Bad Did the dealership just screw me over and/or possibly even break my engine?

[orbsa]

I apologize for the wall of text, but really need some advice.

I bought a 2019 stinger certified used In June of 2020. It came with the transferred 100k bumper to bumper warranty. I have loved every minute of it. I purchased the Burger Motorsports JB4 pack (oil catch can, intakes, spark plugs) at the end of June and really liked the increased power it provided.
Since then, I have done 2 oil changes, One was near 4 months ago and the other was 2 weeks ago. Several days ago, while driving home, I heard a clank as the engine shifted to neutral suddenly, a bunch of lights popped up (including tire pressure indicators?) and so I pulled over. I called my roommate to come pick me up and uninstalled the JB4 while I waited for him (didn't want to tow it to the dealership with it still attached). The next morning I get back to where it is and bring some tools to remove the aftermarket parts incase they decided to blame them on something but decided not too. Why would the intakes or oil catch can be blamed for anything, I thought. I also brought some oil in the off chance I maybe didn't put enough in during my last change. I check the dipstick and it reads a little over full. I figure all looks fine and call the Kia roadside assistance and get a tow truck out.
He comes and we need to put it in neutral to get it on the truck. I'm worried I can't because it wasn't starting last night and needs to be on to go into neutral. He tells me to try starting it and just shift it into neutral and so I do. But when I do the car starts up without complaints. No lights, idling at 1000 rpm.
I'm glad it's not broke, but want them to do an inspection since it seemed there was definitely some smoke the night before and smelled like a little bit of burnt oil.
Cut to two days from then. I get a call asking what happened since the car seems to be running fine. I explain the situation and tell them that I just want a full inspection while it is there, just in case anything is off. Two days later I get a video showing them going through the inspection and saying everything looks great except there is a small kink near the oil catch can. ( I noticed this when it was installed but saw that there was enough room for air to flow through the tube. Keep in mind it was installed 6-7 months ago with no issues since then.
I go to the dealership to pick up the car and he tells me that I need a new engine. I asked what was wrong with it since they told me they couldn't find anything wrong with it just two days ago. He tells me they measured the oil at 5 liters under what it's supposed to be (7.5L) and that he thinks the kink in the oil catch tube must have caused it to burn out the exhaust, thus my warranty is voided and I must pay for the engine swap. He says they added the oil back and it was still knocking so it must be replaced. I'm now shocked because I measured it myself before it was towed and it was fine. A little over full if anything. I ask him to show me and he takes me to my car, starts it, and I hear the knock and it such an awful thing to hear coming from my car. He says they will look at finding a used engine to replace it with but expects it to be a little over 10 grand to replace.

I don't understand. It was not knocking and seemed fine when it was picked up to be towed. I suspect the JB4 acted up and shifted to neutral while I was accelerating and it was the transmission shift that caused the small clank I heard. It was running fine the day they took it in to look at it. Why would it start knocking after those points. I suspect something foul is at play since I know what I read on the dip stick when the morning it was towed and don't understand how it could have burned 5 liters in the 2 weeks since I last changed it (I pulled out over 6 liters when I last did the oil change 3 months after the catch can was installed).

What am I supposed to do?

 

[monusa]

Feel bad for reading this as i too had to have my engine replaced. Could not pick my mouth up off the floor when the service manager told me.....in my case, it was covered under warranty but like you, i too wonder why something like that could not have been picked up at your last service???

About the only thing that saved me was the fact that my car had been serviced only at the dealership and at about every 3 - 4 K miles. They even noted this on the tech bulletin for the engine replacement. You could probably get a second opinion but not sure how much "stock' your dealer will put into the second opinion????

That's all i got.....

 

[MerlintheMad]

So, your car ran fine until they got it. But something did happen a few days before, or you'd not be checking it out. If they just up and said, "your engine is trash", during a maintenance visit or somesuch, then that would be utterly inexplicable. But something DID happen to your engine earlier; whatever it is must have reoccurred while they were checking it out. They could have taken your car out and "tested" it on the road, a la Ferris Bueller's Day Off; but you'd never get to know. Anyway, this all sounds just rotten and I don't know what to suggest. If you keep the car instead of use it as a trade in, you probably ought to get other bids to replace the engine. Ten grand seems high to me especially for a used engine installed.

