Does Kia/Hyundai still have the stigma they had back in the 90s when they first started here in the US?

[ChosenOne]

No.

As someone who traveled constantly for work in the 90's, 00' and 10's and who was always renting cars, i can speak directly to how those vehicles went from feeling like low end ill fitting tin like trash, when they first entered the markets here, to being vehicles i, and many others prefered compared to much of The Big 3 fleet which i later found were the ones who felt like tin with ill fit in seams and components.

 

[TheMaster]

I remember back in the late 90s when Kia and Hyundai were looked down on.

I like Hyundai washing machines, what stigma are you talking about they are good quality your clothes will be cleaned well.

 

[SirRealKiller]

No.

As someone who traveled constantly for work in the 90's, 00' and 10's and who was always renting cars, i can speak directly to how those vehicles went from feeling like low end ill fitting tin like trash, when they first entered the markets here, to being vehicles i, and many others prefered compared to much of The Big 3 fleet which i later found were the ones who felt like tin with ill fit in seams and components.

Well they do look nicer and ride nicer for sure but they're still pieces of crap from a reliability point of view. The reason I bought my Forte back in the day is because compared to Honda, Toyota..ect is because it was cheaper, it looked nicer, had more features...ect. But it was a complete POS from a reliability point of view.

For instance, back in 2012 the Forte came with bluetooth, more power, and had a nicer ride than a Civic. The Forte was about $2500 less than a Civic. That's how they get ya. But the Cvic will last you probably 2x many miles or more.

 

[ChosenOne]

Well they do look nicer and ride nicer for sure but they're still pieces of crap from a reliability point of view. The reason I bought my Forte back in the day is because compared to Honda, Toyota..ect is because it was cheaper, it looked nicer, had more features...ect. But it was a complete POS from a reliability point of view.

For instance, back in 2012 the Forte came with bluetooth, more power, and had a nicer ride than a Civic. The Forte was about $2500 less than a Civic. That's how they get ya. But the Cvic will last you probably 2x many miles or more.

oh there is no doubt that Honda and Toyota and a few others are still top tier, when it comes to used car reliability.

What i am speaking to is how they historically stacked up against the Big 3.

When Hyundai and Kia first came in to the market you would be a fool to buy them used. they simply were not built to last.

Now they rank typically higher, in most reliability studies than the Big 3 product but well below Honda and Toyota and a few others.

 

[ObsoleteSoul]

Yeah, the thing that gets people in is they give you this 10 year powertrain warranty. So people think they're covered for 10 years on the engine and transmission. Well, given the lawsuits going I would say they don't honor their warranties very well and also I think only the 5 year limited warranty applies to a used car. So you buy a used Kia with 40k miles on it that's 3 years old you have 2 years warranty on it. Car blows up at 75K miles 2 years later Kia ain't fixing it even if it's clearly due to a manufacturing issue.

I would not buy a new Kia unless I was going to get rid of it with 50k or less miles on it and I would not buy a used one no matter how cheap it is.

Neither would I.

The car guys I know still crap on them, and since they do the work on my vehicles and make their money by working on cars. I will take their opinion and advice and won’t get them if at all possible.

 

[SirRealKiller]

Neither would I.

The car guys I know still crap on them, and since they do the work on my vehicles and make their money by working on cars. I will take their opinion and advice and won’t get them if at all possible.

I have a friend and a cousin who are both Mechinics for over 20 years. They say they would never buy a Kia, Audi, BMW,Hyundai,Landrover, Mercedes, or Volkswagen.

They are all garbage from a reliability point of view. Also said don't buy of those cars with the 3-cylinder turbo engines as they're crap.

 

[cowboyjunkie]

The CRV is great mechanically, but he electrical/infotainment system sucks. The whole car runs on a computer I trust less than a 80s era comodor pet.

I’m open to suggestions. I live in northern Canada where it’s very cold winter for 7 months a year. AWD, remote start and a decent ground clearance are my main requirements.

There are a ton of Subarus, Rav4 and CRV’s here. There seems to be problems with all of them.

 

[MixMartialFarts]

No we went car shopping a few months ago, we thought Hyundai and Kia would be good cheap options. They are no longer that cheap and they are a lot nicer. I rent Kia's all the time for work. They are good cars.

 

[jx820]

I’m open to suggestions. I live in northern Canada where it’s very cold winter for 7 months a year. AWD, remote start and a decent ground clearance are my main requirements.

There are a ton of Subarus, Rav4 and CRV’s here. There seems to be problems with all of them.

Nothing is perfect. Like I said, mechanically, it's a fantastic vehicle.

But sometimes when it's rainy or snowy, or even just very humid, every emergency light on the dash goes off. The system starts giving all kinds of codes at random. Sometime it'll tell you that the fuel injectors are shot, sometimes the camera needs calibration, maybe an O2 sensor.

Turns out that's a common and known problem for CRVs. So there's no way to know if you have an actual issue that requires repair, or if it's just too damp out today. The official position of the dealership and most mechanics will be that this is a genuine code that requires immediate service. I spent like 2 grand before I found out about this. Now, when there's a code, my wife just drives it around anyway, and we hope it's just the weather.

