‘I was horrified’: Kia owner says she was dismissed over oil consumption issue. Now she needs a new engine

A Kia car owner says she was left at the side of the road by the South Korean automaker — until Consumer Matters got involved.

Jill St. Marie says her vehicle consumes excessive amounts of oil and says the Kia dealership where she purchased her vehicle has informed her she needs a new engine and catalytic converter at a cost of $11,322.80. That includes parts and labour.

“I just paid this car off and all of a sudden my engine is gone. That is unacceptable,” said St. Marie.

The B.C. resident says she purchased the 2016 Kia Forte brand new.

St. Marie says the vehicle was running well until a few years ago. “I drove to work and my engine was knocking so bad that I was horrified,” she said.

When she checked her oil levels, St. Marie said the dipstick was bone dry.

“My car is only five years old. I should not be losing this much oil,” St. Marie said.

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St. Marie says she kept topping up the oil and thought she had a fix until she says her vehicle started losing power uphill. That’s when an independent mechanic she says recommended she ask the Kia dealership where she purchased the vehicle to perform an oil consumption test.

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However, St. Marie says when she made the request she was dismissed. “They looked at me as if I was crazy,” she said.

St. Marie says she never received an oil consumption test from the dealership. However, upon further inspection, the Kia dealership told her she needed a new engine and catalytic converter. Because her vehicle was over 146,000 kilometres – past the extended warranty of 140,000 kilometres, St. Marie says she was told by Kia she wouldn’t be covered.

“When I was told I needed a new engine, I was horrified,” said St. Marie.

St. Marie says she reached out to Kia Canada for answers, but says she didn’t get much help.

“Kia Canada told me they would get back to me in 48 hours. That was over two weeks ago and nothing,” said St. Marie.

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Consumer Matters reached out to Kia Canada asking about St.Marie’s vehicle and the issue around excessive oil consumption.

The automaker stated: “…Kia Canada is currently working with the dealer to investigate the diagnosis. We are unable to provide further information at this time while we look into the matter with both the customer and dealer. Kia Canada will be following up with Ms. St. Marie directly.”

The non-profit Automobile Protection Association is the plaintiff in a class action in Quebec against Kia Canada over excessive oil consumption related to the 1.8 and 2L engines for 2010-2015 Forte compact cars and is currently in final negotiations over a settlement.

The consumer advocacy group says it has seen a small number of complaints for what appears to be a similar or the same oil consumption issue for 2016 and 2017 Forte models.

The APA also says dealers not looking into oil consumption until warranty coverage has expired is a relatively common complaint made by consumers.

“If they were using the dealer for service and went in several times, maybe flagged the issue verbally, were never offered an oil consumption test and never offered an inspection of the inside of the engine,” said George Iny, president of the Automobile Protection Association.

Since Consumer Matters reached out to Kia, St.Marie says she’s been contacted by her Kia dealership and she will be getting a new engine free of charge.