[narayanang76]

Surprised to read this strange case:
1) Both the OP and wife have strained their eyes, seem to indicate no possible issues with their eyes/vision.
2) Having same issue on the replaced car eradicates the possible windshield quality issue on one single car.
3) Dealer agrees to give a brand new Seltos as replacement? That is good gesture by the dealer but what about the registration and insurance paperwork? What happens to the original car, any idea?

I have a query: Is the distortion/issue happening only while driving? Or during when the car is stationary also? And can you get a picture or video and upload here?

I feel its something the dealership has done on the windshield, like a coating, polish applied that is causing the underlying distortion issue further causing eye straining. Try washing the windshield thoroughly and drive and see. Also try driving the car for some time to get used to it, see if it helps. And lastly if you can fiddle with the seating position for getting a different viewing angle through windshield, drive with this for some time, check and see if it helps.

cheers,
narayanang76

[svsantosh]

Wait, what?

KIA Dealership replaced a newly registered car with another new car? I stopped reading beyond that.

How did they handle the road tax, cancellation, refund, loss on the 1st car depreciation, etc etc.

Sorry, I smell a rat. Please elaborate in detail DoonDude. I dont buy this given the number of loose ends given by you.

[Naetik30]

Did the dealership give you a new car without it being registered? Was this like a temporary hand over to do some religious formalities, etc? Not at all clear on what happened.

Seems more like an issue of some polish on the windshield that could have caused this. But somehow cannot believe the dealership handed over a new car and then replaced it within a day. Just unbelievable!!!

[aravind.anand]

I have experienced the same strong distortion in my father's Seltos. But I have never seen him complain about it. Nor have I experienced it in any other car thus far.
When I saw the title of the thread, I honestly came in expecting many other BHPians to say they had the same feeling too. But looks like we are a minority here.

Is it a rare combination of a particular person with a particular car that does not go well?

[Rehaan]

One thing worth noting is that the higher variants of the Seltos (like the GTX+ you own/ed) have "UV cut Solar Glass".

It's possible that this treatment might have something to do with it, or could be causing some variation between batches.

Originally Posted by DoonDude

I was adamant about getting the car replaced.

Thankfully, the dealership agreed and they arranged for a new car just today i.e. 12.09.2023.

The dealership agreed?

Who is going to cover the cost of a new registration for your replacement car, and the loss of value for your original car now being re-sold as "2nd owner"? Not to mention all the other complications...

[Torque123]

Originally Posted by DoonDude

Thankfully, the dealership agreed and they arranged for a new car just today i.e. 12.09.2023. I took the test drive with my father today evening and alas !!! The SAME issue with this car also !! Eye strain, distortion in the wind shield etc. I'm at my wits end !!

1. Did you not face this issue with the TD vehicle?

2. Did you face the issue even after getting a through cleansing of the windshield?

3. The 2nd new car delivered to you on 12th Sep, is it manufactured in the same month & year as the 1st new car you had the issue with?

4. Are you sure that the windshield on both the cars are OEM?

5. Please do not take any offence but kindly get a comprehensive eye checkup done.

6. Last but not the least (very critical point), how did the dealership agree & deliver to your request of replacing a brand new car for a windshield issue (if there is one)?

[GTO]

Mod Note: Additional information & a small video have been added to the opening post. Thread taken back live.

Thanks for sharing, DoonDude!

[Sufficient_shop]

Originally Posted by DoonDude

Video link: Attachment 2503137

Animated GIF:
Attachment 2503321

Yes, we can clearly see the distortion in the bottom 3 inches or so. I haven't observed it in my TD vehicle but this is something I need to check during PDI. Thank you so much for the video and the post. Hope Kia delivers a flawless vehicle to you soon.

[NomadSK]

Thanks for sharing the video. It’s clear the optical distortion is while looking at the angle. As stated in my earlier post, distortion when viewed at an angle is almost unavoidable but never while looking at it directly.

I guess You need to elevate your sitting position a bit for the lower portion of the windshield to be away from your field of view.

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by Sufficient_shop

Yes, we can clearly see the distortion in the bottom 3 inches or so.

Actually it took me quite a few watches, and OP's prompt of "blue scooter" to actually see that the distortion goes a lot higher than just the bottom 2-3 inches.

Look at the grab-handle of the blue scooter, and you'll see the distortion even ~6inches from the bottom -- which is well within the essential/prime area of the windshield.



NOTE: Have updated the 1st post in the thread to point out where to look

[Rodie09]

That's a lot of distortion and it's a valid concern. One can easily observe if one focuses on the grabrail on blue scooter.

[JithinR]

Wow...if the distortion is something you can observe on a short capture video then it must be even more significant in real life. You learn something new each day.

Thanks to the OP for posting about it and raising awareness.

I am sure that any other customer facing the same issue would have been laughed at by the dealership guys (disgusting behavior that quite a few dealership personnel have).

[thanixravindran]

Since the dealer has agreed to replace the vehicle immediately and gave second vehicle, I believe manufacturer knows about this. Without internal approval, this would not happen. Kia would have treated this as safety issue internally but as edge. This may well be a batch issue from windshield supplier.

OP should get the money back without further delay. Please cancel the booking by giving a written cancellation request at the dealership at the earliest.

The manufacturer Kia should disclose this to customers and provide them a replacement windshield campaign if the root cause is the windshield batch. Knowing India, it won't happen and replacement happens only for few repeated complaining customers.

I am surprised how dealer delivered a vehicle without registration as it is against law. But good in this case that avoided complications.

This is a case that should be taken up under the new vehicle recall policy (voluntary and forced) after investigation.

[itisK]

After watching the video, this is not something dealership should have tried to brush under the carpet.

Given that the same issue persisted with two vehicles delivered two weeks apart, could this be a widespread issue that owners are not aware of? Or maybe they ignored it as something trivial?

I'm looking forward to how this gets resolved. Please keep us updated.

[supermax]

This is so scary. The distortion seems to be quite severe. It appears that glass manufacturer has screwed up while trying to deliver the UV cut blah blah. If this gets the highlighting it deserves, it might well result in a recall, but there are so many unanswered questions. This is also likely an India specific problem, as the glass is likely not coming from abroad, to s(h)ave on costs.