All of the following issues began at the same time: Wipers only work intermittently and only on high. Speedometer only works intermittently but is accurate when it does. Inside temperature display shows dashes instead of the temperature. AC blows but no cold air. Horn rarely works. Gear stick is hard to dislodge from park after starting the ignition, also intermittent.
The car underwent 3 unusual events in the few days prior to these issues which are as follows: I purchased a new alternator from AutoZone and paid a mechanic to install it. I gave someone a jump in the pouring down rain late at night. I drove through maybe 30 ft of high water but all of the other traffic was driving through it also.
I I took it to Kia for diagnosis and they weren’t sure what is wrong with it. They said I could try replacing the engine control module for about $2,500 but they didn’t know if that would resolve it. I have not done so. I did replace the BCM and had it programmed by KIA to the VIN and had the very same issues. This has been going on for a year now and I don’t know how to get my car properly repaired. Any assistance is appreciated.
You did not give year of vehicle. The 3 events may have just made this thing beyond a reasonable repair cost. Look up the Kelley Blue Book value and you may just decide to give up.
It’s a 2011 Kia Soul +. I will happily pay for any repairs which will actually fix the issues. I just replaced the engine and will be driving this vehicle for a few more years. My concern is more with what the problem is than with the cost of repair.
The third diagnosis was that there’s nothing wrong with the ECM and to replace each component individually, but if there’s an underlying electrical issue I’m thinking that won’t solve the problem.
Does anyone think it could be the ECM? 2500 bucks is a lot put out on a possible. Anyone else heard of this problem before?
Check for a bad, corroded or loose ground wire. I would look under the hood. You could try connecting a jumper cable from the negative battery post to the body or engine block and see if everything works.
Ask a shop who has an o’scope to take a look at the voltage signal coming out of the replacement alternator to make sure it doesn’t have a lot of voltage spikes riding on it. Unlikely to be the problem, but if it is, nothing else you do will fix the problems, so it is worth the bother of doing the test. Intermittent brushes/armature contract can cause voltage spikes which could confuse the other electrical circuits. To disprove the alternator is the cause of a particular problem, for example the wipers, do they work ok with the engine off and the key in acc? i.e. the alternator isn’t turning? If so, that would lead towards a faulty alternator. If the wipers don’t work whether the engine is running or not, then the alternator isn’t likely the source of that problem.
The AC problem is probably not related to the others; likewise the horn and the gear stick. Those will have to be addressed individually. The horn problem might be with the steering column clock-spring. The gear stick might be a problem with the brake/shift safety interlock. The speedo and the temperature display might be a bad connection to the dashboard display module. Take a look under the dashboard, see if there’s something in the wiring connectors amiss.
I find it hard to believe that any competent mechanic would suggest that most of your symptoms could be caused by a malfunctioning ENGINE CONTROL MODULE. These issues above would be easy to diagnose and trace back. To start throwing thousands of dollars at such problems without reasonable diagnosis is unconscionable IMO.
One thing that might help people here is if you spend a bit of time and effort to describe everything that led up to the issues appearing. For example, it’s not clear on the timing of the engine change versus these issues.
How deep was the water you drove through? At what speed? How many days prior to the symptoms- quantify “few”.
First of Rascal, We bought a 2004 Kia Optima and only replaced it in 2014 because we needed a pickup truck, All we did to it was the required timing belt service during the time we had it.
Your link to carcomplaints has no bearing on this persons problems. The Kia in this thread has had: a purchased alternator installed by a mechanic of unknown ability - used to jump another vehicle - driven through water of unknown depth and an engine replacement.