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This settlement is closed!
Please see what other class action settlements you might qualify to claim cash from in our Open Settlements directory!
UPDATE:
- A judge granted final approval to the Kia engine failure settlement May 10, 2021.
- Let Top Class Actions know when you receive a check in the comments section below or on our Facebook page.
Hyundai has agreed to resolve Kia engine failure class action claims in a settlement deal, putting an end to allegations that certain Kia vehicles were equipped with defective engines.
Under the settlement, eligible Kia owners can collect a variety of benefits, including extended warranties, reimbursements, rebates and other compensation.
Owners and lessees of Class vehicles originally equipped with or fitted with a replacement genuine Theta II 2.0-liter or 2.4-liter gasoline direct injection engine are eligible for benefits from this settlement. Class vehicles include:
- 2011-2018 and certain 2019 model year Kia Optima vehicles;
- 2012-2018 and certain 2019 model year Kia Sorento vehicles; and
- 2011-2018 and certain 2019 model year Kia Sportage vehicles.
Plaintiffs in the Kia engine failure class action lawsuit claimed several Hyundai and Kia vehicles were equipped with a defective Theta engine.
The complaint alleged connecting rod bearings in the vehicles’ gasoline direct-injection (GDI) fuel system “undergo a prolonged failure.” When these rod bearings fracture, metal debris allegedly “accumulate in the engine oil,” contaminating it to a point the filter isn’t able to remove it all.
The contaminated oil is therefore circulated by the oil pump, damaging engine components and leading to an eventual “sudden and unexpected catastrophic engine failure,” the class action lawsuit said.
As a result, the vehicles were allegedly prone to engine failures or fires — putting consumers at risk for accidents and financial injury.
Several class action lawsuits were filed against the auto makers — leading the claims to be consolidated into a multidistrict litigation centered in California. Plaintiffs in these actions sought financial damages and other benefits for the injuries they allegedly sustained due to the defective engines.
Hyundai has not admitted to any wrongdoing, but has agreed to resolve the claims surrounding their Kia subsidiary in a settlement deal. Claims surrounding Hyundai engine failure were resolved in a similar deal. The settlements aim to avoid the costs and risks of a trial, but do not assign any wrongdoing to Hyundai.
The Kia engine failure class action settlement provides several forms of monetary and non-monetary benefits including warranty extensions, reimbursement for repairs and other costs, rebates, and other compensation. More information is available in the “Potential Award” section below.
In order to benefit from the Kia engine failure settlement, Class Members must file a valid claim form by Aug. 9, 2021.
For Class Members who experienced engine failure or fire after Aug. 28, 2020, they have until 90 days after the event to file a valid claim form. Claim forms should include documentation of engine failures, repairs, and other relevant information.
The deadline for exclusion and objection is Oct. 30, 2020. The final approval hearing for the Kia engine failure class action settlement is Nov. 13, 2020.
Who’s Eligible
Owners and lessees of a Class vehicle originally equipped with or replaced with a genuine Theta II 2.0 liter or 2.4 liter gasoline direct injection engine. Class vehicles include:
- 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and certain 2019 model year Kia Optima vehicles;
- 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and certain 2019 model year Kia Sorento vehicles; and
- 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and certain 2019 model year Kia Sportage vehicles.
Potential Award
Monetary and non-monetary benefits including the following:
- Warranty Extensions: Powertrain warranties on Class vehicles will be extended to a lifetime warranty.
- Reimbursement for Repairs: Repairs will be reimbursed in full along with a $140 goodwill payment in certain circumstances. Costs of rental cars, towing, and other Kia engine failure related expenses will also be reimbursed.
- Rebates: Rebates are available if consumers lost faith in their vehicles due to an engine failure or fire and purchased a replacement Kia. Rebates will be $2,000 for model year 2011-2012 Class Vehicles; $1,500 for model year 2013 and 2014 Class Vehicles; $1,000 for model year 2015 and 2016 Class Vehicles; and $500 for model year 2017, 2018, and 2019 Class Vehicles.
- Other Compensation: Payments for traded-in vehicles and vehicles involved in an engine fire are available to affected Class Members.
Proof of Purchase
Documentation of engine failures, repairs, and other relevant information.
Claim Form
NOTE: If you do not qualify for this settlement do NOT file a claim.
Remember: you are submitting your claim under penalty of perjury. You are also harming other eligible Class Members by submitting a fraudulent claim. If you’re unsure if you qualify, please read the FAQ section of the Settlement Administrator’s website to ensure you meet all standards (Top Class Actions is not a Settlement Administrator). If you don’t qualify for this settlement, check out our database of other open class action settlements you may be eligible for.
Claim Form Deadline
08/09/2021 UPDATED
While most types of claims have a deadline of Aug. 9, 2021, different types of claims have different deadline requirements. See the claims page on the settlement site for more details.
