Kia owners beware!!! Expensive Parts...Cheap Cars
As an owner of a 2003 Kia Rio, I was rather dismayed that a relatively innocuous
piece on an automobile could be such an incredibly difficult and expensive thing to repair. This makes me very leery about replacing this vehicle with another
Kia product. Read on....
To: Kia Canada
I have been trying unsuccessfully to locate replacement rubber grommets
for the four that have dried up and deteriorated on the plastic engine cover
on my Kia. I have been to two dealerships here in Montreal, and one located
in Burlington Vermont, but to no avail. I have been to major name auto parts
suppliers, and to countless bigbox renovation centers and hardware stores,
all with no luck. So now I ask you, where can I find four lousy replacement grommets, or will I be forced to buy a whole new engine cover for over
$230.00, as this is what appears on your dealerships computers, yet no
separate part number is listed for just the grommets. Kind of ridiculous, no?
Please contact me with an answer.
Thank you,
REPLY...
Thank you for taking the time to communicate with Kia Canada. We appreciate the opportunity to review feedback from Kia owners.
I have contacted Kia Canada’s Part Department regarding the rubber grommets for your 2003 Kia Rio. The part in question is installed as part of the manufacturing process and is not available separately. These grommets are press fitted to the engine cover during the manufacture process with a flared brass bushing in the middle that acts as a guide and spacer. The factory engineers determined that this would not be a part that would normally require separate replacement so only determined the requirement for the full assembly. This is supported by the fact that the RIO is one of our highest selling volume vehicles and we only sell on average 3 complete covers per year.
The engine cover assemble is in stock and can be ordered through the Parts Department of any authorized Kia Dealer, The part number is 29240 2X000. The Manufacture Suggested Retail Price is $245.35.
Thank you again for contacting Kia Canada. Your concerns have been documented. All customer concerns are reviewed regularly to ensure that the voice of our customers is shared within the organization.
Sincerely,
Melissa
Bilingual Consumer Affairs Representative
Customer Experience Department
KIA Canada Inc.
MY REPLY...
In deference to your "factory engineers", these bushings are not press fitted... nor are they flared. As for the engine cover design, the hole that
the grommet fits into is slotted, as if they were intended to be replaceable
if so needed. If Kia thinks that the average consumer would put out the
sum of $245.00 for the replacement of what is a purely decorative and
totally non functional piece, instead of maybe $2.45 worth of rubber,
they must be joking. I expect a much better reply than what you have just
provided. I will take this to a higher level. My intention to replace this
vehicle with another Kia product is under tenuous consideration.
Let's see how this plays out..I'll keep you posted.
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