Tapping or Creaking Noise when coasting at low speed

[bubzki]

Yes, they offered me buyback but I wanted to discuss terms. They never responded and the offer expired. I apologize I am a bit sensitive. I was having a baby when the whole situation was going on and it makes me so angry I can't even tell you. They had my car for over 3 months! A simple buyback wasn't nearly enough to make me whole. I paid over $2000 out of pocket for rental cars because none was offered either. Dumpster fire.

 

[blue_door]

Yes, they offered me buyback but I wanted to discuss terms. They never responded and the offer expired. I apologize I am a bit sensitive. I was having a baby when the whole situation was going on and it makes me so angry I can't even tell you. They had my car for over 3 months! A simple buyback wasn't nearly enough to make me whole. I paid over $2000 out of pocket for rental cars because none was offered either. Dumpster fire.

No worries! So the letter expired, but if your car met lemon law requirements of your state, they can't just dismiss the matter. That being said, if I remember correctly, Kia gave me week or two to decide what to do and so their offer letter doesn't last too long. That's pretty typical, but that doesn't absolve them of responsibility here. The case should still be open. If you live in OR, WA, ID, or TX, I can provide the name of a good lemon law lawyer if you want to pursue that option. PM if that interests you.

With respect to the out-of-pocket expenses, that's also going to come down to court case precedents in your state. For example, does your state's lemon law allow for recovering those incidental expenses like rental cars? That's something a lawyer will be answer, so I won't hazard a guess. Your situation is definitely a bit different from mine. For me, the longest I was without my car was about 3 weeks, but the dealership I was working with provided a loaner every time. I guess that comes down to a dealership-specific policy.

 

[Nesh]

@bubzki man I understand your frustration and anger. I hope it resolves in your favor whatever route you take. I hope your state laws are in your favor.

 

[Nesh]

Been over a month with no fix yet from the dealership. Sent a letter to Kia today for the buyback.
Can't wait to be done with this.

 

[bubzki]

https://insideevs.com/news/461090/owners-hyundai-kia-electric-motor-issues/

 

[VALBONO]

Yes, they offered me buyback but I wanted to discuss terms. They never responded and the offer expired. I apologize I am a bit sensitive. I was having a baby when the whole situation was going on and it makes me so angry I can't even tell you. They had my car for over 3 months! A simple buyback wasn't nearly enough to make me whole. I paid over $2000 out of pocket for rental cars because none was offered either. Dumpster fire.

If Kia were to buy back my car (currently at the dealership for 2 weeks waiting for a new motor) do they give the full purchase price of the car? If not, then it's going to cost me more to buy a new car, while my car is only 1.4 years old.

 

[bubzki]

If Kia were to buy back my car (currently at the dealership for 2 weeks waiting for a new motor) do they give the full purchase price of the car? If not, then it's going to cost me more to buy a new car, while my car is only 1.4 years old.

For me they presented a formula basically saying they would discount the buyback based on a pro-rata formula based on your mileage. Looks like they docked me 261.91 USD for the ODO reading of 821 miles. You can probably just scale that to your ODO reading. And fully expect to pay more for a replacement car -- that is part of why this is such a crock.

 

[blue_door]

How much is paid to you will depend upon your state's lemon laws. I Oregon, for example, the Purchase Price [PP] (which will be on your sales contract) will be deducted by a mileage charge from the miles recorded at the first reported incident date. The formula for calculating this is PP x (miles at first complaint / 120000), where PP is Purchase Price. Applying this formula to Bubzki's example, it would calculate out to a purchase price of $38,281. That may or may not be what his purchase price is and that also varies depending on his state's lemon law. Also, companies are generally not required to reimburse you for things like window tinting or other upgrades you've made, but again this will vary by state.

 

[VALBONO]

For me they presented a formula basically saying they would discount the buyback based on a pro-rata formula based on your mileage. Looks like they docked me 261.91 USD for the ODO reading of 821 miles. You can probably just scale that to your ODO reading. And fully expect to pay more for a replacement car -- that is part of why this is such a crock.

My issue is that I verbally reported the issue with less than 2000 km. They just told me to monitor the situation and see what happens. I again told them at 20,000 km..... they never gave me a reply to the issue until now when I have 31,000 km.

Technically I should be given a buyback offer of a 2k vehicle because that is when I brought it to their attention. Although I know I will have to fight to the death to have the agree lol.... but I won't give up.

 

[Nesh]

California has similar calculation formula like Oregon. I brought in car at 12k miles so looks like they may deduct a bigger number.
I did mention in my buyback letter that I want this to be over smoothly and not asking for rental or other personal vehicle usage $$. Hoping that would sway them to refund full? We'll see.
As of today the car has been at the dealership for 5 weeks. The letter is supposed to be delivered to Kia today but with holiday mail delays, I think it will be there tomorrow or Wednesday.

