Used stinger broke down a day after buying!

I realize no one else has said this but I have to go with bad ECU. My guess is the dealer that sold you the car re-formatted the ECU & crossed his fingers.
 
Instead of trying all these little things to figure out why it's broke I'd be on the phone with the selling dealership demanding that they take the car back (towed back at their expense) and refund my money. Let them figure out what's wrong with your new broken car. They aren't rare. Find yourself one that works.
Totally concur.
 
I realize no one else has said this but I have to go with bad ECU. My guess is the dealer that sold you the car re-formatted the ECU & crossed his fingers.
That would be just terrible.. it is the biggest car dealership in Colorado from what I’ve heard.. that has multiple car brands, I don’t understand how or why they would do this
 
______________________________
^^^I wouldn't be assuming this dire scenario, it's just a guess. That is called "borrowing trouble". Play it a step at a time and expect people to behave well: the alternative is withdrawal in bitterness from the world.
 
From interior to exterior to high performance - everything you need for your Stinger awaits you...
Guys anything electrical must always start with removing the battery cables in order to wipe the computer of bad codes. Just don't short the two cables out but this has the ability to REBOOT the computer and start from scratch. I've done this myself on cars and it does work and has NO after effects at all.
 
Guys anything electrical must always start with removing the battery cables in order to wipe the computer of bad codes. Just don't short the two cables out but this has the ability to REBOOT the computer and start from scratch. I've done this myself on cars and it does work and has NO after effects at all.
Not entirely true. Yes you can remove the battery cable to wipe the codes but it's not ALWAYS necessary to remove battery cables when working on electrical. You can also wipe/reset codes with many diagnostic code readers. If he's just checking/reseating some electrical connections, he can do so, then use the code reader to reset the codes without ever having to touch the battery cables. Also for something that only costs about $30 or more, I highly recommend getting an ODB2 scanner. They're very useful when things like this happen.
 
God people just wipe the computer by removing the battery cables for a few minutes and it should reset everything. It can't hurt anything but can possibly work also!!!
This is the EASIEST WAY to do the code problem and the safest also as opposed to code readers. Also if you try to cross the cables this is NOT a good idea!!!!!
 
God people just wipe the computer by removing the battery cables for a few minutes and it should reset everything. It can't hurt anything but can possibly work also!!!
This is the EASIEST WAY to do the code problem and the safest also as opposed to code readers. Also if you try to cross the cables this is NOT a good idea!!!!!
Sorry to disagree, but I do. I'm of the thought that you should at least find out what the code is before you just go and reset codes. For all you know the code could be for a major transmission issue, then just resetting the code you could be doing more unnecessary damage.

Also not sure where the "crossing cables" thing came from, but I think it should be obvious you should never swap the positive and negative cables to the battery, if that's what you're trying to say.

Also personally I think plugging a code reader into the ODB2 port and resetting the code to be a lot easier the popping open the back, pulling up the carpet/etc, breaking out the tools to loosen the connectors to the battery and pulling the connector off.
 
Last edited:
As mentioned above:

Disconnect the battery cable!!!
 
______________________________
From interior to exterior to high performance - everything you need for your Stinger awaits you...
On the internet you find a lot of good advice. You find a lot of bad advice. You find a lot of advice given with good intentions. The amount these things overlap varies from recommendation to recommendation.
 
On the internet you find a lot of good advice. You find a lot of bad advice. You find a lot of advice given with good intentions. The amount these things overlap varies from recommendation to recommendation.
Agreed.

And with said, this forum easily has the lowest car-IQ of any of the forums I visit. I just cringe when I read some of the responses.
 
And with said, this forum easily has the lowest car-IQ of any of the forums I visit. I just cringe when I read some of the responses.
I think you've posted that a few times (recently). Does this post assume that your car-IQ is vastly superior to everyone else's? I'm not sure how to interpret the repeated need to post this. Should all comments be passed by you before being posted?
 
Agreed.

And with said, this forum easily has the lowest car-IQ of any of the forums I visit. I just cringe when I read some of the responses.
Okay. Do you keep this stock observation on your clipboard to save yourself posting time?
 
Hey everyone! Amazing news! Even though I was quoted 2 weeks for a diagnostic, which made sense given the fact that there were about 50 Kia Souls in the back lot, and all bays were filled, I got a call from the service advisor at Kia saying it was fixed! It ended up being the throttle actuator connection, or something like that. I am so blessed and thankful that the guy got it done so fast.

I have some questions I want to shoot out as a new Stinger owner while I have you wonderful people here:
  1. I still hear the weird noise from the driver's side. The gentleman told me that it is normal upon cold start but should go away. It does not go away after driving even for an hour. He told me that it's a good thing because if anything ends up happening it will be obvious to him and they will be able to fix it. Nice guy but I'm not sure that I get that. I test drove other Stingers and never heard this noise and don't hear it in videos either. I will try to post a video, perhaps make a second thread. It sounds less like a rattle as I described and more like, if you were to try to imitate a cat hissing. But it doesn't sound good, it sounds bad.
  2. I feel a weird pressure right before the gas pedal is fully depressed. It's kind of like a mechanical keyboard when you push down, get a pressure/click, then can continue to push down. It's like at 90% throttle there is a pause point in the pedal. Is this normal? It feels weird.'
  3. Will a catback exhaust like the MBRP one void my warranty? Also will it pass a smog test with it on or should I wait?

Anyway thank you for all of your help and I'm surprised and thankful it was resolved so quickly given the extremely sad quote I was given by the a**hole over the phone.
 

