Goodbye Hatch Rattle

[SomeBlondeGuy]

Finally, after almost 2 years of ownership, and several failed attempts to get my dealer to remedy the issue, they resolved my hatch rattle.
I took my Stinger in for a preventative maintenance brake service, the rattle, my start/stop function that never works (unless I've been driving the car for over 2 hours non-stop - I suggested it might be the battery not charging sufficiently, because even when it's warm enough outside and I'm not running any demanding accessories, it won't work) and finally a phantom steering issue I had only once, that the tech wasn't able to replicate.

The brake service (on my dime) went fine, with no surprises. I don't track my car and I'm easy on my brakes.

The hatch rattle was fixed with some adjustments and new or updated hardware.

Sadly, I was told I have to wait until it gets warmer outside before they'll tackle my start/stop issue. It would have been nice if they at least checked the battery.
I'm one of the few people, it seems, that wants that function to work!

My steering issues started when I left work last week.
I started the car up and the steering wheel and seat did their automatic adjusting.
But the steering wheel did a kind of weird shake from left to right (a few millimeters here and there).
After I proceeded to drive, the steering felt loose, and I had to turn the steering wheel a lot to make even the slightest turn.
Putting it into sport mode would tighten it up a bit but it still felt off.
Of course, the tech didn't notice anything off with the steering. Perhaps this was a one-time thing. Weird.

 

[Madhermit]

I took my car in a few months ago due to the start/stop not functioning. The service manager has been really good at Stouffville Kia. After a lot of back and forth with the head office this is what was explained to me.

• The system has a threshold of battery charge it needs to function. I believe he said 87%. So the battery needs to be at at 87% or more charge for the system to function.
• Since the battery is in the wheel well with no insulation, the cold gets to it fast and drops the charge level below this 87% quite easily.
• The few warmer days we had recently it didn't work for me though, but my car has been sitting a lot. I am not sure how long a drive it would take to charge up the battery to 87%, but I did 45 minute drives and it still didn't work.
• It did work a few times when it was 5º C or so when I was driving it daily. It wasn't consistent, but more than it is now.

Glad you got your rattle fixed.

 

[Aero2001]

Your steering issue reminded me of Motor Trend's experience with their long-term VW Atlas, which featured steering problems due to a software issue. As a new member I can't post links, but if you search "Motor Trend Volkswagen Atlas" you'll see the "Long-Term Verdict" story describing the problem and its resolution.

 

[Mesmorino]

I took my car in a few months ago due to the start/stop not functioning. The service manager has been really good at Stouffville Kia. After a lot of back and forth with the head office this is what was explained to me.

• The system has a threshold of battery charge it needs to function. I believe he said 87%. So the battery needs to be at at 87% or more charge for the system to function.
• Since the battery is in the wheel well with no insulation, the cold gets to it fast and drops the charge level below this 87% quite easily.
• The few warmer days we had recently it didn't work for me though, but my car has been sitting a lot. I am not sure how long a drive it would take to charge up the battery to 87%, but I did 45 minute drives and it still didn't work.
• It did work a few times when it was 5º C or so when I was driving it daily. It wasn't consistent, but more than it is now.

Glad you got your rattle fixed.

My auto start/stop doesn't work either; at first I thought I just wasn't driving long enough, but I'm starting to think it's the battery too. I'm gonna have it checked at the service. I parked outside all winter so it definitely took a hit, especially on the cold days/weeks we had. The last time the auto start/stop worked was in late summer/autumn.

I'm one of the few people who seems to want it to work too, I never understood why anyone would want it off. And annoyingly, the auto-hold is off by default and you have to turn it on every single time. Kia, man.

 

[SomeBlondeGuy]

My auto start/stop doesn't work either; at first I thought I just wasn't driving long enough, but I'm starting to think it's the battery too. I'm gonna have it checked at the service. I parked outside all winter so it definitely took a hit, especially on the cold days/weeks we had. The last time the auto start/stop worked was in late summer/autumn.

I'm one of the few people who seems to want it to work too, I never understood why anyone would want it off. And annoyingly, the auto-hold is off by default and you have to turn it on every single time. Kia, man.

Let me know how your service appointment for your stop/start goes, please.

 

[Mesmorino]

Let me know how your service appointment for your stop/start goes, please.

It's not till June, but I'll keep you in mind!

