Audio Keeps Popping / Cutting Out Randomly

[legbuh]

So, anyone who has fixed this by replacing the coil packs... if it's still all good, how long has it been? (miles/years/etc).

I'm currently just living with it. I don't want to go through the hassle with my dealer.

 

[Robbed91]

We're exactly the same lmfao. I ran out of gas in this small ass back woods town and premium was over $4.75/gallon when I'm used to paying $3.50/gallon. I said f*ck it and just put 87 in it and put my car back on map 0, no popping/cracking/nothing. Put 93/94 back in it next fill-up and it pops, drops out, and cracks all the time.

You mean your radio worked flawlessly after putting 87 gas in or after you changed your plugs & coil?

 

[Knowa]

You mean your radio worked flawlessly after putting 87 gas in or after you changed your plugs & coil?

After filling up with 87 using the original coils, it stopped popping. As soon as I put 93 back in it went right back to popping.

 

[Juan.s.003]

Today was the day, Kia FINALLY replaced all 6 coils in my car. And low and behold it also fixed the radio popping/cutting in and out issue for now. I've only driven about 10 miles since picking it up but everything is working flawlessly and no audio popping/skipping/cutting issues were noted. WOW is this HK system sweet when its working!

For anyone who reads this thread in the future, make sure the issue is only happening when the engine is running. Put the car in ACC mode and see if the skipping is still occurring, if it is you likely have a different issue. If its not, head down to harbor freight and buy yourself 30 dollars worth of tools to get the coils out so you can look at them yourself. If you can unscrew a bolt you can do this job, but take your time. And if you're hard up for cash you can return the tools after you use them. If the coils are rusted and/or corroded then they absolutely need to be replaced. These are electrical components and should not have rust/corrosion on them. Initially the dealer and corporate tried to give me a hard time because I pulled the coils and "tampered" with them but the service manager at the dealer FINALLY stepped up and said lets try something to get these issues resolved. District representative called back and authorized the warranty work to replace all the coils and the results were what I was hoping for but not necessarily expecting.

Just some more info, the car was misfiring, just not enough to pop a CL light. The mode 6 data showed about 4-12 misfires per cylinder every drive to work I took, which is about 6 miles. No CL light/codes were ever produced, but if you stood outside the car you could hear it misfiring and you could feel the car cutting power at high RPMs.

Start to finish this issue took 191 days to resolve. Way too long but I guess its fixed so I can FINALLY enjoy the car.

At first I didn't believe that the coil packs could have any relation whatsoever to the radio issue at all, but I'll be damned. What a f*cking hassle this has been but thanks for everyone's help on this board and I hope these results help anyone having this issue in the future.

So glad to hear your issue finally resolved! I have this problem as well but my car is out of warranty so I can’t take it to the dealer. Is it possible to replace the coils myself?

 

[D.J.]

So glad to hear your issue finally resolved! I have this problem as well but my car is out of warranty so I can’t take it to the dealer. Is it possible to replace the coils myself?

yes, fairly easily.

 

[juan.s.03]

Update:

Dropped the car off at the dealer on 4/13 for an oil change, to "inspect" the coil packs, and to fix the braking issues I was having with the warped rotors. Dealer turned the rotors, fixing the braking problem for now and completed the oil change. Ok, great I didn't expect problems there. I picked the car up 4/14 and was informed from the service manager that the coil packs "look great" and that everything is fine. Since I had seen what these look like on April 3rd, I quickly questioned whether they even looked at them, but picked the car up anyway. I was fuming thinking about the "look great" comment and had time so I pulled the packs out again to take pictures and write emails (see below). Coil #4 must have been replaced at some point or is just extremely lucky that it is not fairing as poorly as the others. There is no f*cking way that they looked at these and determined that they "look great". If you google "coil pack corrosion", you will not find pictures this bad. I have updated my case with Kia corporate and attached these pictures as well, and am demanding that they take this seriously and replace all parts that are corroding/failing. Corporate said they will follow up on my case tomorrow 4/16, but it's a Friday and I doubt ill hear anything from them for weeks.


View attachment 57661View attachment 57662View attachment 57663View attachment 57664View attachment 57665View attachment 57666

I was able to look at 3 out of the 6 coils and sure enough, corroded. I got a new question though. Is it possible to just replace the springs or do they not sell them separately? And would that solve the issue? I’m assuming it would but they probably aren’t sold seperately

 

[D.J.]

I was able to look at 3 out of the 6 coils and sure enough, corroded. I got a new question though. Is it possible to just replace the springs or do they not sell them separately? And would that solve the issue? I’m assuming it would but they probably aren’t sold seperately

Although it would be possible to replace the spring, I doubt you could find anywhere that would sell the part separately.

 

[Kodiack]

I would clean them wire a brass wire brush and then use some dielectric grease on them to prevent it from happening again...cant hurt to try.
I would soak them in some anticorrosion fluid first.

 

[juan.s.03]

I would clean them wire a brass wire brush and then use some dielectric grease on them to prevent it from happening again...cant hurt to try.
I would soak them in some anticorrosion fluid first.

Although it would be possible to replace the spring, I doubt you could find anywhere that would sell the part separately.

