Do you have to have a Hyundai or KIA serviced at a recognised workshop to keep the long warranty?

I read about the long warranties on Hyundais and KIAs. Do you need to take your car to the dealers to keep the 5 and 7-year warranties? I also read about Volkswagen Polo 1.4s having premature bore or piston wear problems. Is this something you have heard of? I remember a few years back Volkswagen petrol engines suffered from high oil consumption? Are Volkswagen engines built today liable to suffer from high oil consumption?

Asked on 20 April 2013 by AB, via email

Answered by Honest John

Obviously you have to have the cars serviced by Hyundai or KIA dealers to remain qualified for the extended warranty contracts. Would you guarantee anything you made if any Tom, Dick or Harry could fiddle around with it and mess it up? Of course not. But now that Toyota offers a 5-year warranty and even Dacia offers one for an extra £395, you have to ask why Volkswagen/Audi and Ford do not too.

Readers tell me that the old 1.4 16v engine in the Polo can have bore wear problems. This is also the engine that was responsible for Volkswagen having to revise its timing belt change regime to four years. The newer 1.4TSI engine has had a few issues such as timing chain lubrication (oil related) and bore problems (ambient temperature related, when both turbocharged and supercharged). But generally the 1.2TSI 105 and 1.4TSI 122 are good engines.

Tags: warranties oil petrol engines reliability

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