Hi Scotty and moderators;
recently a video on Youtube popped out about Kias and Hyundais catching fire in America. It was a fascinating video for me to watch. The automakers advised customers to park outside since their vehicles may spontaneously burst into flames.
Also; from what I've read on this forum; Korean cars have very weak automatic transmissions that go out early. I've also found out that their engines like to burn oil and can suffer a failure because of this.
I tell you guys; this is really interesting because here in Europe Kias and Hyundais are very different. Nobody avoids them here. They boast some of the highest sales figures of any brand now; actually. I live in Slovakia; and now I am seeing more Korean cars sold here than say VW or French cars.
I just want to say I find it somewhat interesting that over here they don't have such a bad reputation. They generally are regarded as okay quality; good value cars. Nobody I've ever asked here who's owned a Hyundai said they were dissapointed with the brand. Some of those cars are still on the road with over 200;000 km.
My question is then... How is such a difference even possible for a carmaker? I mean; we don't get the same models; for example we don't get the Sonata; Elantra; Veloster; Telluride; Forte;
but we do get the Rio; the Sportage; the Tucson; Santa Fe...…
Nobody here in Central Europe would say that Korean Cars are bad quality. A lot of people still have some prejudice about Dacia; but I would not say that's the case with Kia or Hyundai.
Christian.
adding @Dan to the discussion
Realise even Hyundai/Kia vehicles can be okay up to ~ 100,000 miles (which is a little less than 200,000 kms), which is what even this forum and Scotty recommends. It’s post that mileage figure when they start to fall apart.
Compare that to an average petrol Toyota or Honda or a VW (even Toyota) diesel engine which easily last till 1,000,000 kms with just routine maintenance..
Also, in Europe, owners don’t tend to hold on to vehicles for similar lengths of time, as owners in other parts of the world. Most of them won’t have any trouble before they sell on and move to another vehicle.
And don’t be fooled by the old trick about judging a car’s reliability by it’s sales figures..
different expectations
This!
Is the quality of Korean vehicles better outside the USA?
Yes, in the case of most models.
in Europe Kias and Hyundais are very different. Nobody avoids them here. They boast some of the highest sales figures
Same for me, they have 30%-40% of the market and are likely to reach 50% or more with their new Hybrid/EV lineup.
Some of those cars are still on the road with over 200;000 km.
That's not much. 125k miles ain't great - most people in the US expect their cars to last more then that.
But then we should also consider that in Europe there's much less highway driving, and a lot more stop and go.
How is such a difference even possible for a carmaker?
Owner preference when it comes to powertrain choice.
Seeing a 2.0 on a new car in Europe is quite uncommon, in the US the best selling models are all 2.0 or more.
For contrast the cheapest base model Kia Sportage in the US has a 2.5L.
As a matter of fact, virtually all Hyundai-Kia cars in the US have GDi/T-GDi engines that last 50%-80% less than MPi models.
But that's soon to change, a lot of new European Hyundai-Kia also have GDi, DCT and CVT transmissions and they're crap.
Nobody here in Central Europe would say that Korean Cars are bad quality. A lot of people still have some prejudice about Dacia; but I would not say that's the case with Kia or Hyundai.
That's not "prejudice against Dacia", they're of average reliability and have very inconsistent quality.
Their new SUV (based on the Micra) has the worst CVT in the world, and the worst (new) DCT in the world for a 4x4.
They also purposefully instal awkward and ugly interiors for European models, compare it with a Latin America model
Also let's not forget that they are absolute death traps.
What really bugs me is how dangerous the 7 seater is, I get that some people want to endanger themselves but why the kids?
That's not prejudice against Dacia, most of the hate against them is deserved.
If you want a cheap and simple diesel manual Duster, sure why not - but 90% of their cars are aweful piles of garbage.
Speaking of Hyundai cars bursting into flames in the US, Here's another one:
The owners story:
https://carkiller.com/scottykilmer/qa/mazdas-2/
The video:
I recall that moderator @dan has mentioned that Hyundai/Kia models in Europe have different engines and drivetrains than those in North America. Different driving habits and conditions may also be a contributing factor.
Dacia has never been sold in the U.S. but I believe they are in Canada. Years ago they used to build and sell obsolete Renaults like the 1969 R12, which Dacia kept in production with updates until 2004, but I have no idea what Dacia is doing these days.