 

[ht_addict]

I would be asking why the video shows no issues then suddenly its time for a new engine. I would assume they checked oil level when it came in, so why all of a sudden down 5L? You would be blowing massive amounts of blue smoke if you were burning it. Wouldn't the oil light come on if level that low? Have you checked your UVO? Did it report anything?

 

[monusa]

They probably quoted the 10K because they really don't want/have to fool with it since they are saying the warranty is voided....

 

[Luc343]

What country are you from, as there are different rules in different countries?

 

[fakeaccount02]

Sorry for the book as well.

Been waiting so long to tell my story but needed time between when it happened and me being able to say anything about it.

Only info on me is that my state touches a Great Lake. My motor blow at less than 30k miles. Had 3.3tt JB4, CC, WMI, Plugs. Had changed the oil less than a month prior to it blowing. I was getting on it and started to hear a very faint knock. Babied it home about 2 miles away. Checked oil it was showing nothing on the stick. So started adding about a quart at a time until it was full. Took 4 quarts to fill it. Oil light never came on so minus knock sound not codes or lights to indicate anything wrong.

Knock didn't go away with oil. At an idle you really couldn't hear the knock at all. Once moving you could. So took off JB4, CC, WMI, and plugs.

Drove around a bit and it got progressively louder. It was obvious that it was past any hope.

Called up dealership and told them I'd have it towed in. It was 'making a weird sound' I tell them.

So I drive the car to the dealership late at night it is knocking like mad by this point. Showed up next day in other car and handed them the keys. About 3 days later they call and say motor needs replaced. Not much more said. About week goes by get a text from them that Kia approved the motor and it will be several days. Week goes by I text them and no motor. Day or two go by again no motor. Another few days and after texting for an update I get a call. It is the dealership. They are like 'still don't have motor but would you like us to put those 3rd party parts back on?' Playing dumb like 'um like what kinda 3rd party parts?' they say like 'the tune and exhaust, parts were loose so looks like you had those parts on the car'. I was like 'no thanks, I don't need anything like that put on there'. I took that as a STFU and leave us alone so I did. Didn't call back for a two weeks, they say they are trying to do me a solid and again asked if I wanted 3rd party parts put back on. Was like 'no thanks' again. So I stopped calling or texting them.

Two months went by of me driving by at night to look in the shop window. There was a new motor on a stand after about a month but not turbos. Drove by every few nights for a month and nothing. Then one night their were turbos on the motor, then the motor was in the car. Then I get a call to pick it up.

That was pre-covid so no idea why it took almost 3 months. Car is fine now. I still don't know how I should feel about how it all went down.

Do know I will never touch my cars again. Did I have to pay the 10k+ for motor, turbos, labor? Not telling. But it is some big time money we are playing with here so think really hard about if you had to pay that much what would it mean to your life.

FYI I won't reply to any questions or to this thread with my real account. This is a burner account.

 

[CeramicGT001]

Sorry for the book as well.

Been waiting so long to tell my story but needed time between when it happened and me being able to say anything about it.

Only info on me is that my state touches a Great Lake. My motor blow at less than 30k miles. Had 3.3tt JB4, CC, WMI, Plugs. Had changed the oil less than a month prior to it blowing. I was getting on it and started to hear a very faint knock. Babied it home about 2 miles away. Checked oil it was showing nothing on the stick. So started adding about a quart at a time until it was full. Took 4 quarts to fill it. Oil light never came on so minus knock sound not codes or lights to indicate anything wrong.

Knock didn't go away with oil. At an idle you really couldn't hear the knock at all. Once moving you could. So took off JB4, CC, WMI, and plugs.

Drove around a bit and it got progressively louder. It was obvious that it was past any hope.

Called up dealership and told them I'd have it towed in. It was 'making a weird sound' I tell them.

So I drive the car to the dealership late at night it is knocking like mad by this point. Showed up next day in other car and handed them the keys. About 3 days later they call and say motor needs replaced. Not much more said. About week goes by get a text from them that Kia approved the motor and it will be several days. Week goes by I text them and no motor. Day or two go by again no motor. Another few days and after texting for an update I get a call. It is the dealership. They are like 'still don't have motor but would you like us to put those 3rd party parts back on?' Playing dumb like 'um like what kinda 3rd party parts?' they say like 'the tune and exhaust, parts were loose so looks like you had those parts on the car'. I was like 'no thanks, I don't need anything like that put on there'. I took that as a STFU and leave us alone so I did. Didn't call back for a two weeks, they say they are trying to do me a solid and again asked if I wanted 3rd party parts put back on. Was like 'no thanks' again. So I stopped calling or texting them.

