Kia Stonic on motorways

[Inspirli]

I purchased a pre-owned 2019 Kia Stonic 1.0 T-GDi (118 horsepower) 3 ISG. While driving on the interstate at approximately 60 mph, the vehicle occasionally exhibits difficulty in accelerating, even when the throttle is completely engaged, particularly while ascending inclines or across bridges. Has anyone else encountered this problem?

[Thenornpo]

Manual or Automatic?

[Inspirli]

Auto

[Cincoon]

I possess a handbook and have never observed this.

[Thenornpo]

There may be a need to use significant force to initiate a downward kick.

[MagicPod]

If the vehicle operates normally under moderate acceleration but fails to downshift when the accelerator is fully depressed, it suggests that the kickdown mechanism is malfunctioning or the gearbox is unresponsive to the kickdown command.
If this is your initial automobile, to clarify its operation, you must fully depress the pedal to prompt a downshift when desired. The accelerator switch should inform the gearbox control unit that a lower gear is required to accelerate beyond the typical leisurely or efficiency settings employed by most vehicles.
If the detection is erroneous, the downshift will not occur, and you will proceed at the more leisurely rate you have described.

To verify this, locate a level road or freeway and drive at approximately 40 mph, which should indicate that you are in the highest gear. Subsequently, press your foot into the carpet and monitor whether the revolutions increase. If the revolutions do not increase, it indicates that the kickdown is not being sensed, likely due to a malfunctioning accelerator switch. An increase in revolutions while maintaining a slow speed indicates a worn clutch pack or a failure of the gearbox to respond to the downshift request, suggesting either an internal gearbox defect or an issue with the gearbox control module.
There is no need for concern regarding over-revving; the primary ECU is equipped with a rev limiter that will prevent this occurrence. However, it may appear somewhat loud if you typically operate around 2500 RPM. My Venga increases by approximately 1500 RPM when I accelerate aggressively and emits a sound indicative of engine distress; yet, it has functioned adequately throughout my 20,000 miles of usage thus far. Ensure that the oil level is enough, as using an engine at high RPMs with insufficient oil might cause harm.

I believe that a main dealer or reputable garage equipped with diagnostic tools should be capable of detecting the operation of the kick-down switch and/or manually altering the gearbox on a workshop ramp to assist in identifying the issue. However, you will require a garage equipped with a sophisticated diagnostic tool, rather than a basic ELM327 OBD reader from eBay; it must be capable of communicating with all modules, not solely the engine ECU.

Since it is a 2019 model, it is likely still under Kia warranty, making the main dealer a suitable initial point of contact. However, you will likely require a proximate road to demonstrate to them, as they will almost surely refuse to address issues on roads exhibiting this defect and therefore impose a diagnostic cost for a non-warranty claim.

[MagicPod]

🙂

[MagicPod]

😇