When Jonathan Ross-Mooneyham bought his Kia in 2021, it was a “big purchase.” He had recently become financially stable after expending much effort to improve the credit score he’d tanked as a young adult. A 2017 Kia Sportage he purchased from a used car lot in St. Louis County was the closest thing he ever had to a new car.
But the car didn’t last him long. Two years after the purchase, Ross-Mooneyham had to sell the car for scrap.
As if Kia vehicles weren’t already risky purchases thanks to a flaw that makes them easy to steal, a little-known engine defect rendered Ross-Mooneyham’s vehicle useless — and he’s out over $21,000.
Thousands of Kia owners became eligible for a limited lifetime warranty or free engine replacement after Kia sent out a letter to owners of certain models in 2018. The letter advised owners of Sportages, Sorentos, Optimas and more to install a “knock sensor detection system” to prevent “excessive rod bearing wear in the engine” that could result in engine failure.
Kia would provide a lifetime warranty coverage to both new and used vehicle owners for engine repairs due to rod-bearing damage but only if they installed the detection system.
But if owners buy the affected models used, like Ross-Mooneyham did, even if they bought them certified pre-owned, they’d have no way of knowing about the potential damage until it was too late. Kia doesn’t notify second owners, and the letter sent out in 2018 does not appear on the car manufacturer's recall list.
So when Ross-Mooneyham’s engine “exploded” on Clark Bridge on his way home from Alton, Illinois, about two months ago, it came as a surprise. The car started making grinding noises. Lights on the dash started flashing, and the car lost all its power.
“I had to sit there for like two hours to be picked up,” Ross-Mooneyham says. “It was pretty terrifying because it was not a great place to break down.”
Now the dealership Ross-Mooneyham bought the car from — Suntrup Ford in south St. Louis County — is denying any responsibility. Kia won’t pay for any repairs because the knock sensor detection system was never installed.
Similar news reports of Kia owners screwed by these engine failures say owners had to pay $6,000 to $7,000 to have the engines repaired on their own dime, even if they bought the car used and had no way of knowing about the issue.
“There’s probably thousands of people driving these cars without any public knowledge that there’s something wrong,” Ross-Mooneyham says.
Similar issues have sprung out of Hyundai vehicles that were built with the same engines, Theta IIs, that can wear out prematurely. In 2021, a federal court granted final approval of a class action lawsuit for several years of Kia and Hyundai models with faulty engines. The deadline to file a claim for affected Kias was in August 2021, according to a website for the settlement.
Ross-Mooneyham’s car came with a lifetime warranty through CNA, but it was apparently “null and void” at the time he purchased it because the knock sensor detection system had never been installed, he says. The only option he's been left with is to sell the car for scrap.
He reported the ordeal to the secretary of state’s office, which referred the matter to the state attorney general.
In the meantime, Ross-Mooneyham is using an older car that belongs to his husband.
“Somebody who didn’t have a second vehicle or spouse to rely on would be totally screwed,” Ross-Mooneyham says.
A spokesperson for Kia did not respond to emails seeking comment.
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