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We just traded our 2017 Honda CRV Touring for a 2017 Kia Niro Touring.
The CRV had a horrible oil dilution problem resulting in too frequent oil changes (3 full synthetic with less than 8k miles), fuel smell in the cabin, horrible gas mileage (19.6 mpg), sluggish acceleration... among other issues.
We didn't have much time to pick out our CRV. Our car prior to it was stolen/totaled. In researching the Niro, we were impressed by all the statistics. So far, we are very pleased. We have had the Niro for about a week.
Kia is ranked no. 13 on Consumer Reports 2017 owner satisfaction list. Genesis, Hyundai's luxury brand is ranked no. 3, and Hyundai is a disappointing no. 24.
To give you an idea where other mainstream brands rank.
Tesla is the top brand, Subaru is no. 7, Toyota is no. 8, Honda no. 9, Lincoln is no. 10, Chevrolet is no. 14, BMW is no. 15, Ford is no. 17, Lexus is no. 18, Dodge is no. 20, Jeep is no. 21, Mercedes-Benz is no. 22, Volkswagen is no. 23, Cadillac is no. 26, Nissan is no. 29 and Acura ranks dead last at no. 30.
I have a Kia now and have had a subaru and an acura. Granted we lived in canada at the time but the Acura slid all over the place in snow/ice and handled very badly plus it literally started falling apart. Pieces would fall off here and there, I'm not even kidding. Now and then you'd hear a thunk and have to stop and go fetch the part. One time the entire piece that runs under the door came off. The side mirror started coming off. The AC died. The ornamental stuff fell off a piece at a time. The CD player broke. Had trouble with the axles all the time and had to keep getting it realigned and because of that we had to change the tires often. Some part even fell off and we didn't know what it was an the mechanic said it wasn't important so we put it in the trunk. Ha. Luxury car my butt.
Subaru handled beautifully in the snow and ice. Great car, really solid. It was getting up in years and some of the interior lining was separating and it was getting rusty but ran very well into its old age.
Kia so far well the engine seized (in the rain on a busy street, on a hill!) when it was 2 years old due to sludge. No recall on my year but recalls for this exact problem on like 3 years previous and Kia would not fix it so I had to pay 3K to have the engine rebuilt. Look up Theta II engine.
I have only driven 1 Hyundai in my lifetime, It was a rental and I was totally unimpressed. The problem wasn't build quality, content, or even potential longevity. For me the issues were that the seat felt like sitting on a giant sponge and the suspension wallowed in every direction. As a long time sports car owner, this gave me a feeling of "low quality."
This was about 10 years ago, I imagine (hope) they have improved since then.
I can only add what I know first hand. After an accident I rented a 2013 or 14 Hyundai Elantra. I guess it was the base and it was cheap on the inside with spartan fabric, hard plastic everywhere and thin carpets. But it rode and drove well. The radio seemed a little tinny. But I also looked at a 2014 Chevy Cruze and a 2013 Chevy Impala and they were disappointingly cheap as well.
I ended up getting a 2014 Kia Soul and its hands down the most reliable car I've ever owned. For what is an economy car its got good materials, soft touch plastic where its needed, no defects and its been 100% trouble free for almost 4 years. And its held up well with no trim breaking and no wearing of the seats or interior. The worst is a seat belt that doesn't spring up unless its completely untwisted and a small section of door rubber trim that has worn away. Great radio and a great cooling/ heating system as well. The exterior is holding up great as well. So its definitely a great buy and not cheaply made at all. That's the Soul, I never looked at other Kias or Hyundais. Kia does seem to be a value leader and Hyundais are everywhere. Those car companies have gotten more respect and seem to be breathing down the necks of Honda and Toyota.
I have 2 2014 Kia Souls, best cars I’ve owned too
Initial quality doesn’t mean anything unless you are going to buy a new car every year.
From my experience, Hyundai does tend to use low quality parts. Some of the cheap parts on my 2012 Sonata were...
>Plastic starter lever that breaks and leaves you stranded.
