The Kia Warranty department would like to announce the additional support we will be providing to our dealers and customers during the COVID-19 worldwide pandemic. We recognise that these are exceptionally difficult times and that we must be flexible and understanding in our approach. Below we have provided information on the following affected areas:
Warranty Extension for vehicle warranties that expired during the lockdown period.
Temporary extension of the warranty claim submission period.
Delayed maintenance policy due to Government restrictions.
To support our customers and provide peace of mind during this difficult period we have extended the warranty of all cars with a warranty expiry date between 01 February and 30 May 2020. For these cars only the warranty period will be extended until 30 June 2020.
Therefore, if any customer was unable to obtain a warranty repair during the Government lockdown period and their warranty expired between 01 February and 30 May 2020 they will be able to book their car into a dealer and (subject to the normal terms and exclusions) benefit from this extension. Paint and AVN warranty are also included in this programme.
Once restrictions are lifted suitably affected customers with potential warranty concerns must be provided priority service to ensure any work can be completed within the extension period, i.e. 30 June 2020.
For Factory Goodwill claims subject to warranty extension there is no requirement for pre-approval from Customer Services via KIA Portal. However, there are some specific additional requirements to enable us to validate these claims as follows:
1. A scanned copy of the repair order must be attached to the claim, it should be completed in the normal way as set out in the warranty standards. The customers’ complaint must clearly state ‘Diagnosis delayed due to Covid19 outbreak’, the Service Advisor can sign the RO on behalf of the customer if the customer refuses to sign, annotate accordingly.
2. For every PWA/Claim there must be a clear image of the left hand front of the customers car (not showing the registration number), plus any other images as stipulated in the Warranty Procedure Manual based on the type of fault.
As with all PWA’s, repairs to the customers car should not be undertaken until you have approval from the warranty team to do so.
As many dealers have been either closed or operating with low staff levels during the current restrictions there is likely to be a backlog of warranty claims waiting for submission. To allow dealers the opportunity to catch up when normal staffing levels return we have extended the warranty claim submission period from 10 to 80 days from the RO Closed date.
This change is temporary and will only be in effect until 30 June 2020, after which time the 10 day limit will be reinstated. No late claims will be accepted for staff shortages after this date.
Customers should maintain and service their cars according to the manufacturer’s guidelines and recommendations to ensure the warranty remains intact. However, if there is a valid warranty claim on a customer’s car and the latest scheduled service has been delayed during the period where the UK is under Government measures, we will honour valid warranty claims. It is the dealer responsibility as normal to validate that all other warranty terms have been met.
If a failure can be attributed to a delayed service which was due between 01 February and 30 May 2020 we can consider a claim under Factory Goodwill. The Warranty Team will advise on a case by case basis taking into account the full maintenance records for the car.
If you need to talk to any of our Kia team regarding your vehicle then please call Kia Rainham on 01634 648239 or CLICK HERE to make an online enquiry.
