Before you junk a Hyundai or Kia with a dead engine, check for a free repair

Is there a free fix for a failed Hyundai or Kia engine?

There may be. Many 2011 to 2019 Hyundai Sonata, Santa Fe Sport and Tucson models, and Kia Optima, Sorento and Sportage models, with the 2.0 or 2.4 liter Theta II engine carry a lifetime engine warranty from a class settlement, provided the knock sensor software update was installed. Run the VIN before you sell the car for scrap.

The four checks, in order

A knocking, seized or smoking engine on a 2010s Hyundai or Kia usually means a big bill. Before you take a scrap offer, spend twenty minutes on these.

1. Find the VIN. It’s the 17-character number on the lower left of the windshield, and it’s also printed on your registration card and usually your insurance card.
2. Search it on NHTSA. The NHTSA recall search tells you whether that exact car has an unrepaired safety recall, and dealers fix safety recalls for free. NHTSA is upfront about the gaps: the search leaves out recalls more than 15 years old, very new recalls whose VINs aren’t loaded yet, and manufacturer customer-service or other non-safety campaigns.
3. Search it with the maker. That last gap is why this step matters. Hyundai’s lookup covers safety recalls and service campaigns by VIN, back to 1986, and the knock sensor software update appears there as Service Campaign 953. For a Kia, call Kia America at 1-888-952-4827, the number the Kia settlement site gives for engine questions.
4. Get the failure diagnosed by a dealer. Ask for the diagnosis under the settlement’s lifetime warranty and get the cause in writing. Hyundai’s settlement FAQ says the dealer will lend you a car at no cost while it works, if one is available.

Which cars the settlement covers

The 2021 settlement of the Hyundai and Kia engine class actions covers these models with the 2.0 or 2.4 liter Theta II gasoline direct injection engine:

Not every car from those years has that engine, so let the VIN decide. Hyundai’s settlement site checks eligibility when you enter the VIN on its claim page, and Kia’s phone line does the same.

What the lifetime warranty pays for

The warranty covers the engine’s short block: the block, the crankshaft and its bearings, the connecting rods and their bearings, and the pistons. Hyundai adds damage to the long block caused by a connecting rod failure. Both programs say coverage runs regardless of mileage, how long the car has been owned, or earlier warranty engine work.

That last part is what makes it worth checking on a car you were about to scrap. A 2013 Sonata with 190,000 miles and a rod knock can still qualify. Hyundai’s FAQ says the warranty applies to all owners of a covered car, through any change of ownership or lease.

What can rule a car out

• No knock sensor update. Both programs require the knock sensor detection software (KSDS) update. Hyundai’s definition of exceptional neglect includes an owner who didn’t get it installed within 60 days of the campaign notice, so an unexplained gap is worth raising with the dealer up front.
• Exceptional neglect of the car. Both settlements define it as at least a year without maintenance or care, to the point the car looks dilapidated, abandoned or beyond repair. Hyundai may ask for maintenance records, so dig out what you have.
• A total-loss past (Kia). The Kia class leaves out buyers of covered cars that had already been declared a total loss. If your Kia came with a salvage or rebuilt title, ask before you count on the warranty.
• Crash damage. Kia’s definition of a qualifying repair leaves out repairs caused by a collision, unless a covered failure such as an engine fire caused the crash.
• Old deadlines. Reimbursement for repairs already paid closed on August 9, 2021. Kia says the lifetime warranty itself needs no claim form once the update is done.

When it isn’t a settlement case

An engine that drowned in a flooded underpass has a water problem, not a bearing defect. Read what a hydrolocked engine means instead. The NHTSA search still works on every other make, so run the VIN whatever you drive.

If an independent shop is holding the car while you sort this out, Illinois rules on estimates, teardown charges and storage decide what you owe it. Our guide to a car stuck at a repair shop covers them.

If no free repair applies

Then you’re back to the usual question of whether the car is worth fixing, and an engine failure on an older car often settles it. If you sell, our guide to what a junkyard pays explains how the number is built. We buy cars with seized and blown engines where they sit, tow them free and pay at pickup. Send the year, make and model for an offer.

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