Kia Will Repaint All Yellow Stingers Under Warranty in Australia
A defect is causing cars painted in Sunset Yellow to crack and chip.
It looks like Australian Kia Stinger owners who opted for the Korean sport sedan's most flamboyant color are entitled to an entirely new coat of paint.
According to CarAdvice, Kia Stingers finished in Sunset Yellow have defective paint jobs that easily crack and chip. In response, Kia is offering full, lifetime-guaranteed resprays under warranty, free of charge. The report says the work will cost the company around $7,400 per car.
Kia Australia COO Damien Meredith told CarAdvice, "We've contacted all of the owners. There was an issue in regards to an oil residue in the yellow which could possibly crack more when hit by a stone chip, et cetera, et cetera, so we've moved very, very quickly."
Meredith says there are a total of 50 yellow Stinger owners in Australia, all but 15 of which have been contacted and advised to bring their car back for a repaint. "As of today, we've contacted all of the customers apart from 15 I believe that we haven't been able to get a hold of at this point in time, and we've offered them to respray the car and give that paint a lifetime guarantee," he told the publication.
There are 400 Sunset Yellow Stingers in the U.S. according to CNET. Presumably, all of those cars would also be entitled to new paint as Meredith remarks that the issue is covered under a "global warranty," but we've reached out to Kia America ourselves for confirmation and will update this story when we hear back.
What's more, perusing the KiaStinger.com forums yields a poll in which owners claim unwarranted paint chips on cars of all shades, not just yellow. We've also brought this to Kia's attention and will report back with its take.