Hi all. I have a 2007 kia sorento xt with 119k on the clock. Today while driving the oil light started to flicker on while sat in traffic. As I pulled away it came on solid, a few seconds later the engine started becoming noisier and noiser, this all happened in the space of about 60 seconds, I immediately pulled over and switched the engine off. I've not tried starting it since. Has anyone got any ideas on this one? What are the chances ive avoided damage to engine?
Many thanks
Will

I'm guessing that you don't check your oil level as often as you should.

What's the service history - oil change interval?

The low oil pressure condition could be due to sludge from poor maintenance or low oil level.

You may have avoided catastrophic damage, but if its a poor maintenance issue the damage has been occurring for some time, reducing the life expectancy of the engine.

 

I do my maintenance regularly. Actually only yesterday checked all oil levels as was travelling to Wales and back. Only needed a very slight top up, not even half a litre. Ran perfectly yesterday on the motorway, was running perfectly up to the point the oil light flickered on, and thats the point the engine started sounding noisy. Otherwise up till then it purred like a kitten.
I have only had the vehicle less than 6 months. First job was fluids and filters. I think the lack of maintenance was down to the previous owner, as I seem to have nothing but garage bills since buying it. Corroded fuel lines, wheel bearings, discs, ball joints etc

 

I do my maintenance regularly. Actually only yesterday checked all oil levels as was travelling to Wales and back. Only needed a very slight top up, not even half a litre. Ran perfectly yesterday on the motorway, was running perfectly up to the point the oil light flickered on, and thats the point the engine started sounding noisy. Otherwise up till then it purred like a kitten.
I have only had the vehicle less than 6 months. First job was fluids and filters. I think the lack of maintenance was down to the previous owner, as I seem to have nothing but garage bills since buying it. Corroded fuel lines, wheel bearings, discs, ball joints etc

On a different car one time I had a bad oil filter after an oil change. The car ran fine and would suddenly lose oil pressure turn off and restart noise gone and ran fine. This repeated mechanic found a bad new oil filter.

 

Also I should add that even now the oil level is bang on the full line of the dipstick. Was my first port if call incase id developed a leak since yesterday. A bit harsh immediately jumping to the conclusion of me badly maintaining my vehicle I might add!!!

 

Up until the previous owner, the service history was impeccable! Same owner from new for 11 years, always serviced by Kia. Then previous owner last 2 years, the paper trail stops. However the vehicle is in immaculate condition. No marks, scrapes, well valeted etc.......Great MOT history, so I had no reason to suspect problems. Have done over 6000 miles in already myself, and engine has never missed a beat before.

 

If the oil grade and level is correct, and the oil filter is correct, then the obvious issue is a result of the poor maintenance prior to your ownership.

For a few of the Kia models its safest to use OEM oil filters.

 

Could this not be oil pump failure? Spoke to one garage and they said this is common fault on these cars? But can't really find anyone who's had same issue?!

 

While I did not invite the 'Diesel Pro' tag (thanks guys ) as a determined amateur I'll step in .... 2007 XT is a UK diesel (exactly the same as mine as it came off the line).

@Will25280 While you appear to have a sump filled with oil correctly have you noticed any fluctuation in the levels? Lower than expected? Higher than expected? Fuel can leak back into sump and will dilute the lube oil and can cause issues with bearings etc.

 

Hi gee, no the oil levels not been fluctuating that I've noticed. Always seems consistent. Very rarely need to top it up, certainly no more or less than I would expect.
I'm pretty handy as a mechanic, was a world superbike engine builder for 15 years, but hung up my tools. Rely mostly on garages these days for my mechanical work. But I think on this occasion it'll be time to dust off the tools. So I'm thinking my first plan in morning would be to drop the sump off and see if any telltale signs of catastrophic failure, ie metal shards, shavings etc
It did happen so quickly and suddenly. Car felt as good as ever up till that point. Couldn't have been running more than 60 seconds after light came on, and engine gradually became noisier over next 50 yards till could get out of the traffic to turn it off.

 

Oil pump failure is not common. Blocking the sump strainer pick up is. The strainer gets clogged with carbonised deposits. (And if that is blocked, likely there will be issues with turbo oil supply and return pipes. Any evidence turbo has been replaced (I guess not in the papers, but visually?)

 

No, I cant see any signs its been changed. The whole.engine if I'm honest is immaculately clean......was one of the things I noticed when I first bought it was just how clean it is.