Forrester was my 2nd choice, but my mechanic friend told me they're a pain in the ass to work on and that could end up costing me. Next time, I'm going to consider Toyota/Lexus. I'll definitely look into known issues before I buy next time.

 

[nonoob]

The new stigma and appropriately earned is that they get stolen very easily.

Kia's Only, as reported in the city of Chicago - where they won't report the murders.

 

[Slobodan]

I take it no one here has a Kia Stinger, then?

@lsa has one.

Well it's a small scale model of the Stinger. But it still counts right?

 

[wildchild88]

Both have completely changed their image.

They are now considered high quality cars these days.. they look very modern / high quality too.. they aren't that cheap anymore either.

 

[lsa]

@lsa has one.

Well it's a small scale model of the Stinger. But it still counts right?

No, no thats wrong.
I do have a stinger..
Stinger missile that is

 

[SirRealKiller]

Both have completely changed their image.

They are now considered high quality cars these days.. they look very modern / high quality too.. they aren't that cheap anymore either.

The look , ride, and features are definitely good but they are still pieces of shit mechanically.

 

[shunyata]

Nothing is perfect. Like I said, mechanically, it's a fantastic vehicle.

But sometimes when it's rainy or snowy, or even just very humid, every emergency light on the dash goes off. The system starts giving all kinds of codes at random. Sometime it'll tell you that the fuel injectors are shot, sometimes the camera needs calibration, maybe an O2 sensor.

Turns out that's a common and known problem for CRVs. So there's no way to know if you have an actual issue that requires repair, or if it's just too damp out today. The official position of the dealership and most mechanics will be that this is a genuine code that requires immediate service. I spent like 2 grand before I found out about this. Now, when there's a code, my wife just drives it around anyway, and we hope it's just the weather.

Forrester was my 2nd choice, but my mechanic friend told me they're a pain in the ass to work on and that could end up costing me. Next time, I'm going to consider Toyota/Lexus. I'll definitely look into known issues before I buy next time.

I haven't run into this, but my CRV is a bit older. Still has a CD changer, no touchscreen, and a more primitive computer. Going strong at 180,000 miles and 15+ years old. TPMS light is stuck on so I monitor tire pressure manually, but that's about it. Only work it's had done has been body work from getting tboned by a lunatic 10 years ago.

Local Honda dealer sends me crap in the mail trying to buy it from me. Randoms have been knocking on the door asking if I'm selling it in the last year.

 

[SirRealKiller]

I haven't run into this, but my CRV is a bit older. Still has a CD changer, no touchscreen, and a more primitive computer. Going strong at 180,000 miles and 15+ years old. TPMS light is stuck on so I monitor tire pressure manually, but that's about it. Only work it's had done has been body work from getting tboned by a lunatic 10 years ago.

Local Honda dealer sends me crap in the mail trying to buy it from me. Randoms have been knocking on the door asking if I'm selling it in the last year.

Yeah, right now we have two 2012 Civics and a Forrester. One of the Civics only has like 40k miles on it and only had 15k when we bought it 2 years ago. We bought from an old lady that mostly just drove it to the store. Thing is pretty much top 1% condition wise. I have had people offer to buy it out of the blue, I was like "No! I know what I have here."...lol. You can find several Civics, CRV, and Accords that went over 500k.

 

[ShinkanPo]

Some of Hyundai's entries for the subcompact segment is much better than some of Mitsubishis' so yeah they have improved. Their compact line with the elantra is kinda cool from an eco perspective.

Still a budget car.

 

[cowboyjunkie]

Nothing is perfect. Like I said, mechanically, it's a fantastic vehicle.

But sometimes when it's rainy or snowy, or even just very humid, every emergency light on the dash goes off. The system starts giving all kinds of codes at random. Sometime it'll tell you that the fuel injectors are shot, sometimes the camera needs calibration, maybe an O2 sensor.

Turns out that's a common and known problem for CRVs. So there's no way to know if you have an actual issue that requires repair, or if it's just too damp out today. The official position of the dealership and most mechanics will be that this is a genuine code that requires immediate service. I spent like 2 grand before I found out about this. Now, when there's a code, my wife just drives it around anyway, and we hope it's just the weather.

Forrester was my 2nd choice, but my mechanic friend told me they're a pain in the ass to work on and that could end up costing me. Next time, I'm going to consider Toyota/Lexus. I'll definitely look into known issues before I buy next time.

I’m looking at the LX AWD gas model. Are all CRV models experiencing this problem? I’ve seen some others complaining about the same problem.

 

[jx820]

I’m looking at the LX AWD gas model. Are all CRV models experiencing this problem? I’ve seen some others complaining about the same problem.

I don't think it's all CRVs.

It's common enough to be a known issue, but I don't think it's a very common problem. I'd go do a test drive after 2 or 3 days of rain.

 

[BoogerDawson]

I take it no one here has a Kia Stinger, then?

Those cars are badass. I wish they had a manual option.