I’ve had this car for the last 10 years, and I’m up to about 86,000 miles. I recently had to have the catalytic converter replaced, because it was completely blocked. The dealership wanted to charge me $4,300, but an independent mechanic got me up and running for less than $1,200 with non-OEM parts. Before the catalytic converter blockage, I had tried to clean out the engine with CRC intake cleaner as I’ve seen done online. I’m concerned that that cleaning may have led to the catalytic converter blockage, or at least exacerbated it.
Before that, I had to have my crank position sensor replaced.
I know I have the 2.0L 4 cylinder engine, which is generally considered better than the 1.6 that is more liable to failure, but everything I keep reading online keeps me constantly concerned that this vehicle is going to fail in a catastrophic way sometime soon. After the recent repairs, it’s running pretty well, and my gas mileage is going back up to levels that I expect from this car. However, I’m wondering if I shouldn’t get out of this vehicle while it still has some value, and maybe buy something that’s widely considered more reliable.
I’m especially concerned because of carbon buildup potentially accruing in this notorious GDI engine.
Thoughts?
No, theyre not bad at all. Theyre just more temperamental than other brands. I obviously am not physically inspecting the car so I cannot say for certain, but it seems like it will probably be fine for a while.
Don’t cheap out on the plugs, definitely don’t cheap out on the ignition coils, just get OEM. Ironically, I think OEM can sometimes be bought cheaper than aftermarket. Also, be careful with the connectors on the harness, the plastic can sometimes get brittle depending on the local weather and if they break you are going to have to either replace the harness or repair the end, both probably ending up in a similar repair cost (IIRC those engines have a short harness for the coils that is removable from the main harness).
Transmission fluid is replaceable, its a simple drain and fill. Fill port is under the air folter box but be careful because it is also plastic. Its a 3/8 square drive. Don’t overtighten it, also it has a rubber o-ring, it only needs to be replaced if it is damaged or deteriorated. Crack open the service port on the front bottom of the plastic trans cover and fill until fluid begins to steadily flow out of the port then close it back up. Pretty easy but its kinda hard to get to since you gotta take stuff out of the way first.
All things considered, Kias and Hyundais are mostly easy to work on once you take the stuff that gets in the way, out of the way.
Thanks, I feel a lot better about this car now. I’m going to keep an eye out for a deal (unlikely as it is in the time of tariffs), but I’ll hold on for now. Another car payment is not what we need right now.
Btw, I kinda get that this community was probably intended for folks who are real gear heads into cooler cars than my Soul. As a mod, do you mind more content along the lines of daily driver type cars? There’s not really another option I can find for an active community around Lemmy.
I mean, any car can be a daily driver lol, mines 57 years old this year.
This community is just about cars. Anything about cars. Anyone can make a post about cars. It doesn’t need to be gear head only stuff, some people post about EVs and that’s not what most people think of when talking about gear head interests. I dont think anyone needs any technical knowledge to post here or anything. I don’t see why someone couldn’t post something about daily drivers, or any other type of cars really.
This community just has pretty low engagement despite being a default community, likely due to the average Lemmy user demographic having a pretty big overlap with the type of people that do not like cars. That’s just the way it is. I wouldn’t know other communities that might be more active. But more activity is not shunned, if you want to.post here more often about cars, feel free to.
Awesome! Thanks!