Hey Scotti
I have a 3 month old 2021 Kia Sorento. The heat was never great but the dealer said that's the way the car is. I discovered a red tag behind the glove box which read "REMOVE ON DELIVERY". After doing some research i found it went into the cabin filter compartment behind the glove box. Turns out there was shrink-wrap on the cabin filter that the dealer should have removed. Now the volume of air is tremendous and I have to turn the heat down in the morning on the way to work. My question is I drove the car for 3 months like that. Could that have done any damage? The dealer said no but they told me there was nothing wrong to begin with.
If so just don't tell my wife {black}:sweaty:
Appreciate the video LOL but you never answered the question. "Could that have done any damage? The dealer said no but they told me there was nothing wrong to begin with."
Believe it or not Kia tracked me down. I guess they watch Scotti's videos. Kia Motors Irvine sent out a notice to dealers to find out about the guy who found shrink wrap on his cabin filter in his brand new car. The dealer's service manager called me to ask if I was that pesky Mr Bob. He used a term I haven't heard in 40 years "Unmitigated Audacity". I sent him a picture of the filter wrapping with the Hyndia/Kia label still quite readable. I also gave him a list with dates of people from his dealership who I complained to about the lack of heat in December when I bought the car. He contacted me a week later with a apology and an explanation. It looks like they needed a cabin filter in a hurry so they swiped one from my car before it was sold. Then when they got new ones in someone was sent out to the lot to replace it. That's where the goof occurred. They come with a big red tag instructing the buyer to remove the shrink wrap before installation. At first they claimed plausible deniability since only single retail replacements have shrink wrap. The factory ones come from Korea in bulk packaging and are installed by machine on a production line. The original filter minus the wrap is in the car and working fine but they sent me a voucher for a new one. Scotti does has influence.
I also got another surprise. A piece of trim broke and the dealer said trim was not covered by the warranty. I bought and installed the trim myself and sent a complaint to KMA Irvine. It just bugged me that a brand new car should not have broken trim. I just got a check for the full purchase price from KMA.
I have always said it's the dealers that make the car. If you can't get service from the dealer you will hate the car.
Just don't tell my wife {black}:smile:
I doubt any damage was done, other than you being frozen for a while. Shame they didn't remove it as that is not supposed to be your job, but some dealers just don't care. I'm glad you fixed the issue though.
I wouldn't worry about it. If there was any damage, you wouldn't be getting excellent heat now.
No damage. What a bunch of goofs.
I called the dealer to let them know but since it now works there is nothing to complain about. I imagine mechanics now inspecting cars on the lot for shrink wrap on the cabin filters in the middle of winter. They sell these cars for a living. How could not know about that? The other goof which I found right away was the tires being inflated to 50psi. I thought the car had a hard ride for a midsize SUV on the way home. Lowered the tires to 35psi and the car drives a lot smoother. Someone said that's the way they come in to prevent the tires from going flat in transit.
Retrofitted the hood prop up bar to struts after the wind took it and the hood hit me in the head. Defeated the auto engine stop so I don't have to hit the button every time I start the car. The heat should not shut off in 19F degree weather.
that makes sense.. prevent flat spots.
I guess the guys who prep cars for sale went fishing instead
That’s interesting, I’m not to sure you have any recourse, but you could drop a letter to the company and see what they recommend if anything.....
Get your future maintenance and warranty work done somewhere else. They're incompetent.
