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"fixing" an engine failure

2792 Views 68 Replies 12 Participants Last post by  MonsterSoul, 
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2016 soul 1.6 gdi ,engine has 105,000 on the clock and fried a piston ,currently waiting on dealership to see if it qualifies for replacement ,...car was never run low on oil ,followed the maintenance schedule religiously ,it had all recalls done ,it was eating oil like a 2stroke but was running on all 4 up in till sudden death
....,troubleshot it myself before taking it to dealer ......code po303 ,constant misfire ,has spark ,has fuel ,changed plug ,checked compression (45psi on 3) ,no vacuum ,huge amount of blow-by ,....scoped cylinder ,...piston is there ,wall looks scored ,no holes ,didn't see anything catastrophic and rod bearings may be ok ....

this my mothers car ,if the factory doesn't fix it ,then "i'm" going to have to fix it ,as she's a senoir and can't afford to take it as a loss
.....i'm not an expert ,but not a novice ,came here to look for resources for parts ,repairs and options ,to ask about availability of replacement parts ,upgraded parts ,replacement short blocks ,ect ....are there any retailers that sell sleeves and/or pistons in repair clearance spec (slightly larger in order rebore block) and can you re-hone ,re-bore or fix a cylinder bore or these particular engines

any links ,resources and advice would be greatly appreciated and may prove really helpful to others who may stumble onto the threat ,....i had a hard time finding anything on resources and options ,i think this engine might be repairable but won't know intill i tear it down ,looking to get a head start on the where ,who and hows ......

edit* just saw i posted on wrong gen topic ,will repost in gen 2 but the thread may still apply to gen 1 owners
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If I were a betting man I would say you have a burnt valve not a scored piston. Your statement that the walls don't look too bad and it has 45psi compression would have me use a bore scope with the side camera on it and look up at the valves. If you aren't doing regular CRC or other valve cleaning methods on a GDI engine they will build up carbon and likely have stuck rings and lots of carbon on a valve. There are multiple write ups on here for a piston soak to free up the piston rings, check those out. As far as replacement if you have to go that route the long block is around $2200 and a short block is in the $1400 range but then you add the gaskets and head bolts etc.. and not a lot to be saved going that route.
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simplekiaowner said:
ok ,that might make a little bit more sense ......so like ,....the bearings failing is the addressed issue ? ,but the knock sensor update modifies what it is "listening for" in order to also detect the bearings failing earlier ,is that correct ???.....thank you ,rhysoul and flatsole ,that would actually clarify why piston and rings wouldn't be covered by a knock sensor update extended warranty

.........uh , ....i cant help but wonder ,why do the bearings fail
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You are spot on. The knock sensor is there to back off timing due to detonation. The update creates a new part of the software that interprets other engine noises as a sign of failure and puts into limp mode with a flashing check engine light to prevent catastrophic failure such as a rod going through the block and causing a fire. This was done as a safety measure. Kia is by far the best manufacturer for extending warranties and doing goodwill repairs that I have ever dealt with. As far as your warranty and catalytic converter are concerned, the car came with a 5/60 warranty for pretty much anything, 10/100 powertrain and 8/80 federal emissions warranty. The cat was under the 8/80.
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I have no idea why they are telling you back order this, don't know when they will get that. The short blocks are for certain available and I am almost certain the long blocks are as well as I did one last week. Here is a picture of one I got today, for a 2017 the long block is on back order as it is different than the 2014-2016, this piston melted on the edge and started misfiring and blowing oil obviously similar to your. Head is surprisingly good so clean it up and it will back together and in the car tomorrow. This car has plenty of miles on it but is in good shape so it's getting fixed.

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The prices and availability vary. I guess what varies even more is which dealership you deal with. I am not going to speculate on what they are telling or why but since you have the power of the internet you can just look all this up yourself. Meaning you can see the retail price for a long block that the dealership would charge you and the discounted price that dealerships offer online as well as many local dealerships will at least get close to matching it. Go to Kiapartsnow.com and look things up for yourself and at least have the correct information.

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rhysoul said:
Do you know what caused the piston to melt?

How bad did the intake valve deposits look on this higher mileage 1.6L? Just curious.
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The valves were nasty. Not sure how this happened but obviously that cylinder got some major heat or something. The head looks good so nothing got in there to cause it short of maybe a carbon deposit falling in for a huge hot spot.
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Perhaps you misheard them, I've only heard of the valve cover removal which is a few minute job on these cars, I'm sure they would ask an hour standard labor but perhaps they are also preparing that if it gets denied they will replace the gasket and return the car to you in the condition you brough it in.
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It's an economy car that cost well under 20k in it's base form, of course it is an inexpensive car but a fantastic one for the money. This may be a dumb argument but if it is such a bad car why would I buy one for my wife when I work on them everyday at a dealership? More so I bought hers used and from an insurance company after it was struck by lightning frying half the modules in it. It's been great for 2 years for her and she loves it. If I had no faith in it I would have bought her something else.
As far as OP being concerned about religious maintenance, only thing valve cover removal is for is to see if it has sludge buildup or a clean valvetrain, they are only concerned about oil changes with that process.
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That is the truth, some cars constantly need electric work, some suspensions can't make it 3 years, some transmissions are just junk. The Soul is rock solid all around. It has the engine issue in some percentage of them but I also service one with over 430k on it on the original motor that's never been opened and see plenty with 200k on them.
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Either way this is a great outcome. If you read around here and other sites Kia doesn't do anything blah, blah, blah, blah. You have proof that as a diligent owner who has kept up on it and had an issue they will stand behind the product long beyond any other manufacturer (try taking any 105k mile car to any other brand dealer and see how willing they are to entertain the idea of a warranty or any coverage). I know you questioned your dealership earlier but it sounds like they came through with their promise of doing the legwork necessary to get this done for you.
Your concern with the modern electronics is warranted but not really with Kia. Any issues we have with them are usually caused by outside influences such as hitting something that doesn't necessarily cause body damage, bumpers are flexible but the brackets that hold blind collision or front radars are not and they go out of calibration or have physical damage to the radars and they can get pricey.
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