[Johno]

Forum team, I'd really appreciate your thoughts on this.

First, my apologies because I have kind of raised this before. My problem - my Koup (A/T) seems to have lost its turbo power and now performs like a plain old 4 cylinder. I have asked my Kia dealer (twice) and they say there is nothing wrong (the computer is not showing any fault codes). They say the adaptive provisions of the computer are working to 'detune' the car to run in its most efficient manner, and they say this is normal. I can't believe that. What is the point of a turbo car, if the turbo never activates. Seriously, my car is so gutless at the moment I'm sure the standard 2.0 Cerato would beat it. My turbo seems to activate at about 4,000 - 4,500 revs, but how often do you get to those revs around town. The car didn't behave like this when I bought it (obviously) and if it had I would never have bought it.

Does anyone else have this issue? I can only guess not because surely if this was affecting other people there would be more complaints on this Forum. On the contrary, all I see is Forum members raving about how grunty their Forte is and how they have dragged off cars left, right and centre. At the moment, I couldn't drag off anything.

I am incredibly frustrated and the car is disappointing every time I drive it. My Kia dealer is talking about re-mapping the computer to remove the adaptive settings, while I am trying to get them to agree to simply install a Tork tune - seems to me that Tork has already done all of the work so that is the easiest way forward in my book.

Any thoughts or experiences much appreciated.

Cheers,

Johno.

 

[GotBoost?]

you got any mods or anything that might have affected the car?

 

[Johno]

you got any mods or anything that might have affected the car?

No, the car is totally stock standard at the moment. I have mods in mind, but this problem needs to get sorted first.

 

[Johno]

I should add by way of further explanation - I drove the demo Koup Turbo at the dealer to have a direct comparison to how my car currently performs. The demo was very similar to my car ie; no apparent kick on acceleration at all, and instead a high-revving 4 cylinder not very quick car. Here's the funny bit though - the demo I drove was the very same demo that I drove before I agreed to buy my car. So, in the period since I bought my car (about 10 months) the demo car has also become 'detuned'. If I test drove the demo for the first time ever in the form it is in now, I wouldn't buy a Koup. So both cars have become 'detuned'. I just don't get it - what is the point of a turbo car that after 10 months or so doesn't drive like a turbo car - how can that be 'normal'?

Cheers,

Johno.

 

[Forte5]

I have never heard of one detunning itself. Mine the turbo starts spoing super early. I would check all boost line hoses to make sure they are tight. Might also want to get the torque app and the dongle so you can see what psi the turbo is pushing. Stock should be boosting 16-17psi. If a hose is loose it will leak and make it drive more like a tiny 4cyl.

My car I have owned since Oct and haven't felt a detune like that at all. Just because there is no engine light doesn't mean there isn't a issue. Also you could have a bad BPV (bypass valve) that isn't closing or had a tear in it.

 

[mikex.18]

I feel the oposite with mine

I feel it pulls harder than when i first got it

 

[Forte5]

I feel the oposite with mine

I feel it pulls harder than when i first got it

It should feel that way after the motor is broke in. Mine didn't feel like that till I got around 5,000 miles on it

 

[Bnelson]

Mine gets a good kick late 3000 early 4000 rpms normal driving. Flooring it I feel the kick early 3000.

I sure how this.. Detune does not happen or I'll be getting the tork tune before my exhaust....

 

[Forte5]

Do you have a boost gauge or torque app? If so you should see it boosting around 2,000 rpm. Our torque starts in at 1,750 so you should be feeling it then

 

[4npower]

While I'm not having any problems with the Koup(only 300 miles so far), I did experience a problem just like you describe on the Sportage after about 4k miles. The first couple times it happened, I just unhooked the battery and once everything reset, it seemed fine for a few hundred miles, then it would happen again. Finally, I took it to the dealer and they couldn't figure anything out either, and just did the battery reset like I did and sent me on my way. They did this 3 times. It did it a few more times afterthat, and then I started to trouble shoot on my own. After using my couple decades of turbocharger experience, I determined there was a problem with the Turbocharger Wastegate. There's no way you should be able to run the thing to redline, and barely get any power/boost, if the Wastegate is operating properly, so I came to the conclusion, that the Wastegate was sticking open. Back to the dealer I went, and explained to them what I thought the problem was. Sure enough, the dealer called me within a few hours and said a recall had just been released to reprogram the ecu and make a small adjustment on the Wastegate. Three years later, and the problem hasn't repeated it's self.
Now i'm not saying this is your problem, but if you have the thing floored, and run it up to redline, and don't feel the Turbo working, there's only a few things that would cause this. Double check all of your intercooler piping as well. If one of these pipes came loose, it could also do the same thing. Your Turbo could also be broke or froze, but I highly doubt that.
Good luck with getting it figured out.

