[Capt. Nemo]

Well, I took mine back to the dealer this morning with the TSB in hand. Basically they told me the same thing as the other two times. If there is no check engine light or history code in the computer there is nothing they can do, even if they duplicated the problem. They suggested I call KIA directly which I did. I told the Customer Service Agent about the TSB and the dealerships stance on the issue. She told me that there was nothing she could do if the dealership could not duplicate the problem. I explained that the dealership DID duplicate the problem during one of the previous visits but that they wouldn't do anything without a code. After a few back and forths she refused to do anything for me.

I love my Optima but this left me with a very bad taste in my mouth. I hope they send me a customer survey

 

[acl864]

Left work yesterday and noticed the amber Check Engine Light came on about 1/2 way home. I called the dealer and the Service Mgr. told me to swing by and they would check it out. Turns out it was the Transaxle Temp. Sensor. The mechanic showed me the TSB on it and explained what was going on. They put the part on order and they said it would take about an hour to an hour and a half to put in after they received it. They said it was OK to drive my car in the meantime. I really haven't noticed any rough shifting or any other transmission issues with the car. My 2013 LX is only about 10 months old with around 7500 miles on it. So I'm a little PO'd that it has to go into the shop for unscheduled maintenance so soon. The good news is the dealership service center has been great to deal with so far. They worked me in at rush hour yesterday and still had me out of there in less than 20 minutes. I'm assuming that they will call me in a couple of days to schedule the work. We'll see how that goes...

 

[HellaBroke]

So has there been a pole taken for how many folks have issues? I just rolled over 11k miles on ours and its shifting harder than an automatic should. I just ordered fluid to flush everything out so when that gets in we will see how that affects things. Im in a rather unique situation being in italy with a north american car... the dealerships and this warrantee crap could make things "fun" to say the least... so I'm just curious what all everyone has been experiencing. i have read of temperature sensors and i have as of late been reading a few about transmission casings cracking and dropping gears out :| yehaw crate rates on a transmission internationally in sure are going to run me a pretty penny... rather be proactive than playing catch up later...

 

[robi22]

Not sure if this is the same problem as the people with the grip problems. when I accelerate hard I lose grip and the traction control turns on and the car jerks until grip is regained. the only way i have been able to control this is by turning off the traction control that way the car dose not decelerate dramatically once the wheels spin. happens on the first three shifts depending on how hard I pull off line.

any ideas??

 

[nmehan]

Traction control works by braking a wheel that is "slipping." Once you spool the turbo it tries its hardest to brake the spinning wheel to give you traction back so you can keep accelerating rather than just pulling the throttle back (what BMW likes to do...) The "jerking" is the wheel (or maybe both fronts) losing traction the brake pulses to stop the spinnig and regaining traction over and over. It usually doesn't mean anything is broken, maybe you just need stickier tires like I do. LOL! Turbo, FTW!

 

[cdonkey]

So has there been a pole taken for how many folks have issues? I just rolled over 11k miles on ours and its shifting harder than an automatic should. I just ordered fluid to flush everything out so when that gets in we will see how that affects things. Im in a rather unique situation being in italy with a north american car... the dealerships and this warrantee crap could make things "fun" to say the least... so I'm just curious what all everyone has been experiencing. i have read of temperature sensors and i have as of late been reading a few about transmission casings cracking and dropping gears out :| yehaw crate rates on a transmission internationally in sure are going to run me a pretty penny... rather be proactive than playing catch up later...

My 2.4 is also shifting hard and hesitant from 2nd to third no other gears though. I don't know what is wrong but it is going to the dealer at the end of the is week!

 

[Kinetic]

I had similar issues with the sifting and the CEL's, turns out the dealership replaced the whole tranny instead of trying to figure out the problem.

 

[06.9101]

Kia customer service blows. I hope I don't have any more issues cuz if I do I'm selling this **** car and getting something else!

 

[Tony407]

I recently had my sensor replaced as well. I never had any transmission issues before (like jerky shifts) but the engine light came on and I got the P0713 code. Funny thing is, after the fix I've noticed that the shifts seem more pronounced and the transmission seems to be hunting for gears much more now. Has anyone had problems AFTER the fix that they didn't have before?