Case Name
In re: Hyundai and Kia Engine Litigation, Case No. 8:17-cv-00838, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
Final Hearing
11/13/2020
Settlement Website
Claims Administrator
Kia Claims Administrator
c/o Epiq
P.O. Box 3145
Portland, OR 97208-3145
info@KiaEngineSettlement.com
1-855-951-0807
Class Counsel
Matthew D. Schelkopf
SAUDER SCHELKOPF
Adam Gonnelli
THE SULTZER LAW GROUP
Bonner Walsh
WALSH PLLC
Steve Berman
Christopher Pitoun
HAGENS BERMAN SOBOL SHAPIRO LLP
Daniel C. Levin
Adam B. Cohen
LEVIN SADRAN AND BERMAN LLP
Jason S. Rathod
Nicholas Migliaccio
Esfand Nafisi
MIGLIACCIO & RATHOD LLP
Robert Hilliard
HILLIARD MUÑOZ GONZALES LLP
Defense Counsel
Shon Morgan
QUINN EMANUEL URQUHART & SULLIVAN LLP
Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:
224 thoughts onKia Engine Failure Class Action Settlement
whole driving on the freeway my son’s 2019 Kia Soul’s (48,000 miles) engine failed…he thankfully got it on the side of the freeway and towed to Kia dealership. After having it for a month they told him the catalytic converter was bad and needed to be replaced along with a diagnostic test showing bad fuel had been put in his car. The gas station (being a large chain) reimbursed us for fuel system repairs and the catalytic converter was covered by the warranty.
The dealership refused to provide a rental unless we paid a daily fee for a month (ridiculous).
My son got his car back and drove it for a month. Then….you guessed it…engine failed AGAIN! We towed it back to the dealer and they have had the car for a week and a half (no rental provided) and Kia is telling us it’s bad fuel AGAIN. They say it’ll be at least a month to run further diagnostic tests to see if there’s engine damage needing to replace the engine. Meanwhile the next gas station is suspicious of Kia’s fuel tests snd are running their own tests which who’ll take another month to get results back,
The likelihood of bad fuel, TWICE, within 2 months…from 2 different gas stations to the same person…..I DONT BELIEVE IT. I think Kia is trying to weasel out of any and all responsibility! The car isn’t even 3 years old, and doesn’t even have 50k miles on it. It’s been perfectly maintained and he only owes $2k left on the car. We just want to get rid of it ASAP.
Shame on you Kia. I have the same problem as all of you. I have a 2017 Kia Sorento that I purchased preowned in 2019 with just over 23,000 miles on it. My engine failed at 63,000 miles. Kia in York Pennsylvania just replaced the top part of the engine after saying a day before that it needed an entire new engine. Oh, I failed to mention this repair was paid for with the extended warranty I purchased with my own money because Kia or the dealership wouldn’t touch it. Not sure why they didn’t replace the entire engine since I was paying for it with my extended warranty. This is the point when I found out that Kia’s 100,000 mile warranty only covers the original owner. The second or third owner is only cover for 60,000 which makes absolutely no sense. The second or third owner would benefit from the 100,000 more than the first. I don’t think I’ve seen this warranty information on any of their commercials. Months after these repairs were done, I noticed the engine was knocking and constantly burning oil. I took the car back to Kia in York and they couldn’t find any problem. I have to check my oil level every 2 -3 days and add additional oil each time. I have been doing this for a year and a half now. I’ve had this car in the dealership several times for different issues like taillights and head light constantly burning out. They can never find any issues that are causing the problems. My engine failed again this past Friday with 164,000 miles. I called Kia in Clearwater Florida to find out what a new engine would cost me. The service manager over the phone it would cost me $9200. When I told him about my past dealings with Kia and what I have to do every 2-3 days. He told me that Kia has a new extended warranty that covers the rod bearings and knocking in the engine or complete engine failure. These came after the class action lawsuit was settled. These would replace the entire engine. He told me this was a lifetime warranty and you don’t have to be the original owner. After they looked over the car they came back and said that the car needed 4 new fuel injectors and it would cost me over $1400. I would think that the missing oil every 2-3 days might clogged up fuel fitters in a bad engine that should have been replaced in York Pennsylvania when they first diagnosed the vehicle. I think it’s time to get the local news involved in every state.
the 2017 kia soul engine is also locking up i uncovered 100,s
Anyone have an update on this? I have something coming today and was jw what it could be. I’ve already sent in documentation and our post doesn’t run til late evening.
Got my check today.
Thanks TCA!
Mine is coming tomorrow! Woohoo! Thank you so much TCA!
How did you find out if you were getting something? I filed and never heard back
I’m sure you can call. Idk. I had gotten a letter several months ago asking for receipts. I sent them in and didn’t hear anything. Then the other day, a check for $5200 was in the mail.
So if you sent everything in, you might be able to call and see.
