A car parts purveyor used examples to show why they believe Kias aren’t as reliable as Toyotas and Hondas. Auto Parts City (@autopartscity) highlighted these differences in a viral TikTok that’s accrued over 132,000 views.
The clip initially begins with praise for Kia cars. However, it soon turned into a scathing criticism of the manufacturer’s drivetrain quality. Commenters had varying opinions on the TikToker’s assertions, however.
Fancy features
“Let me show you why people buy Kias,” the TikToker says at the top of the video. In the clip, he highlights a black SUV from the Korean auto manufacturer. At the beginning of the video, the front of the vehicle with its hood popped open is shown.
Next, he narrates that it’s an aesthetically pleasing car, highlighting some of its design cues.
“Reason number one, it’s not a bad-looking SUV. You’ve got these cool fog lights and you’ve got these cool headlights, too. Nice looking 19-inch wheels,” he says, showing off the ride’s rims.
Afterward, he cracks open the door of the car to show off its inside, which has tan leather accented with black. Additionally, he says the vehicle comes outfitted with a slew of technology and features, even in a model that debuted several years ago.
“An attractive two-tone leather interior. A gigantic panoramic sunroof, navigation, heated steering wheel, heated seats, cooled seats,” he says. “I mean this thing’s got everything in it.”
Mechanical issues?
Despite how great the car looks and its bells and whistles, the TikToker says its drivetrain isn’t so stalwart.
“But this one, with only 122,000 miles on it, has a locked-up engine,” he shares. The TikTokeer then shows off the Turbo GDi kit under the hood. “This engine has completely locked up. It doesn’t spin, it’s complete junk,” he quips.
Following this, he preempts an argument he speculates some may postulate in response to the engine criticism. “Well, why don’t you just put a new engine in it? Well, let me show you what a replacement engine costs for this Kia,” he says.
He then shows off a web page containing a list of used engines for this car model. In a text overlay of the video, he indicates that they cost around $5,000, not including labor. Then, his video cuts to a wrecked Honda sedan on a lot. It has visible, significant front-end damage. Additionally, a Toyota vehicle is shown on the camera as well.
“This is the reason a late model Honda ends up at the junkyard. And this is the reason why a late model Toyota ends up at the junkyard,” he says.
Then, he shows another Kia SUV at the same junkyard—there are no visible body impairments on the car.
“Do you see any damage on this Kia?” he says, showing three other cars from the same brand, rattling off the same question for each. All of them have exteriors that appear relatively untouched and free from damage.
Reliability and efficiency
When it comes to long-term dependability and drivetrain quality, Toyota and Honda have consistently ranked at the top of Consumer Reports rankings. On the research group’s latest list of rankings, Toyota and Honda ranked 62/100 and 59/100 respectively. Kia on the other hand clocked a 51.
However, CarEdge writes that Kia has improved its engine reliability over the years. Furthermore, the outlet noted that the brand has consistently ranked in Consumer Reports’ top 10 list of dependable auto manufacturers. Motor Biscuit writes that particular models are responsible for affecting the brand’s perception. Consequently, auto enthusiasts via Kia offerings as a “mixed bag” when it comes to long-term drivetrain strength.
@autopartscity Can you spot the difference between a junkyard Honda vs a Kia ? Waiting for the comments from the KIA DEFENDERS. #kia #kiasportage #honda #toyota #mechanicsoftiktok #cars #notrecommended #autorecycling #junkyard #autopartscity ♬ original sound – AutoPartsCity
Viewers had divided opinions on Kia
Some users stated that as long as drivers perform routine maintenance, Kia’s cars can persist indefinitely. “If you actually change the oil once in a while they’ll run forever,” one wrote.
Someone else echoed the aforementioned sentiment. They believe that buyer demographics and behaviors are the issue, not the car itself.
“Kia and Hyundai owners may be less likely to follow maintainence requirements,” a user said. “They got into the car because it is cheap and fit their budgets but they can’t afford upkeep.”
This is something another user penned: “Kia people don’t check their oil, do extended oil intervals, and use conventional oil.”
Whereas another person on the app believes it’s due to regional motor offerings. “Bro because in america you guys get the GDI engine. In other countrys we get the DOHC engine and its the better and lasts longer. We have 4 korean cars at home and hadn’t had any problem for the last 10yrs,” they wrote.
Some were convinced, however, that Kias are just mechanically inferior.
“They have all the nice features all the technology, but they need to fix the motor problems,” a user said. “Same thing with Hyundai. They’re super comfortable to drive all the nice features and then they die.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Kia, Honda, Toyota, and Auto Parts City via email for further comment.
Internet culture is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here. You’ll get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.
