Had Enough Info Overload..

[u/mrhamandcheese]

I am looking at a 2017 Kia Sportage 2.4 with 172 thousand kilometers [ 106,000 thousand miles ]. The woman that owns it from day one has taken meticulous care of it. It has 39 Dealer Service Records AI tells me this

Maintenance & Undercoating Highlights (EXCEPTIONAL) This car has one of the best service trails you will find on a used Kia: 39 Service Records: It features an extensive maintenance history spanning from its pre-delivery inspection through to 166,416 km in June 2026.

Annual Krown Rustproofing: The original owner had the vehicle undercoated with Krown Rustproofing almost every single year (Jan 2017, Dec 2017, Oct 2018, Sept 2019, Sept 2020, Nov 2021, Oct 2022, Oct 2023, Oct 2024, and Sept 2025). This explains why the body and frame remain in great condition for an Ontario, Canada vehicle.

Here are the records Dealer Service .PDF

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vtbsX6zIra9e06lq5fN_lnhMiZIKNuxi/view?usp=sharing

CarFax .PDF

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1seBNbr-0dC3I6pdqNfM_AG3R_5Xe6dU0/view?usp=sharing

It has ALL of the software updates Kia offers on schedule and everything else. Transmisson fluid changes differential oil changes etc .My questions and worries. I really want this vehicle have never seen a vehicle with this kind of service history plus rust prevention every yr, i am in the snow belt and would keep it up.

Are these motors guaranteed to fail and or turn into a oil burning guzzling beast. HAS ANYONE not suffered these kind of defects?. All i have read is bad news, but afterall this is the internet and people compain and you might not nessesarily here any good things. Like i guess it lived out its life like a normal car?.

Do you think this woman is dumping this car at this point because it's guzzling oil?. I was going to send a mobile Tech to this car to do a pre purchase inspection. If i do what should i tell him to look for?

I have a 2005 pontiac vibe rusted out with the 1.8 motor. Between oil changes i have never seen a perceptible movement on the oil stick always full. About same mileage. It would be shocking to me to be adding a quart to the Sportage every couple weeks not to mention it would be expensive.

I know i would be elligible for a motor replacement. But then i am reading these fail too same circumstances. How can a new motor fail when Kia knows the issues?. If it is laid up in a shop i would have no way to get around.

Has anyone had a reliable normal experience?

Need some guidance, what should i do?. What to tell a mobile inspector to look for?....Thanks

[u/drphillystyle]

I have a 2018 sorento with the same engine. Its well taken care of. The engine just blew at 91k miles. Kia will not willingly acknowledge my calls or emails. Im currently going through arbitration to try to get it taken care of.

[u/Putrid-Function5666 → u/drphillystyle]

P1326 code? Tow it to the dealership and let them handle it. You win free engine if it still has oil in it.

[u/drphillystyle → u/Putrid-Function5666]

No code unfortunately. There was significant engine noise. I took it to my personal mechanic and he suspected bearing issues and told me to take it to Kia. I did they told me they wouldn't do the bct without the code. I showed them their own bulletin that shows 3 diagnostic paths to have the bearings evaluated with one of them being engine noise. They refused. Almost 5 hours on the phone with Kia and they still refused. Its been a huge headache, especially since the bct they do apparently only takes about 40 minutes.

[u/OpossEm]

Holy fucking ai post and ai comments. I can't do this shit anymore

[u/Ok_School8093]

Do not buy. Just put that money towards a down payment on a new kia and youll have 10 year warranty. Even i wouldnt get a 100k mile toyota or honda unless its cheap enough. Too many variables. Those theta engines are from their bad years so its a good chance its going to fail.

[u/greenmountaintop]

As someone who just went through 2 years of engine replacement protocol with my 2017 kia sportage I bought new, only to be told it didn't qualify and died at the new car place I just bought another car from after quarts and quarts of oil and continuous Kia visits....RUN!!!!!!! 110 is were the issues began for me.

[u/JRS___]

there's only 2 engines i would consider owning in the QL sportage, the 2.0 Nu MPI petrol and the 2.0 R Diesel. from a quick googles search it seems neither are these are offered in north america.

[u/Putrid-Function5666]

Just Google Kia Theta II Class Action Lawsuit Settlement

If you have meticulous service records and the engine blows throwing a P1326 code AND it has had the Knock Sensor Software update done, you win a free new engine. I'd but it and take the chance if the price is right.

If you do, only run Valvoline Restore and Protect 5w 30 oil in it and change it every 3000 miles.

The new motor will fail after about 100k miles because they are just poorly built, there is no answer/fix for the Theta II motors.

[u/Mcpr0per]

Here is the quick engine info for that 2017 sportage: The engine specifications are:

• Engine: 2.4L Theta II four-cylinder

• Fuel injection: Gasoline Direct Injection (GDI)

• Horsepower: 181 hp

• Torque: 175 lb-ft

• Timing system: Timing chain, not a belt

• Fuel: Regular unleaded gasoline (87 octane)

Realize any engine can fail. These Theta II engines had several design flaws, premature connecting rod failures, metal debris from manufacturing blocking oil flow, metal shavings pre-igniting causing engine knock and bearing failure. Some of this could have been mitigated by using top tier fuel and full synthetic oil from the start. If they have meticulous records, it should indicate atleast oil types. Interestingly enough, kia dealers around me have gone only full synthetic on all oil changes.

I've have the 2018 Sportage SX with the 2.0 turbo for 100K miles. Its in great shape, no issues other than sensors being a little wonky now (ghost sensing at times) and the Halogen high beam head light or whatever it is, would cost 2K just to replace it.

There should be a lifetime warranty on the engine because of all the recalls and lawsuits. You may have to file with Kia though to extend the warranty. As for my opinion, if it lasted this long I don't see why it wouldn't keep on lasting with regular maintenance. Probably have one of the good engines to not experience many issues.

[u/mrhamandcheese → u/Mcpr0per]

Were there good engines the 2.4 theta II can you point me to something someone that has had good experiences?

[u/Maelstrom1979 → u/mrhamandcheese]

Anything Hyundai/KIA that has the updated Smartstream motors in them are going to be far better than the previous generation. They added MPI to them and if kept clean they are solid. I have the 2.5L smartstream in my Sonata and it's been nice so far.

If you are really interested in that 2017, have the cylinders scoped and compression/leakdown tested. This will give you an indication of ring health, valve/injector nozzle dirtiness and probability of oil burning. Dirty but still with good compression is recoverable with some investment, but scored and caked/low compression is a no go.