On October 15, 2021, the engine in my 2014 Kia Optima failed while I was on the highway. It was pretty scary to be on the highway and your engine just dies. Thankfully I was able to move over to safety. My boyfriend and I were traveling to Tennessee at the time and we had 2 dogs with us. We had to pay $167.83/night for a hotel room because we were 2 hours away from home and it was late. The next day we couldn’t find a rental car available anywhere, so we had to pay another night at the hotel. My parents were nice enough to drive up 2 hours to loan me their car and drive 2 hours back home. The Kia dealership said they couldn’t give a rental until they checked out my car to make sure the engine was the problem. We were already supposed to be in Tennessee because we paid for an AirBnB for a week. We lost out on a night of that. When they were working on my car they stated that the starter was bad and needed to be replaced and would be $700. This wasn’t covered under warranty. Why am I responsible for paying for a starter when it wasn’t my fault and the starter was working fine before the engine failed? I ended up having to pay over $2,000 out of pocket because of this engine failure. I submitted a claim on November 3, 2021 and haven’t heard anything yet. I am really hoping I get back my money I lost on this. Very disappointing.
Good luck filed claim Sept 20 car in shop from April 27 to Sept 03. Sent in all documents requested still nothing. Theives and liars.
I just received a check from them for $403. Not near what I asked for when I paid out of pocket but I am surprised I got anything from them. This happened back in October of 2021 and I just now got something back.
We are a first time owner of a 2016 Kia Sorento which we bought from Kia Rivergate TN. We have approximately 85k miles when we noticed the engine temp gauge was indicating a higher temperature reading than normal. I have a vehicle maintenance background and proceeded to do a preliminary inspection of the coolant system. I found that the coolant was low by about 3/4 gallon. I topped off the radiator with coolant and did a quick pressurization test and found no obvious leaks in the system. Puzzled by this, I brought our Sorento to my certified NAPA Automotive shop to let them further investigate the low coolant issue. The y preformed a Chemical analysis on the inner engine workings and found contamination inside the engine. They informed me that the engine was bad and needed to be replaced. I was astonished by their findings, so I took it to another Certified Independent shop and they confirmed the original findings. At this point I made an appointment at Kia Murfreesboro, TN. where the service manager informed me that the 3.3litre v6 has problems with the head bolts in the engine block are know to strip the engine block threads and this causes head separation from the block because the head bolts no are no longer able to maintain Kia’s torque specifications. This is clearly a Kia engineering failure and Kia refuses to acknowledge this design failure and expects me to buy a newly designed KIA engine for $8000.00 to $12000.00 USD. I have researched this issue and have found that this is failure is quite common with KIA owners the United States and Canada. I am committed to gathering all data pertaining to this design failure and will initiate a lawsuit against Kia Motors USA.
any luck? did you get it fixed?
Have you gotten many responses? I had the same problem and now they want $8000 for a used engine with 119,000 miles on it.
Jon Wahlstrom- The same thing just happened to me with my 2016 Sorento with a 3.3 L V6 engine nd 129,000 miles. Have you had any luck getting Kia to help you?
Ed did you get any answers and what has Kia done for you? This just happened to us and we have had our Kia service all done at the dealership
I have had the same thing with kia sorento 2017 with 66,000 miles on it.. not sure what to do. I dont have money to replace an engine I am 1st owner and concerned
My Kia Caught Fire Nov12 . I just received a offer for 15,140 The agreement states Black Book Value. Checks were Supposed to be issued Aug 10. Anybody get one
I was told by the KIA service people in Topeka Kansas that I would have to pay for my own rental while they replace my KIA 2017 Optima engine with a rebuilt engine because of the rod baring issue. which is free of charge for the engine repair but not the rental of the car I need for 5 months. That is how long they are going to keep my car till they can get to me. At 42.50 a day to rent a new car that is more expensive than buying a new engine and having it put in my car. I think KIA should pay for my rental to because I have know transportation.
An associate the minds add problems with his 2011 Kia forte that would stop running at no warning. I contact the dealer and it had three recalls it wasn’t honored.
Is there a recall on engines for a 2015 Kia Soul?? I’m having the same problems everyone is talking about in this lawsuit.
Are there any updates?
I’m getn something in my informed delivery today. Hope it’s a check. Being as I’ve put so much money in tht junk.
Was it?
My 2016 Kia Sorento has a blown motor and Kia is refusing to replace it because there was not a software update done on the knock sensors. I was completely unaware of any update that needed to be done.on my car until I had it towed to Kia when my engine went out while I was driving last month. I had my car at the same Kia dealership in August of 2020 for an unrelated problem and they informed at that time that while my car was there they had another update that needed to be done and it would take about 15 more minutes to do. At that time they did the replacement the other part needed that came up in their system, but failed to do the software update for the knock sensors on my engine and never informed me of any additional update or replacement that needed to be done. I have been made aware that this should have been taken care of the day that I was at the dealership in August of 2020. I have also been told twice now by the service manager at the Kia dealership that even if the software had been updated it DOES NOT prevent the engine from failing. Now I am left with a car with engine failure and a bill for $7,000 to replace my engine. PLEASE HELP!
That’s complete BS. My letter from Kia says they will do the update ONLY IF ur car is showing symptoms related to a bad knocking sensor. I scheduled mine for service saying knocking was coming from the engine just so I would have the dealerships printout stating they checked it for the recall and nothing was found.
Fast forward 1yr later my check engine light came on..paid $700 for repairs. Next morning I leave for work and check engine appears. Here we freakin go again!!