 

[Sushi]

My stop/start anecdotally has started working much more consistently now and I think it's just because it's gotten a lot warmer here in Vancouver since beginning of March. I literally start driving for around 5 mins and the stop/start will start consistently kicking in whenever I come to a stop.

 

[Mesmorino]

Let me know how your service appointment for your stop/start goes, please.

I had the service on Friday Jun 12th, the service guys couldn't figure it out either. On paper the vehicle meets all the conditions for it to engage, but it just wouldn't. They said they also drove it around for a bit, but it didn't engage. I did mention that the battery voltage might be low but I don't think they checked that. No error codes popped up, and the ISG system itself did not say anything was wrong, so it's come down to checking the conditions one by one.

I know the AC being on can stop it from turning the engine off, but it has not been working since the winter months anyway. I also habitually have the AC on auto at 21C for summer and winter, I'm thinking it might be too low for summer so the compressor is always running. I'm going to try turning it to 23/24C in summer and if that doesn't work, I'll try just having it off entirely and driving with the windows down. It's getting hotter and hotter but still fairly breezy so it's not stifling yet.

I do have a follow up service appointment when their lead technician come back from holiday, that's this week at some point. I'll keep you posted.

 

[Sushi]

I had the service on Friday Jun 12th, the service guys couldn't figure it out either. On paper the vehicle meets all the conditions for it to engage, but it just wouldn't. They said they also drove it around for a bit, but it didn't engage. I did mention that the battery voltage might be low but I don't think they checked that. No error codes popped up, and the ISG (Idle Stop and Go) system itself did not say anything was wrong, so it's come down to checking the conditions one by one.

I know the AC being on can stop it from turning the engine off, but it has not been working since the winter months anyway. I also habitually have the AC on auto at 21C for summer and winter, I'm thinking it might be too low for summer so the compressor is always running. I'm going to try turning it to 23/24C in summer and if that doesn't work, I'll try just having it off entirely and driving with the windows down. It's getting hotter and hotter but still fairly breezy so it's not stifling yet.

I do have a follow up service appointment when their lead technician come back from holiday, that's this week at some point. I'll keep you posted.

This is my own personal experience but in my area, it's been fairly warm and I've got my climate set on auto so most days, the AC is usually running but my ISG still works and activates after a few short minutes of driving. I hope it can be narrowed down and fix and not just being unlucky and getting a lemon.

 

[Mesmorino]

Update, the ISG started working again yesterday, and was working today too. I went on a two hr drive (there and back) yesterday and I think that did it.

 

[Madhermit]

My start/stop finally started working again today. Didn’t work last week at 21° Celsius. Today it did at 25° Celsius. Seems pretty lame it needs such warm weather to function.

 

[Mesmorino]

My start/stop finally started working again today. Didn’t work last week at 21° Celsius. Today it did at 25° Celsius. Seems pretty lame it needs such warm weather to function.

While it's dependent on a combination of things, I'm not sure external temperature is one of them. It's been well over 25C here for at least a week and mine only just started working yesterday.

 

[Sushi]

My start/stop finally started working again today. Didn’t work last week at 21° Celsius. Today it did at 25° Celsius. Seems pretty lame it needs such warm weather to function.

Mine's worked in low tens so I think other factors play a role.

 

[DGambit]

I had a bit of a rattle in my hatch and eventually one day when I opened it I heard something move in the trim. Turns out there was a mysterious clip that had fallen from somewhere and when I removed it the rattle was gone.

 

[Madhermit]

I had my car in service for a few weeks for them to sort this out, 2 batteries. Tire pressure monitors (their theory). Kept not working. What the manager told me was that it is a known issue and possibly a design flaw due to the placement of the battery against the outer wall of the car. It took a lot of phone calls to get this info. The system needs 87% battery charge to activate and can’t get there when it gets cold. They even put in a new battery and it couldn’t maintain the threshold. They had to go through a few to find one that would. They are apparently looking into insulating the battery compartment.
This is all straight from Kia.

 

[SomeBlondeGuy]

I had my car in service for a few weeks for them to sort this out, 2 batteries. Tire pressure monitors (their theory). Kept not working. What the manager told me was that it is a known issue and possibly a design flaw due to the placement of the battery against the outer wall of the car. It took a lot of phone calls to get this info. The system needs 87% battery charge to activate and can’t get there when it gets cold. They even put in a new battery and it couldn’t maintain the threshold. They had to go through a few to find one that would. They are apparently looking into insulating the battery compartment.
This is all straight from Kia.

Wow!
Thanks for keeping me updated.