Audio Keeps Popping / Cutting Out Randomly

[Scott Dorgan]

I have a 2018 stinger gt 2 awd and my radio skips to dosent pop just skips on radio blue tooth and sirius xm to waiting for the dealer to get back to

 

[MerlintheMad]

Tried USB and normal FM radio? What does "skips" mean, exactly?

I have a 2018 stinger gt 2 awd and my radio skips to dosent pop just skips on radio blue tooth and sirius xm to waiting for the dealer to get back to

 

[Scott Dorgan]

voice and music cut out for a second and plays fine then does it again at random times i will tell the dealer about the spdif wire and see what they say

 

[MerlintheMad]

*voice and music cut out for a second and plays fine then does it again at random times i will tell the dealer about the spdif wire and see what they say

How frequently is "random times"? Because even my "perfect" sound system will drop for a half a second, but usually not even once per day. Computer playback (with or without headphones) will cut out like that; very infrequently (randomly). When I play CDs in the livingroom, it never does it. So, I think that this is a software *hiccup*.

 

[jfol]

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.

 

[RedCal]

Glad to hear you got it solved, and thanks for sharing

 

[87and66]

Thanks for updating us! Maybe some day I'll figure out why mine crackles all the time haha.

 

[legbuh]

Would the misfires show up on one of those bluetooth scanners or would you need something more like an Autel to view that?

 

[jfol]

Would the misfires show up on one of those bluetooth scanners or would you need something more like an Autel to view that?

I used a BlueDriver Bluetooth scanner that had mode 6 data to record and track the misfires. Worked perfectly fine as long as it has that mode 6 data it tracks misfires per ignition cycle and cylinder.

 

[legbuh]

So Saturday I was waiting for the family to load up in the car. Radio was cutting out. I shut it off for about 5 minutes and it didn't cut out once. Could be a fluke, but it's an interesting test. Next step is to log with my Bluedriver.

 

[legbuh]

Well, went for a 20 mile drive with bluedriver running in mode 6. Lots of cutting out but not one misfire. Bummer.

 

[BTD1092]

I have the same issue where I would be randomly driving and the radio would cut out similar to a cd skipping when hitting a bump. Unfortunately the warranty that covers the radio apparently expired back in March (the month I bought the car). The dealership wanted 1000$ to fix the issue but I feel that's a little crazy. I have a 2018 GT2, is the radio the same as other models where I can buy a replacement OEM and swap them out or is there a difference between the other years/trims? I noticed the UVO button in my car is a little star but that's really it.

Also in regards to the SPDIF resolution, do you just buy a new wiring harness or is there a specific wire to purchase? Looking at how people have fixed the issue, it's either replacing the SPDIF wire, replacing the coils or my dealership thinks replacing the entire radio assembly which I personally think is a crock since a 3 year old car shouldn't have an issue like this in the first place.

 

[jfol]

I have the same issue where I would be randomly driving and the radio would cut out similar to a cd skipping when hitting a bump. Unfortunately the warranty that covers the radio apparently expired back in March (the month I bought the car). The dealership wanted 1000$ to fix the issue but I feel that's a little crazy. I have a 2018 GT2, is the radio the same as other models where I can buy a replacement OEM and swap them out or is there a difference between the other years/trims? I noticed the UVO button in my car is a little star but that's really it.

Also in regards to the SPDIF resolution, do you just buy a new wiring harness or is there a specific wire to purchase? Looking at how people have fixed the issue, it's either replacing the SPDIF wire, replacing the coils or my dealership thinks replacing the entire radio assembly which I personally think is a crock since a 3 year old car shouldn't have an issue like this in the first

If you’ve got a spare 30 minutes to buy the tools and check the coils. If they’re rusting point the dealer to this thread and have them take car of it.

 

[BTD1092]

If you’ve got a spare 30 minutes to buy the tools and check the coils. If they’re rusting point the dealer to this thread and have them take car of it.

Thankfully I have a friend who's been a mechanic for 30 years that should have everything needed to check the coils. Would the dealership give any bs for checking the coils on "my own"?
In regards to the SPDIF wire resolution, is that just replacing the wiring harness for the radio itself or a specific part altogether? Sorry if coming off dumb but I just want this issue fixed like everyone else. The skip can happen 10 times in under a minute where it gets hard to enjoy the radio at all.