 

[Johno]

Thanks everyone for the helpful input so far. I had assumed the dealer would have checked all piping/hoses etc re; anything being loose, but I will double-check with them. I'll also ask them about checking the wastegate (thanks @4npower). In terms of some of the other responses, no, I don't have any boost gauge or app to monitor torque.

Certainly hope it gets sorted soon, because I miss my old Koup .

Cheers,

Johno.

 

[4npower]

I had assumed the dealer would have checked all piping/hoses etc re; anything being loose, but I will double-check with them. I'll also ask them about checking the wastegate (thanks @4npower). In terms of some of the other responses, no, I don't have any boost gauge or app to monitor torque.

Johno.

Don't be so sure about that one. Most of the Kia dealers in my area have techs that look like they literally just graduated high school. Sure they have gone through all the proper training, but in my opinion, nothing beats hands on life experience. Most techs these days troubleshoot from a manual or a computer print out, that tells them what steps to take and what sensors to check(based off of what you told them). Plus they only get so much time(flat rate) to diagnose a problem, so once they aren't getting paid to figure it out anymore, they are going to move as quickly as possible. I would hire an un-certified, 15 years experience tech over a 6 month, fully certified, fresh out of school tech any day of the week.
I know there are a few techs around this page, so no offense guys, I'm sure you understand what i'm getting at

 

[Bnelson]

I've learned to just research any issue before taking my car in at all. I had an issue with my remote starter not working properly. I had to take it in 4 times for the same issue. 3 of the four they just reprogrammed my keys and sent me on my way. Until I told them that my car is not leaving until they fix it and I see for myself. 3 days of having it I found out the wiring was wrong for it and shorted the brain of the car. They not only had to replace that. But they had to rewire it and replace the remote starter.

There is nothing wrong with getting warrenty work on the car. But with some places you literally have to tell them spot on that this is the issue for them to fix it sometimes.

 

[Johno]

I have an update forum members - here is my updated story:

The Kia guys ran all the diagnostics again but couldn’t find any fault codes. Eventually the head Tech guy drove another customer's Koup and saw first-hand the massive difference in performance compared to my car. So, for the last four days the car has been out at Kia, once again.

I got a call from the head Tech earlier today who relayed a most hilarious (?) story. He was testing the car this afternoon and was giving the car some decent pulls to see if the turbo was activating properly. He was rapt with how it was going – apparently it was performing brilliantly (they had replaced the MAP (?) sensor and the manifold pressure sensor – when he started saying that he might as well have told me that they replaced the flux capacitor ) but then………….KA BOOM! It detonated, sending a conrod through the block!!

He walked back up the road and picked up all the bits of engine that were scattered around the place. When looking over the debris he has come to the view that when the engine was assembled the bearings weren't seated properly and the loss of power I was noticing was caused by what he called "grabbing", and eventually the grabbing got so bad the engine let go – not sure how that equates to what he'd said earlier that replacing the sensors had seemed to help, but there you have it.

So, I will be getting a brand new engine, after only 10,000kms on the 'old' one.

Gotta laugh huh.......

Johno.

 

[Forte5]

Dang that sucks bro. At least he was driving it and not you.

What year is the car?

 

[Johno]

Dang that sucks bro. At least he was driving it and not you.

What year is the car?

Yep, definitely good that he was behind the wheel .

Mine is a 2014 registration (bought in July 2014), but under the bonnet the actual date of manufacture is noted as November 2013.

 

[2014:1.6lT]

Idea.... Perhaps if we were to drive "normal" in eco mode, and drove like a badass with eco off, it would fix this. . Kinda like making the car learn two driving styles??? Like traction control off, eco off. Eco on, trac control on? So far it's working good for me (traction control really kills power)
Not really to do with your kaboom but there is a difference for sure

 

[mikex.18]

I talked with @kneegradamus (max)

My car did the same thing on friday, no power at all.

He told me veloster have a fuel libe problem wich is that during acceleration the fuel line kinks and the engine lack of fuel...

Might be the same thing, he also told me not to drive it hard until we find whats up because it can cause the motor to blow like your did

 

[Johno]

@Mikex.18 - I sure hope you haven't encountered the beginning of the problem I had (whatever it was - whether faulty fuel line or something else). Keep us posted with your developments.

The thing I always found strange with my problem was that no one else seemed to be noticing the massive power loss that I was, at least going by the various Forum postings anyway. On the contrary, most Forum users were reporting how much of a beast their little 1.6 turbo was and how many people they were able to beat in a race. At the worst point, my car would have struggled to beat a standard Toyota Corolla. I took from all that that my problem was unique, but your recent developments and the Veloster service bulletin that Max has shared might suggest otherwise.

I guess we can all only watch this space......

Johno.

BTW - my new engine has arrived and the dealer will commence installation this week. Can't wait to get my baby back .

 

[mikex.18]

I work at a Kia dealership, so ill have this cheked tomorrow