2020 Kia Sportage: engine knocking or ticking

Filed Nov 3, 2026 · Engine · KS

My vehicle experienced a catastrophic engine failure, losing power on the roadway. The vehicle is currently located at the Kia dealership, and I have been provided a formal Repair Order showing an active Diagnostic Trouble Code (DTC) P1326. Kia Corporate and the dealership are currently denying coverage under the In re: Hyundai and Kia Engine Litigation Class Action Settlement, claiming that the "VIN shows clean with no open issues." This is a fundamental misinterpretation of Kia's internal database. The VIN shows "clean" because the mandatory Product Improvement Campaign PI1806 (Knock Sensor Detection System / KSDS) was successfully completed on my vehicle on November 13, 2019. I hold physical, printed proof of this completed campaign from a certified Kia dealership. Under the terms of the court-approved settlement and Kia's own Technical Service Bulletins (TSBs): 1. Completion of the KSDS update (PI1806) qualifies the vehicle for a Lifetime Short-Block Warranty Extension against connecting rod bearing failure. 2. An active or history P1326 fault code mandates that the dealership perform a digital Bearing Clearance Test (BCT) and submit a Prior Authorization (PA) package to corporate for an engine replacement. By refusing to look at the historical campaign completion data and denying my claim based on a "closed/clean" status, Kia is actively violating the court-mandated terms of the settlement.

Filed Oct 12, 2026 · Engine · MI

Rod Bearing failure June 29,2026 with prior Kia manufacturer recalls June 19,2023: (1.) SC206, HECU fire Recall, a serious safety recall regarding the Hydraulic Electronic Control unit. The circuit board can short out and cause an engine bay fire even when the vehicle is parked. (2.) SC249B (Tow Hitch Harness Fire Recall): Another active safety recall. Moisture or debris on the Tow Hitch accessory circuit board can short-circuit and spark a fire. March 11, 2024 Recalls (1.) SC340(Engine Emissions ECM Ligic Improvement). This is a voluntary service campaign to upgrade the software logic in your engine control module (ECM(. It is iften tier directly to how your car judges engine diagnostic faults. (2.) CS 2312/Theft Det recall(Theft Deterrent Ignition Cylinder Proctector): This is a customer satisfaction campaign that installs a physical metal protector sleeve around your Ignition cylinder to prevent "Kia Botz" style theft bypasses.

Filed Aug 13, 2026 · Engine · TN

Need an engine replaced for the infamous knocking of the motor from the previous class action but my model isn’t covered. Ridiculous to need a new engine on a less than 5 year old car

Filed May 22, 2026 · Engine · KS

The car shook and lights came on at a stop light and began violently knocking. Since it was at a stop light the safety was a risk had the hazard lights weren't engaged immediately. The dealer confirmed it was a catastrophic engine failure. An inspector for the warranty company was deployed two times. The lights only appeared at the time of engine failure.

Filed Mar 24, 2026 · Engine · 82,000 miles · FL

The contact owns a 2020 Kia Sportage. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the engine made an abnormal knocking sound. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with a cylinder #4 misfire, a knock sensor, and bearing clearance measurement failure. The dealer informed the contact that the vehicle was not covered under warranty because the warranty was on the vehicle with the previous owner. The dealer contacted the manufacturer and was advised that the repair could not be covered under warranty because the failure was considered the consumer’s negligence. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 82,000.

Filed Jan 23, 2026 · Engine · CA

The contact owns a 2020 Kia Sportage. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal knocking sound coming from the front of the vehicle. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the knock sensor had failed. The knock sensors were replaced. The contact stated that on a separate occasion, two months after the knock sensors were replaced, the contact heard an abnormal knocking sound coming from the vehicle. The vehicle failed to accelerate as intended while depressing the accelerator pedal and failed to move forward. The caution warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to pull over to the side of the road. The contact called an independent mechanic, who arrived at the location where the contact had pulled over. The independent mechanic used a handheld code reader, and an unknown code showed that the problem was due to the oil and engine. The independent mechanic checked the oil, and the oil level was low. The contact stated that the oil had been changed a week prior to the failure. The independent mechanic added oil, and the vehicle restarted, and the warning lights disappeared. The contact was able to continue driving the vehicle. However, the vehicle failed to accelerate above 40 MPH. The vehicle was taken to another independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the knock sensor had failed, and the engine was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil. The vehicle was not repaired. However, the oil was changed. The vehicle was then taken to the dealer, who confirmed that the knock sensor had failed, and that the engine was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil, causing damage to the engine. The vehicle was not repaired due to the cost. The contact was adding oil to the engine two or three times per week, and the oil was changed every two weeks. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