Two months went by of me driving by at night to look in the shop window. There was a new motor on a stand after about a month but not turbos. Drove by every few nights for a month and nothing. Then one night their were turbos on the motor, then the motor was in the car. Then I get a call to pick it up.

That was pre-covid so no idea why it took almost 3 months. Car is fine now. I still don't know how I should feel about how it all went down.

Do know I will never touch my cars again. Did I have to pay the 10k+ for motor, turbos, labor? Not telling. But it is some big time money we are playing with here so think really hard about if you had to pay that much what would it mean to your life.

FYI I won't reply to any questions or to this thread with my real account. This is a burner account.

That’s a pretty wild story, glad it worked in your favor though. I’d feel grateful that the dealer turned a blind eye to the “third party parts” and saved you a boatload of money. I’d imagine I would also feel the same way about modding expensive cars after something like that happening.

The rare threads like these are making me second guess buying a tune for my Stinger, I’m already on the line with my current mods if anything goes wrong. (Intakes, secondary downpipes, catback and occ).

 

[MerlintheMad]

Sorry for the book as well.

Been waiting so long to tell my story but needed time between when it happened and me being able to say anything about it.

Only info on me is that my state touches a Great Lake. My motor blow at less than 30k miles. Had 3.3tt JB4, CC, WMI, Plugs. Had changed the oil less than a month prior to it blowing. I was getting on it and started to hear a very faint knock. Babied it home about 2 miles away. Checked oil it was showing nothing on the stick. So started adding about a quart at a time until it was full. Took 4 quarts to fill it. Oil light never came on so minus knock sound not codes or lights to indicate anything wrong.

Knock didn't go away with oil. At an idle you really couldn't hear the knock at all. Once moving you could. So took off JB4, CC, WMI, and plugs.

Drove around a bit and it got progressively louder. It was obvious that it was past any hope.

Called up dealership and told them I'd have it towed in. It was 'making a weird sound' I tell them.

So I drive the car to the dealership late at night it is knocking like mad by this point. Showed up next day in other car and handed them the keys. About 3 days later they call and say motor needs replaced. Not much more said. About week goes by get a text from them that Kia approved the motor and it will be several days. Week goes by I text them and no motor. Day or two go by again no motor. Another few days and after texting for an update I get a call. It is the dealership. They are like 'still don't have motor but would you like us to put those 3rd party parts back on?' Playing dumb like 'um like what kinda 3rd party parts?' they say like 'the tune and exhaust, parts were loose so looks like you had those parts on the car'. I was like 'no thanks, I don't need anything like that put on there'. I took that as a STFU and leave us alone so I did. Didn't call back for a two weeks, they say they are trying to do me a solid and again asked if I wanted 3rd party parts put back on. Was like 'no thanks' again. So I stopped calling or texting them.

Two months went by of me driving by at night to look in the shop window. There was a new motor on a stand after about a month but not turbos. Drove by every few nights for a month and nothing. Then one night their were turbos on the motor, then the motor was in the car. Then I get a call to pick it up.

That was pre-covid so no idea why it took almost 3 months. Car is fine now. I still don't know how I should feel about how it all went down.

Do know I will never touch my cars again. Did I have to pay the 10k+ for motor, turbos, labor? Not telling. But it is some big time money we are playing with here so think really hard about if you had to pay that much what would it mean to your life.

FYI I won't reply to any questions or to this thread with my real account. This is a burner account.

That was A+ the most entertaining, informative post I've read on here. Informative, in the sense that anyone reading it should take home what you are saying about the risks of modding the drivetrain. This car is a beast in stock form. I recognize that modders must. But they need to accept that if they screw this up they only get what they risked. That level of "fun" has its price and the more you push the higher the likelihood of payment. If you lucked out and only lost time, you were lucky indeed.

 

[ht_addict]

That was A+ the most entertaining, informative post I've read on here. Informative, in the sense that anyone reading it should take home what you are saying about the risks of modding the drivetrain. This car is a beast in stock form. I recognize that modders must. But they need to accept that if they screw this up they only get what they risked. That level of "fun" has its price and the more you push the higher the likelihood of payment. If you lucked out and only lost time, you were lucky indeed.