>Rubber EPS coupler that disintegrates by 35k miles and causes clunking.
>Cheap brake light switch that causes lots of issues.
>Cheap ATF temp sensor that causes erratic shifting.
>A/C compressor that started groaning at 35k miles.
>Bad clockspring that caused steering wheel buttons to act crazy.
>Steering wheel rubber type paint that flakes off and looks terrible.
And if these issues aren’t enough, there’s the whole spun bearing issue, which I never had because I got rid of mine at 40k miles.
Initial quality doesn’t mean anything unless you are going to buy a new car every year.
From my experience, Hyundai does tend to use low quality parts. Some of the cheap parts on my 2012 Sonata were...
>Plastic starter lever that breaks and leaves you stranded.
>Rubber EPS coupler that disintegrates by 35k miles and causes clunking.
>Cheap brake light switch that causes lots of issues.
>Cheap ATF temp sensor that causes erratic shifting.
>A/C compressor that started groaning at 35k miles.
>Bad clockspring that caused steering wheel buttons to act crazy.
>Steering wheel rubber type paint that flakes off and looks terrible.
And if these issues aren’t enough, there’s the whole spun bearing issue, which I never had because I got rid of mine at 40k miles.
Hope all these obscure problems were fixed under the warranty, sounds to me like you got a lemon.
We just traded our 2017 Honda CRV Touring for a 2017 Kia Niro Touring.
The CRV had a horrible oil dilution problem resulting in too frequent oil changes (3 full synthetic with less than 8k miles), fuel smell in the cabin, horrible gas mileage (19.6 mpg), sluggish acceleration... among other issues.
We didn't have much time to pick out our CRV. Our car prior to it was stolen/totaled. In researching the Niro, we were impressed by all the statistics. So far, we are very pleased. We have had the Niro for about a week.
I think you mean fuel dilution. I've had a new Civic for 5 months with the same engine you had. From my research, many brands are using direct injection now for improved mileage. All have the same side effect of fuel dilution, not just Honda. Engineers supposedly account for it and use materials within the engine to reduce wear. It's not an issue unless the oil level rises too high and the car stalls, or wear increases. I don't notice a fuel smell in my cabin and the MPG is good, but it is a Civic not CRV. What caused you to change the oil so often? If you got a lemon, I would've pursued the lemon law. The 1.5L has been used in the U.S. market for 2 years now, if it was a widespread issue, I think it would surface by now. It's highly dependent on the design and operating parameters. All evidence so far, aside from a vocal few in China, is that Honda got it right. In DI powertrains, a small amount of fuel/vapor is expected to seep past the rings during the first few minutes of cold operation. That condition is exacerbated in areas like China where the average winter temperature is around 14*.
Fuel dilution becomes a problem if we see an increase in wear metals. We're just not seeing that in the oil readouts so far. But we'll continue to monitor as this powertrain ages.
Last edited by Matthew_MI; 09-23-2018 at 08:54 PM..
Initial quality doesn’t mean anything unless you are going to buy a new car every year.
From my experience, Hyundai does tend to use low quality parts. Some of the cheap parts on my 2012 Sonata were...
>Plastic starter lever that breaks and leaves you stranded.
>Rubber EPS coupler that disintegrates by 35k miles and causes clunking.
>Cheap brake light switch that causes lots of issues.
>Cheap ATF temp sensor that causes erratic shifting.
>A/C compressor that started groaning at 35k miles.
>Bad clockspring that caused steering wheel buttons to act crazy.
>Steering wheel rubber type paint that flakes off and looks terrible.
And if these issues aren’t enough, there’s the whole spun bearing issue, which I never had because I got rid of mine at 40k miles.
From a manufacturers perspective, those IQ ratings mean everything, and I do mean EVERYTHING. I cannot tell you how many meetings I sat through when those ratings would come out, especially if quality had slipped. Manufacturers go to extreme lengths to try to impress J.D.Power, very discreetly of course. Millions of dollars are spent annually trying to gain any ground possible in those rankings, that’s how serious it is.
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