2012 Kia Sportage Sludge

CHRISTINACOASTAL

MEMBER
2012 KIA SPORTAGE
AUTOMATIC
32,000 MILES

I have a 2012 Kia sportage that has under 33,000 miles. The oil has been burning up and when we brought it to the dealership they told us that there is sludge in the engine and they are not going to cover it under warranty. We provided 6 oil change receipts and I know that there are at least two that we could not find. I have a feeling they are trying to screw me out of my warranty and they have denied my claim twice over the past 6 weeks (we have had it into the dealership twice for the same issue). The car is only 2 1/2 years old with 32k+ miles. I was going to go down to the dealership for them to show me the sludge but would like to approach them with the best possible knowledge of the issues. Please help!

3 Replies

HMAC300

MECHANIC
48,601 POSTS

Do yourself a favor and call kia on their 800 line and complain. Tell them that you have 6 receipts for oil changes and they are trying to say it's a sludge buildup. If there is sludge buildup it 's probably form ahead gasket which should be covered under warranty anyhow. With at least 6 oil changes shows it's an average of 5000 mi per change more than what factory recommends.

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Wednesday, March 25th, 2015 AT 7:18 AM

CHRISTINACOASTAL

MEMBER
2 POSTS

I have done that and they have denied my claim twice. The first time the dealership had the car for two weeks while we fought with Kia corporate. This time its been there for almost a week and they are saying that it's my fault for neglect. I mentioned to them that I am willing to get a lawyer to fight them on this because it is ridiculous that they are denying my claim again. I have a call into the dealership so that I can go down there and witness first hand this "sludge" issue. It's hard to believe that with at least 6 oil changes and only 32k miles that there is that much of a sludge issue.

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Wednesday, March 25th, 2015 AT 7:46 AM

HMAC300

MECHANIC
48,601 POSTS

I have to agree with you there, take a picture of it, most of it should be in cylinder head and areas of the block where it's been sprayed there with the motion of cranks/rods etc. If this car has had short hops like less than 10 miles then it will build up sludge but only being a couple yrs old and that many oil changes I doubt it is enough to cause any damage like engine failure. I'm surprised the manufacturer does not want to fix it just for courtesy. I worked for an auto manufacturer for 32 yrs as an engineering tech and there would be no question over that.

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Wednesday, March 25th, 2015 AT 8:26 AM