Tony

 

[Stempy]

I appear to be having the same issue. When it's cold, transmission doesn't shift properly. When warm, it fine. Check engine light hasn't come on. I took it to the dealer and they were trying to simulate the same problem but claims that everything checks out. It appears that they won't do anything until the check engine light come on, claiming that KIA won't allow them to fix it until the warning light comes on.

Any suggestions? I hate these intermittent problems.

 

[cskalski]

I am also having slow shift problems when cold and it hangs before engaging the torque converter. I thought it was me "not driving smoothly" when I am in a hurry in the morning. After about 10mins it stops doing both errors, just like you said. I have no CEL though. Initially I was going to post about the transmission being the reason this car takes 8 seconds to get to 60. It isn't a lack of power, but tall gearing that prevents the car from getting 7 to 7.3 sec sprints to 60. Anyway I will ask about it next time I need service.

 

[Tony407]

I recently had my sensor replaced as well. I never had any transmission issues before (like jerky shifts) but the engine light came on and I got the P0713 code. Funny thing is, after the fix I've noticed that the shifts seem more pronounced and the transmission seems to be hunting for gears much more now. Has anyone had problems AFTER the fix that they didn't have before?

Tony

Took my car in. Service dept told me that the system that learns the way you shift did not properly reset itself after they installed the new sensor. They also said there was something wrong with the wastegate, although they weren't able to really articulate what exactly the problem was (I've already had the TSB work done for the wastegate voltage problem). At any rate, after I got the car back she drives just like new again. Zero issues with the transmission so far.

Tony

 

[Zoom49]

My 2011 SX had the hard slaming into gear issue with P0711 code. Took it in with 31,000 miles and they replaced the trans temp sensor. Car is good as new. This was first trip to dealer since new. :thumbsup:

 

[cskalski]

It happened again the other night. I have 26,600 miles on mine, and this is the first issue I have had with it. Unfortunately, no CEL light so I know service will decline any warranty work, but I called it in and am documenting every event and sending it to Kia Service, and of course keeping a record for myself. This time the shifting was much worse. I stopped the car and turned it off, and then back on again and it was "fixed".

 

[cgprelude]

My car just started having this issue (2012 Kia Optima SX w/20k miles). It only occurs for reverse but it popped up relatively quickly just the last month of driving. I always wait 2 min for car to warm up plus its summer time now and I park in a heated garage. I don't see any reason why this problem is occurring. I baby the **** out of my car.

I have not taken it to the dealership yet because as stated, it goes away once i start driving and takes about 1hr of sitting to notice again at which point it will do it to a lesser degree to initial start.

To get the CEL should i stop babying the car? I'm unsure the best way to proceed. Seems like a recall should be done on the sensor instead of having owners wait for CEL. It feels like the tranny is being damaged every time I shift into reverse.

Wasn't the main reason most of us bought a Kia is for it's great warranty. Surely they don't need a CEL to justify every repair order...

 

[SXexcess]

You are doing your car no favors by letting it warm up 2 minutes and parking it in heated garage in the summer...and I don't think your reverse problem is related to the TSB.
Yes, they need some evidence from the cars ecu that something is throwing a code.

 

[Munky]

To anyone that is having this issue:

Before trying to replicate the problem and have them preform a TSB, try having them reset your transmission shift variables. It takes 2 minutes at your dealership, and they shouldn't even charge you for it.

I had mine reset 2 weeks ago, and it feels just like it did when I bought the car.

 

[MDJammin]

I get a very funky RPM increase while driving in sport mode up a hill and I try to accelerate slightly. It almost feels like a downshift.

Is that the torque converter?

And also, did you ever try to look at the ATF temps via Torque Pro app? Would it NOT read correctly if the temp sensor were bad?

 

[SnailWerks]

I get a very funky RPM increase while driving in sport mode up a hill and I try to accelerate slightly. It almost feels like a downshift.

Is that the torque converter?

And also, did you ever try to look at the ATF temps via Torque Pro app? Would it NOT read correctly if the temp sensor were bad?

Mines does this all the time.

 

[SXexcess]

It's the TC locking and unlocking, especially in sport mode. No worries.