owners should not instructed that. Even the handbook makes you assume that you possibly can run 12,000 kilometres with none oil modifications. Kia’s actually near the backside of the barrel relating to guarantee administration.”
Last year, a joint CBC Marketplace and Go Public investigation found that recalls on millions of Kia and Hyundai vehicles have dragged on for years, since 2015, with more and more models added to the list.
Both Larocque and Iny believe the company needs to take more accountability and give timely service to their customers. Larocque plans to take legal action against Kia, he said.
“The customer support from Kia and the dealership has simply been atrocious,” Larocque said. “Out of 12 calls I’ve made I’ve acquired again perhaps three or 4. This is a really nerve-racking scenario.”
