NHTSA Complaint #11331673 — 2012 KIA SPORTAGE

THE HYUNDAI 2.4L ENGINE (G4KC, G4KE, G4KG, G4KJ) BELONGS TO THE THETA/THETA II ENGINE FAMILY. IT IS A 2.4-LITER FOUR-CYLINDER GASOLINE ENGINE WITH MULTI-POINT OR DIRECT INJECTION DEPENDS ON THE GENERATION AND IN WHICH VEHICLE IT IS USED. LIKE OTHER ENGINES, HYUNDAI SHARES THIS POWER UNIT WITH KIA BRAND. THE 2.4L IS VERY SIMILAR TO THE 2.0L VERSION OF THE SAME THETA SERIES, WITH SLIGHT DIFFERENCES DUE TO THE INCREASED ENGINE DISPLACEMENT AND INTERNAL LOADS. THE ENGINE HAS ALUMINUM OPEN-DECK CYLINDER BLOCK AND ALUMINUM CYLINDER HEAD. THE INCREASED DISPLACEMENT WAS ACHIEVED BY INSTALLING A NEW CRANKSHAFT WITH 97 MM STROKE (TWO-LITER ENGINE HAS 86 MM STROKE). THE CYLINDER BORE IS ALSO LARGER. IN THIS CASE, THE ENGINE GOT NEW PISTONS WITH A DIAMETER OF 88 MM (INSTEAD OF 86 MM PISTONS). THE CYLINDER HEAD HAS 4 VALVES PER CYLINDER (16 VALVES TOTAL) AND DOUBLE OVERHEAD CAMSHAFTS (DOHC). THE CRANKSHAFT DRIVES THE INTAKE AND EXHAUST CAMSHAFTS BY USING A TIMING CHAIN. THE FIRST THETA ENGINES USE THE CONTINUOUSLY VARIABLE VALVE TIMING (CVVT) FOR INTAKE TIMING ONLY. THE LATER GENERATION, THETA II ENGINE, IS EQUIPPED WITH THE VARIABLE VALVE TIMING SYSTEM CVVT ON BOTH CAMSHAFTS. THERE ARE NOT HYDRAULIC LIFTERS/TAPPETS IN THE VALVETRAIN OF THE 2.4L ENGINE; IT USES SHIMLESS BUCKET LIFTERS (CLEARANCE ADJUSTMENT IS REQUIRED ABOUT EVERY 60K MILES). MOST OF HYUNDAI'S AND KIA'S 2.4 ENGINES ARE EQUIPPED WITH MULTI-POINT FUEL INJECTION (MFI OR MPI). THE NEWEST ENGINES, NAMED AS 2.4 GDI, HAVE DIRECT INJECTION.