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Frustrated after ECM 131. Laggy, no power left.

4K views 15 replies 10 participants last post by  okilivin 
#1 ·
After I had the ECM 131 done to correct the engine rattle on my 2012 Rio, the car is extremely laggy. The car is shifting up way too fast. After highway driving, it seems unresponsive. My foot has to go to the floor to get it to move.

Took it back to the place that did the update. They basically said it was because I have the car in Eco mode. But I have driven the car for over 2 years in Eco with absolutely no issues at all. Now, the second after I got the 131 update, bam. Laggy.

Should I just cut my losses, and take it out of Eco for the rest of my time with the car? Are they right and this is "just how Eco is actually meant to feel" and the update simply put the Eco shifting back where it always should have been? How exactly is Eco meant to feel?
 
#5 ·
i got the update too and now it laggy without eco mode on going back to the dealer tomorrow they did the ecm one day and 3 days later they reset my tranny and it's been 4 more and the same problem.....they need to address these issues or tell the customer that once they flash it......it can't go back to previous settings.....if i get it fixed...or not i will post here and let you know what they did
 
#7 ·
I recently took my rio in to the dealer for a lag issue, the engine is noticeably louder under load (almost like the air cleaner box was missing) and I have to floor it to get it moving anywhere. I noticed this after they did an ECM upgrade for a ping issue. I told them this and they said they can't back off the upgrade and that it normal for these cars " it is a Rio with GDI, it will be noisy". Also I still have the ping and was told I need to use 94 octane fuel instead of 87. When I said the Manual states 87, they just said to get rid of it you need to use 94. I loved this car for the first 25K, but the last 25K has been miserable.
 
#9 ·
I think they meant 'to get rid of the pinging' use 94 octane, not get rid of the manual. Either way, I agree....what kind of dealer is that?
 
#10 ·
I called them yesterday after looking seeing this thread and the guy asked if Kia had done anything with the other people with the issue because he can't do anything about it since he cant re flash it to an older program. I will be calling Kia customer service and see if I get any traction with having to go up in octane and this lag issue.
 
#11 ·
That's about the third or fourth time I've heard that and I really don't understand why they can't re flash to an older program. I know guys with hand held tuners (including myself) that can program back and forth on their GM cars and a another that does it with his Mustang. I don't know how similar (or not) a Kia is but aren't they basically just an EEPROM type setup? Maybe it's not that they can't be re flashed back to an older program but that the KIA techs just don't know how.
 
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