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Tammy Scott-Wallace
Telegraph-Journal

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SUSSEX - Most people love that new car smell, but a Sussex family says the rancid odour that filled their noses every time they buckled themselves into their new Kia made them dreadfully ill.

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Tammy Scott-Wallace/Telegraph-Journal

The Gray family of Sussex suffered respiratory illnesses for two years after they bought a 2006 Kia Spectra in Saint John.

For two years Crystal McLaughlin-Gray, her husband Pat Gray and their two children battled runny noses and shortness of breath. Their symptoms would settle, then spike, forcing them into their doctor's office to renew prescription after prescription for ailments such as lung infections and pneumonia.

"Off and on the past two years you would think we were all dying. We were running to doctors constantly," McLaughlin-Gray said.

Doctors' reports prove the family members have been sick. An independent lab study points directly to the family's 2006 Kia Spectra.

The car is now sitting in the family's driveway, unuseable in the Grays' opinion and continuing to rot on the inside. They are still making monthly payments, even though the couple insists they will never drive the car again.

Meanwhile, the dealership that sold them the car, Saint John Kia Motors, has declined to replace it.

McLaughlin-Gray says her children's health has been improving since they have not been driving in the car. A pulmonary function test done on her husband, Pat, on Oct. 22 shows the health of his lungs is still be that of a 70 year old.

He is 35, a non-smoker, and has always been athletic. He was also the main driver of the car.

He said over time he could see a pattern of difficulty breathing after prolonged exposure.

"You never dream that your car, especially a new one, is making you sick," the mild-mannered heavy equipment operator said. "I'm wondering if anyone from Saint John Kia or Kia Canada would want their wife and children in that car, because I certainly don't."

A respiratory therapist and ear/nose/throat specialist have each been involved in the family's care. While the respiratory therapist is not pointing to any specific cause, the specialist said the family was being poisoned, McLaughlin-Gray said.

Last summer, when the tether that holds five-year-old Marcus's booster seat snapped, his parents started to dig deeper and found the car was rotting from the inside out.

While the white interior of the car looked as it should, an independent lab hired by the Grays showed three types of mould eating away the trunk floor and beneath the back seats. The Fredericton-based RPC labs, in its report of Sept. 23, revealed prolonged water intrusion in the vehicle had caused moulds including penicillium, mucor and trichoderma to grow. In the microbial results' explanation, it outlined the moulds could cause the symptoms the family was experiencing and recommended the carpeting and seats be removed "as soon as possible."

The family had the car towed to a Sussex dealership that found a defect with the car's manufacturing. The striker plate located around the trunk's lock is deficient and causes water to leak into the trunk and seep under the car seats.

While the car is still covered by warranty and the family continues to make its monthly payments, it sits locked in their Sussex driveway.

McLaughlin-Gray has no intentions of her family ever stepping foot in it again. Meanwhile, she bought a second-hand car to get around.

"People should not be in that vehicle," the school guidance counseller said.

In February 2006, the Grays bought their red Spectra from Saint John Kia but because of the distance had the car serviced in Sussex as required to uphold its warranty.

They have the receipts to prove the work was done.

By May of that year, the smell inside was nauseating, McLaughlin-Gray said. She first contacted Kia and was told Scotchgarding likely caused the odour.

Not long afterward she took the new car to be professionally cleaned inside and, still, the smell wouldn't go away.

The family suffered from 2006 until they made their disturbing discoveries this summer.

In an email sent to McLaughlin-Gray on Sept. 10 by Corey MacDonald, district parts and service manager for Kia Canada Inc., MacDonald made what he called a "goodwill offering" for their troubles.

"Even though you have chosen to have your vehicle serviced elsewhere, and you have not returned to Saint John Kia since purchasing the vehicle in 2006, Saint John Kia is prepared to offer dealer cost on all parts involved in the repair. This is a savings of approximately $859, plus taxes to you," he wrote.

Items listed included seat belts, buckles, a tube of seam sealer, carpeting, detailing and cleaning.

"As well, as a gesture of goodwill Kia Canada is prepared to cover 50 per cent of the cost of the repair, and detailing; plus cover the cost of the rental vehicle during the diagnosis phase of this case."

As outlined in the email, the Gray's share of the replacement parts and labour was more than $1,600 plus tax.

"Upon accepting this gesture Kia Canada would require that you sign a release form removing any liability from Kia Canada or its subsidiaries," MacDonald's email read.

McLaughlin-Gray said once the family declined the offer, MacDonald told them to remove the vehicle from Kia's Rothesay Avenue property, which they finally did last week - mould and mildew intact.

The mom wanted the car to be replaced with another 2006 Spectra, insisting she was uncomfortable with her family re-entering the car that made them so sick.

The family's insurance provider won't cover the costs of repair because the damage is not the direct cause of an "insured peril".

Two weeks ago the Grays filed legal action against Saint John Kia and Kia Canada.

"We're still paying for a car that's just sitting there," McLaughlin-Gray said. "This has been a nightmare.

"I have two children involved here. I need to protect them."

While MacDonald and Saint John Kia manager Tom Cahill did not respond to requests for an interview, in an emailed statement to the Telegraph-Journal, Kia Canada's public relations manager Sixto Fernandez said the company is taking the Gray's complaint seriously.

"Kia Canada prides itself on the quality of its vehicles and takes any dissatisfaction with its products and every customer grievance very seriously," he wrote from his office in Ontario.

"In the instant case, I can advise that we are thoroughly investigating the matter so that we may properly assess the complaint."

Until such time as we have completed our investigation, Kia Canada declines to comment further on the cause of the mould allegedly found in the vehicle or on what may be an appropriate resolution of the matter."