View attachment 84227

I found a car shop near me and they sold me the springs themselves. I replaced them and low and behold, no more popping/cutting!! I can finally listen without any issues. Thank you everyone for figuring out the solution. I never would have imagined the corroded springs in the coils would have anything to do with the sound system. It makes no sense lol.

Someone said you can buy the coils from Amazon, replace the springs, and return the coils instead so it’s cheaper. It’s an option I probably wouldn’t take but it’s out there for whoever needs it.

 

[D.J.]

I found a car shop near me and they sold me the springs themselves. I replaced them and low and behold, no more popping/cutting!! I can finally listen without any issues. Thank you everyone for figuring out the solution. I never would have imagined the corroded springs in the coils would have anything to do with the sound system. It makes no sense lol.

Someone said you can buy the coils from Amazon, replace the springs, and return the coils instead so it’s cheaper. It’s an option I probably wouldn’t take but it’s out there for whoever needs it.

awesome

can you share the name of the car shop that was able to sell you just the springs?

Surely there are others interested in the Part number.

 

[juan.s.03]

awesome

can you share the name of the car shop that was able to sell you just the springs?

Surely there are others interested in the Part number.

The car shop replaced the coils on a Kia they were working on so they had the old ones lying around and I asked for the springs. I got lucky basically

I don’t think they are sold seperately but if anyone wants to buy the springs, buy the coils new from a different Kia model. They’ll be cheaper and all kias use the same springs! Just don’t replace the actual coils though. Only the springs

 

[legbuh]

Well, I brought my Stinger in for the oil feed line recall and thought I'd also have them check the coils due to my stereo popping. I specifically said I'd like them to physically look at them, take them out, etc. I then sat in the car with the service advisor and he for sure heard the issue.

I joked with him "now, if you charge me for diagnosis and it comes back 'can't be reproduced' I won't pay your dx fee." Luckily it happened 4-5 times in a minute. Hopefully something will come of that because it's the one thing that irritates be about a great car.

We chatted for a while and he was curious "why coil packs?" I said "I'm not sure.. something electrical for sure... but it's been 6 years and the Stinger forum group is pretty tight and they tried everything and coil packs was the only fix that worked."

I doubt Kia corporate has any info on this, though. Fingers crossed.

 

[Snicklefritz]

Well, I brought my Stinger in for the oil feed line recall and thought I'd also have them check the coils due to my stereo popping. I specifically said I'd like them to physically look at them, take them out, etc. I then sat in the car with the service advisor and he for sure heard the issue.

I joked with him "now, if you charge me for diagnosis and it comes back 'can't be reproduced' I won't pay your dx fee." Luckily it happened 4-5 times in a minute. Hopefully something will come of that because it's the one thing that irritates be about a great car.

We chatted for a while and he was curious "why coil packs?" I said "I'm not sure.. something electrical for sure... but it's been 6 years and the Stinger forum group is pretty tight and they tried everything and coil packs was the only fix that worked."

I doubt Kia corporate has any info on this, though. Fingers crossed.

have you been living with this cutting out stereo for over a year? I've read most of the post on this thread and can't believe that KIA isn't aware of coil packs going bad causing electrical interference.

 

[legbuh]

have you been living with this cutting out stereo for over a year? I've read most of the post on this thread and can't believe that KIA isn't aware of coil packs going bad causing electrical interference.

Since 2020 when I got it used... They wouldn't do anything even though they for sure heard it. They said they could open up something with Kia but I said "nah.. thanks..." I'll probably just replace them myself.

 

[Snicklefritz]

Since 2020 when I got it used... They wouldn't do anything even though they for sure heard it. They said they could open up something with Kia but I said "nah.. thanks..." I'll probably just replace them myself.

Seriously, that issue can't be caused only by bad coil packs then. There is no way that you could keep running smoothly on bad ones that long.

 

[legbuh]

Seriously, that issue can't be caused only by bad coil packs then. There is no way that you could keep running smoothly on bad ones that long.

You're assuming:

1. They actually looked
2. The packs were "bad". In most cases it was a little corrosion that caused the issue. Canbus and all these new electrics are sensitive to everything

What do you think the problem is? What if I replace the coils on my own dime and it never happens again?

 

[Snicklefritz]

You're assuming:

1. They actually looked
2. The packs were "bad". In most cases it was a little corrosion that caused the issue. Canbus and all these new electrics are sensitive to everything

What do you think the problem is? What if I replace the coils on my own dime and it never happens again?

I would assume there is a point with some vehicles where coils going bad cause electrical interference, but it hasn't yet manifested as misfiring and loss of power. And what I said previously would be mistaken.

 

[Pearly]

So I also recently have lost all audio. It will randomly come back on but cuts in and out bad. 90% the time is completely silent. This happens when the car is running and also when it’s in accessory mode only… So I assume that means it’s can’t be my coils?

 

[Snicklefritz]

So I assume that means it’s can’t be my coils?

Yes. Engine off cannot interfere with anything.

 

[Pearly]

Yes. Engine off cannot interfere with anything.

So any ideas for me? Or heard of anything else? I have a Canadian car but live in US. Tried soft reset, full reset, QLS button, amp ground. And still no luck!