NHTSA Complaint #11630646 — 2019 KIA SPORTAGE

Vehicle was throwing codes P2196 O2 sensor stuck rich, P0290 post catalyst fuel trim lean, P01720 system too rich, P016B closed loop air/fuel ratio control at limit. Brought to local dealership where they did an inspection and could not find any major issue that, in their words, “would affect drivability”. Recommended I start using premium fuel and in the future consider a fuel system cleaning. 9 days later while driving my engine starting knocking, check engine light was on and flashing, then my car died. Towed vehicle to the dealership where the assessed and found there to be no compression and stated the pistons looked “melted”. They could not give me a reason as to why, or why none of this was caught at my $100 service inspection 9 days prior. They stated I needed an engine replacement at $6700 due to failed pistons. They would not do any type of diagnostic or testing to rule out a known issue with the Theta II engine recall. They stated they did not have to do any further diagnostic since they found my pistons to be melted. Local mechanic of mine not affiliated with the dealership, assessed the engine and components, stated he did not see any abnormalities outside of normal wear and tear but did recommend I have the dealership tear into the engine since they are “Kia Experts” and know the engines. Kia dealership stated they filed a claim with corporate and it was denied. Kia corporate stated my dealership sent report stating engine failure reason is outside of scope for recall. Kia dealership refused providing me denial in writing. Sent me photo of correspondence with tech line which was a total of 3 messages. Vehicle had been at dealership since November 16th.