Attachments

  • 67993746612__EEAC1729-30B7-45EE-8740-28F321C2A04B.webp
    67993746612__EEAC1729-30B7-45EE-8740-28F321C2A04B.webp
    535.9 KB · Views: 18
From interior to exterior to high performance - everything you need for your Stinger awaits you...
Hey everyone! Amazing news! Even though I was quoted 2 weeks for a diagnostic, which made sense given the fact that there were about 50 Kia Souls in the back lot, and all bays were filled, I got a call from the service advisor at Kia saying it was fixed! It ended up being the throttle actuator connection, or something like that. I am so blessed and thankful that the guy got it done so fast.

I have some questions I want to shoot out as a new Stinger owner while I have you wonderful people here:
  1. I still hear the weird noise from the driver's side. The gentleman told me that it is normal upon cold start but should go away. It does not go away after driving even for an hour. He told me that it's a good thing because if anything ends up happening it will be obvious to him and they will be able to fix it. Nice guy but I'm not sure that I get that. I test drove other Stingers and never heard this noise and don't hear it in videos either. I will try to post a video, perhaps make a second thread. It sounds less like a rattle as I described and more like, if you were to try to imitate a cat hissing. But it doesn't sound good, it sounds bad.
  2. I feel a weird pressure right before the gas pedal is fully depressed. It's kind of like a mechanical keyboard when you push down, get a pressure/click, then can continue to push down. It's like at 90% throttle there is a pause point in the pedal. Is this normal? It feels weird.'
  3. Will a catback exhaust like the MBRP one void my warranty? Also will it pass a smog test with it on or should I wait?

Anyway thank you for all of your help and I'm surprised and thankful it was resolved so quickly given the extremely sad quote I was given by the a**hole over the phone.
Glad to hear it was just the connector that was causing the issue.
My thoughts on your questions:
1. Sounds like the previous owner probably did a handful of mods and was fairly hasty at getting old mods out and putting it back to factory. A hiss could be a vacuum or intake issue. Definitely post a video.
2. That weird pressure is normal. You're feeling the kickdown switch. When you hit it and go beyond that, it activates the kickdown which tells the system you want to haul ass. Forces the car to downshift and go.
3. Technically...no a catback exhaust doesn't void your warranty. By law they need to prove whatever aftermarket change you made is the direct cause to a failure. That doesn't stop the dealership from trying to claim your aftermarket part is the cause...even if it's not. Since it's cat back...it doesn't effect any of the emissions components so you're good for smog checks.
 
______________________________
I got a call from the service advisor at Kia saying it was fixed! It ended up being the throttle actuator connection, or something like that. I am so blessed and thankful that the guy got it done so fast.
Great news, and appreciate the update!
 
Very glad the issue was something simple.

I still hear the weird noise from the driver's side. The gentleman told me that it is normal upon cold start but should go away. It does not go away after driving even for an hour. He told me that it's a good thing because if anything ends up happening it will be obvious to him and they will be able to fix it. Nice guy but I'm not sure that I get that. I test drove other Stingers and never heard this noise and don't hear it in videos either. I will try to post a video, perhaps make a second thread. It sounds less like a rattle as I described and more like, if you were to try to imitate a cat hissing. But it doesn't sound good, it sounds bad.
Does it sound like it is coming from engine, from roof, from dash, possibly outside? Stingers are notorious for sunroof noise. Also, something like a splash guard not fully bolted down under the car can sound like it is coming from the inside
I feel a weird pressure right before the gas pedal is fully depressed. It's kind of like a mechanical keyboard when you push down, get a pressure/click, then can continue to push down. It's like at 90% throttle there is a pause point in the pedal. Is this normal? It feels weird.'
There is a resistance right before 100% where the kickdown switch is engaged, this is normal
Will a catback exhaust like the MBRP one void my warranty? Also will it pass a smog test with it on or should I wait?
A catback exhaust will not void warranty, nor will it fail a smog test. If you get rid of the cat's then you could fail smog, and Kia could raise a stink about it if something failed that could link to it.
 
Hey everyone! Amazing news! Even though I was quoted 2 weeks for a diagnostic, which made sense given the fact that there were about 50 Kia Souls in the back lot, and all bays were filled, I got a call from the service advisor at Kia saying it was fixed! It ended up being the throttle actuator connection, or something like that. I am so blessed and thankful that the guy got it done so fast.

I have some questions I want to shoot out as a new Stinger owner while I have you wonderful people here:
  1. I still hear the weird noise from the driver's side. The gentleman told me that it is normal upon cold start but should go away. It does not go away after driving even for an hour. He told me that it's a good thing because if anything ends up happening it will be obvious to him and they will be able to fix it. Nice guy but I'm not sure that I get that. I test drove other Stingers and never heard this noise and don't hear it in videos either. I will try to post a video, perhaps make a second thread. It sounds less like a rattle as I described and more like, if you were to try to imitate a cat hissing. But it doesn't sound good, it sounds bad.
  2. I feel a weird pressure right before the gas pedal is fully depressed. It's kind of like a mechanical keyboard when you push down, get a pressure/click, then can continue to push down. It's like at 90% throttle there is a pause point in the pedal. Is this normal? It feels weird.'
  3. Will a catback exhaust like the MBRP one void my warranty? Also will it pass a smog test with it on or should I wait?

Anyway thank you for all of your help and I'm surprised and thankful it was resolved so quickly given the extremely sad quote I was given by the a**hole over the phone.

Should have just disconnected the battery, car noob. :laugh:
 
Last edited:
  1. I still hear the weird noise from the driver's side. The gentleman told me that it is normal upon cold start but should go away.
If it's coming from the engine bay, it might be the high pressure fuel pump.
 
From interior to exterior to high performance - everything you need for your Stinger awaits you...
Kia Stinger
Back
Top