I shall be putting this story in the “Are You Serious?!” category (along with the “Driving Insanity!” one here on this blog).
After months of research, test rives, and headaches, by wife and I (including leaving the kids with neighbors so we could actually see, drive, and such together occasionally), we bought my wife a new car at the end of June. We found a 2018 Kia Sorrento that basically had been used as a dealer car with just 5,000 miles on it. We both thought during the test drive that the car idled a bit odd, but it didn’t seem to have any performance issues (I do test a car’s ability to accelerate; as does my wife I’ve learned) and the service tech on site said that it was normal.
Fast forward to the past month. The engine and transmission have not been on the same page. In the last month, there appeared to be a cascade of problems and that idle was clearly part of it. It is a complicated story and description, but there were times I would actually throw the gear shift into manual mode to try and help. Just imagine driving about 70 MPH on the highway, in top gear, with your foot pushing the accelerator to the floor … and the vehicle is slowing down. Or you are trying to turn left, but the vehicle won’t accelerate properly and you start to wonder if that oncoming car to your left will avoid you (with the kids in the car).
We decided to take the vehicle to a Kia dealer about 30 minutes from us (the dealer we bought from is about 60 minutes away depending on traffic on both beltways and I-95; the closest dealer … is not one we want to visit). They first discovered a lost sensor relating to the cam shaft and subsequently tightened that. Nope.
A second trip revealed that the sensor most likely needed to be replaced, so a third visit was arranged (once the part was delivered). We now knew that there was clearly a miscommunication going on with the engine and the computer which not only resulting in a miscommunication on shifting, but also a misfire in the engine (at least two of the six cylinders was misfiring) and a timing issue.
The previous two trips my wife handled, I took care of the third trip. They replaced the sensor and reset the transmission system (which learns how we drive to better shift and such), but two or so miles down the road and the check engine light was back on and the misfire was clearly there (we know what it feels like, now!).
I returned. The mechanic and service rep were beyond confused. Multiple scans were initiated, but nothing came up (except a possible dead battery in the history of when it was at the dealer before we purchased). At this point it was sent up to Kia headquarters and I took the vehicle home to wait for an answer.
But problems started to get worse (see above regarding turning left and not accelerating with kids in the car). A tense convo about safety and I was back on Thursday to drop the car off.
The mechanic tore the engine apart trying to find the problem. I got a hint on Friday, but visited a week later to get thoughts out of the car and got the whole story.
The engine should have had five quarts of oil, but when they drained it they got about a quart out of the engine. Also, each time they took the vehicle for a test drive, they returned with less oil in the engine. The misfire wasn’t going away … and more.
Today I looked at an engine in pieces awaiting Kia to make a decision. The mechanic had found defects throughout. On the header, on the timing gears, and elsewhere. He didn’t want to work his way through replacing things to see if it solved the problem. He wanted a new engine. He didn’t want a small block, he wanted, what I called, the whole enchilada. Kia wasn’t buying in, just yet.
I got a call later in the day indicating Kia had relented and a “whole enchilada” was being ordered.
When I was at the dealer today to get a few things and check out the engine, I also put the brand new license plates on the car. A service department manager did the honors (while I chatted with the mechanic), but I couldn’t escape the image in front of me: brand new license plates being put on our brand new car with a smidge under 10,000 miles on it … a brand new car which was about to have it’s engine completely replaced.
Are you serious?!
At least it’s fully under warranty.
Post-Script:
The dealer (indirectly), mechanics, and staff where we have been getting the repairs done have been terrific. While it has been annoying having multiple visits, they have treated us wonderfully and made sure we are taken care of – including replacing the initial loaner vehicle, because it wasn’t right for us, without any questions. They’ve even texted updates when necessary.
I did have a long conversation with the dealer we bought from about this and some other issues we had with the purchase and such. Despite mistakes made (including informing us an oil change had occurred before we purchased when it was not done), they have also been terrific in wanting to help and being insightful not only about what to expect from Kia, but what they will do to assist.
Conversations with Kia have not happened, but will. We have no ill-will at this time, but it certainly has been a strange and inconvenient occurrence. The mechanic says this is very rare, but don’t buy a lottery ticket. 🙂
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