You are right. More than enough ponies under the hood, so no need for a tune unless your into racing. I've done Catback, CAI, OCC and mid pipes. Other than the OCC, none of these modes could possibly cause damage to my engine. My OCC, gets inspected weekly until the weather gets warmer since condensation does build up in it over time as it cools and I don't need it filling with water.

One thing to think about. Kia gave us launch control so they know some are going to push there engine and transmission hard. And I'm sure they know this car is a modders dream.

 

[Ecupirate0531]

These stories bring back nightmares. Spun a bearing in my tuned, cai, catback 2018 coyote. Had to have the service manager reach out to ford. They sent a mechanic to look it over and finally approved me for a new motor. Was quoted 16k if I had to pay out of pocket for the motor. Needless to say got my mustang back after 6 months later, traded it in on this stinger gt2. Will not touch anything on my stinger. Drive it just stock. Even purchased the extended warranty lol.. I do drive it hard, but I learned my lesson from modding my cars.

 

[bearstinger]

I added the air filters, other than that not doing anything. The car is perfect for me the way it is.

 

[SKStinger]

I apologize for the wall of text, but really need some advice.

I bought a 2019 stinger certified used In June of 2020. It came with the transferred 100k bumper to bumper warranty. I have loved every minute of it. I purchased the Burger Motorsports JB4 pack (oil catch can, intakes, spark plugs) at the end of June and really liked the increased power it provided.
Since then, I have done 2 oil changes, One was near 4 months ago and the other was 2 weeks ago. Several days ago, while driving home, I heard a clank as the engine shifted to neutral suddenly, a bunch of lights popped up (including tire pressure indicators?) and so I pulled over. I called my roommate to come pick me up and uninstalled the JB4 while I waited for him (didn't want to tow it to the dealership with it still attached). The next morning I get back to where it is and bring some tools to remove the aftermarket parts incase they decided to blame them on something but decided not too. Why would the intakes or oil catch can be blamed for anything, I thought. I also brought some oil in the off chance I maybe didn't put enough in during my last change. I check the dipstick and it reads a little over full. I figure all looks fine and call the Kia roadside assistance and get a tow truck out.
He comes and we need to put it in neutral to get it on the truck. I'm worried I can't because it wasn't starting last night and needs to be on to go into neutral. He tells me to try starting it and just shift it into neutral and so I do. But when I do the car starts up without complaints. No lights, idling at 1000 rpm.
I'm glad it's not broke, but want them to do an inspection since it seemed there was definitely some smoke the night before and smelled like a little bit of burnt oil.
Cut to two days from then. I get a call asking what happened since the car seems to be running fine. I explain the situation and tell them that I just want a full inspection while it is there, just in case anything is off. Two days later I get a video showing them going through the inspection and saying everything looks great except there is a small kink near the oil catch can. ( I noticed this when it was installed but saw that there was enough room for air to flow through the tube. Keep in mind it was installed 6-7 months ago with no issues since then.
I go to the dealership to pick up the car and he tells me that I need a new engine. I asked what was wrong with it since they told me they couldn't find anything wrong with it just two days ago. He tells me they measured the oil at 5 liters under what it's supposed to be (7.5L) and that he thinks the kink in the oil catch tube must have caused it to burn out the exhaust, thus my warranty is voided and I must pay for the engine swap. He says they added the oil back and it was still knocking so it must be replaced. I'm now shocked because I measured it myself before it was towed and it was fine. A little over full if anything. I ask him to show me and he takes me to my car, starts it, and I hear the knock and it such an awful thing to hear coming from my car. He says they will look at finding a used engine to replace it with but expects it to be a little over 10 grand to replace.

I don't understand. It was not knocking and seemed fine when it was picked up to be towed. I suspect the JB4 acted up and shifted to neutral while I was accelerating and it was the transmission shift that caused the small clank I heard. It was running fine the day they took it in to look at it. Why would it start knocking after those points. I suspect something foul is at play since I know what I read on the dip stick when the morning it was towed and don't understand how it could have burned 5 liters in the 2 weeks since I last changed it (I pulled out over 6 liters when I last did the oil change 3 months after the catch can was installed).

What am I supposed to do?

