Kia/Hyundai Oil Consumption Class Action Lawsuit

[Davidoyo]

Recently found this article about a class action lawsuit filed due to excessive oil consumption with over 20 Kia/Hyundai models including the Stinger.
My wife has a Kia Optima with this issue exactly. Just randomly started consuming a quart of oil every 1,000-1,500 miles.

Hyundai Owners File Class Action Over Excessive Engine Oil Consumption - Jalopnik

One morning in early 2021, I was taking my son to school in my 2018 Hyundai Sonata. As I entered the driveway of his school, which is pretty steep, I noticed the oil light come on briefly on the dash and then go off once the car leveled off. I thought this was strange since I just had the oil...

jalopnik.com

 

[JSolo]

Thanks for posting.

I do think the owner is being unreasonable. 140K mi on a '18 MY car is quite a bit of driving. Should it be consuming 2 qts every 1K mi. No. Will be interesting to see how it pans out.

 

[Boogetsbizzy]

I mean what could really be done?

 

[MerlintheMad]

Time to resurrect the habit of regularly checking oil level. Having owned nothing but used cars, I was in a lifelong habit of pulling the dipstick each time (or at least every other time) I got gas: especially on road trips, it was a religious exercise. Now, having increased my oil change intervals to 6K miles, instead of 4K miles (because Kia started putting in synthetic this year), I'll have to be even more on top of this. Is the move to synthetic connected to this oil consumption issue?

 

[StingertimeNC]

We have a Kia Sorento, 2016 MY, with the 2.4, 4 cyl. At about 75k miles it started consuming oil. We have to add about 1qt every 2k miles at least. Kia thinks this is "normal." Other than not adding the oils to see if we kill the engine, nothing we can do about it!

 

[Davidoyo]

Thanks for posting.

I do think the owner is being unreasonable. 140K mi on a '18 MY car is quite a bit of driving. Should it be consuming 2 qts every 1K mi. No. Will be interesting to see how it pans out.

Personally, I could understand if a 140k mile engine started using a little more oil, but my wife's 2016 optima only has 50K miles and it's consuming a quart every 1,000-1,500 miles. This seems unreasonable for a non-turbo engine. Funny enough my Mini , which only has 27K miles on the engine, started consuming a quart every 1,000 miles. However, this peugeot based engine is known to drink oil and Mini/BMW says it's "normal operation"

 

[Davidoyo]

Time to resurrect the habit of regularly checking oil level. Having owned nothing but used cars, I was in a lifelong habit of pulling the dipstick each time (or at least every other time) I got gas: especially on road trips, it was a religious exercise. Now, having increased my oil change intervals to 6K miles, instead of 4K miles (because Kia started putting in synthetic this year), I'll have to be even more on top of this. Is the move to synthetic connected to this oil consumption issue?

Was Kia previously using semi-synthetic oil in the Stingers? I know the dealership always uses semi-synthetic with oil changes for the optima. I don't think semi-synthetic oil is cheaper than full anymore so idk their reasoning behind it.

 

[Cosmo]

Very common with many new cars with direct injection motors especially in cold climates.
These stories are a running advertisement for oil catch cans.

 

[JSolo]

^^How so? The catch can collects the oil. Oil level will still drop, no?

 

[General_Vodka]

^^How so? The catch can collects the oil. Oil level will still drop, no?

At least it won't get on the valves.

 

[JSolo]

True. I keep thinking the 3.3 has both gdi and pfi.

 

[Hawk853]

We have a Kia Sorento, 2016 MY, with the 2.4, 4 cyl. At about 75k miles it started consuming oil. We have to add about 1qt every 2k miles at least. Kia thinks this is "normal." Other than not adding the oils to see if we kill the engine, nothing we can do about it!

Kia got hit with the largest civil penalty in history for not disclosing and honoring warranties for bad engines. Effects lots of 2011-2919 vehicles.

Hyundai-Kia’s Billion Dollar Engine Problem that Broke the NHTSA Civil Penalty Barrier - Safety Research & Strategies, Inc.

A federal judge in California has put one class-action lawsuit in peril and approved a settlement in another alleging defects in Hyundai and Kia engines. The Korean automaker’s billion-dollar-plus legal liability is on top of the largest civil penalty the National Highway Traffic Safety...

www.safetyresearch.net

 

[StingertimeNC]

I will add the engine is under lifetime warranty, as long as we own the car. The intake manifold was also just replaced under warranty for some other issue as well. I guess the lifetime warranty is a result of the lawsuit. (speaking about our 2016 MY Sorento)

 

[SirCozak]

With a 6k service interval in the Uk I'd be surprised if it has time to consume enough oil between changes

 

[RVance]

I'm still under 30K miles, but I'm reading lots of horror stories about oil loss damage and dealer indifference.

 

[V8EATR]

My 19 stinger uses about a quart every 1500 miles or so, 38k miles. It doesn't bother me, I just check it regularly.

 

[5tinger]

Oil consumption has never been an issue with any of the vehicles I've owned.

 

[G-715328]

My 19 stinger uses about a quart every 1500 miles or so, 38k miles. It doesn't bother me, I just check it regularly.

Hey lifetime technician here, This is kind of for everyone here but how often do all of you replace your PCV valve, a weakened of failed pcv valve will increase oil consumption, should be replaced minimum every 60 thousand kilometres, I replace mine every 25,000. It’s a one way check valve for the crank case where your oil sits and it releases extra pressure back into your intake, essentially recycling it and burning it off. If it’s staying open to long or not seating completely you will be burning more oil. So if you have not ever replaced yours and your car is above 30k miles I’d recommend starting there and see if you notice a difference in oil consumption. Cheers.