'Our Kia sunroof imploded why does it refuse to pay under its seven year warranty?'

[John Jones Jr]

Always worth remembering too that forums attract those with problems/issues?

Yep, that's one of the main reasons forums exist.

 

[grober]

Moral of the story perhaps ---read the small print of the manufacturers warranty and the small print of the insurance policy. Its one of these grey areas since to the manufacturer it must be accidental damage to a two year old car but to the insurance company its a manufacturing defect.

http://www.kia.co.uk/owners/~/media...kia 7 year warranty terms and exclusions.ashx

Problem may or may not also be compounded by the fact the Kia dealership in question has changed hands during their period of ownership of the car assuming it was the Perth outlet?

ps
http://www.autoglasssafetycouncil.o...-kia-sorentos-for-possible-sunroof-implosion/

 

[grober]

http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/acms/cs/jaxrs/download/doc/UCM449368/INRD-PE13035-58672P.PDF


more files from the nhtsa
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/owners...nH5zQr19SwLJtpHsLBJ1LGzTf9LGnG2GQ9!1385362373

should be pointed out that this refers to the Sorento a different model [ made in the USA??] and not the Sportage which is made in Slovakia [YOUTUBE HD]EvhmVFAmcSQ[/YOUTUBE HD]

 

[Rory]

Just rang them, out of cursorily, as never had to make an actual claim.

It was confirmed that pan roof will be replaced under normal 'windscreen policy', with £10 excess for repair and £80 for replacement.
NCB will not be affected.

I've heard of them not being covered - apparently insurers were very unhappy about some models (Peugeot springs to mind) where the windscreen and half the roof are all one piece of glass).

I guess if panoramic roofs (rooves?) become more popular then insurers will increasingly exclude them.

As mentioned, on my wife's car (Honda Jazz) in theory it should cost less to make a normal claim as the excess is £50 and her policy has guaranteed protected NCB. Window claim is £70. Of course they could always increase the base premium after the claim.

 

[WG M-B]

Interesting this as it happened to our ML a few months ago whilst the wife was driving on the M25. Literally went bang!
After asking lots of questions I came to the conclusion it must have been weakened at some point by an object and just blown out.

 

[Dieselman]

My 'sunroof' (part of the convertible roof system on my SLK) is not covered by my windscreen cover of my insurance through Elephant (Admiral Group)

We have had a member on here had to make a full claim for a pano roof.


All sunroof glass is toughened, not laminated.

 

[Charles Morgan]

Sunroofs really are the spawn of Satan.

 

[Dieselman]

Sunroofs really are the spawn of Satan.

True, I hate them.

I have specified NO SUNROOF since it became possible on UK cars.

Not only do they leak water, make wind noise and reduce headroom...they ruin the look of the roof.

A salesman reaming some extra out of you to ruin your car is a masterstroke.

 

[markjay]

Had sunroofs on both Omegas for 10 years combined, never had a problem. The glass makes the cabin much brighter.

Had a full sliding pano roof on the renault for 5 years, never had a problem either.

They all worked well and did not leak.

This is not to say they can't be problematic, just thay my experience was good and in fact this is the one item I miss most on the Merc.

 

[tali]

I knew Kias were .....smashing but this is ridiculous!

 

[Rory]

Sunroofs really are the spawn of Satan.

Had them in all my car for many years - first one spec'd as an option on a Capri! Company cars always had them, even when they started coming through with a/c and my wife's last few cars have had them as standard, although she never opened them.

Funnily enough, my MB is the first car I've had without a sunroof (although the corporate loaner I got from MB before I bought it had one) and my wife's current car (Honda Jazz) has a glass roof that doesn't open. We nearly went for a lower spec model to avoid the glass roof, but our granddaughter thinks it's amazing!

 

[artyman]

I had a sunroof explode on a Hyundai whilst it was just sitting outside the house. Covered under my glass insurance as past warranty.