Did you point out how the engine was fine when it arrived and in the video they sent and then while it was in their possession lost oil and developed a knock? No way you should pay out of pocket for something they potentially caused or made worse. You have proof of it running fine.

I’d also ask for an engineers report proving that the engine is damaged/knocking from the catch can. If they find metal fragments inside or other internal damage their argument is toast.

You could also reach out to @Terry@BMS for some support as he might know more behind the mechanics of their catch can and whether your dealers story makes sense.

 

[ht_addict]

These stories bring back nightmares. Spun a bearing in my tuned, cai, catback 2018 coyote. Had to have the service manager reach out to ford. They sent a mechanic to look it over and finally approved me for a new motor. Was quoted 16k if I had to pay out of pocket for the motor. Needless to say got my mustang back after 6 months later, traded it in on this stinger gt2. Will not touch anything on my stinger. Drive it just stock. Even purchased the extended warranty lol.. I do drive it hard, but I learned my lesson from modding my cars.

Tunes seem to be the repeating factor here. Other than that, minor modifications like CATback, midpipes or OCC aren't going to do anything.

 

[Ecupirate0531]

Tunes seem to be the repeating factor here. Other than that, minor modifications like CATback, midpipes or OCC aren't going to do anything.

I do agree that tunes are more than likely the underlying problem. 2018 and up mustangs just gave bad bearings lol. But noob question, what is OCC?

 

[CeramicGT001]

I do agree that tunes are more than likely the underlying problem. 2018 and up mustangs just gave bad bearings lol. But noob question, what is OCC?

Oil catch can(s).

 

[monusa]

I took that as a STFU and leave us alone so I did. Didn't call back for a two weeks, they say they are trying to do me a solid and again asked if I wanted 3rd party parts put back on. Was like 'no thanks' again. So I stopped calling or texting them.

Glad this worked out!!!!!!! As i mentioned, i too, had to have my engine replaced but the only thing I had done up to that point was putting in a K&N filter.....used the jb4 but didn't do anything like ethanol,wmi,exhaust, intakes, etc.....

They had my car for little over a month and after second follow-up call, left them alone due to the fact that KIA was picking up the tab.....must give a thumbs up to the dealer though. Now that I have my car back, there is a little more appreciation for the platform overall. This is a better car than a lot of us (in the forum) give it credit for. One thing I learned is that if you are not willing to put in the time to at least understand the "basics" and beyond when it comes to tuning a vehicle, then just leave it alone.....if it's more performance you want, save your pennies and go get something else.

Now, with a better understanding of what goes on with tuning a turbo car, I just shake my head when I read a post from a new Stinger owner who gets a JB4 and thinks..."hey, MAP1 is for sissies, let's bump it up to MAP3 and get some real performance....." Just doesn't work that way..

"fakeaccount02" , really glad you came out on the good side of this one. This is my first Kia and the fact that they did right by me, I would by another one.

 

[monusa]

Do these Spark Plugs come already pre gapped? Sorry if this sounds stupid I'm just new to all of this. I want to make sure I install them properly.

Has anyone used NGK R7437-8. They're "racing" plugs, but I'm not sure exactly what that means, and the marketing around them doesn't help clarify it either

Nothing against these guys, but this makes my earlier point EXACTLY! That is a very expensive gamble being taken without any knowledge whatsoever........

 

[G70 Owner]

Not to mention that 365 hp in the 3.3 is more than enough power stock to easily outdrive your abilities. Taking the time to learn how to use that power first, and then adding more if you want is the way to go. I shudder to think of the trouble/ early death that would have happened to me if I had access to this much power or more when really young

 

[MerlintheMad]

Not to mention that 365 hp in the 3.3 is more than enough power stock to easily outdrive your abilities. Taking the time to learn how to use that power first, and then adding more if you want is the way to go. I shudder to think of the trouble/ early death that would have happened to me if I had access to this much power or more when really young

Anyone else feel the car is much slower after a week of owning it lol?

Yes that works too but takes longer and then you have to reset your radio stations. I also had my rear hatch forget what position it was in (stuck open) which took an hour to figure out how to reset. Thank you. I'll see if I can spot it.

stingerforum.org

Just making sure the word gets out over on this thread too. "Outdrive your abilities" is in violation of Harry Callahan: "A [person] needs to know their limitations, yes sir."