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2019 Sorento LX 3.3Lt Black Smoke

2843 Views 37 Replies 10 Participants Last post by  ecanderson
Has anyone notice this ? At start up there is a lot of Black exhaust coming from the tail pipe. The weather is cold here this time of the year on the east cost of Canada, I Did notice it sometime ago when it wasn't as cold.....Is this normal..........Tks jim
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thanks Spicy for your input..I've ben thinking along the same line, just waiting for my gas tank of fuel to get a little lower so I can fuel up with a high grade of fuel. Also have be using Lucas Fuel additive for some time ..I personal do not give much for these prod; because todays fuel do have it own additives that do the same job
If possible, fill with with the vPower Shell (premium) stuff for a few tanks. The additive they use is considered pretty good by folks in forums such as Bob is the Oil Guy, etc. Cycle a few tanks of it through once in a while. The octane is of no use but the additives (and I dare say lack of ethanol) will help a bit.
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How did we get from black smoke during start-up to gasoline additives?
If possible, fill with with the vPower Shell (premium) stuff for a few tanks. The additive they use is considered pretty good by folks in forums such as Bob is the Oil Guy, etc. Cycle a few tanks of it through once in a while. The octane is of no use but the additives (and I dare say lack of ethanol) will help a bit.
Thanks Octavian...for you suggestion, that is my plan using a
Black smoke coming from a newer vehicle like this.. hmm. Yeah, you can put higher-grade fuel in it, but unless you've been putting complete junk in your tank (which is almost certainly not the case), I would not think this is related to the fuel system. I would suspect an air blockage somewhere. At the very least, take the undercover off and see if a furry critter has built a nest up in there. Also, take out your air filter and check it out. When is the last time it was changed? Might be a leaf or nest caught up in there too. I would really go through the entire air intake (which is not difficult) before spending any money on premium fuel or fuel additives. There's a hole in the front of the car which is the start of your air intake.. locate it, and just make sure the air intake pathway is clear all the way to the throttle body (and clean the area of the throttle body where the throttle plate sits). If you find that it's not related to air intake, then I would take it to a pro mechanic.
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I would suspect an air blockage somewhere. At the very least, take the undercover off and see if a furry critter has built a nest up in there. Also, take out your air filter and check it out. When is the last time it was changed? Might be a leaf or nest caught up in there too. I would really go through the entire air intake (which is not difficult) before spending any money on premium fuel or fuel additives.
I could post a volume on restricted intake and how the firmware that Hyundai/Kia should pick it up against the MAP sensor vs. throttle but doesn't, among other things --- but it won't cause black smoke. As it should, injector timing is reduced to match, and RPM's can't be brought up properly. Engine just gasps, but doesn't run over-rich. Ask me how I know:


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Black smoke coming from a newer vehicle like this.. hmm. Yeah, you can put higher-grade fuel in it, but unless you've been putting complete junk in your tank (which is almost certainly not the case), I would not think this is related to the fuel system. I would suspect an air blockage somewhere. At the very least, take the undercover off and see if a furry critter has built a nest up in there. Also, take out your air filter and check it out. When is the last time it was changed? Might be a leaf or nest caught up in there too. I would really go through the entire air intake (which is not difficult) before spending any money on premium fuel or fuel additives. There's a hole in the front of the car which is the start of your air intake.. locate it, and just make sure the air intake pathway is clear all the way to the throttle body (and clean the area of the throttle body where the throttle plate sits). If you find that it's not related to air intake, then I would take it to a pro mechanic.
Thanks Ecanderson for your suggestion.. First thing I checked was the air cleaner it looked good, so did the bottom of the air box & was very clean,..Next morning I remove the air filter before starting it up ..still black smoke for about a min; approx'.Car runs smooth all the time...there are 2 sensors in the intake tube just after the air cleaning I will remove that flex intake tube & spray those two sensors with cleaner & see if that makes any differences, I don't notice any differences when driving except I'm not getting the same millage now when it COLD which is normal ..I will take the front air intake off to check for blockage but I'm guessing that not the issue... After the holiday season I'll contact the Kia dealer to see if there is a issue with this car, unless there are engine light showing they will not touch it .I'm guessing that what they will say...Tks again
Take a video, post it here and present it to Kia for them to take action without the need for a stored error code.

Intake restrictions would need to be significant to have any impact on engine performance, and this smoke is happening at high idle which means the air flow is really low - intake restrictions that could effect the idle air flow would most certainly become very prevalent at high engine load.

I'd avoid spraying any solvents on the delicate sensors, unless there's diagnostics that point to them, and in that case it would be a warranty issue best left to Kia to diagnose and replace.

