Please help! Seeking advice for my check engine light problem :'(.

[Tinytags77]

Hey guys, seeking some advice or opinions from Mechanics or anyone that may be able to help, please!

I have a 2022 Kia Stinger GT. I have a unichip and AEM Cold Air Intakes and running Motul sport oil. It has been tuned and has now 25,000KM.

For the last year it had no issues or missed a beat, however the last few months I have been getting a check engine light. I ended up buying a OBD2 scanner reader to see the codes.

I was getting P0300, P0301, P303, P305. These are cylinder misfires. I spoke to my mechanic who believed it may have been a spark plug issue. I tested to see if it was the Unichip causing the issue by unplugging it and having the car run stock and it was still causing the check engine light.



The check engine light will go away when I turn the car off, and turn it back on.


I ended up getting HKS spark plugs for the stinger however the issue is still there.



Interestingly enough the error codes do sometimes change to P0300, P0302, P0304, P0306.

I found a “way” to work around this issue by driving the car in manual mode and above 3,000RPM until the car is warm and when I see the oil temperature has warmed up, after this I have no issue. The issue seems to happen when the car is cold and I’m able to replicate the issue when it is cold by driving normally and driving in low RPM (below 3,000RPM).



Being a new car though, it is annoying I have this issue. What is weird however is the codes apparently don’t get stored on the ECU when the mechanic checked them and believed I cleared the codes which I explained I didn’t. He also had to change the Diff Oil because it was apparently dirty at 20,000km.



Any advice or thoughts?

 

[Ohiocruiser]

Sorry, I am no help with your check engine problems. But if my mechanic suggested to replace the diff oil with 20,000 km, because it was dirty, that would be my last visit. Hopefully someone more knowledgeable can comment on your misfire problems.

 

[Snicklefritz]

I don't know with a tuned motor but it should be the same thing if the coil pack is bad it will destroy any plugs put in until you replace the coil pack or packs. I had a cylinder 6 bad coil pack and it went through three plugs before they found the bad coil pack. no trouble with cel or misfire since the coil pack replacement. obviously you can have more than one or even all six be bad together.

 

[AdrianG]

Could definitely be the coils. I've seen multiple coils go bad in succession on my Cadillac after replacing the spark plugs. Eventually all the coils were replaced.

 

[Kazz]

Based on what you've said, I believe that using the 'Unichip' (not familiar with it but assume it's another piggyback tuner) without upgraded and properly gapped spark plugs caused the initial problem. If the spark plugs have been replaced and the problem remains, I would say the problem is in the coils. If you're under warranty, put the OEM plugs back in and let the dealership solve the problem under warranty (coils). Once it's clean you can then get the proper spark plugs, gap them properly, and install them. Then your chip can go back on.

The spark plugs are mandatory for the 3.3 twin turbo Stinger. I have no experience with the 4 cylinder model but you can Search the forum. What happens is an aftermarket tune (piggyback or not) wants to increase boost. The gap on the OEM spark plugs is too wide and the spark gets 'blown out' by the additional boost. I've experienced this in other vehicles as well.

Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[ExtremePowerHouse - MIke]

I'd check the coils next

 

[turboAWD]

I had a VERY similar problem with my '05 Legacy GT (4-cyl turbo). One cylinder kept misfiring / stumbling / hesitating when COLD. Once warmed up, it would be fine. I too had to manually shift and drive above 3000 rpm when cold to avoid it. Otherwise, I would be barely able to limp for 1-2 minutes. (NorCal, so COLD means ~0C overnight in the winter).

It was a bad (non-OEM) coil pack. I think when I got my aftermarket turbo installed, the shop (they work on a lot of Subarus) may have picked up a different coil pack when putting it back together, or whatever. It ran fine for years, but like 4-6 years later (had the car for 14+), it started acting up.

The way to tell: swap one of the affected coil packs around to a cylinder that does NOT get a misfire normally. Then see if the misfire follows the coil pack.

 

[Kiteflygolfdrive]

I agree with the coil packs and properly gapping the plugs. That would be the first thing I would suspect. Also wondering if you have a catch can? Being direct injection an OCC could help prevent build up. depending on what you read/ listen to you might consider CRC intake valve and turbo cleaner. Easy to do.

 

[Kodiack]

Take it to a reputable shop with an actual diagnostic scanner, they can do a real time diagnostic and see what coils are acting up or if it is something else. There is a vast difference between a OBD2 reader and an actual diagnostic scanner.
I bought a scanner myself and the amount of info it shows is mind blowing. If you are in Nova Scotia ,Canada I would gladly take a look for ya.

 

[turboAWD]

Take it to a reputable shop with an actual diagnostic scanner, they can do a real time diagnostic and see what coils are acting up or if it is something else. There is a vast difference between a OBD2 reader and an actual diagnostic scanner.
I bought a scanner myself and the amount of info it shows is mind blowing. If you are in Nova Scotia ,Canada I would gladly take a look for ya.

How much for the scanner?

 

[Kodiack]

Mine was around 300 canadian, I have the Xtool A30M bluetooth. It runs through an android tablet.
For the price it does alot more than I expected, it also comes with lifetime updates.
XTOOL Anyscan A30M Wireless OBD2 Scanner for iOS/Android Bi-Directional Scan Tool

 

[22stingergt]

Was the issue causing this ever found? as my 2022 stinger is at kia right now for the 3rd time. It's bone stock. It's got 52000km on it and kia just keep saying they can't find the fault

 

[BIG-D]

That's no good...