Kia of Downtown Los Angeles — Local services in Los Angeles

I dropped off my car on 2/2/24, my car was in excellent cosmetic condition. The car associate/advisor by the name of Desiree did not do a walkthrough of the exterior of my car. So, if there were any concerning blemishes on my car prior to dropping it off, I wouldn't know. When I was at the counter, she only asked me about what concerns I had with my car followed by maintenance packages they offer. She did not ask for any prior service history or if I had any extended warranty. She just implied that if the manufacturer warranty didn't cover the issues, I would need to pay for the diagnosis. The following day I was given a report of services that are recommended to me to potentially improve my cars performance. I was told that if I accepted certain services, I would receive a discount. So, I accepted an oil change and sludge prevention service. Upon further investigation I found out that I have an extended warranty with Kia when I purchased my car. I forwarded this information to Desiree and she responded by saying that she could not see any warranties on my account because I did not purchase my vehicle at their dealership. If her statement is true, I wasn't aware of that. I naturally assume that regardless of where my car was purchased, Kia would have access to my information. Moving forward, Desiree did not follow up with me until 2/5/24. She informed me that my warranty would only cover a new battery. I felt that was odd, so I read my warranty's terms of service. I noticed that it covered a whole lot more than what she claimed. I forward this to Desiree and she did not respond to me until 2/8/24. Now she replied that my warranty will not cover my diagnosis fee. I responded by telling her that in the warranties terms of service it does also cover diagnoses fees based on the services I'm receiving. I did not hear back from her until late Friday 2/9/24 afternoon telling me that will call me. I never received her call, so before the service department closed, I called Kia and asked for an update. They told me that my car was ready for pickup and that my invoice is ready to be paid. So, I took a Lyft to the dealership and got there around 4:40ish. I was waiting at Desiree's counter for almost 20 mins, so I sent her a message informing her that I was at the service center ready to pick up my car. She responds by saying that she is gone for the day and to see a different advisor. The communication I had with her was absolutely awful. The worst part about waiting there is that the other advisors saw me standing around but did not bother to approach me to ask if I needed any assistance. So I finally get my paperwork, I give it to the guy at the podium. He then drives up in my car and parks it in the middle of the street and then hands over the key to me and walks away. They once again failed to do a walkaround with my car before I drove off with it. I'm exhausted from this ordeal, so I got in my car, and I drove home. The next morning as I was walking up to my car, I noticed this dent on the trunk of my car. I know for a fact that my car did not have this dent when I dropped it off at DTLA kia. I have surveillance footage of the night I came home after picking up my car from DTLA kia from my garage and the dent is there. This dent happened under the neglected care of kia of Downtown LA. I have been trying to get in contact with a supervisor or manager from the service department and I am met with, " He works every other Saturday '' or " He just left for the day, please call tomorrow.". I have already sent photos of the dent to Kia and they haven’t responded back to me. This is unacceptable and very unprofessional. DTLA kia needs to take responsibility for the damages that their staff have caused.

I’ve had maintenance done at Kia of Van Nuys and Kia from Glendale and they have been wonderful. Their customer service is a complete 180 compared to DTLA kia. The only reason why I came to DTLA kia is because it was closer to my job. A decision I...

Dear KIA,

What kind of service are you?

A couple of months ago we started hearing strange noises, while breaking, beneath the driver seat in our car (kia Niro 2017). We took a car to your dealer KIA Downtown Los Angeles (Address: 1945 S Figueroa St, Los Angeles, CA 90007) for check in. They hold it for two days (!) and after that returned it back to us and told us they did not find anything wrong with the car, that everything is fine. (I am attaching a copy of Inspection Invoice they gave me)

The sound did not disappear. We took the car again to the dealer service center and took one of your workers on the ride with us. He heard the noise and told us this is totally fine, that is how it is supposed to be, and all the models of this car has that noise. So we had nothing to do but just continue driving a car with that.

But after awhile it started to be really disturbing to drive it with that noise, as it was clearly CLEARLY a sound of some object going back and force while accelerating or braking. We started to think that might be a bolt or something like that.

So we took a car for the third time to the service! And only then they told us that they had to take the front seat off and some panels to get inside the car. And inside they found a CHAPSTICK. Service explained that the chapstick might got inside the car through the AC hole under the front seat.

They put the bill in front of me for $375 (!) and told us that this is not a warranty case. That this is an issue not related to the car, but an outside object.

I totally disagree with that! What do you mean this is not an issue related to the car? Your car has a HOLE in it where everything can go inside! I never heard anything like this! Am I supposed to carry inside the car only myself? This is ridiculous.

