Kia Warranty problem with bluetooth software
Discussion
I have an issue with my Venga 2.
Took the car for it's 4th annual service at my local dealer and reported that the Bluetooth isn't working correctly, in fact it never has since I bought the car at 3 and a half years old from a dealer up north, I live in the south. It has full Kia service history.
Took me a while to ascertain the Bluetooth was actually faulty and it wasn't user error as I was never given a handover of the car/features and the manual is not wonderfully clear, Agreed with my local dealer it would be investigated when in for my service which was due soon at that point.
So at the service they said a new radio unit would be needed as it's all in one and would call me when parts are in. All good and happy with that.
A month on I called them as they hadn't been in touch and was told it has just come to light that the software on the car is no longer compatible with the ever moving forward software on mobile phones and the car isn't faulty it just will no longer work with anything other than a really old phone with old out of date software. That Kia are aware of this issue but as they have no software updates and will not, then my Bluetooth is effectively useless.
I only bought a Venga 2 as I wanted Bluetooth which my previous very old cars didn't have and feel it's a necessity these days. Seems if you have a Venga 3 with touchscreen you will be ok but Venga 2's aren't and won't.
I'm to say at the least upset at this. My dealer certainly indicated that this is a very new issue and not widely known of yet. I cant thin of a fix bar removing the whole dash and fitted a Venga 3 dash with touchscreen/software, not even sure if that is possible, certainly expensive if it is.
I suppose the crux of my question is, that car has at least two years of warranty left and it now has a problem that Kia cannot fix. I know in the grand scheme of things it's not stopping the car form being used but this is a factory fitted option and standard feature on the car which is now of no use. I'm not sure what to do and just can't get my head around the fact that Kia are just giving me the impression I have to accept it and that's that!
Took the car for it's 4th annual service at my local dealer and reported that the Bluetooth isn't working correctly, in fact it never has since I bought the car at 3 and a half years old from a dealer up north, I live in the south. It has full Kia service history.
Took me a while to ascertain the Bluetooth was actually faulty and it wasn't user error as I was never given a handover of the car/features and the manual is not wonderfully clear, Agreed with my local dealer it would be investigated when in for my service which was due soon at that point.
So at the service they said a new radio unit would be needed as it's all in one and would call me when parts are in. All good and happy with that.
A month on I called them as they hadn't been in touch and was told it has just come to light that the software on the car is no longer compatible with the ever moving forward software on mobile phones and the car isn't faulty it just will no longer work with anything other than a really old phone with old out of date software. That Kia are aware of this issue but as they have no software updates and will not, then my Bluetooth is effectively useless.
I only bought a Venga 2 as I wanted Bluetooth which my previous very old cars didn't have and feel it's a necessity these days. Seems if you have a Venga 3 with touchscreen you will be ok but Venga 2's aren't and won't.
I'm to say at the least upset at this. My dealer certainly indicated that this is a very new issue and not widely known of yet. I cant thin of a fix bar removing the whole dash and fitted a Venga 3 dash with touchscreen/software, not even sure if that is possible, certainly expensive if it is.
I suppose the crux of my question is, that car has at least two years of warranty left and it now has a problem that Kia cannot fix. I know in the grand scheme of things it's not stopping the car form being used but this is a factory fitted option and standard feature on the car which is now of no use. I'm not sure what to do and just can't get my head around the fact that Kia are just giving me the impression I have to accept it and that's that!
Have you confirmed the diagnosis by trying other Vengas of similar vintage?
Rubbish situation but I'm not surprised they aren't that interested in helping. There will some drivel in their t&c's to say future commonality cannot be guaranteed.
Touchscreen change will be possible. Won't be cheap and I doubt Kia dealer would entertain it unless authorised by the factory.
You could DIY it though if you really wanted to.
Other options?
Add a parrot kit (or similar) to your car ~£100 ish
Or upgrade head unit with a alpine, kenwood etc.
Rubbish situation but I'm not surprised they aren't that interested in helping. There will some drivel in their t&c's to say future commonality cannot be guaranteed.
Touchscreen change will be possible. Won't be cheap and I doubt Kia dealer would entertain it unless authorised by the factory.
You could DIY it though if you really wanted to.
Other options?
