April 22, 2016 Sent via electronic mail Ms. Lois Greisman Associate Director, Division of Marketing Practices Bureau of Consumer Protection Federal Trade Commission 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20580
[email protected] Mr. Frank S. Borris II Director, Office of Defects Investigation National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E. Washington DC 20590
[email protected] Re: Kia Motors & Hyundai violation of the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act; Petition for Defect Investigation Dear Ms. Greisman and Mr. Borris: On May 7, 2012, the organizations listed below filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission regarding Kia Motors’ Technical Service Bulletin #114 dated February 2012 with the subject heading “AFTERMARKET OIL FILTERS,” which directs dealerships to blame any noise condition on the use of aftermarket oil filters and/or incorrect engine oil viscosity without any evidence that the aftermarket oil filters and/or oil involved in each case actually caused damage. Kia Motors further directs dealerships to automatically replace aftermarket oil filters with genuine Kia oil filters at the customer’s expense. This directive violates the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act (MMWA)’s prohibition against tie-in sales. We received confirmation from Ms. Greisman on May 14, 2012, regarding our complaint. To our knowledge no direct action was taken. Many consumers and small businesses have since paid the price. Ms. Lois Greisman April 22, 2016 Associate Director, Div. Marketing Practices Page 2 of 9 Bureau of Consumer Protection Mr. Frank S. Borris II Director, Office of Defects Investigation National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Our first update to the 2012 complaint against Kia is to extend the complaint equally to Hyundai, which owns a controlling 34% stake in Kia and shares vehicle platforms, powertrains, R&D facilities and the same unlawful proprietary oil filter requirement and associated engine problems, as well as MMWA- violating owner’s manual directives.