Kia Stinger Problems

The Stinger is a great car if you like a big dollop of performance with your motoring. The twin-turbocharged V6 engine really packs a punch and there’s not much else around at the price that feels as potent.

But your budget gets you into some pretty impressive vehicles including mid-spec versions of the BMW 3-Series and Audi A4, both of which offer plenty of performance, equipment and pizzazz. It all depends on how you prioritise performance versus luxury and whether you place much value on the car’s badge. If not, then the South Korean Kia Stinger starts to look even more like a match for the European establishment.

The NSW Office of Fair Trading has a Disciplinary Action Unit (DAU) which, on the surface, appears to be able to sanction companies or enforce findings by the department. Which leaves me wondering how Kia has managed to brush off that authority by refusing the refund recommended by the department. Perhaps you would be wise to contact the ACCC (the old Consumer Affairs Department) as this organisation has some real teeth.

The question, however, is whether you’ve given Kia sufficient opportunity to fix the problem. Form what you’ve said, that’s probably the case, but all disputes of this nature rely on the car-maker being given every chance to make things right. That said, your frustration is understandable and, even if the problem is eventually rectified, your opinion of the vehicle will probably be permanently coloured.

For the record, plenty of other owners of the Kia Stinger have complained about exactly the same problem, so it appears that it’s a real concern and not one of which Kia could possibly be unaware. I’ve heard of some owners having the sunroof frame replaced and that fixing the problem. So perhaps there’s a tolerance problem in the manufacturing of the sunroof frames. The point there being that replacing the original frame with another one that is out of spec will simply reproduce the same problem. Perhaps that’s what’s happening to your car.

Without actually hearing the noise in question it’s not possible to speculate on what it might be. It’s under warranty, so take it back to your dealer and have them check the brakes for you.

Kia’s target for the Stinger was originally 200 per month, and while it has sold 150-160 per month the company says it is not disappointed. They are buoyed by the fact that more than 80 per cent of the sales are the top-spec 3.3-litre GT. They are also encouraged that three state police forces have signed up for Stinger – Queensland, WA and the Northern Territory – and South Australia is still looking at it, while Victoria and NSW are showing renewed interest in the car.

Performance brakes generally wear out faster than regular brakes; one of the reasons is that the disc rotors are often softer. That means more frequent machining of rotors, and ultimately more frequent replacement.

Well, it is a much better form of daily transport than a 1904 Darracq. If you're in the market for a brand-new, fast, rear-drive, four-door family car under $75,000 then it's hard to go past the Stinger GT.

They're not the most amazing machine on four-wheels, but they're a great first tilt at a proper performance car from Kia and are worth a look if your WRX or MX5 is getting a bit small for family duties.

Yes, the Kia Stinger is rear-wheel-drive.

Estimates place the number of Kia Stingers sold in Australia to be between 1800 and 2000 units since the model's late 2017 introduction. In the USA Kia has sold over 10,000 Stingers to April 2018.

Kia’s Stinger is made in Kaliningrad (Russia), and Gwangmyeong in South Korea.