 

Do you rely on garages for mechanical work or can you tackle stuff yourself?

 

There are no specific instructions for dropping the sump that I have seen - Kia assume the engine is coming out! Check carefully before you start - you will probably find there is insufficient clearance at the front of the pan and you will have to drop the cross member where the front diff lives. I believe this can be done without complete removal, but I would have to search back to see if anyone has written it down.

If there is a blocked pick-up, then best to change the turbo oil pipes. (and check turbo for wear while you are at it.) The turbo is water cooled, but I suspect it will be a prime candidate for bearing failure if the oil circulation has failed.

What sort of noise(s) from the engine? (From your earlier comment I suspect you know wrecked bearings from bad timing chain (but in the heat of the moment you may not have noticed specifics!)

pm me an email and I will send you the manual pages for the engine that I have.

 

Ok, so update and now really confused. I know its going against all advice, including my own. But when I got it back home I turned it over......it fired up immediately as it always has.....sounded rough for a second or 2, then almost like a switch was flipped it smoothed out and sounded normal again. Plus no oil warning light!!
Blockage maybe?? As someone said, maybe oil strainer(pre filter)? Sucked something through the pump and now has cleared?
Obviously I'm still not going to use it until its had an oil and filter change at the very least.
Was hoping to take sump off to clean out prefilter but sounds like I cant get it off without engine out??
Am obviously hoping that I switched it off before any catastrophic damage was done.......but knowing engines, I think I'd be very lucky! From what I've been told with these oil warning lights, by the time it comes on, its already to late 🙈

 

.......but knowing engines, I think I'd be very lucky! From what I've been told with these oil warning lights, by the time it comes on, its already to late 🙈

Yes. I would consider put in a actual oil pressure gauge to monitor the oil pressure...or if possible/available, one of those (bluetooth w/ smartphone) OBDII scanners that can monitor engine parameters in real time...assuming that oil pressure is a monitored parameter.

 

The sump pick up is VERY fine mesh (hence the issues). I can pretty much guarantee nothing has been sucked through it unless it has been completely ** :0 You can drop the sump - I know it has been done - I just don't know exactly what has to be moved around. Possibly a digital endoscope via the drain might be a work-around.

 

Yes I wondered about an endoscope through the sump plug hole. I think from what I can see, it possibly come be taken off if I was to also take out the centre prop of the front drive shaft. But I dont know how hard even that is to do? Its a section I think about a foot or so long, from what I can see both ends have a 4 bolt flange type mounting. Otherwise the main thing in the way is the front frame engine strut? ........deffo cant be taken out simply from what I can see.
Yeah I remember what the prefilters where like in the motorbikes, just a pickup tube, with a flat fine mesh strainer on the bottom.....always used to clog on them as well, and remember just dropping oil etc was never enough to clean that strainer out. Could only be done by removing it and blasting it out

 

I found this:

.I have already taken the sump off mine and cleaned the pickup strainer...its doable with axle stands..the sump is stuck on with sealant and tapping a flat blade under the edge will break the seal but needs patience...the little 6mm screws are different lengths beware...also the 17mm bolts on the diff bracket are awkward and will be easier with a ratchet spanner as there's not much room..my strainer was partially blocked so I'm glad I did it...the stainless steel mesh is quite fine so I'm going to change my oil more often....as I said it's an awkward job but only costs a tube of liquid gasket and It took me a day.

 

I think checking the pickup for carbon build up could be a good idea as well for peace of mind. Could a borescope get in the drain plug for a look? Also I think part of the cause could be leaky injector seal washers that let blowby in and carbonise the oil. That's what I've read for iLOAD. Not sure how closely related the 2.5 in the Sorento is to the Hyundai iLOAD 2.5 CRDI but they're notorious for crapping themselves with oil issues.

 

2.5 CRDI Diesel Engine problems

2.5 CRDI Diesel engine failures have recently been reported on both the UK and American Kia forums. The problem arises from failure of the copper sealing washers on the injectors. This allows exhaust gases to contaminate the oil causing "sludging". The oil sludge blocks the lubricating oil passag...

forum.australia4wd.com

 

i800/iLoad derivatives may well have similar engine to Sorento but they are significantly downrated on power. Story was Sorento was originally based on a commercial unit (hence the ladder chassis). There could have been a lot of internal modifications between there and here - sort of a Kia trademark