 

[bubzki]

I did look up the Washington state reimbursement calculation; based on time car was dropped off for repairs, it's pro rata based on purchase price times your miles divided by 120,000 miles. Pretty reasonable I'd say. WA law also allows for collection of insurance and other costs, such as rental car or other usage while out of service.

 

[Kporterdc]

I have a 2019 EX Premium that I bought in September. Since I’m working from home because of the pandemic, I only have about 1200 miles on it. No sounds, so far. The recent news reports and the discussion on this forum has me worried, though. Carvana has offered to buy the car for about $34,000. I’m tempted to take it. Thoughts? Am I being a worry wart?

 

[bubzki]

I have a 2019 EX Premium that I bought in September. Since I’m working from home because of the pandemic, I only have about 1200 miles on it. No sounds, so far. The recent news reports and the discussion on this forum has me worried, though. Carvana has offered to buy the car for about $34,000. I’m tempted to take it. Thoughts? Am I being a worry wart?

34k seems really good actually when you factor in the tax credit you could get on a new(er) one. That said, bear in mind you do have a great warranty on your car so I'm not sure ditching it preemptively is the wisest move. Furthermore, there still aren't many great alternatives out there that offer the same feature set and value combination of the Niro. ID.4 might be closest but those are only just starting to become available.

 

[Kporterdc]

Thank you. Given your experience with your Niro, your view carries some weight. I agree with your assessment that there are not very many viable alternatives to the Niro, at least not yet. I’m a little disturbed that Kia doesn’t seem to have an answer yet for the problems you and others on this thread have been having. Thanks again.

 

[Gigi]

My 2019 Niro EV began making the knocking sound within a few months of purchase (new). With over 16K miles on it now, it still makes the noise. Because we don't have any EV-trained dealerships in Dallas, I'm going to have to make a road trip to get it looked at (and hopefully fixed). I'm hoping Kia will come up with a consistent way of addressing this, as it appears to be a common issue.

 

[bubzki]

Yep, that is a big part of the problem -- Kia decided to kinda-sorta support their EVs in the US. I like many others didn't expect to need major mechanical service to the car basically ever so that makes this doubly bad.

 

[Nesh]

@Kporterdc like bubzki said, the warranty is 100k miles, so you would be ok, but imagine every time this problem pops up, you may be without a car for 2 months or so. I'm in California with EV approved dealer and still the car has been at the dealership for 6 weeks.

Regarding not having a good replacement, I'd lease another NiroEV if it comes to that. I looked into the warranty and 100k warranty applies if you're the original leasee(?) and doing the buyout.

 

[Nesh]

My 2019 Niro EV began making the knocking sound within a few months of purchase (new). With over 16K miles on it now, it still makes the noise. Because we don't have any EV-trained dealerships in Dallas, I'm going to have to make a road trip to get it looked at (and hopefully fixed). I'm hoping Kia will come up with a consistent way of addressing this, as it appears to be a common issue.

@Gigi why do you have to drive it to another dealership? It seems like it is their responsibility to get the EV technician out to the dealership and have it fixed.
You're at 16k miles, I'd look into the lemon law limits for Texas and be prepared if it would come to that.

 

[David T in Silicon Valley]

I have a 2019 EX Premium that I bought in September. Since I’m working from home because of the pandemic, I only have about 1200 miles on it. No sounds, so far. The recent news reports and the discussion on this forum has me worried, though. Carvana has offered to buy the car for about $34,000. I’m tempted to take it. Thoughts? Am I being a worry wart?

I bought my premium in 11/2019 and only have 6.5 k miles on it cuz pandemic. So far so good. Keep in mind, people in this thread are going to mostly be people with the problem. It is not clear how common it is. It is clearly far TOO common, but I would guess between 5% and 25% of vehicles are afflicted (very subjective) . If it was more common than that, Kia would presumably voluntarily recall rather than set their EV reputation on fire. (Frankly I think much more than about 10% and a voluntary recall is in order. Note I am not in marketing, nor do I play a marketer on TV.)

All that said, I watched the inside EVs walkaround of the Mach-E and that seems like a superior vehicle for a similar price point (caveat...the base trim is similar to the Niro Premium). Looks just as roomy in the back and front, bigger battery (and a whole 10-12% reserve capacity!) more cargo space and some pretty sweet features. Until a lot of Mach-Es are on the road, who knows what might come up, but hey on paper it looks to me like a comparable alternative. What do you think @bubzki ?

 

[bubzki]

I really like the Mach-E. Real world pricing is a bit higher, but it's a pretty decent comp. I am confused why Ford didn't feel like offering a heat pump, which basically kills it for me. ID.4 in US also lacks the heat pump. (Niro EV having it was a big reason I selected it in the first place)