CAMERON, Texas — Araceli Hampton bought her 2018 Kia Soul from Hertz in late 2020. She relied on the car to commute to Temple where she now teaches.
When the car's engine started knocking in September, Hampton took the vehicle to Rockdale Speedy Lube hoping it just needed an oil change. The general manager changed her oil, but told her she needed to take it to a mechanic right away.
On the Speedy Lube invoice the manger even wrote, "motor made loud knocking prior to service."
The car never made it to a mechanic.
As Hampton drove home from that Speedy Lube on Sept. 22, the car caught fire. She got out thanks to the help of a stranger, but the vehicle was soon engulfed.
Hampton has spent the last two months fighting Kia to honor it's warranty.
"They have offered zero, absolutely no help, with that car. They just kind of shrugged their shoulders, said 'We will do our investigation, we don't have a timeline,'" Hampton told 6 News in October.
6 News reached out to Kia Oct. 1, and eventually got a response from the company later that day:
"All automobiles contain combustible materials, and a vehicle fire may be the result of any number of complex factors, such as a manufacturing issue, inadequate maintenance, installation of aftermarket parts, an improper repair, arson, or some other non-vehicle source, and therefore must be carefully evaluated by a qualified and trained investigator or technician on a case-by-case basis. If a fire is determined to be the result of a Kia manufacturing issue, KUS will work with the customer to reach a satisfactory resolution to the matter.
We have been in recent communication with the owner and have received authorization to inspect the vehicle at earliest opportunity. Kia endeavors to offer alternate transportation once able to initiate such an inspection, but according to Ms. Hampton, she has secured a 2nd vehicle for use. As noted in the vehicle’s Warranty & Consumer Information Manual (WCIM), the basic and powertrain limited warranties would have expired in November of 2022 or upon completion of 60,000 miles, whichever occurred first...If the root cause of the fire is determined to fall within the scope of Kia’s limited warranties, then the damage associated with the fire would be covered."
6 News followed up with Hampton multiple times and Hampton said Kia did eventually inspect the vehicle. In fact, she said they inspected the vehicle twice with the last inspection happening two weeks ago. When 6 News spoke to Hampton on Nov. 17 she said there was still no conclusion.
"I did ask the Kia representative if I could have a copy of the report and he said no. They would give me a summary but not the actual report," Hampton said.
Instead, Hampton said, Kia wanted copy of paperwork showing when all her oil changes. That was easy since Hampton had only had the oil changed once during that year.
After that, Kia asked Hampton for oil change records from the cars previous owner and later asked how to contact that owner. Hampton said she's had enough.
"Why would an oil change matter when the vehicle went up in flames and it is still under your warranty?" Hampton said. "The only thing I can think of is that they are trying us anything to not abide by the warranty."
According to Kia's 2018 Warranty and Consumer Information Manual, the company does require owners to keep maintenance records in order to use their warranty.
The document states, "You are required to retain maintenance records since it may be necessary in some instances for you to prove that the required maintenance has been performed. The “Scheduled Maintenance Record” beginning on Page 34 should be filled in when regular maintenance is performed. Keep all receipts and make them available in case questions rise about the services requested and provided."
It's less clear if Kia can require owners to have the maintenance records of previous owners.
The "Federal Emission Control Warranty" section requires that a "validated Scheduled Maintenance Record of this manual, should be retained by the Owner and should be transferred to each subsequent Owner of the Kia Vehicle.
On the other hand, the "New Vehicle Limited Warranty" does not require previous records and there is no listed "used vehicle warranty" in the document.
Of course, Hampton's experience shows they company will ask for those records regardless. Hampton said that shouldn't be something holding up the process when her vehicle had less than 60,000 miles.
"If they are going to say it is due to oil changes then what are they saying about vehicles?" Hampton said.
6 News reached out to Kia Wednesday morning via email and made multiple calls throughout the day to ask why the process is taking so long. A Kia spokesman emailed 6 News at 5:30 p.m. and he "forwarded the questions to Consumer Affairs for their review."
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