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Kia Stinger: Sunset Yellow resprays halfway done

Of the 71 cars requiring work, around 50 per cent have been dealt with.


Kia Australia has completed around 50 per cent of the resprays promised to customers with defective Sunset Yellow paint, having announced the program in July.

The paint contains an oil that undermines its long-term durability, making it more likely to crack from stone chips and other day-to-day wear. A total of 71 customers were affected by the issue locally, with Kia offering a full respray and a lifetime paint warranty to owners who really like the colour.

According to Kia Australia communications boss, Kevin Hepworth, around 75 per cent of customers chose to have their cars repainted – they really liked the colour, apparently – while the remained opted for a refund or replacement vehicle.

"It's a global problem, it's not just ours," Hepworth told media in Melbourne yesterday, reiterating what we learned earlier this year. "There was an issue with the paint mix."

Speaking at the Sportage launch in July, Damien Meredith, Kia Australia chief operating officer, said the company acted "very, very quickly" to deal with the issue.

Based on our conversations with a panel beater, a full (manufacturer-grade) respray could cost in excess of $10,000 per vehicle.

As for the wider state of play on Stinger? Hepworth quashed any talk of a diesel or all-wheel drive option, and suggested there's still room for the 2.0-litre to grow its profile.

"The growth will be – very shortly – in the 2.0-litre... it'll be the car that novated fleet leases, for example, go to," Hepworth said.

"A couple of police hierarchies are looking at that as a general duties car," he added, suggesting the 3.3-litre V6 vehicles doing the rounds in Western Australia and Queensland could be joined by less powerful patrol cars. Northern Territory are reportedly looking into the 3.3-litre V6, too.

Hepworth said the fact you can fuel it with 91RON, and the fact the car's comfortable for long stints, has made the Stinger a winner with police forces.

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