Filed Jan 5, 2026 · Engine · FL

Engine started tapping/knocking and oil light started flashing. Once home I checked the dipstick. Appeared burnt with no oil on dipstick. Waited an hour to cool and started adding oil. Added 2 quarts nothing on dipstick. Added 2 half quarts and finally a touch on the end of dipstick. Added more oil and finally got it to the bottom the range. It would take at least another quart to get to proper levels. Took to dealership where I was told I needed a new engine. Prior to the failure there was NEVER any indicator light letting me know oil was low. Just as a car goes low on gas and the gas light comes on you would think it would do the same for 'low oil'....that NEVER happened. This is a 2020 KIA Sportage with a 2.4L Theta II engine. There is a class action lawsuit for the years 2011-2019. I unfortunately, fall oustide of the covered suit. It's still the same engine with the same faults

Filed Sep 26, 2025 · Electrical, Fuel system · CA

I leased my 2020 Kia Sportage LX in August 2019 and purchased the Vehicle after the lease. In April 2025, the Vehicle started emitting a strong gas smell after filling. Often, the pump would stop short around 8-10 gals instead of the usual 13-14 gals. I attributed both to perhaps cheap gas and faulty pumps. On September 23, 2025, I went to the dealership to check the gas odor and possible gas leakage and ticking engine noise. I ended up having to replace the entire fuel tank. The car is now 6 years old and, of course, out of its 5-year warranty. The report indicates that the leak was from the top of the tank and in the cabin; therefore, nothing was caused by normal wear or damage. Upon searching, I found that in January of 2019, previous years were recalled to replace the fuel tank due to similar issues (Gas Tank Recall # SC172). Some of these models had recalls for the KSDS as well, and my vehicle had been recalled and repaired. My concern is that this is my 3rd Kia and 6th car total in life. Never have I had to replace a gas tank. I firmly believe some of these 2020 vehicles were built at the end of 2018 with the same parts in the 2019 recall; however were missed due to recall time and manufacturing rollouts.

Filed Sep 15, 2025 · Engine · 93,000 miles · PA

The contact owns a 2020 Kia Sportage. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the oil warning light flickered on the instrument panel. While the contact's son was driving the vehicle at highway speeds, the vehicle hesitated while depressing the accelerator pedal. The contact's son pulled off to the right shoulder of the highway, and the vehicle entered LIMP Mode. Despite the failure, the driver was able to drive the vehicle back to the residence. The contact called the dealer and made an appointment to have the vehicle serviced. While driving the vehicle to the dealer, the failure occurred again, and the vehicle failed to accelerate above 10 MPH. Due to the failure, the contact took the vehicle to a dealer, where the vehicle was diagnosed with engine failure. The following day, the contact called the dealer and was informed that the engine had not failed, and a knock sensor test was performed which restored the engine function. The contact then took the vehicle to an independent mechanic and was informed that the engine was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil. The vehicle was taken back to the original dealer, where an appointment had been scheduled. The dealer performed a series of oil consumption tests and monitored the oil consumption every 1,000 miles. After four consumption tests, the contact was informed that the engine was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil. The contact took the vehicle back to the independent mechanic and was informed that the oil consumption had worsened, and that the vehicle had consumed 4 quarts of oil in less than 5,000 miles. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle had not yet been repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 93,000.

Filed Sep 12, 2025 · Engine · UT

Driving 70mph on the freeway and check engine light started flashing. Car immediately went into “limp mode” and within a few hundred feet went from 75mhp 30mph. Used ODB reader and code p1326 came up for “engine knock sensor”. Engine was two quarts low on oil. No low oil warning. I just had an oil change a month ago and there is no apparent oil leak. When I opened the oil cap small amount of smoke was visible coming up from engine. Car has 75400 miles on it. I reset the code, put 2 quarts of oil and drove 2 miles to a Kia dealership. The said they couldn’t look into it since I reset the code. I drove another 4 miles and the same code and symptoms showed up. Having my car towed home because the dealer can’t inspect until next week. Other Kia’s have had this same error code and were recalled with engine replacement.

Filed Jun 20, 2025 · Acceleration, Electrical · LA

The car started making a knocking noise. I got it checked out and nothing showed up on the diagnostic. Today I was driving and it wouldn’t go over 65 and the engine light keeps blinking.

Filed Apr 13, 2025 · Engine · PA

This is the second time my check engine light popped up blinking they said it was a knock sensor and that was gonna fix the problem and that wasn’t the case. Said there was two recalls on certain Kia Sportage but not all but this has been with these Kia cars and it very frustrating that now I’m stuck without my car when the first thing came up with the knock sensor they should have replaced the engine they kept giving me the run around my engine was going bad after that and I reach out to multiple dealerships to see what the noise was in my engine and everyone kept telling me no you’re fine. You’re fine. You have a lot of life left in it and that was not the case. My engine been failing.