WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Lisa Dentino walked out to the mailbox one day earlier this year to grab the mail. Shuffled between some bills and a letter or two was a notice from KIA Motors. Her 2013 KIA Soul that she purchased just a few months earlier was part of a recall.
“I bought the car with like 30,000 miles on it, but it was in really good shape,” Dentino said.
A few weeks after receiving the recall notice, Dentino took her car to the local dealership to be fixed. The repair was free. The issue was with a sensor or control panel that deals with the gas in the car getting too hot.
“That could damage the catalytic converter resulting in catastrophic engine damage and fires,” Dentino said.
The fix seemed simple. A few hours later Dentino had her car back. A week later, she was driving the car to Pennsylvania when the check engine light started flashing and the car lost power. A local repair shop in Virginia told her the car needed to be examined by the manufacturer.
“Once the car was at the (local) dealership they needed to have engineers from California come look at it,” said Dentino.
All of this took place at the beginning of March. Dentino said KIA determined engineers would need to be brought in to fix the car, but the country was soon in lockdown.
“My car sat at the (dealership) for about six months till September,” said Dentino.
Every few weeks Dentino would call to get an update but the issue had still not been resolved. The local dealership did provide a loaner car but Dentino had hoped to give her car to her daughter in early May.
Eventually, around August, Dentino had enough. She said her frustration reached a boiling point.
“At that point, I was done, I had had it so I sought out help,” Dentino said.
After reaching out to WFMY News 2, our investigators contacted the local dealership and KIA’s corporate office. A representative with KIA told us he would investigate the matter and get back to us. About a week or so later we were told KIA engineers had helped to resolve the problem and repair the car.
“All of a sudden it was like a week or two [from when I called you], I get a call from the regional care representative; the upgrades are done,” said Dentino.
Additionally, KIA offered Dentino a $1,700 settlement for the delays and hassle.
“I’m very grateful that it has been resolved,” Dentino said. “I was very pleased with the outcome.”
Since the repairs, the car has been running great and Dentino was able to give the car to her daughter as a gift.