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Good Afternoon,
I hope this finds the right person. I am writing today to complain of the poor service I have received from your company.
This all began on July 22, 2022. I went to the car wash and as soon as I left, my car went into limp mode and my service engine light came on. I was right beside an AutoZone, so I immediately drove over there to get the code read (see Attachment ONE). The code that was read was “replace knock sensor and wiring harness”….. and shall the downhill journey begin.
I decided to call Jim Ellis Kia of Kennesaw. Since I had already been there before to get my engine replaced, and had THE BEST customer service experience, I never imagined the headache that would ensue from making this decision.
After six attempts of getting in touch with someone, we were told the earliest the car could be seen was August 4,2022. So, we had the car dropped off in the parking lot on July 22,2022 for them to be able to diagnose it when they were ready.
Fast forward to August 10, 2022, we get a diagnosis. We were told that the battery needed to be replaced. Which made absolutely no sense, considering the car was cranking perfectly fine, the code that was being thrown…etc. So, I told Camille (our service rep at Kia), I will come pick up my car and we can get the battery replaced on our own, rather than paying $300 for KIA to do it. So, I paid the $153.26 diagnostic fee (see Attachment THREE) and drove my car to AutoZone. Before purchasing a battery, I had my battery tested. The battery had NOTHING wrong with it (see Attachment FOUR).
Shall the extremely infuriating part of the journey begin, after EIGHTEEN failed attempts of getting ahold of the service manager, David, he finally stopped ignoring my calls. I expressed my frustration to David that, not only did your technician give me the incorrect diagnosis (that I paid for), I would’ve paid for a battery AND labor to something that didn’t need to be replaced. David decided to have my car towed to the dealership the next morning to have it looked at, again.
August 11,2022, I get a call from Camille, that they replaced my battery (no charge to me), that it had something to do with the wiring to the battery. I still had a feeling that this wasn’t correct, considering the battery reading was perfectly fine. I picked up my car, it was no longer in limp mode, so figured I was wrong.
Fast forward to September 15,2022, I take my car to the car wash for the FIRST time since it has gotten out of the shop and BOOM we are in limp mode again and throwing the same code.
Shall the headache begin again, after TWENTY THREE failed attempts of getting in touch with someone, my father-in-law and husband get my vehicle up to the dealership to speak with someone in person. They said they would look at my car first thing tomorrow and let me know what they find.
September 20, 2022, I still haven’t heard anything from the dealership, so I text Camille (See Attachment FIVE). She responded “Your technician has your vehicle in the shop diagnosing it. With that being said, he should have some info for me tomorrow. Once he updates me. I will give you a call”.
September 21, 2022, I get a text that the technician is out due to training, when he gets back tomorrow, I will touch bases and give you an update”. (See attachment SIX)
The next day, I text Camille at 4:47pm because SURPRISE SURPISE, I didn’t get an update (See Attachment Seven).
6:57PM, I get a voicemail from Camille (see Attachment EIGHT), “ GREAT NEWS! The technician has been able to diagnose your vehicle, it is the knock sensor, it is being covered under the warranty”.
First, I was annoyed because that was the code that was being thrown from the VERY beginning, but since It was getting covered under the warranty, I was just relieved that the headache was finally coming to an end……. (boy was I wrong)…
TWO DAYS LATER, I get a call from Camille (see Attachment NINE), stating “its actually not covered under warranty.. its going to be $460 + tax & shop fees”.
Today is September 28,2022, they are now working on my vehicle to hopefully be picked up tomorrow.
To sum this up, I don’t even know where to begin, between the lack of communication, the frustration of trying to get ahold of people to get answers, not having a car for basically two months for something that could’ve been fixed in a week, being told one thing and then being told a completely different thing… the list goes on.
I would NEVER purchase a KIA vehicle again because of the fear, if something goes wrong, I have to deal with this customer service. When I had to get my engine replaced I was told numerous times “now that you have a new engine, you should just sell it”, I responded EVERY SINGLE TIME “at least I know that if something happens, I will get the best customer service to get it fixed”, BOY WAS I WRONG! I wish I would’ve sold it! This has been an absolute nightmare! I work full-time, while staying at home with my two children, not having a car for this long has been nearly impossible, I cannot express into words how awful this experience has been. I truly hope someone reads this and understands how frustrating this has been and something is done.
Thank you,
Brittany
