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Local Used Kia Owner Screwed By Warranty Loophole | St. Louis

Published

9 months ago

December 28, 2023

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click to enlarge COURTESY PHOTO Jonathan Ross-Mooneyham had just paid off his car when the engine failed while he was on a bridge a few months ago.

When Jonathan Ross-Mooneyham bought his Kia in 2021, it was a “big purchase.” He had recently become financially stable after expending much effort to improve the credit score he’d tanked as a young adult. A 2017 Kia Sportage he purchased from a used car lot in St. Louis County was the closest thing he ever had to a new car.

But the car didn’t last him long. Two years after the purchase, Ross-Mooneyham had to sell the car for scrap.

As if Kia vehicles weren’t already risky purchases thanks to a flaw that makes them easy to steal, a little-known engine defect rendered Ross-Mooneyham’s vehicle useless — and he’s out over $21,000.

Thousands of Kia owners became eligible for a limited lifetime warranty or free engine replacement after Kia sent out a letter to owners of certain models in 2018. The letter advised owners of Sportages, Sorentos, Optimas and more to install a “knock sensor detection system” to prevent “excessive rod bearing wear in the engine” that could result in engine failure.

Kia would provide a lifetime warranty coverage to both new and used vehicle owners for engine repairs due to rod-bearing damage but only if they installed the detection system.

But if owners buy the affected models used, like Ross-Mooneyham did, even if they bought them certified pre-owned, they’d have no way of knowing about the potential damage until it was too late. Kia doesn’t notify second owners, and the letter sent out in 2018 does not appear on the car manufacturer’s recall list.

So when Ross-Mooneyham’s engine “exploded” on Clark Bridge on his way home from Alton, Illinois, about two months ago, it came as a surprise. The car started making grinding noises. Lights on the dash started flashing, and the car lost all its power.

click to enlarge COURTESY PHOTO Jonathan Ross-Mooneyham’s Kia pre-engine failure.

“I had to sit there for like two hours to be picked up,” Ross-Mooneyham says. “It was pretty terrifying because it was not a great place to break down.”

Now the dealership Ross-Mooneyham bought the car from — Suntrup Ford in south St. Louis County — is denying any responsibility. Kia won’t pay for any repairs because the knock sensor detection system was never installed.

Similar news reports of Kia owners screwed by these engine failures say owners had to pay $6,000 to $7,000 to have the engines repaired on their own dime, even if they bought the car used and had no way of knowing about the issue.

“There’s probably thousands of people driving these cars without any public knowledge that there’s something wrong,” Ross-Mooneyham says.

Similar issues have sprung out of Hyundai vehicles that were built with the same engines, Theta IIs, that can wear out prematurely. In 2021, a federal court granted final approval of a class action lawsuit for several years of Kia and Hyundai models with faulty engines. The deadline to file a claim for affected Kias was in August 2021, according to a website for the settlement.

Ross-Mooneyham’s car came with a lifetime warranty through CNA, but it was apparently “null and void” at the time he purchased it because the knock sensor detection system had never been installed, he says. The only option he’s been left with is to sell the car for scrap.

He reported the ordeal to the secretary of state’s office, which referred the matter to the state attorney general.

In the meantime, Ross-Mooneyham is using an older car that belongs to his husband.

“Somebody who didn’t have a second vehicle or spouse to rely on would be totally screwed,” Ross-Mooneyham says.

A spokesperson for Kia did not respond to emails seeking comment.

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Fenton Man Charged in Sword Attack on Roommate

Published

5 months ago

May 22, 2024

Natural Bridge

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A warrant is out for a Fenton man’s arrest after he allegedly attacked his roommate with a sword.

Police say that on Sunday, Angelus Scott spoke openly about “slicing his roommate’s head” before he grabbed a sword, raised it up and then swung it down at the roommate.

The roommate grabbed Scott’s hand in time to prevent injury. When police arrived at the scene, they found the weapon used in the assault.

The sword in question was a katana, which is a Japanese sword recognizable for its curved blade.

This isn’t the first time a samurai-style sword has been used to violent effect in St. Louis. In 2018, a man hearing voices slaughtered his ex-boyfriend with a samurai sword. His mother said he suffered from schizoaffective disorder.

As for Scott, 35, the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office was charged yesterday with two felonies, assault first degree and armed criminal action. The warrant for his arrest says he is to be held on $200,000 bond.

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Caught on Video, Sheriff Says He’s Ready to ‘Turn It All Over’ to Deputy

Published

5 months ago

May 22, 2024

Natural Bridge

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Video of St. Louis Sheriff Vernon Betts taken by a former deputy suggests that the sheriff has a successor in mind to hand the reins of the department over to, even as Betts is in an increasingly heated campaign for reelection.

