New owner, couple of questions.

[NeoDude]

Hi folks,

I have just bought an 04 Sedona SE and I'm so far pretty pleased with it with the exception of a missing owners manual & Service Log. There is also a small patch of rust on the tailgate and a couple of slightly rusty looking chips at the front which I thought was quite surprising for a car of this age. I'm also quite surprised that this was not taken care of at the dealers as I was told the car would be serviced before I picked it up, without a service log I am unable to confirm this. I assume that the 3-year manufacturers warranty will cover the paintwork?

I was also told that the car has no parking sensors, however there are 2 sensor looking thingies on the bumper and I get a beep when I go into reverse, could this be an after market installation?

Thanks in advance for any info.

Chris

[Inky]

I'm not sure if the warranty covers paint. The paint on Kia vehicles is often poor and will chip, peel, and allow rust.

Also, check your warranty overall because only the first part transfers to subsequent owners and the extended part applies only if you're the original owner. (This makes no sense to me. I think it's just a way Kia gets to bail out.)

It does sound like you have back-up sensors. Carefully back up to something and listen for the beeping.

[93fxdl]

when we bought our 02 the service history was printed out by the supplying dealer as they had serviced it for the previous owner if this is not possible try contacting the previous owner to see if they can provide the history or put you in touch with the servicing dealer or if your car was a "fleet" car try contacting the company to see if they can help, as for the reversing sensors when i fitted them to ours i tried them out first by switching on the ignition, selecting reverse, opening the tailgate to hear the beeps and walking back and forward to check their operation without risking reversing into any thing
best of luck glenn

[ebod]

Neo dude, rusty tailgate is a very common fault caused by the chrome trim cutting into the paint behind.

If its still inside the warranty then don't take any bull from the dealers and get it booked in for repair. Its a ~£350 quid job otherwise. The only problem I see is your 'missing' manuals.
Without the service history you may get fobbed off. ( although the dealers will know exactly what has been done to it via their computer database )

While its still in warranty there are a few other things you want to check out. I'll have to have a think , but the first thing that springs to mind is take a look under the car at the rear , with the spare removed. Does the water piping look all scabby / corroded ? If so its ready to burst.
Also check out posts in this group about fuel pumps and injectors :-0

[Inky]

Originally Posted by ebod

although the dealers will know exactly what has been done to it via their computer database

The dealer I went to here in the States claimed they could pull up only information on service they had performed.

[NeoDude]

Just a quick update,

Phoned the dealers the other day and they sounded surprised about the rust and told us to bring the car back in for a look, they will give us our missing manuals too. Taking it in tomorrow so we will see what happens.

I do have reversing sensors And they appear to work perfectly despite also having a towbar. Probably because there is only 2 sensors towards the outside of the bumper, so I guess it was an after market installation. It looks pretty well done though with the sensors colour coded.

Is this Kia-advertised "supa-guard" worth the money? Will it help to protect the paintwork from future Chips/Rust?

[93fxdl]

no treatment will protect against chips except maybe a "car bra" since they are caused by impact damage the best protection i have found is regular washing and a good polish every now and then as this means any chips are sealed before they can start to corrode but we did have superguard on our car but we wanted it for the fabric protection as we have 3 kids and a daft greyhound making a mess of the interior also the superguard can only be as good as the quality of its application , ours is very poor they missed the entire roof ps if you do have chips you want to work on you can try using an abrasive pencil (used on pcb repairs) to rub out the rust before touching in the paint
best of luck glenn

[ebod]

The dealers 'sounding' surprised is a total con. NeoDude, my car is the same model as yours, just 2½ yrs older.
I've had mine since Aug 05 and spent pots of cash getting a catalogue of common flaws fixed on it.
I recommend you look at the options in this forum and view my topics. You will see some pictures of rusty tailgates.

I'm not anti-Kia or anything, I can just see you have a few months left on your dealer warranty and if you trawl this forum you will identify many things to look into before the warranty expires.

Re your other comments.
1. "supa-guard" sounds like snake oil to me. If your wife is like mine, stone chips will be the least of your worries. The turning circle is so bad she had several near misses and one big scuff
2. Inky's comment may apply to his country, but in the UK any dealer can access full details via reg no or chassis no.


When you go to the dealers, let them start to bluff you about the tailgate and then catch them off guard by tellingthem you know its a very common problem.

[Inky]

Originally Posted by ebod

Inky's comment may apply to his country, but in the UK any dealer can access full details via reg no or chassis no.

We should do that here. I don't see any reason not to.

[bar1jobar]

I just bought a new o6 and allready having problem with the dealer in michigan. is a remote start any good in a sadona