Driving down the road at 45mph the transmission of my 2007 Spectra5 jumped with a hard knock to the car and dropped into 3rd gear. Taking the car to my mechanic, he determined after an hour and a half inspection that the "Shift Solenoid" was malfunctioning and that I should bring it to the dealer, this would be covered by warranty. The service department at the dealership wanted $64.50 to read the engine code, my mechanic charged nothing. The service department called to inform me the first step was to change the transmission oil for $159 and see what happens before proceeding to the next step. My mechanic offered to replace the solenoid and flush the fluid for under $300. The dealer also told me I wasn't likely to have the repair done under warranty because I was 562 miles over the warranty, less than 1% over. I called two other dealers and was told the same.

I enjoyed the car immensely prior to my experience with Kia Service. From reading others reviews on the internet, it would appear that this shift solenoid is a known problem amongst Spectra5 drivers. Sadly after owning nearly half a dozen Kia's or Hyundai's (Hyundai is the parent company for Kia) it only took one poor service experience and Kia not performing adequate service that two other garages recognized as being required to turn me off the company. The service rep also informed me that Kia does not recommend changing the shift solenoid but replace the entire transmission, if this is indeed true and it is not covered by warranty, the consumer would be looking at a multi thousand dollar repair.

I felt the dealership was trying to keep me at a distance and follow a factory authorized path that would either discourage me or take me far enough out of warranty so that when the real fix had to be performed I would be able to be charged a far greater amount of money to repair my car. I picked up my car, paid the $64.50 for them to read a code and tell me no more than I was given for free by the independent garages.