What should o do, is this Kia a lemon and do I need legal assistance
2023 Kia Sportage SX Prestige 4,000 miles Automatic Purchased new from dealership beginning of the year. Driving on the highway suddenly lost the ability to accelerate , was able to get off on the very next exit and after coming to a complete stop car would not accelerate forward. Put it in manual mode and was able to go forward in a very Jerky fashion. Made another complete stop to make a left turn across a busy highway to get home and car was stuck in 5th gear and would not accelerate . Had to power the car off. Many cars behind me were having to go around me which was very dangerous. After a few minutes I cut the car back on and put in automatic drive. It went forward i got across the highway and it jerked super hard and loud switching into the next gear. Every shift change thereafter was the same jerky and loud and it would go very fast.
Check your state's lemon laws.
An all too common story with Kia.
You don't have a legal case (yet). All you can do is have it towed back to the dealer (at their expense of course).
Posted by: @xyz_123
2023 Kia Sportage SX Prestige
Is this the current generation? You're saying it was jerky within gear? or rather had jerky shifts? was it smooth in neutral?
I would not be surprised if it's actually a transmission issue, but this would be the first catastrophic failure I've ever herd of on the brand new A8F27 gearbox.
Please update the thread with the results and what Kia has determined to be the issue.
Posted by: @xyz_123
loud switching into the next gear
Did the transmission make crunchy noises? Did it create a bang noise? Did the engine flare?
I opted for the conventional 8 speed with a torque converter. Those trainings have been failing right and left.
This is interesting, the Sorento's A8F36 is very closely related to the Sportage's A8F27.
Are you sure that the failing transmissions are not the dual clutches?
Posted by: @mrbob
why they decided on another unproven technology is beyond me
Beyond me too. Their US market tech is getting ridiculous.
The Euro Sportage has the same A6F24 from 15 yeas ago and a variation on an engine from over a decade ago.
And it's smoother with better MPG - but it is 1.5 seconds slower 0-60, as if that matters in a family SUV...
Genuinely no clue why the industry is pushing direct injection, 8 speed transmissions, and all of that other crap.
Posted by: @mrbob
I opted for the conventional 8 speed with a torque converter. Those trainings have been failing right and left.
This is interesting, the Sorento's A8F36 is very closely related to the Sportage's A8F27.
Dan Asked:
Are you sure that the failing transmissions are not the dual clutches?
ANS: That's what I meant to say. The dual clutch trainings are the ones that are failing.
how can I confirm it is the A8F27 gearbox?
The gearbox model on Kias is written on the gearbox case where it mates to the engine.
It's usually visible from the engine bay looking down to the right of the engine standing facing the front of the vehicle.
Kia designates that gearbox conventional torque converted automatic (when installed on their cars) as "A8MF1".
But the North American Sportage has a very cramped hood area so it's probably hard to locate the markings.
Requires trying to look through in this area, it's way down there.
(It also has the marking on the bottom of the transmission case, so it's really convenient to see it for a mechanic during service)
Or that it’s the dual clutch trainings?
That's unlikely, I do not think the 2023 last generation Sportage was offered with a dual clutch
The DCT are marked as D8LF1 (8 speed, on Sorento) and D7UF1 (7 speed, on the previous generation Hyundai-Kia SUVs, usually with small turbo engines) but you'd probably feel it if it would be a dual clutch - Hyundai-Kia's dual clutches have a very distinct (IMO somewhat poor) driving experience (they jerk constantly and hunt for gears, unlike the conventional autos that are usually very smooth).
Should I just ask the service rep to explain?
Sure! Kia definitely should know what happened and explain.
I just would be very cautious has most service reps have no clue as to what they're talking about.
A gearbox should not have failed that way at any millage, definitely not at just 4,000 miles.
(usually failing conventional automatics begin to shift poorly or slip many thousands of miles before loosing power)
Also please try to get papers that show what warranty repairs have been performed on the car, dealers really hate giving out that paper work when they're dealing with warranty cases - But it can be very useful if the car turns out to be a lemon (A lemon is a car repeatedly has the same issue and the manufacturer can not fix it correctly - learn your local lemon law)
I Remember seeing a very good video on the lemon law:
after they do replace it, won’t seriously affect the value of the car for resale?
The resale value of Kias in north America is generally low, looking at 10 year old cars, sometimes even half of what the RAV4's resale value.
But in my experience, mechanical repairs (not collisions but just fixing and replacing broken parts with new / remanufactured ones), especially under warranty, usually do not effect the value of a car.
is a TCM reset a proper fix for my issue?
Unless you can prove otherwise (for example, by paying a transmission tech out of pocked to investigate), then you have no choice but to drive it and see.
See if the dealer will honor their 100,000 mile warranty.
Sounds like you have a dual clutch transmission and it broke. I never liked the dual clutch setup. I did a test drive in a car with 50 miles on it and it bucked every time I started off from a stopped position. I opted for the conventional 8 speed with a torque converter. Those trainings have been failing right and left. They just got over their engine problems so why they decided on another unproven technology is beyond me. Someone said they need a certain percentage in their fleet to meet cafe requirements. They do get better gas mileage. Problem is they are in short supply and nobody wants to fix them. People are waiting months for replacements to come in. That's ridiculous on a brand new car. Definitely get it back to the dealer and make them fix it. You only need a lawyer if they refuse. I have had pretty good luck with Kia's consumer affairs department in Irvine CA when the dealer tried to pull something. Just be prepared for a long wait.
- 800-333-4KIA(4542) Monday – Friday: 5:00 AM to 6:00 PM PST
Saturday – Sunday: Closed / US Public Holidays: Closed
Its a Kia. I rest my case.
I’m the original poster, for some reason I was unable to log into the account I made yesterday and I’ve tried the password reset option severa times but I never get the password reset email. Anyway, Kia called me back this morning and confirmed the transmission is bad and has to be replaced.
It had Jerky shift accompanied with that bang, how can I confirm it is the A8F27 gearbox? Or that it’s the dual clutch trainings? Should I just ask the service rep to explain? Happy to ask them any clarifying questions.
They said they have to wait for Kia to approve the work since it is an expensive repair, but even after they do replace it, won’t seriously affect the value of the car for resale?
Update: the dealership called me back and now claims the transmission did not need to be replaced. Said they reset the transmission computer and now it is driving fine. From what I’ve read, you only reset the computer after a repair or modification is done. But if nothing was done with the car is a TCM reset a proper fix for my issue?
That's very odd. Eh, give it a shakedown ride and see how it behaves!
But if nothing was done with the car is a TCM reset a proper fix for my issue?
Not likely. It's probably a case of the dealer making no money on warranty work so they just don't want to replace the transmission.