VIC KIA Repair Problems 14 Times - Take Case to Court?

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Weisse Blume

Member
28 April 2014
4
0
1
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
14/07/2012: We bought a KIA Cerato 2012 (ex demo) from Bayford KIA with 5 year factory warranty + 1 year extended warranty from Bayford KIA (Now Bayford Group).

In Feb 2013 (7 months after purchase): the engine started to stall every now and then, and at the same time the engine check light came on.

Since 01/03/2013, we have taken the car 10 times to KIA service centre (7 times to Bayford KIA and 3 times to Western KIA). Our car has been at KIA service centre for 7 weeks now (for the 10th time) They never bothered to give us an update. If we rang them, we got the same lame excuses we have been hearing for 14 months now. KIA has been given 10 opportunities and 14 months time to fix the Kia Cerato problems. It is very obvious that KIA is not capable of fixing that dangerous problem. KIA's trial and error method is NOT acceptable any longer as they have failed to fix the issue in timely manners.

The car is unsafe to drive. Imagine what would happen if the car stalled on the middle of the highway where other cars were traveling 100Km/hour? It could stall anytime without warning and it could cause a fatal accident. I've been told several times that the issue had been fixed but it has not. The dangerous issue is still there.

Their last excuse was that they could not get the engine to play up. I have managed to take the car to their service centre 3 times while the engine was still playing up. They still could not fix the issue then. They even dismissed the finding of their own representative that the PCM (Power train control module) needed to be replaced (Bayford KIA found this fault while the engine was still playing up, we have a report about that).

At present, I have no other option but to use a KIA loan car for 7 weeks now. I have to pay $2000 excess if I'm involved in an accident which I cannot afford. I need my own car with my own insurance with an excess that I would be able to afford if something happens. We've lodged a complaint through Consumer Affairs Victoria. We would like to know our chances to get some justice under Australian Consumer Law if we need to take this case to court?

Thank you very much for any help.
 

John R

Well-Known Member
14 April 2014
689
174
2,394
Sydney
Hi Rini,
  1. Have you submitted a complaint in writing to Kia Bayford/Bayford Group (with a copy sent to Kia Australia)? If yes, have they responded with any feedback as yet?
  2. When did you submit your compliant to Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV)? Have they responded with any feedback as yet?
Australia doesn't have specific "car lemon laws" like the USA but Australian Consumer Law (ACL) gives you consumer rights in relation to your car purchase. You may review the CarsGuide article "Lemon laws protect you" for further information.

As a general rule, you may be entitled to a refund or a replacement car where:
  1. repeated engine stalling is the consistent car issue and this issue is reasonably considered a "major problem" (also commonly called a major failure); and
  2. the dealer is unable to fix the problem within a reasonable time (this is a subjective legal test based on the circumstances).
You may review the ACCC's "Repair, replace, refund" article to better understand what is a "major problem".

Please keep us updated with your progress.
 

Weisse Blume

Member
28 April 2014
4
0
1
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Hi John,Thanks so much for your reply. I really appreciate it. No, we have not submitted a complaint in writing to Bayford Group.We sent a complaint on KIA Australia website but it was ignored so we posted a complaint on KIA Australia Facebook page.https://www.facebook.com/KiaAustralia/posts/617978444939717 After the post, a person from their Customer Service rang us and we have been only communicating through her. She promised to give us a daily update on the progress of repairs of my vehicle but she never did. Every time I rang them, I always got the same answer I have been getting since last year. It has been 7 weeks now since we took the car back to their service center for the 10th time.
No news, no update, nothing.

Thank you very much for the link about the "lemon laws protect you". We have decided to submit a written complaint to Bayford KIA. (We are still able to do that, right? even though since 26/03/2014 they are no longer affiliated with KIA Motors Company, but we bought the car from them while they were still KIA Bayford). We submitted the complaint about 3 weeks ago to Consumer Affairs Vic. My husband rang them today, they said it could take 2 more weeks until one of their officers could read the complaint and inform us anything. They said they were very busy. I was not impressed at all. It has been really frustrating and upsetting. I thought I would be able to get some justice through Consumer Affairs Vic ;-(
 

John R

Well-Known Member
14 April 2014
689
174
2,394
Sydney
Hi Rini,
Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV) can take time to investigate complaints but generally provide a high-level of service to resolve disputes.
You may consider sending a copy of the letter to Kia Australia (and their Facebook Page) to ensure that the issue has been escalated to their attention.
Remember that any letter/email should be an easy to read factual summary with clear headings, bullet points to separate each fact/event and set out your request for a resolution within a reasonable time period.

Please keep the LawAnswers community updated with your progress!
 

Al P

Member
19 June 2014
1
0
1
Hi Rini,

How's your case going? Did you manage to get some sort of solution? I'm asking because I'm in the middle of my own situation with a brand new Kia Rio 2013. I read your story and found really concerning similarities with my case! we've been dealing with this for the last 5 months and I'm really worried that this could take too long, although we've already submitted a complaint with the Consumer and Businesses Services in SA. I hope you get some justice!
 

winston wolf

Well-Known Member
21 April 2014
424
115
894
Adelaide
changefpa.com.au
[offtopic]
I love the interstitial adds on this thread "View the KIA 2014 MY Range. Book a Test Drive Today!" LOL
[/offtopic]

Cheers
 
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Weisse Blume

Member
28 April 2014
4
0
1
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Hi Al,
I'm so sorry that you have been having upsetting experiences with KIA as well .We should have done our research before buying a KIA.
After more than 3 months in their service center (for the 10th time) they finally called last Friday to tell me that the car was ready to be picked up. I've been told several times that it had been fixed but the issue kept coming back.
This time they said they had found the fault and replaced a wiring harness so I hope the problem has really been fixed now.
You might want to post your complaint on their Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/KiaAustralia.
They have been removing the complaints from their page but you have to keep posting until they fix the issue with your car. It took them 15 months to figure out what was wrong with my car. I was too polite to post bad complaint on their FB page before, I have wasted much time, I should have done it long time ago.
Good luck, I hope you will get some justice eventually, please don't give up.
 

John R

Well-Known Member
14 April 2014
689
174
2,394
Sydney
Hi @Rini,
Good to hear that you appear to have had some success dealing with KIA Australia on their Facebook Page. Unconventional strategy often works well to resolve such issues. Did you have any luck with Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV) in relation to Bayford KIA and KIA Australia?

Hi @Al P,
Do you have a time estimate from Consumer and Business Services SA in relation to your complaint?
 

Weisse Blume

Member
28 April 2014
4
0
1
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Hi John,
I think it's such a shame that I had to post my complaint so publicly on FB to get their attention. By the way I'm blocked now since I kept asking them why they have been removing bad comments/questions about their cars from their page. I have seen 3 posts from people who have been involved in a serious car accident asking them why the air bags didn't go off. The posts have been deleted soon after.

As for the CAV, she said she sent a letter to KIA Australia with no reply or respond at all. Then she contacted Bayford who told them that the car was at the Weribee KIA. She spoke to a person there who convinced her they have found the fault and were waiting for the part from Korea. Then she closed the case. She said I could always contact her in case I needed more assistance. Well, maybe I was hoping too much from CAV. I thought she would fight hard to help me, put pressure on KIA Australia to fix the issue in timely manners...I think it was so unfair that they have kept the car for more than 3 months (for the 10th time) and all I could do was waiting.