A used engine is certainly another possibility, but as I mentioned previously, these MPIs are really scarce and hard to find, given that they were only used for the few years before Kia/Hyundai changed the Thetas to GDI. And I'll add one more thing, which you may already be aware of. Assuming that your vehicle was originally sold in CT, it's the California emissions level, which is called SULEV by Kia/Hyundai. You will need to confirm that any engine you're considering has that emissions level, and not Federal/ULEV instead, because they are not interchangeable. And although it MIGHT be possible to swap in a SULEV MPI engine from another model (such as a Forte), I've never read an account of anyone actually doing it. So I'd recommend that you search for 2011-12 Sorento SULEV MPI engines only. Not many to be found, so good luck with that.
Another one (engine) bites the dust - 2012 Sorento
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Good points. Thank you. I know that this Sorento was originally sold in Florida. I'll look into this. I actually see that if I did a search for used engines, several show up on eBay, not private sellers but a few companies who picture racks full of engines. My engine is VIN eighth digit "1" and there are some available. But who knows the history of these engines and the reputations of these companies?
I've seen a bunch of videos where guys have gone the new bearing route, with good success for 50,000 miles and more, plus many people comment below the vids that they followed and did it successfully. It's all going to depend on the condition of the journals I think.
I think the first thing I should do is a compression test, to verify there's no valve or other damage. If that's good I'll drop the pan and see what is to be seen.
I'm still scratching my head about the cause, because I've been impeccable with oil changes. I'm wondering if it was a weak oil pump, although I never saw the light flicker. I'm someone who is always monitoring gauges and lights. She never burned or leaked oil. Maybe it's just the luck of the draw with the apparent poor QC of Kia in their engine manufacturing processes.
I'll update this thread as I find out more. As always, your help is much appreciated.
I've seen a bunch of videos where guys have gone the new bearing route, with good success for 50,000 miles and more, plus many people comment below the vids that they followed and did it successfully. It's all going to depend on the condition of the journals I think.
I think the first thing I should do is a compression test, to verify there's no valve or other damage. If that's good I'll drop the pan and see what is to be seen.
I'm still scratching my head about the cause, because I've been impeccable with oil changes. I'm wondering if it was a weak oil pump, although I never saw the light flicker. I'm someone who is always monitoring gauges and lights. She never burned or leaked oil. Maybe it's just the luck of the draw with the apparent poor QC of Kia in their engine manufacturing processes.
I'll update this thread as I find out more. As always, your help is much appreciated.
I know that Florida changed to no emissions testing, so a Florida vehicle could be either emissions level. However, you can easily find which it is from the sticker located on the hood. Federal level will say 'ULEV', while California will be 'SULEV'. You're hoping it's SULEV, because that's what's sold in most of the states in the Northeast region.
Good plan.
It sounds like you were not the original owner, which means you didn't do maintenance for the life of the vehicle. And since there are far too many people who don't do diddly, you unfortunately can't know that it's always been well maintained.
The automakers original 'manufacturing debris' story has been shown to be bogus, based on many additional engine failures which took place on vehicles built AFTER they supposedly corrected the faulty process. No one outside of the Kia/Hyundai inner circle knows the true reason(s) for the Theta engine failures. With a dog of my own still in the race, I watch this whole Theta thing very closely, and I've never seen credible information from any reliable source (and what the automakers say outside of the courthouse is not in any way reliable).
Some people post stuff based on one or two failures or what someone else said, but they're just blowing smoke, because no one has ever (so far) produced solid evidence in support of a systemic failure. Poor maintenance certainly accounts for some of them, but definitely not even close to the majority. Unless the automakers are forced to spill their guts in court, it's likely that the actual cause(s) of these engine failures will never become known to the public.
A fairy-tale ending to my story of woe:
I heard about the new recall that Kia announced on possible engine issues resulting in fire, with a little side note about bearings/rod issues. Several days after the 27th I found a recall for my VIN on their website.
Long story short, the dealership told me to bring it in, they did their tests, and I’m getting a free new engine with a 15 year, 150,000 mile warranty.
The car is otherwise in excellent condition, so this is as close a free new ride as one can get.
I had a feeling I should hold on to this vehicle, what with rumors of a class action, and I sure am glad I didn’t dump it for the $1200 I was offered for it!
I heard about the new recall that Kia announced on possible engine issues resulting in fire, with a little side note about bearings/rod issues. Several days after the 27th I found a recall for my VIN on their website.
Long story short, the dealership told me to bring it in, they did their tests, and I’m getting a free new engine with a 15 year, 150,000 mile warranty.
The car is otherwise in excellent condition, so this is as close a free new ride as one can get.
I had a feeling I should hold on to this vehicle, what with rumors of a class action, and I sure am glad I didn’t dump it for the $1200 I was offered for it!
Definitely one of those lived-happily-after stories!
Frankly I never expected Kia to do anything about the MPIs after so many years, and I was amazed to see them cave in on that. The pressure on Kia/Hyundai about their various engine issues has been enormous over the past few years, and at this point it appears they're running up the white flag and covering just about everything they've built over the past 10 years, just to get the regulators off their back.
Great strategy to just sit on it and patiently wait it out, and thanks for reporting back with your happy outcome 👍👍👍
2020 Kia Sorento SX, 2013 Hyundai Elantra GT Tech pkg. Former 2014 Kia Rondo EX Luxury,
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In the USA they have, but sadly in Canada not so much. I got $1000 for my 2014 Kia Rondo on trade in because the engine was failing with some horrible piston slap that was getting worse by the week...that was the GDI though. I'm on a class action list here anyways so I might get some costs back.
Good to see you get some satisfaction OP.
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