Ongoing Coolant Problems

[Manuel Wilson]

My coolant reservoir was very low which caused the engine warning light to indicate "Engine Overheating". After 12 days at the dealership, my car was repaired under warranty. With only 19,000 miles...this incident was unacceptable after spending $47,000 for my 2018 Stinger GT2. The only mod that I had was an oil catch can. Also, my transmission would shift hard (second gear) with a cold start. That is why you should never purchase a new car during the first year of its' production run. The dealership refused to reimburse me for my rental costs. But Kia Corporation reviewed my claim and they mailed my reimbursement check. Therefore I traded my 2018 Stinger GT2 (21,000 miles) for a 2021 Kia Telluride SX Night Fall Edition. For the next 3 years, I not sure Kia will continue making the Stinger. If they improve the mechanical reliability.....I might purchase another Stinger.

 

[65RivieraGS]

Goodness... that's a nasty problem. I've turned 10,000 miles on my 2020 (bought in July) and no problems. The car runs great .. goes fast enough .. launch mode works and is a wonderful GT!! I just had the car wrapped in the 3M Expel acryllic. cant tell its there and has a 10 yr warranty.

 

[DrGCS3]

I have a 2019 GT2 and just passed 50,000 miles. More often than not, I smell coolant when I first shut off the vehicle and step out. It’s faint and more noticeable when I park in garage. Smell is gone within minutes and I have never needed to refill coolant. Have a 2018 Sportage and it does the same. I really think it just vents.
Obviously it’s not normal for those who need to refill coolant and have known leaks. Those who just catch the scent every now and then but never need to refill, it might be normal.

 

[5tinger]

It's worth noting the difference between Low & full on the coolant resiviour is approx 50ml

 

[Manuel Wilson]

When my engine light (in red engine overheating) showed overheating, my coolant reservoir was empty. Right cylinder head was leaking coolant.......and it took two weeks to repair at the dealership.

 

[aebernickel]

Same stuff going on with mine. I bought my (used) 2018 GT2 the beginning of November in Charlotte NC. I did notice a slight smell of coolant after driving it for a while but nothing to writehome about. When we got the first cold snap I turned the heater on which worked fine until sitting at idle. At idle the heat would go cold. I reached out to the dealer where I live in TN and they said it was probably some air in the coolant system. I took it to them so the could relieve the air and do a coolant flush December 18th. After the did that everything worked fine for about 30 miles. That's when it seemed to get worse. That's when it started overheating and no heater at all. I took it straight back to the dealership. They said it was the thermostat (which made sense because no heat) so they replaced it. It was still overheating with them and they said fan wasn't going to high. They replaced that. I came to pick it up and the heater was still cold at idle. They took it back for a second and came back to say, it had a little air still in it. Again, everything was fine for about 30 miles. Now no heat at all again and overheating. this truly sucks as I am having to pay for this out of pocket, as it is just out of warranty. They said they may have to reach out to kia engineers. Any suggestions?

 

[ht_addict]

Water pump?

 

[Stock_stinger]

Same stuff going on with mine. I bought my (used) 2018 GT2 the beginning of November in Charlotte NC. I did notice a slight smell of coolant after driving it for a while but nothing to writehome about. When we got the first cold snap I turned the heater on which worked fine until sitting at idle. At idle the heat would go cold. I reached out to the dealer where I live in TN and they said it was probably some air in the coolant system. I took it to them so the could relieve the air and do a coolant flush December 18th. After the did that everything worked fine for about 30 miles. That's when it seemed to get worse. That's when it started overheating and no heater at all. I took it straight back to the dealership. They said it was the thermostat (which made sense because no heat) so they replaced it. It was still overheating with them and they said fan wasn't going to high. They replaced that. I came to pick it up and the heater was still cold at idle. They took it back for a second and came back to say, it had a little air still in it. Again, everything was fine for about 30 miles. Now no heat at all again and overheating. this truly sucks as I am having to pay for this out of pocket, as it is just out of warranty. They said they may have to reach out to kia engineers. Any suggestions?

you must be the one that has the blue gt2 at grindstaff?

 

[aebernickel]

you must be the one that has the blue gt2 at grindstaff?

Yup, looks like it was the head gasket. I found a motor with 3,000 miles on it to change to. The cost was about the same to fix the gasket. I now have an extra motor with a bad head gasket. I will probably keep it and post on forms, Facebook groups and/or eBay to recoup some of the money spent to fix it. If your the guy Eddie has told builds them out, figured you might be interested. Throw me a number $ and we could probably work something out.