 

[grober]

My guess is that is related to vehicle use. The bodies of monocoque construction 4x4 or cross over vehicles are liable to be subjected to more torsional stresses than normal saloons. Why because part of their appeal is their so called "go anywhere " abilities- This means people take em off road or at least maybe down unmade roads. High ground clearance means people don't slow down so much for speed bumps or mount high kerbs or just don't bother to avoid that pothole on the way to work. The killer is the high torsional load where in effect one corner of the vehicle is "jacked" rapidly in the air while the diagonally opposite corner remains level or even down a slight depression. This imposes a huge "twisting" force on the "box" of the body. This is transmitted through all stressed parts of the structure. As these large panoramic sunroof assemblies are glued into the body these stresses are transferred to them as part of the process. They are glued in deliberately because the omission of a metal roof would otherwise weaken the body. Factor in minor surface damage from stone ships/grit and-------- kaboom.
When vehicles had toughened glass windscreens- windscreen replacement was all too common- with laminated glass- much less so. As I said before a large stressed sunroof occupying most of the roof area made without some sort of laminated structure in a relatively "bendy" steel vehicle body is an accident waiting to happen.

 

[redcalibra]

Definite defect and not fit for purpose!

 

[Major774]

The sunroof in my Civic came standard from factory. Never used it during my few years of ownership. So when I got my E55, I had to look for one without sunroof. I prefer more head room and no leaks.

 

[markjay]

I had a sunroof explode on a Hyundai whilst it was just sitting outside the house. Covered under my glass insurance as past warranty.

Kia is owned by Hyundai.

 

[Satch]

True, I hate them.

I have specified NO SUNROOF since it became possible on UK cars.

Not only do they leak water, make wind noise and reduce headroom...they ruin the look of the roof.

A salesman reaming some extra out of you to ruin your car is a masterstroke.

I loathe them as well, mostly as the result of bitter experience in a Peugeot which was foisted on me once as a company car.

The electric sunroof was so bulky that it reduced headroom to the point where a "seat lowering kit" could be ordered up and fitted FOC by dealers on request.

Even when fitted, insufficient headroom for me and driving was literally a pain in the neck or the head if a large bump was encountered.

It leaked, produced wind noise and was prone to jamming open, so stayed firmly shut.

I moaned bitterly and the vehicle was foisted onto a vertically challenged colleague, who despite my dire warnings made the mistake of fully retracting it one bright morning only to find as the sky darkened that it would not budge. He was an unhappy & wet bunny by the time he got to his destination.

 

[Rory]

I loathe them as well, mostly as the result of bitter experience in a Peugeot which was foisted on me once as a company car.

The electric sunroof was so bulky that it reduced headroom to the point where a "seat lowering kit" could be ordered up and fitted FOC by dealers on request.

Even when fitted, insufficient headroom for me and driving was literally a pain in the neck or the head if a large bump was encountered.

It leaked, produced wind noise and was prone to jamming open, so stayed firmly shut.

I moaned bitterly and the vehicle was foisted onto a vertically challenged colleague, who despite my dire warnings made the mistake of fully retracting it one bright morning only to find as the sky darkened that it would not budge. He was an unhappy & wet bunny by the time he got to his destination.

Are you very tall? I'm 6ft and had a 405 with a sunroof and several 406s and never had a problem. I have fond memories of my 1998 406 2L petrol turbo exec -indeed I kept it for an extra year and was most dismayed when the lease company demanded it back.

The seat was high though - but I only noticed after I used a 3 Series for a few weeks and then got back in my car and tried to lower the seat only to find it was already as low as it would go!

 

[tali]

Are you very tall? I'm 6ft and had a 405 with a sunroof and several 406s and never had a problem. I have fond memories of my 1998 406 2L petrol turbo exec -indeed I kept it for an extra year and was most dismayed when the lease company demanded it back.

The seat was high though - but I only noticed after I used a 3 Series for a few weeks and then got back in my car and tried to lower the seat only to find it was already as low as it would go!

Is the sunroof a problem for tall drivers ?......it seems so.....
Audi 80 TD - Citroen BX DTR Turbo - Montego DL Turbo Diesel & Peugeot 405 GTD Group Road Test 1989 (6) | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

 

[HP1]

I wouldn't go near a Korean car again after Hyundai refused to honour the warranty. Dealer had two goes at fixing an ecu related problem. When the problem recurred they told me the mechanic had gone to Australia and wouldn't be back for six months. Hyundai refused to pay to have the immobile car taken to another dealer, that wasn't covered apparently.
Seven year warranty. Not worth the paper it's written on.