Engine overheat (2.0T)

[GregM]

Well, that's nice...
It just happened to my wife driving our 2.0T Premium back home.

 

[StungBlueGT2]

Well, that's nice...
It just happened to my wife driving our 2.0T Premium back home.View attachment 12270

That looks like a sensor display glitch as the temperature gauge doesn’t show it in red or near Hot.

 

[GregM]

The wife said it went on and off 5 times on her commute. Indeed the temp gauge shows it’s a little high but not all the way in the red. Weird...

 

[Bryan3.3]

View attachment 12272 The wife said it went on and off 5 times on her commute. Indeed the temp gauge shows it’s a little high but not all the way in the red. Weird...

I would stop driving it and get it towed to the dealer ASAP. This is from someone who the same thing happened to. I also heard the sound of water moving. Best thing I could compare to would be if you were to take a water bottle and turn it from
side to side.

 

[DiabloStinger]

Something isn't right there.

 

[StingerBee]

This measures oil temp or water temp?

 

[GregM]

Here is what I found so far:
- the expansion tank was level is very low (much lower than the low level mark).
- one of the water pipes fitting had what appears to be traces of a leak
- the tray under the engine has traces of (dry) coolant (yellowish color).
Any thoughts about what could be happening here?

 

[MerlintheMad]

That second pic is indicating HOT. If mine went from below halfway point (where it has always sat) to looking like that, I'd be in getting checked out right now.

 

[MerlintheMad]

Any thoughts about what could be happening here?

That second picture looks like the bottom screw isn't tight; it looks like the line between the two halves widens toward the bottom. You're blowing coolant out.

 

[GregM]

That second picture looks like the bottom screw isn't tight; it looks like the line between the two halves widens toward the bottom. You're blowing coolant out.

I saw that too. I’m just wondering how did that happen...

 

[MerlintheMad]

I saw that too. I’m just wondering how did that happen...

If the screw is loose, it just means that somebody "screwed" up. Along the way, how many hands are laid on a car as it is being built? Just be glad that the temperature never reached the red line; no damage done. Probably will never happen again. Something else will. Heh! Hopefully not for a long time. New cars have very little if anything go wrong. It's the advantage of being new. We can increase that reliability by not taking a casual approach toward maintenance.

 

[Bryan3.3]

View attachment 12288 View attachment 12289 View attachment 12290 Here is what I found so far:
- the expansion tank was level is very low (much lower than the low level mark).
- one of the water pipes fitting had what appears to be traces of a leak
- the tray under the engine has traces of (dry) coolant (yellowish color).
Any thoughts about what could be happening here?

Like I stated earlier, I would get it right to the dealer. Call roadside assistance and they will tow it for free. My recommendation would be to only deal with the service manager and have them contact Kia corporate to start a claim. Feel free to inbox me if you would like further detail on what I experienced.

 

[Bryan3.3]

When the car is at idle do you hear water cavitation and did the temp gauge hit red?

 

[GregM]

When the car is at idle do you hear water cavitation and did the temp gauge hit red?

No. I briefly started the engine yesterday after the car sat for a while and it’s seems alright: no weird sounds and the temperature was ok (but I didn’t wait until it goes in the red).
That being said, I saw that the water level is low and that there are signs of a leak (pics above).

 

[Bryan3.3]

No. I briefly started the engine yesterday after the car sat for a while and it’s seems alright: no weird sounds and the temperature was ok (but I didn’t wait until it goes in the red).
That being said, I saw that the water level is low and that there are signs of a leak (pics above).

You might be in the clear with just that fitting being the issue. Otherwise you could be looking at a blown motor.

 

[GregM]

You might be in the clear with just that fitting being the issue. Otherwise you could be looking at a blown motor.

Usually I would take care of something like that myself but I refuse to fix anything on a new $40k+ car.

 

[Bryan3.3]

Usually I would take care of something like that myself but I refuse to fix anything on a new $40k+ car.

Same here, I would still have it towed to the dealership. Still make sure the get Kia corporate involved. That shouldn’t have happened.

 

[robz32]

Stop driving the car.....Take it to the dealer. The pipe you pictured is a return for the coolant form the engine and it appears to be missing an o-ring. That's why it is leaking. Operating the car and letting it reach such high temperatures is not good, hopefully the heads did not suffer any damage from the high heat (since they are made of aluminium they tend to deform under high heat)

Everytime the temperature needle goes above the normal reading, try to stop driving and try to diagnose the issue. Driving with an overheating engine can cause more damage.

 

[GregM]

The car is sitting in my driveway waiting to be towed to the dealership.
I do agree that it looks like it could be a missing o-ring.
Not happy about all that.

 

[MerlintheMad]

Whew! You dodged a "bullet". I had to redo the head on my van when it overheated. Not right away, but it became necessary over time. The needle went into the Red before I saw any steam coming from under the hood. I am very wary now! My son's Corolla was destroyed by his sister driving at night with a blown radiator and she didn't even see the damage being done until it was too late. Fatal.