[king koupa]

For those of you that are more familiar with the warranty than I, what is actually required to be done by the dealer? I've always done my own oil/filter, I can manage to look at my fluids and say yep there's enough in there. Spray some lube on the hinges etc. I'm sure there are cheaper places to get your tires rotated, break pads are easy enough to install. They try and get you to come in every 5 months/5000 miles or every 7.5 months/7500 miles. So really what is really required to not void the warranty?

 

[[email protected]]

Look into your owners manual for that information.

 

[king koupa]

Look into your owners manual for that information.

I did, and I don't see anything in there that explicitly states that I have to have a dealer do any of the work on it, not even the first time. But then I receive boat loads of letters from them in the mail making me wounder if I'm missing something. This is my first new car. I'm use to having used cars that I do work on. I'm used to checking/replacing belts, hoses, doing my own oil/filter, brakes/rotors, replacing things like alternators, and doing basic maintenance but always on cars that have no warranty. If I need AC or tannys done I go to someone to get it done. Just don't want to loose coverage for some technicality.

As a side note, what constitutes proper documentation for inspection of things like fluid levels, bolt tightness, checking to make sure your belts and hoses have no signs of cracking, etc.? If I do it myself I'm not getting a recipe, if I make a checklist on the date I check it or the day before I make a claim on the warranty it would look the same. Oil and filter I can keep a recipe for with documented millage. If fluids are low I can keep recipes for what I buy. What's your opinion on service records...

 

[Bigbullldog]

Keep all your reciepts... Legally you are not obligated to take the car to the dealer for any scheduled maintenance. If you have a mechanic that you trust or can do it yourself you just have to maintain a good record of when you did it. It may be harder for you to show any failure as from manufacture but the burden of proof is on the dealer to show equipment as failed due to modification or home maintenance.

 

[tcope]

What Bigbulldog said.

Keep up with the maintenance as outlined in the owners manual. If the dealer does not honor the warranty (contract) then they need to show (prove) how the failure was due to neglect.

 

[Markab]

Hypothetical warranty nightmare

Hi King Koup,
I also enjoy doing some maintenance work on my cars. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to do any yet with my Forte. With warranties you have to be careful to read all of the fine print. I've created a hypothetical situation below. Perhaps this would never happen, but I don't think it's too far fetched.


"Tony" takes his Forte into the dealership to have them look at it. It's three years old and has 60,000 miles on it. He's concerned because it has started to burn oil.

Mechanic: Sir we've had a chance to look at your car and two of your four cylinders have failed a compression test. Oil is getting past those rings and that's why you're burning oil.

Tony: Ok I'd like to get the repair done under warranty

Mechanic: Ok sir. I've had a look on the computer but we don't have any record here of your scheduled maintenance being done with us. Did you have it done at another garage?

Tony: No, I did all of the maintenance myself. And I have all of my receipts here as proof.

Mechanic: Ah, I'm sorry sir but all these receipts prove was that someone purchased these items on the indicated dates. It doesn't prove that it was you that purchased them. It doesn't prove that they were installed on your vehicle. And if they were, it doesn't prove that they were installed correctly.

Now I'm not saying for a minute that this is what you'll face if you do your own maintenance work. And the mechanic would be a real prick to respond this way, but, technically he would have a valid argument. And given the price of rebuilding an engine They might give you more of a hard time. Just food for thought.

Mark

For those of you that are more familiar with the warranty than I, what is actually required to be done by the dealer? I've always done my own oil/filter, I can manage to look at my fluids and say yep there's enough in there. Spray some lube on the hinges etc. I'm sure there are cheaper places to get your tires rotated, break pads are easy enough to install. They try and get you to come in every 5 months/5000 miles or every 7.5 months/7500 miles. So really what is really required to not void the warranty?

 

[haydenks]

When I bought my 2010 Forte Koup SX, I was told by the dealer that if I used anything other than Kia oil filters, my warranty would be voided if there was a mechanical problem. So, be careful!!

 

[Flash]

When I bought my 2010 Forte Koup SX, I was told by the dealer that if I used anything other than Kia oil filters, my warranty would be voided if there was a mechanical problem. So, be careful!!

Never heard that one before. Also don't think it would hold water if you fought it. As stated above legally you can take your car anywhere. Makers cannot restrict you from doing this and cannot restrict you to use their products in the U.S. (Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act not to mention Monopoly law). Aside from that i am pretty sure there are instructions in the owners manual for how to change the oil yourself.

I myself normally go to a Valvoline for oil changes that's closer to my house (and less hassle) than the dealer. Averages out to about the same price but i get full synthetic there. It also gives me proof that work was done on the vehicle. Only time i hit up the dealer specifically is for scheduled maintenance such as a 15k, 30k etc.

 

[Flash]

Ok since this kind of thing pisses me off at times when dealers try to pull this shit here is a paragraph from the Kia warranty manual.

What is not covered.
Page 7:

Damage due to lack of maintenance or the use of wrong fuel, oil or lubricants.

It says nothing about the filter at all in the 47 page long warranty info. The manual for our cars states 5w20 or 5w30 so as long as you stick with either of those your good.

The only thing it says about non Kia parts is for the Emission Performance Control section of the warranty.

Use of Non-Kia Parts.
Page 18, Par 5.

Owner may elect to use Certified parts other than Kia Parts in the performance of any maintenance or repairs and such use in itself will not invalidate this warranty. However, use of other than Kia Parts may cause Kia to deny an Emissions Performance Warranty Claim if the Certified Part is either defective in materials or workmanship or not equivalent from an emission standpoint to Kia Parts.

So basically if it's an emission issue and they want to be dicks they can but would have to prove the oil filter was the cause of it and this would only be for the emissions part of the warranty.

 

[nouse4aname]

The Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act covers U.S. citizens when it comes to aftermarket parts. It is illegal for Kia to require only Kia parts.

Not sure about Canada though.

 

[Flash]

Ya if your in Canada you might be screwed. Not sure because it's a whole different set of rules and laws there.

 

[asdetail]

exactly the same rules apply here in australia too ,however the servicing must be carried out by a licenced mechanic, i never get my koup serviced by the dealer had too many bad experiences with dealerships in the past