Tellthemride
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Got this idea from another user on this forum. Decided to proactively protect my AC condenser on the cheap. Hopefully the mesh will do its job and I will never have to deal with coolant leaks from a damaged fin. Took me about 45 min to do the 5 sections underneath the tiger nose grill.
Used a plastic gutter guard roll, zip ties, scissors, and diagonal cutters. Will also need a Philips screwdriver to access behind the front plate if you have one.
Frost King VX620 6"x20' Plastic Gutter Guard ($4) Frost King VX620 6"x20' Plastic Gutter Guard - Gutter Guards - Amazon.com
Zip ties were about 1/8 inch wide and 6 inch long. I had them laying around the house for cable management.
For the bottom openings, I left the roll the full 6 inch height and tucked between the grill and splash guard. It provides additional rigidity this way. Only issue I can see down the road is if a service tech removes the shield to access the engine from underneath and the reinstalls with the mesh sticking out forward. I can tell them to put it back how I had it or do it myself if needed.
The bottom lengths were about a foot for the left and right sides of the radar sensor. I didnt measure exact, just unrolled and cut with a little extra length. There is extra space to hide the sides.
For the sections above the radar sensor, there wasn’t any extra space to hide the excess mesh, so I had to cut more precisely. It is pretty much 3 inches in height so I cut down the length of the roll. The width was also about 12 inches and the middle section above the plate and radar sensor is about 6 inches. Again, didn’t measure exact, just unrolled and cut by eye.
To get the mesh behind the openings without removing the bumper, I just rolled the mesh to a tube. You need to be careful no to drop the mesh, or I would imagine it will be difficult to retrieve. Maybe tie a string to the mesh while you are positioning if you don’t trust yourself. I was able to get it positioned just using my hands.
To get the zip ties to curve around the mesh and come back out, I just bent the tip and the a few more bends after to make it curl. To have the mesh level, I was trying to keep the zip ties approximately the same heights on the left and right. On the bottom sections, I zip tied the same direction in the middle since the mesh held its shape OK. For the sections above, I tied the middle sections perpendicularly to give it better hold at the top. For the middle section above the plate/radar, I had to do one tie up and one tie down, leaving down tie untrimmed. Otherwise, the mesh wouldn't really hold it’s shape.
I thought about taking off the plastic cover in the engine bay to access behind the Kia grill, but realized it is all one piece with the bumper. Didn’t really want zip ties to show on the upper grill as it would be more noticeable too. Looking at the already bent fins, there are definitely way more towards the bottom grill openings compared to the top. Will leave the upper grill exposed for now until somebody can find a better solution.
This solution is far, far from perfect, and there are certainly better, more durable options out there. It is likely if a rock hits the mesh at high speeds it will even rip right through it. But as long as it slows down the rock enough not to damage the condenser, it has done the job in my book. I can always repair with another strip of mesh. There is still another 15 feet of mesh roll left.
I did this mod because many owners have already experienced the condenser damage, and KIA refusing to cover the replacement. My insurance deductible is high, so if this $4 mesh can save me some cash and headache, it will be money well spent.
Used a plastic gutter guard roll, zip ties, scissors, and diagonal cutters. Will also need a Philips screwdriver to access behind the front plate if you have one.
Frost King VX620 6"x20' Plastic Gutter Guard ($4) Frost King VX620 6"x20' Plastic Gutter Guard - Gutter Guards - Amazon.com
Zip ties were about 1/8 inch wide and 6 inch long. I had them laying around the house for cable management.
For the bottom openings, I left the roll the full 6 inch height and tucked between the grill and splash guard. It provides additional rigidity this way. Only issue I can see down the road is if a service tech removes the shield to access the engine from underneath and the reinstalls with the mesh sticking out forward. I can tell them to put it back how I had it or do it myself if needed.
The bottom lengths were about a foot for the left and right sides of the radar sensor. I didnt measure exact, just unrolled and cut with a little extra length. There is extra space to hide the sides.
For the sections above the radar sensor, there wasn’t any extra space to hide the excess mesh, so I had to cut more precisely. It is pretty much 3 inches in height so I cut down the length of the roll. The width was also about 12 inches and the middle section above the plate and radar sensor is about 6 inches. Again, didn’t measure exact, just unrolled and cut by eye.
To get the mesh behind the openings without removing the bumper, I just rolled the mesh to a tube. You need to be careful no to drop the mesh, or I would imagine it will be difficult to retrieve. Maybe tie a string to the mesh while you are positioning if you don’t trust yourself. I was able to get it positioned just using my hands.
To get the zip ties to curve around the mesh and come back out, I just bent the tip and the a few more bends after to make it curl. To have the mesh level, I was trying to keep the zip ties approximately the same heights on the left and right. On the bottom sections, I zip tied the same direction in the middle since the mesh held its shape OK. For the sections above, I tied the middle sections perpendicularly to give it better hold at the top. For the middle section above the plate/radar, I had to do one tie up and one tie down, leaving down tie untrimmed. Otherwise, the mesh wouldn't really hold it’s shape.
I thought about taking off the plastic cover in the engine bay to access behind the Kia grill, but realized it is all one piece with the bumper. Didn’t really want zip ties to show on the upper grill as it would be more noticeable too. Looking at the already bent fins, there are definitely way more towards the bottom grill openings compared to the top. Will leave the upper grill exposed for now until somebody can find a better solution.
This solution is far, far from perfect, and there are certainly better, more durable options out there. It is likely if a rock hits the mesh at high speeds it will even rip right through it. But as long as it slows down the rock enough not to damage the condenser, it has done the job in my book. I can always repair with another strip of mesh. There is still another 15 feet of mesh roll left.
I did this mod because many owners have already experienced the condenser damage, and KIA refusing to cover the replacement. My insurance deductible is high, so if this $4 mesh can save me some cash and headache, it will be money well spent.