Add a parrot kit (or similar) to your car ~£100 ish
Or upgrade head unit with a alpine, kenwood etc.
solo2 said:
A month on I called them as they hadn't been in touch and was told it has just come to light that the software on the car is no longer compatible with the ever moving forward software on mobile phones and the car isn't faulty it just will no longer work with anything other than a really old phone with old out of date software. That Kia are aware of this issue but as they have no software updates and will not, then my Bluetooth is effectively useless.
I suppose the crux of my question is, that car has at least two years of warranty left and it now has a problem that Kia cannot fix.
Hold on one minute...I suppose the crux of my question is, that car has at least two years of warranty left and it now has a problem that Kia cannot fix.
The bluetooth in your four-five year old car isn't faulty. It's working as designed. The problem is that your phone is too new to connect to it.
How's that Kia's fault?
Quite common unfortunately. Stereo/BT designed to work with the tech at that time. Tech moves forward very quickly and obsolescence arrives just fast.
Have you tried your phone in another Venga and another phone in your car?
Most modern units are designed with upgrades in mind but it's worth remembering that whilst your car is 4 years old it is likely 6/7 years since the head unit was designed.
When you say not working correctly can you make and receive calls but lack functionality with wheel controls/phonebook etc?
Have you tried your phone in another Venga and another phone in your car?
Most modern units are designed with upgrades in mind but it's worth remembering that whilst your car is 4 years old it is likely 6/7 years since the head unit was designed.
When you say not working correctly can you make and receive calls but lack functionality with wheel controls/phonebook etc?
E36GUY said:
I don't buy that excuse. Bluetooth is bluetooth surely?
Nowhere near that simple...BT versions should be backward-compatible, but in practice, there's all sorts of wrinkles and oddities and bugs in both ends. The more complex the intended connection, the less likely it is to be straightforward. If you're just doing handsfree audio, it'll more than likely work. If you're also trying to play media, sync address books and wanting full control of the device, then all bets are off.
Sounds about right.
Bluetooth is an ever evolving connectivity standard and unfortunately as newer standards and updated chipsets are put into use they may not be 100% compatible with older devices. The issue may also be related to the OS version of your handset so it may be possible to downgrade if this is a major issue for you.
Apple as an example....
iPhone 7 is Bluetooth 4.2
iPhone 6 started as Bluetooth 4.0 and moved 4.2 during its life.
iPhone 5 was Bluetooth 4.0 but supported Bluetooth 3.0
The short answer is its not faulty its just outdated.
Some people tend to prefer a seperate removeable sat nav for the same reason, they have a longer life in terms of updates than built in devices.
As soon as a new model is released car manufacturers will move development teams for updates over. Been though this countless times with corporate devices and company cars.
Bluetooth is an ever evolving connectivity standard and unfortunately as newer standards and updated chipsets are put into use they may not be 100% compatible with older devices. The issue may also be related to the OS version of your handset so it may be possible to downgrade if this is a major issue for you.
Apple as an example....
iPhone 7 is Bluetooth 4.2
iPhone 6 started as Bluetooth 4.0 and moved 4.2 during its life.
iPhone 5 was Bluetooth 4.0 but supported Bluetooth 3.0
The short answer is its not faulty its just outdated.
Some people tend to prefer a seperate removeable sat nav for the same reason, they have a longer life in terms of updates than built in devices.
As soon as a new model is released car manufacturers will move development teams for updates over. Been though this countless times with corporate devices and company cars.
andburg said:
Apple as an example....
iPhone 7 is Bluetooth 4.2
iPhone 6 started as Bluetooth 4.0 and moved 4.2 during its life.
iPhone 5 was Bluetooth 4.0 but supported Bluetooth 3.0
.
Because I'm nosey, what were iPhone 4 and 3 (3G, 3GS, 4, 4S)? That's what the compatibility checker comes up with as the most recent iphones that are compatible.iPhone 7 is Bluetooth 4.2
iPhone 6 started as Bluetooth 4.0 and moved 4.2 during its life.
iPhone 5 was Bluetooth 4.0 but supported Bluetooth 3.0
.
bigandclever said:
Because I'm nosey, what were iPhone 4 and 3 (3G, 3GS, 4, 4S)? That's what the compatibility checker comes up with as the most recent iphones that are compatible.
Iphone 4 is Bluetooth 2.1 and the 4S is Bluetooth 4. You can still buy a brand new phone that only supports Bluetooth 4. Samsung J3 is 4 only and plenty of the cheap Chinese phones only support 4. Gassing Station | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff