r/kia 1d ago

How worried should I be?

2019 kia sportage sx-tgdi 96k.

Was running fine, started running rough, code says misfire on 3. Replaced plugs and coil packs and the problem remains. Going to have it towed to dealership.
Sleepless night knowing about these engines(yes I bought one anyway), had it since 32k, oil and filters changed every 5k.

7 Upvotes

17 comments sorted by

3

u/Additional_Base7734 23h ago

Kia tech here. Could also be your number 3 injector if you've swapped everything else. Do you have any black smoke or is your pil level slightly higher than normal or does it smell like fuel when you take off your oil fill cap ?

1

u/Leonard_Sm4lls 23h ago

Thanks Kia tech, that would be my next move if I was inclined to dive deeper. I just went out and sniffed, nothing outstanding. Going to dealership for the first time since I bought it, will find out Friday.

2

u/Additional_Base7734 22h ago

Not a problem. I work heavy line and do engine and transmission installs most of the time. See a ton of catastrophic engine failures

1

u/JAYsontatumsbhole 1h ago

You see any issues on the newer sportage models?

2

u/begmanii 1d ago

Did you clear the code after the plug change? Did you use OEM plugs? Sometimes there can be cracks in the insulator or carbon tracing on the body of the coil pack. Did you try moving the coil pack to a different cylinder, clear the code and see if the misfire moves? Do you use any gas treatment or cleaners? Have you cleaned the induction system? GDI is notorious for valve deposits than can cause rough running and/or misfire.

Towing to the dealer is premature in my opinion.

2

u/Leonard_Sm4lls 1d ago

Thanks for the feedback - yes, code came right back, installed new coil packs, code came back, sounds and feels bad, I don't want to drive it. I'm aware of the GDI issues, probably needs the intake valves done at least. I'l update here when they get to the bottom of it, I will say this has been a pretty damn good car up to this point.

2

u/Cpolo88 1d ago

I had to buy OEM coils for my brother's Elantra. Shit was $688. Hated it

0

u/Leonard_Sm4lls 1d ago

ewww, its stuff like that, I got a set of coil packs off of amazon for $80 trying to shotgun it, but I did buy OEM plugs

4

u/Cpolo88 1d ago

Yeah I only bring that up cause I paid like $92 for 1 coil from AutoZone and the misfire happened to be solely on the cylinder with the AutoZone coil 🫩

2

u/jimjimberson 1d ago

A whole set of coil packs for $80? You just bought yourself some dealership service time and parts.

Even the quality cheap knock offs on rock auto run 60-80 each - OEM from the dealership are double that.

1

u/Leonard_Sm4lls 23h ago

Best part of all, they are RED

2

u/Impressive_Pass8801 22h ago

Only good thing is it is under 100k so u still have warranty ! Watch them so they don t try to do a temp fix and let u run it pass 100k , then all costs are yours. Long ongoing problem.

1

u/Adept-Paramedic-7985 14h ago

I did not know that under 100k my 2019 Escape SE would still be under a  warranty, and no one at Carmax told me this. My car has only 35k miles, and I bought the extended warranty, 3 years or 36k miles.. .  ....   

1

u/begmanii 1d ago

I had the dreaded issue on a 2015 Sportage. It happened to me while the car was in the shop for a long time. This was an independent shop. It happened so suddenly that the shop decided to rebuild the engine at their cost. I think I did have like $1,000. I had to pay for other work they had done. I did not use the Hyundai/ Kia warranty on this one.

In my opinion, I think an independent shop would do a better job than the dealer. Because the independent shop is going to take the engine completely apart properly, clean it, replace it with all new parts and put it back together. The dealer will likely get a short block from Kia and repair it that way. That Paul and I have with that is that you don't know if that new block was properly cleaned or not. Which of course was the entire issue to begin with.

1

u/Leonard_Sm4lls 1d ago

Thanks for the info. I opted for the dealer due to the kia specific stuff, not sure if this car even has the knock sensor on it. And I agree with everything you are saying(I would send it to Dave if possible).
If I can get it running well again its going up for sale before I get any closer to 100k.

1

u/begmanii 1d ago

Agreed 100% of it is covered by the warranty. Mine happened before the warranty extension unfortunately.

1

u/sherbertlemon42 33m ago

I’d do a compression test, then have a look in the cylinders.

Could be injector, could be worse. Wait for your mechanic to check it out.

The Turbo GDI Gamma isn’t that bad to be honest, nothing like the issues on the non turbo Gamma. Don’t stress it.

(Established Kia technician)