2022 Kia Sportage Steering Wheel Cracks. Warranty Claim Denied

I own a 2022 Kia Sportage, currently with 17,000 kilometers. Cracks have developed on the underside of the steering wheel. The 2-year warranty expires on June 22, 2024. I visited the Kia service center in Trabzon, but they refused to address the issue, claiming that steering wheels and gear knobs are excluded from the warranty due to exposure to sanitizers and disinfectants during the pandemic.

I explained to the warranty representative that my vehicle was released in June 2022, well after the pandemic had subsided. More importantly, as shown in the photos, the cracks are on the underside of the steering wheel, an area with minimal contact. If sanitizers were the cause, the most frequently touched parts of the steering wheel would have cracked first. After leaving the service center, I reviewed the warranty terms on Kia's website and found no mention of steering wheels being excluded from the warranty.

Given these facts, I request the necessary actions to replace my steering wheel under the 2-year manufacturer warranty.