UPDATED – Kia To Respray More Than 70 Sunset Yellow Stingers

UPDATE: This story has been updated with additional details about the response Kia Australia received from its customers, including take-up of the respray offer.


Kia Australia will repaint up to 72 Sunset Yellow Stingers after a fault was discovered with the colour supplied by its paint provider. The paint is believed to contain an oil that may cause it to crack from stone chips and other types of contact.

According to Kevin Hepworth, General Manager – Media & Corporate Communications, the issue is limited to the Sunset Yellow colour.

“From what we’ve been told from headquarters, all the other colours have been tested and Sunset Yellow is the only one that is affected. The colour will come back onto the palette, late October I believe, once they have adjusted it.”

Hepworth told BodyShop News that Kia Australia has offered each of the 72 vehicle owners a complete respray, which will be covered by a lifetime warranty, though he declined to say who will perform the work.

Hepworth said that upon initial contact, about 75 per cent of Sunset Yellow Stinger owners had requested resprays, however final decisions have not yet been made.

“The initial phone contact is followed up with a letter and after that, [the owners] come to us in writing saying what they want to do,” he explained. “Nobody has made a final decision as to what they want to do. There isn’t a requirement that once we contact you that you have to make your mind up straight away.”

Kia Australia has earnt praise on social media for the way it has handled the problem, with many people claiming other manufacturers could learn from the company’s example.