Business ProfileforPhil Smith Kia

Phil ********************** installed a new body control module. 3 days later my AC blower stopped working. Took it back and they claimed the repair was unrelated. Wanted to charge me $1900 for 3 AC parts. I took it to an AC business who learned that a wire had been misconnected. Had to pay them $565 because they had to tear the dash out to find the problem. This is either a shocking fraud or gross incompetence. Gave them a chance to make it right and never heard back. As a person with little car knowledge I feel sure they were trying to take advantage of me.

The customer first brought the vehicle in on 11/10/17 for regular maintenance (RO *******); the vehicle had ****** miles at that time.
Her second visit was on 5/4/18 for regular maintenance (RO *******), the vehicle had ***** miles at that time.
Her third visit was on 9/20/19 for just a recall (RO *******), the vehicle had ****** miles at that time.
Her fourth visit was on 3/25/24 for recalls and a Gear Shifter concern (RO *******), the vehicle had ****** miles at that time.
Her last visit was on 4/3/24 for an ** concern (RO *******), the vehicle had 55,971 miles at that time.

VISIT ON 3/25/24 - (RO *******)

The customer stated that her Gear Shifter was not operating properly. After proper diagnosis our Certified KIA technician found the Body Control Module (***) was causing the concern. The technician replaced the *** and the issue was resolved. The technician test drove the vehicle, and everything was now working as designed.

VISIT ON 4/3/24 - (RO *******)

9 days later after driving the vehicle for about 145 miles the customer returned with an ** concern. Customer stated the ** would not blow air through the system. Customer came straight in without an **************************** when it happened, and we took it in for diagnosis (at no charge/ Rate is $165.00) and looked at the car the same day. We did this due to her recent service as we wanted to show the customer she was mportant to us and we stand behind our work. 

During the diagnosis, Our Certified KIA Technician tested for power and ground which we found was going to the system, however the ** Control Unit was not responding. This is due to an internal failure somewhere in the Units system or wiring. The first step in this process is to replace the ** Control Unit and see if that solves the problem. Most times this would solve the problem but in some cases during an electrical short there is always a possibility that the short went through the system also shorting out components such as the ************ and Resistor as well. 

We quoted the customer an ** Control Panel to start and added to the estimate the price of a ************ and Resistor in the event they were also shorted out due to the ** Control Panel. We don't like to give surprising news to customers so we gave her a full estimate of what this job could cost if it was all needed. 

The customer made it clear she was not happy with the diagnosis and felt we caused the issue. We explained to the customer that the work we did on the *** was unrelated to her new concern and that we could not take responsibility for her ** not blowing. Upon further review, we found the customer had front damage to the vehicle per the vehicle's Carfax on 8/01/18 and the next service visit after the accident recorded on the Carfax was at ****** Tire and ************ on 1/02/19 for an "Electrical System" check and general service. She had 22 service records with that company and on 2 different visits she had her "Electrical System" checked.The Carfax also disclosed that on 9/25/23 with ****** miles she had her Evaporator Case Drain Hose serviced which to do properly you must have part of the dash removed which is where her ** Control Panel and ************ are located. All of these factors could have definitely caused electrical issues to these components. 

The customer took the vehicle and went to get a second opinion.She called her Service Advisor ******** to advise she had taken the vehicle to an ** Specialist and they stated they were able to repair her vehicle properly and that it cost her $556.40. She at that point started telling the Service Advisor that we tried to rob her and we needed to reimburse her for all the work she just paid to get her ** system to blow air now. At that point the Service Advisor brought this to our attention, and we asked the customer to provide us with a Repair Order showing her new diagnosis along with what she paid and the receipt showing she actually paid for it.

At that point she provided ONLY a copy of an estimate from an unknown company (the top of the Repair Order was cut off), but provided no proof of payment. When I read the new diagnosis from this unknown company it read: "Traced to internal open in harness / Field Splice Repair. I called the customer and told her once again that our diagnosis was an internal failure due to a short,which is IDENTICAL to what that unknown company diagnosed. However,the work that company did was a temporary high risk repair because those wires are not meant to be repaired/spliced due to the type of connector they were attached to. Doing this type of repair can cause future issues which can affect the whole electrical system. We told her our diagnosis was correct and the proper way to repair this type of electrical issue would be with the replacement of the whole component (** Control Panel) which comes with the untampered new wiring. This is done to prevent future issues and to be able to extend our customer a warranty for the work performed. 

I explained to the customer that at ********************** we perform our work with Integrity and do not take short cuts. This practice could easily find us negligent and at fault for any concerns arising with any electrical issues including potential fire damage to this vehicle from here on. 

At that point the customer was not open to hearing that and all she cared about was that her ** was blowing and that it didn't cost her over $2000.00. She said she would never come visit us again at that point unless I did something to accommodate her and even then, she would still not return to us for any service again. 

At the end we gave the customer proper guidance with her vehicle so she can have the BEST experience in her KIA.