Dealership Has Had Car 30+ Days For Out-of-warranty Transmission Swap. All Parts In Stock. Chronic Poor Communication. Now They Can't Calibrate B/c It "needs A New Battery" For $700. My Wife Is Fed Up & Wants A Lawyer. I Think It's Overkill. Sanity Check: Do We Have Any Rights? [california]

Location: California

Hi /r/Legaladvice,

My wife is fed up waiting for her Kia Niro to get repaired by the dealer, so she wants me to consult an attorney to determine what rights we have as a consumer for out-of-warranty repairs done by dealers. We're in California.

Our 2017 Niro has about 145k miles, and it broke down suddenly on 24 August. We had it towed in on 27 August. It has been in the shop ever since.

Prior to having the car towed, I retrieved the trouble codes with an OBD-II diagnostic scanner, and also tested the 12V battery at the prescribed test points with my multimeter: it read 13.11 V with the car off, which is healthy. I searched the internet for these codes and symptoms. My car's problem seems to be uncommon, but someone with expertise and training in Kia/Hyundal hybrids had actually worked on another car with the same exact symptoms. Based on my findings, I was bracing myself for a new transmission.

Once the car was towed in, I called every day that week to find out if they'd started the diagnosis. I could never get a hold of my designated service advisor. She was always out to lunch, and when I left messages, she would never call back. She was not on vacation or out sick.

A week later, I did hear from someone in Service—not our assigned advisor—that the car was finally on the rack and being checked. After a couple of days of calling them, they told me that the mechanics still didn't know what was wrong, and at one point they had to call Kia's engineering department in Seoul for help diagnosing this issue.

Another week went by, and I finally got a call from the actual assigned service advisor. The initial estimate they sent over was for $13,000. This seemed ridiculously high considering the transmission itself is only $3,000 for the part, and the engine was not affected, so this should not require dozens of hours of labor. I pushed back, and they had another mechanic write an estimate. This time it was $6,300. Given the sticker shock, I asked for a concession, and they gave me a discount to $5,800. I have taken it to this dealership several times, and my service records were up to date, so they said they factored in my loyalty or whatever. The shop rate is $245/hr (yeah, I guarantee you the the mechanics aren't making more than a fourth of that).

I asked for a couple of days to think it over, and ultimately decided it was better than making car payments. So I authorized the repair.

The car was promised by this Saturday, but when we got to the dealer, it wasn't done yet. We left with a complimentary rental, which we later found out that we could have been offered as soon as the car was formally diagnosed with a transmission issue.

A few hours later, the advisor contacted me saying that they can't calibrate the new transmission due to an issue with the 12V lithium battery, and now they want me to pay for a new one at $700.

Sidebar: in certain hybrid vehicles (not plug-ins), the 12V battery is a relatively small lithium cell, not a big lead-acid battery, and the little one is kept charged by the high voltage battery.

With the car being turned off, and the high voltage battery disconnected (per procedures), for a month, I'm not surprised that this battery is dead.

I do believe it would have been their responsibility to keep it charged while in the shop, because had the car been parked at home, this would not have happened. Furthermore, the dealer did not indicate* they had done any troubleshooting of this battery. So I pushed back and asked them to try the "12V Battery Reset" button, and also try to jump it.

I'm waiting to hear back from them tomorrow.

I'm definitely fed up with this dealership to the point where I want to have a very frank conversation with the head of the Service Department, and possibly the whole dealership.

My wife wants me to consult an attorney. I don't want to "hire a lawyer" to talk to the dealer just yet, because it seems like a last resort, and would be tantamount to throwing a match onto a gasoline fire and burning the bridge.

At minimum, I don't want to pay for the battery. I've already agreed to everything else, and I saw with my own eyes that the new transmission has been installed (they took me up to the shop floor).

Any suggestions on how to get the dealership to take action or give us more concessions without bringing a lawyer into this? I honestly think it's a sledgehammer, but maybe I have some rights as a consumer that I'm not aware of.

Thanks in advance.