 

[stinger brad]

Hello Stinger GT2 Owners! I love my 2018 Stinger, however, I started smelling coolant at approximately 3500 miles. The dealer assured me it was the shipping oil, and I’ve owned several new cars, so I’m very familiar with that odor. Turns out there was a defective seam in the radiator that quickly expanded into a major coolant blowout. Fortunately, I got it to the dealer before it got past 220 degrees, and they replaced the radiator. Took 6 days for the new radiator and installation. There continues to be a strong smell of coolant, particularly with the windows down, and subsequent visits to the dealer has not fixed the problem; they are back to, “it’s the shipping oil you’re smelling”. I’m frustrated and torn. I love the car but cannot deal with the strong odor.
I have recently opened a case with Kia’s Consumer Division. I’ll keep you all posted.

did u ever get this fixed? im having problems with my 2020 gt. it seems to be coming from the clamp on the hose but i put a new clamp and im still losing coolant.?

 

[stinger brad]

My 2018 Stinger GT2 has overheated with 19,500 miles. Dealership determined that I have a defected radiator.......I am waiting a replacement radiator and a test drive by the dealership before I accept my car. Very disappointing to spend $50,000 for this car with a defect radiator...... it has been 7 days at the dealership..........however I still love this car......I will update

im having problems with my 2020. coolant is leaking somewhere and im not to sure what to do can anyone help?

 

[ht_addict]

Take it into the shop and have them look at it?? Must be still under warranty?

 

[Manuel Wilson]

im having problems with my 2020. coolant is leaking somewhere and im not to sure what to do can anyone help?

Unfortunately I had to trade my 2018 Stinger GT2 for a 2021 Kia Telluride SX Nightfall Prestige Pack. I refuse to have $50,000 car overheating under normal usage (unacceptable). The Stinger 3.3 TT engine has a major problem. They needed to put the 3.5 TT engine in the Kia Stingers. Kia has decided to discontinue the Stinger production. I am waiting on the EV6.

 

[5tinger]

Unfortunately I had to trade my 2018 Stinger GT2 for a 2021 Kia Telluride SX Nightfall Prestige Pack. I refuse to have $50,000 car overheating under normal usage (unacceptable). The Stinger 3.3 TT engine has a major problem. They needed to put the 3.5 TT engine in the Kia Stingers. Kia has decided to discontinue the Stinger production. I am waiting on the EV6.

You should push for buy back or brand new replacement. As an overheat situation would have caused irreversible internal damage.

 

[MerlintheMad]

Clearly, the OP was abducted by aliens right after posting that.

 

[Manuel Wilson]

You should push for buy back or brand new replacement. As an overheat situation would have caused irreversible internal damage.

Kia will discontinue producing the Stinger in 2022. I waiting on the EV6 GT ....just moving on

 

[Vega312]

I am having the same issue on my 2019 GT2 with 25k miles. The coolant keeps disappearing from the overflow tank and have a coolant smell inside the cabin. Dealer was not able to find a leak. Not long ago the engine warning light came up that engine was overheating and that is why I found out my coolant was disappearing. Going to pour florescent liquid into radiator to see where the leak is coming from as I am loosing hope at dealer's techs. Will also use the black light tonight to see where the leak is.

 

[rpoffen]

I am having the same issue on my 2019 GT2 with 25k miles. The coolant keeps disappearing from the overflow tank and have a coolant smell inside the cabin. Dealer was not able to find a leak. Not long ago the engine warning light came up that engine was overheating and that is why I found out my coolant was disappearing. Going to pour florescent liquid into radiator to see where the leak is coming from as I am loosing hope at dealer's techs. Will also use the black light tonight to see where the leak is.

Any update?

 

[Vega312]

Any update?

Do not see any leaks in the engine bay even though can smell coolant through air vents inside the cabin. Coolant is leaking at a rate of 1 inch every 40 in the overflow tanks. I assume the leak must be somewhere in the heater core. Going to take it back to Kia as it's a bit anoying so they could pressure test it and inspect the cooling system thoroughly. Besides that, the car is great.

 

[n8hegr8]

i was told by kia service coolant evaporates. also they said that it is common for newer vehicles under 10k miles to lose coolant LOL i dont know what that means!

after you guys started posting about coolant, i had to go check our other car; the reservoir had no coolant in it. so thanks for the "reminder". i had my wife take her car to service and have the car checked for coolant leaks. they didnt find any, but after one day of driving the coolant is at the low level again. some say its gaskets, radiator caps, hoses, coolant getting into oil somehow. i have no freaking idea.