 

[jfol]

Thankfully I have a friend who's been a mechanic for 30 years that should have everything needed to check the coils. Would the dealership give any bs for checking the coils on "my own"?
In regards to the SPDIF wire resolution, is that just replacing the wiring harness for the radio itself or a specific part altogether? Sorry if coming off dumb but I just want this issue fixed like everyone else. The skip can happen 10 times in under a minute where it gets hard to enjoy the radio at all.

They tried to give me some shit but it was kind of hard for them to argue that I put the rust there. And that electrical components should have any rust on them.

I had looked into the SPDIF cable only for a moment because it sounds like a big undertaking and the car is only 3 years old. It only fixed one car in Canada and so far you’ve got 2 on here that have had bad coils and have had that fixed the issue. My dealer wanted to replace the head unit/amp/and pretty much everything but the coils but they dragged their feet and couldn’t get anything approved. Finally after a bad review on a survey and website, they took some initiative and got some regional director guy to approve replacing the coils.

I tried to be as thorough as I could in documenting my experience. My radio was unusable for 6 months with cracks and pops so I’m well aware of how you feel. Worth a check.

 

[own]

Have recently purchased a brand new KIA MY21 GT Stinger, having the same issue of the radio cutting out randomly in hilly / bad reception areas.

I have no doubt in my mind that it's the antenna that's causing it, have tried rescanning channels / removing Bluetooth just to see if it could be a factor and still same issue.

I'll be taking the car to the dealership soon to get them to look over it, fingers crossed it won't be a stuff around.

 

[BTD1092]

Have recently purchased a brand new KIA MY21 GT Stinger, having the same issue of the radio cutting out randomly in hilly / bad reception areas.

I have no doubt in my mind that it's the antenna that's causing it, have tried rescanning channels / removing Bluetooth just to see if it could be a factor and still same issue.

I'll be taking the car to the dealership soon to get them to look over it, fingers crossed it won't be a stuff around.

Hopefully for you it should be covered by some kind of warranty. Your loss is different from mine in that you actually lose sound for a couple seconds as opposed to skipping like a quick hiccup. My issue is that my 2018s warranty ended the month I bought the car (march of this year or 36k miles I had 36,600 when I went to the dealership). I just got off the phone with Kias customer service and they told me to let my dealership know that my car is certified pre owned so they see if it's still covered. If that falls through I'm gonna look at the coils and if they're clean I guess bite the bullet and buy replacement units.

 

[jfol]

Hopefully for you it should be covered by some kind of warranty. Your loss is different from mine in that you actually lose sound for a couple seconds as opposed to skipping like a quick hiccup. My issue is that my 2018s warranty ended the month I bought the car (march of this year or 36k miles I had 36,600 when I went to the dealership). I just got off the phone with Kias customer service and they told me to let my dealership know that my car is certified pre owned so they see if it's still covered. If that falls through I'm gonna look at the coils and if they're clean I guess bite the bullet and buy replacement units.

Agree with you in that my issue was a hiccup in the audio and not completely cutting out for seconds at a time. The coils should be covered under powertrain warranty. You can reference my case number with Kia customer service to maybe point them in a direction since you’re issue was similar to mine. My case was #13919106.

 

[BTD1092]

Agree with you in that my issue was a hiccup in the audio and not completely cutting out for seconds at a time. The coils should be covered under powertrain warranty. You can reference my case number with Kia customer service to maybe point them in a direction since you’re issue was similar to mine. My case was #13919106.

Yeah I'm gonna talk with my dealership about my cpo warranty when I go to replace a roof moulding that surprisingly is still covered by warranty. Corporate has my call on file now and I'd definitely reference your case #.

 

[Knowa]

Agree with you in that my issue was a hiccup in the audio and not completely cutting out for seconds at a time. The coils should be covered under powertrain warranty. You can reference my case number with Kia customer service to maybe point them in a direction since you’re issue was similar to mine. My case was #13919106.

How has this solution held up since you last posted? Are you still cutout and crackle free? My car is doing it right now and I originally tried to have the dealership look at it but they said that it falls under radio/infotainment warranty which conveniently expired 1 month before I bought the car and I didn't want to pay $1000 right out of the gate to get my stereo working.