“I ain’t here for all this rigmarole,” Betts says in the video while seated behind his desk at the Carnahan Courthouse. “The Lord sent me here to turn this department around and I’m doing the best I can and I think I’ve done a good job. I’ve got about eight months and I’m going to qualify for my fourth pension.”

He goes on, “Right now I can walk up out of here and live happily ever after and forget about all this…and live like a king.”

The sheriff then says his wife has been in Atlanta looking at houses and that the other deputy in the room, Donald Hawkins, is someone Betts has been training “to turn it all over to him.”

Asked about the video, Betts tells the RFT, “My future plans are to win reelection on August 6th by a wide margin and to continue my mission as the top elected law enforcement official to make St. Louis safer and stronger. Serving the people of St. Louis with integrity, honor and professional law enforcement qualifications is a sacred responsibility, and I intend to complete that mission.”

The video of Betts was taken by Barbara Chavers, who retired from the sheriff’s office in 2016 after 24 years of service. Chavers now works security at Schnucks at Grand and Gravois. Betts’ brother Howard works security there, too.

Chavers tells the RFT that she was summoned to Betts’ office last week after Betts’ brother made the sheriff aware that she was supporting Montgomery. It was no secret: Chavers had filmed a Facebook live video in which she said she was supporting Betts’ opponent Alfred Montgomery in the election this fall. “Make the judges safe,” she says in the video, standing in front of a large Montgomery sign on Gravois Avenue. “They need a sheriff who is going to make their courtrooms safe.”

In his office, even as Chavers made clear she was filming him, Betts told Chavers he was “flabbergasted” and “stunned” she was supporting Montgomery.

“I don’t know what I did that would make you go against the preacher man,” he says, referring to himself. He then refers to Montgomery as “ungodly.”

Betts goes on to say that not long ago, he was walking in his neighborhood on St. Louis Avenue near 20th Street when suddenly Montgomery pulled up in his car and, according to Betts, shouted, “You motherfucker, you this, you that. You’re taking my signs down.”

Montgomery tells the RFT that he’s never interacted with Betts outside of candidate forums and neighborhood meetings.

“I don’t think anyone with good sense would do something like that to a sitting sheriff,” Montgomery says.

Montgomery has had campaign signs missing and on at least two occasions has obtained video of people tearing them down. (Chavers notes that the sign that she filmed her original Facebook video in front of is itself now missing.)

One man who lives near Columbus Square says that he recently put out two Montgomery signs, which later went missing. “If they keep taking them, I’ll keep putting them up,” he said.

Betts says he has nothing to do with the missing signs. In the video Chavers filmed in Betts’ office, Betts says that his campaign isn’t in a spot where it needs to resort to tearing down opponents’ signs.

“If you sit here long enough, a man is getting ready to come across the street from City Hall bringing me $500, today,” Betts says. “I’m getting that kind of support. I don’t need to tear down signs.”

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St. Louis to Develop First Citywide Transportation Plan in Decades

Published

5 months ago

May 21, 2024

Natural Bridge

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The City of St. Louis is working to develop its first citywide mobility plan in decades, Mayor Tishaura Jones’ office announced Tuesday. This plan seeks to make it easier for everyone — drivers, pedestrians, bikers and public transit users — to safely commute within the city.

The plan will bring together other city projects like the Brickline Greenway, Future64, the MetroLink Green Line, and more, “while establishing new priorities for a safer, more efficient and better-maintained transportation network across the City,” according to the release.

The key elements in the plan will be public engagement, the development of a safety action plan, future infrastructure priorities and transportation network mapping, according to Jones’ office.

The overarching goals are to create a vision for citywide mobility, plan a mixture of short and long-term mobility projects and to develop improved communication tools with the public to receive transportation updates. In recent years, both people who use public transit and cyclists have been outspoken about the difficulties — and dangers — of navigating St. Louis streets, citing both cuts to public transit and traffic violence.

To garner public input and participation for the plan, Jones’ office said there will be community meetings, focus groups and a survey for residents to share their concerns. The city will also be establishing a Community Advisory Committee. Those interested in learning more should check out at tmp-stl.com/

“Everyone deserves to feel safe when getting around St. Louis, whether they’re driving, biking, walking or taking public transit,” Jones said in a news release. “Creating a comprehensive transportation and mobility plan allows us to make intentional and strategic investments so that moving around St. Louis for jobs, education, and entertainment becomes easier, safer and more enjoyable.”

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