The black smoke at start-up will have a long term impact on the life of the engine and CAT's, so don't let it drag on too long.
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Intake restrictions would need to be significant to have any impact on engine performance, and this smoke is happening at high idle which means the air flow is really low - intake restrictions that could effect the idle air flow would most certainly become very prevalent at high engine load.
+1 to that. Idle was normal as there was enough air to support low RPM operation. It was trying to stick my foot into it that produced really lame results. No black smoke in either case, and the intake couldn't possibly have been much more restricted than I showed in that pic! They (mice) had packed it from under the air filter clear out to the intake at the front of the vehicle!

Agree that he should get Kia involved. Running that rich, even during cold idle, just isn't normal.
Take a video, post it here and present it to Kia for them to take action without the need for a stored error code.

Intake restrictions would need to be significant to have any impact on engine performance, and this smoke is happening at high idle which means the air flow is really low - intake restrictions that could effect the idle air flow would most certainly become very prevalent at high engine load.

I'd avoid spraying any solvents on the delicate sensors, unless there's diagnostics that point to them, and in that case it would be a warranty issue best left to Kia to diagnose and replace.

The black smoke at start-up will have a long term impact on the life of the engine and CAT's, so don't let it drag on too long.
Thanks Ron..
For this advise will try and get that video today, there is a fresh blanket of snow down so it will show up better with the white back ground.. Also will hold of spraying any cleaner on sensors until I have a chat with Kia.. back to air restriction you mention if I had the air filter out @ start up would the engine be taking in a full amout of air.. Are are you saying that there could be a restriction after the trottle body/ Air filter housing??....Tks again
back to air restriction you mention if I had the air filter out @ start up would the engine be taking in a full amout of air.. Are are you saying that there could be a restriction after the trottle body/ Air filter housing??....Tks again
No, I'm not suggesting that there's an air intake restriction - an intake restriction anywhere in the system will also manifest itself at high load when the air intake flow is high.

There's no point in removing the air filter for a cold start - the engine will only ingest the "full amount of air" at high RPM & High Load.

Post a photo of each side on the air filter.
How many miles and months on the air filter?

I trust you're starting the engine without touching the accelerator?
I'd hazard a assessment you have at least one very bad sensor. You'll need to have a pro with the equipment to go over them and their operation.
No, I'm not suggesting that there's an air intake restriction - an intake restriction anywhere in the system will also manifest itself at high load when the air intake flow is high.

There's no point in removing the air filter for a cold start - the engine will only ingest the "full amount of air" at high RPM & High Load.

Post a photo of each side on the air filter.
How many miles and months on the air filter?

I trust you're starting the engine without touching the accelerator?
The air filter was replace @ around 30000K now there 38000K that was done about 7 month's ago

One can't start the SUV unless foot is on the Brake it's a push button start
Unless you encountered some freak event that caused it to ingest a slug of crap, that air filter would be as good as new, but no harm in checking it.

Push button start, then its starting at near zero throttle, low air flow, etc. , so its a sensor or injector leaking into the cylinder when the engine is shut off, ........ a few potential issues which can only really be identified using diagnostic equipment.

Prior to the cold start you could pull the plugs and look into each cylinder for signs of fuel, or shut it off a couple of seconds after the cold start then pull the plugs and look for a black one, then you'll know if its just one cylinder and which one.
Unless you encountered some freak event that caused it to ingest a slug of crap, that air filter would be as good as new, but no harm in checking it.

Push button start, then its starting at near zero throttle, low air flow, etc. , so its a sensor or injector leaking into the cylinder when the engine is shut off, ........ a few potential issues which can only really be identified using diagnostic equipment.

Prior to the cold start you could pull the plugs and look into each cylinder for signs of fuel, or shut it off a couple of seconds after the cold start then pull the plugs and look for a black one, then you'll know if its just one cylinder and which one.
Thank again Ron for your input...At start up it raves up about 1000 rpm,so it's not starving for air or fuel that way... but will double check that # in the morning.. Never though about checking a Plug will do that..But if there is black smoke, then there has to be dark color plugs as well would you think??? what I will do tomorrow start & run it for a few min; then shut it off for the same period of time & try again to see if it does it that may say something.................
But if there is black smoke, then there has to be dark color plugs as well would you think???
Yes, that's the reason for the suggestion.
The results will point to it being a single cylinder, a bank, or something common to all.

Shut it off before the smoke stops, then check the plugs.
Never though about checking a Plug will do that......
I like Ron's idea. If there's a single cylinder producing all of the black smoke, the plug should have a fair bit of soot on it, indicating which cylinder is the culprit. If they're all looking sooty, then we know it's not a single cylinder issue - rather, it's something common to all of them.

I'd start with the easy ones in the front bank. The rear bank means pulling the intake manifold on a 3.3. If all 3 look sooty, you've saved yourself the trouble of pulling any out of the rear bank.
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ecanderson I overlooked the fact that this is a transverse mount V6, which adds a little complication.
ecanderson I overlooked the fact that this is a transverse mount V6, which adds a little complication.
Still the right idea, though. Just thought I'd try to simplify it a bit for him!
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