“They test drove it.”
When facing a mid-four-figure repair bill, most people grit their teeth, hand over the credit card, and tell themselves at least the problem is finally fixed. One Kia Telluride owner says she did exactly that, paying $3,299, believing the worst was finally behind her.
According to TikTokker Taylor Robinson (@taylordalerobinson), she didn’t even make it a mile from her Florida dealership before realizing she’d traded one problem for another. And on top of the cost, she had to wait weeks while driving a smaller loaner car before she got her Kia back.
“They are completely incompetent if they test drove it and said that it was okay, because I could not even get it off of the lot,” she said in the clip that’s been viewed more than 26,000 times. “How are you going to tell me you did a 10-mile test drive on my car when you can’t even get it off the lot?”
Robinson explained that the ordeal had actually started a week earlier, when her Kia Telluride suddenly lost power while she was driving to her nursing class. Stranded on the side of the road, she had the vehicle towed to the nearest Kia dealership, Rountree Moore Kia in Lake City, Florida
After an $189 diagnostic review, she says the dealership presented her with an estimate totaling roughly $3,300 to replace the alternator, install a new battery, address recall work, and take care of several other items she described as routine.
Robinson approved the repairs and was notified the next day that the Telluride was ready. She said staff told her the SUV would be test-driven and washed before pickup.
It seemed like the stressful part of the experience was finally over after paying the bill, but problems emerged almost as soon as Robinson and her husband headed toward Olive Garden for lunch.
“I can barely even get my car off of the lot,” she said, describing the vehicle revving loudly, jolting back and forth, refusing to shift properly, and sounding as though “the entire bottom” of the car was falling apart.
“This was before I even drove a mile,” she said.
For Robinson, the possibility of a major transmission issue wasn’t just alarming because of the potential cost. She said there had been no signs of transmission trouble before the Telluride lost power and was towed in for service.
“The biggest issue here is that there was nothing wrong with my transmission when I took it to Kia,” she said.
Robinson returned the SUV to the dealership, wanting to know who did the test drive and wondering how they’d missed such an obvious problem. Employees assured her the matter had already been escalated to the dealership’s general manager.
But after leaving the Telluride behind once again, she said the steady stream of phone calls she’d received while authorizing repairs suddenly dried up.
“It’s so funny that they’re so quick to call my phone and text my phone and blow my phone up when they want my money and want me to come pick up a car,” she said. “But when it’s their fault and they messed my car up, I can’t get ahold of anybody.”
Robinson said repeated calls produced few answers, and even the assistant general manager appeared unfamiliar with her case. Frustrated and still without clear answers, she turned to TikTok to request viewers.
“Please share this with whoever it needs to be shared with,” she said. “They need to get put in their place and this needs to be fixed.”
In a follow-up video, Robinson said she eventually got her Telluride back in early June, roughly three weeks after returning it to the dealership for the second time. During the wait, she said she relied on a smaller loaner vehicle while juggling nursing school and everyday responsibilities.
Viewers had plenty of opinions about what she’d experienced. Some balked at the original invoice.
“$3,300 for an alternator?” one commenter asked. Others noted that Robinson said the bill also included a new battery, recall work, and other repairs.
Several viewers urged her to seek out a trusted independent mechanic rather than relying exclusively on dealership service departments, while others argued she should consult an attorney if she believed the transmission issue stemmed from the dealership visit.
To avoid prolonged blame games like the one Robinson encountered, consumer advocates recommend requesting detailed written estimates, asking what testing or quality control was performed, and documenting any unusual performance issues immediately after repairs. Keeping invoices and documenting when problems first appeared can help establish a timeline that’s necessary if disputes arise.
Most drivers can accept an expensive repair bill with some low-level aggravation, as long as it means the problem is solved. For Robinson, the bridge too far was paying thousands of dollars and then, almost immediately, winding up back at the service desk, wondering whether the people she trusted with her SUV had done what they had promised.
Motor1 reached out to Robinson via direct message and comment on the clip, and to the dealership via email and phone. We’ll update this if they respond.
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– The Motor1.com Team