This is clearly a manufacturing defect (maybe a flaw in design?). And it is not only about the money and time spent to fix that, this is about safety issue! What if it went under the breaking pedal? We could get into an accident, we could kill someone! And because of your service, you made us continue driving like this for three months! What if other objects will go in the same hole again? Am I not supposed to carry now anything inside? Am I supposed every time something goes inside go to the service and fix it for $400?

I have complained to the dealer service that I am not going to pay for that as this is totally not my fault and the warranty should pay for that. But the workers of the dealer service couldn’t give me an answer, so the next day When I came in one hour, guess what? The manager was not there! I had to deal with the guy named Peter, who did help me a lot, as he finally get in contact with the manager on the phone and after a long and nervous complaining they agreed to take the cost of the repair to $150, (invoice also included) and I was forced to pay that as I needed my car, and they wouldn’t release it. I am still convinced this is totally not our fault for the manufacturing defects that your car has, so I would like to get a refund for that! Had to mention also that we had to wait around an hour after that to get my car released as they simply couldn’t find it on the site! What an unprofessionalism!

All this information I sent to their website complaint form. After two of no response (even e-mail confirmation wasn't worked!), I gave them a call and they told me in their company no one even looks at my mine complaint. I asked them to give me an official response to my complaint by e-mail and they told me, this is not their business to take care of that type of complaints. They just kicked me out!

I strongly do not recommend to have any business with KIA at all. Terrible experience with the car and with the...

Beware: This Kia Service Department is a Scam Operation

This location is independently owned, and unfortunately, they’re scamming customers—especially those just trying to get their vehicles repaired. I’m sharing my experience in detail below in hopes that it saves someone else from wasting their time and money. If another customer had written a review like this, I could have avoided having my entire morning ruined by this dealership’s money-making scheme. I ultimately went elsewhere—and I recommend you do too.

Lack of Pricing Transparency When you pull in for your service appointment, they give zero information about costs upfront. Even for something basic like an oil change, they withhold pricing. The service writer tells you the vehicle has to be inspected by a mechanic before they can quote anything—even standard services. Red flag.

“Found” Repairs Once your vehicle is taken to the back, the mechanics—who don’t communicate with customers directly—will always find something else wrong with your car, beyond the issue you came in for. It feels like they’re fishing for added costs.

Out-of-Warranty Vehicles Are Targeted If your vehicle is still under warranty, you might be okay. But if it’s out of warranty (like mine—just paid off in June 2025, LOL), get ready to be overcharged. I didn’t end up paying anything. I requested my car back after they sent me a “repair link” via text (instead of discussing anything in person). That link listed thousands of dollars in unnecessary repairs. I declined every single one.

Security Presence and Lack of Staff Diversity There’s an unusually high number of security guards patrolling this location—which I’ve never seen at a dealership in 30 years of buying cars. It’s unsettling and speaks to how many customers have likely been upset with how this business operates. Also, there appears to be very little diversity among the staff, which seems intentional. Take that as you will.

Rude and Discriminatory Parts Department The parts department, particularly the women working midweek, were unhelpful and rude. I felt they were discriminatory, as they made no effort to assist me in finding or ordering a part. They refused to even look it up. I’ve already reported this to Kia Corporate.

Back to My Service Appointment… Despite arriving at 7 a.m. (first in line with an appointment), my car was in the back for 4 hours. The only reason I finally received the repair estimate link was because I texted the service writer asking for an update. She sent it immediately after—meaning she had it all along and chose not to communicate it.

The link showed multiple “issues” that supposedly needed thousands in repairs. I declined all of them. Just 3 weeks prior, I’d taken the car to a different Kia dealership for an all-points inspection—no problems found. While I know car issues can develop suddenly, this felt entirely fabricated.

Battery Scam Example They quoted me $495+ to replace my battery—which they didn’t disclose until hours later via the link. Here's a tip: You can buy a genuine Kia battery for $195–$250 from another dealership’s parts department and either have it shipped to your home or picked up in 2–3 days. They’ll claim they’re “out of stock” except for the overpriced ones they keep on hand for unsuspecting customers. I ended up buying a battery at Costco for $150 and had it installed at Jiffy Lube for $20. The whole process took 10 minutes—versus paying this dealership $280/hour for labor.

Final Thoughts I’m sorry for the long review, but I had to share every detail to warn others. This place runs on deception and upsells. If you value your time and money, avoid this location—even if it means driving a...