[Daddicool]

Hi All

Thought I'd share with you an incident which happened with my son's 1 month old Picanto 1.1 LX over the weekend.

Driving around a roundabout the car went very light whilst turning right in the steering and then locked up solid on turning left to exit the roundabout.

Speed was no more than 20mph - conditions wet. Car has ABS. High-pitched noise and then grinding noise heard during incident.

End result was that control of car was lost and it hit a curb. Front passenger wheel now seemingly buckled and resting behind rear edge of front wheel arch. Seems suspension arm(s) have folded. Difficult to steer off side of road into safety. Driver OK nobody else involved.

Car with dealer today (Kia recovery sent a local recovery truck to collect) for analysis although concern is whether they can separate a failure from the further damage incurred on impact. No other part of car appears to have been damaged.

was interested to read 3gadam's comments in September on braking issues but can't say anything about whether this was a similar thing.

Any other experiences welcome.

Regards

Daddicool.

 

[kevdyas]

Hello
Sorry to hear about your Picanto, I have emailed the author of the brake failure post to get an update with what happened with his Picanto and if a fault was found.
I have been on the Vehicle & Operator Services Agency (VOSA) to see if there is any recalls for the Picanto but it would seem not even though someone suggested there had been a recall in the past.

The address for the recalls is: http://www.vosa.gov.uk/vosa/apps/recalls/default.asp

Please keep us up to date with the progress of your Picanto problem.

Kevin.

 

[Murphwiz]

The only picanto recall was for the steering wheel nut re-torque.

 

[kevdyas]

Originally posted by Murphwiz@Aug 15 2005, 07:40 PM
The only picanto recall was for the steering wheel nut re-torque.

Quoted post​

There is nothing on the VOSA recalls site for it.

Kevin.

 

[Daddicool]

Also interesting however that other KIA models have had chip (ecm) / abs issues which have impacted on braking. Whilst far from conclusive, it satisfies my curiosity.
Present state of affairs is that dealer has asked for a formal comment on events and will be speaking to KIA. Have duly written to both dealer and Kia customer services, including digicam photos of damage and location.

Garage have at commented that suspension arm damage and that sustained on the on the wheel (some denting of rim but no breakage of wheel trim, do not necessarily tie up. In other words they think the arm would have had to have been corrupted from a more severe blow than that evidenced by the wheel damage.

Whether this is material remains to be seen.

Another factor in this is the steering lock not working when wheels straight, despite some wiggling of the wheels. Hadn't tried the trick i've rad about elsewhere whioch is apparently to materially put the wheels on a skew then trya and lock them.

Will keep you all posted. Hope this won't get ugly!

Daddicool (for the minute)!

 

[Murphwiz]

Originally posted by kevdyas@Aug 15 2005, 08:48 PM
There is nothing on the VOSA recalls site for it.

Kevin.

Quoted post​

VOSA don't list all recalls.
Not sure if it was a full scale recall, as it was right at launch and very few cars were in customer hands, most were rectified prior to delivery.

Steering wheel nut tightening torque
Introduction

On some Picanto models the steering wheel nut may not have been tightened sufficiently during production. It is therefore possible that the steering wheel may become loose over time.

Dealer Action

In order to minimise the likelihood of this problem occurring, it is essential that the following action is carried out on all affected vehicles without delay, including any dealer demonstrators, showroom, sold or unsold stock and visiting customer’s cars.

 

[kevdyas]

Originally posted by Daddicool@Aug 15 2005, 08:57 PM


Another factor in this is the steering lock not working when wheels straight, despite some wiggling of the wheels. Hadn't tried the trick i've rad about elsewhere whioch is apparently to materially put the wheels on a skew then trya and lock them.

Quoted post​

Is this the mechanical lock which works as an anti-theft device? Mine doesnt lock when the wheels are straight and has to be turned as though it was at 25 minutes whereas my girlfriends Picanto needs a quarter turn to lock.

Kevin

 

[3gadam]

Hi all

This is an update with regards to my brake failure. In the end the Kia Dealership did nothink even after 7 legal letters they did not reply on this matter. They told me that they had had the whole brake system out of the car and found no problem, The strange thing was the yellow Factory paint seals on all the nuts on the system had not been touched. The Kia dealer then sent the car to another dealer ship to have them inspected again but that dealer said when the car arrived that he would not do a brake system inspection as he did'nt want to get involved with the legal matters.

In the end it went to a indipendent engineer which i had to pay for aswell as a new wing and bumper and steel fence and they removed the brake system striped it down and rebuilt from scratch.

I have to say im really disapointed with the Kia Dealerships Treat their customers. I would not trust them as far as i could frow them.

Cheers

3gadam

 

[kevdyas]

Originally posted by 3gadam@Aug 16 2005, 11:48 AM


In the end it went to a indipendent engineer which i had to pay for aswell as a new wing and bumper and steel fence and they removed the brake system striped it down and rebuilt from scratch.

Quoted post​

What did they say?

 

[3gadam]

They said that they couldnt find a problem with it but their could be a number of thing that could of gone rong which would not have been tracable.

 

[Daddicool]

In response to the question on the steering lock, yes it is the wheel locking undertaken through the steering wheel / ignition mechanism that does not function in the same way as I've experienced through a whole range of cars (wheels straight, remove ignition key, wiggle steering wheel, lock activates).

In terms of the overall incident, the dealership has not found anything wrong apparently. They have replaced (at my cost I expect) the bent suspension arm and driven car but with no repeat of the incident. Can't say I'm surprised, having driven 1500 miles without a problem the expectation of an immediate replication would be unlikely. The worry remains that the problem occurs again - any time, any place, anywhere.

Response to dealer from Kia technical (I sent a letter and photos of the damage / location to Kia Customer Services and the dealership) is that they have nothing on their worldwide database to confirm the faults proposed. Formal response awaited but see no reason for this position to change.

Like 3gadam I am left in the dark. No one has called me a liar but to date no one wants to accept there was a problem.

Do I sell car or keep it, driving with fingers crossed that it won't happen again in more dangerous circumstances?!

 

[kevdyas]

I would keep the car but I would keep up a complaint, maybe make a print of the other post and send that to them and say it appears they have experienced the same problem.
On the steering lock I dont think its a fault, some cars set the steering lock once the engine etc is off whatever position they are in but others such as these have a set position, I think it is off set so if you park on a hill etc. then the steering will lock with the wheels turned (your meant to turn your wheels in etc. when parking on a hill). On my girlfriends Nanna's 1995 Hyundai Accent you need to turn the wheel to lock.

Kevin.

 

[Daddicool]

Position came to a "conclusion" last Friday. Kia Technical / Customer Services / Dealership could not fins a fault. Have paid the bill which was (fortunately) inexpensive, amounting to around £110 including VAT for a replacement suspension arm and new wheel. Little or no labour charge appears to have been included unless pricing was inclusive.

On the positive side, the dealership have played a straight bat but nonetheless been empathetic - service manager (John Doble) in particular. Turnaround on work also very good. Overviewed on Monday and ready same week, even allowing for some mechanic test drives.

Negative is that we are all admitting zero liability.

Time will tell. 200+ miles round trip to Birmingham will give some indication that the repair is running OK.