GT2 shift-by-wire problem?

[robz32]

@Shabib The issue you and the other member are mentioning, is not an issue per say, but rather an improper way of operating the shifter. Please refer to my post above (#12).

The shift by wire system behaves differently from your regular/mechanical shifter, we are all so used to. This shifter returns automatically to center position no mater which gear you have selected. Being a spring loaded shifter by moving it all the way backwards or forwards to select a gear and then letting it go (as shown in your video) will effectively move out of the gear you selected and put it on neutral, due to the spring load and force/momentum the shifter acquires by the sudden release of it. Hope this helps.

 

[Shabib]

@robz32 thanks for the follow up and feedback. I understand what you are saying and had considered this before. I know it is not shown in the videos I uploaded because these were last minute for the service department and it is sporadic. I have had times where I have held it longer in the "D" position and it still move back to "N" and I have also had it happen when I nurse it to "D" and back to the resting place. During these times it goes into "N". I am not slamming it around or letting it bounce. It also is not constant. Other boards discussing the problem have mentioned the solenoid in the "D" position going bad and not registering it going into gear.

 

[msbarton805]

@robz32 thanks for the follow up and feedback. I understand what you are saying and had considered this before. I know it is not shown in the videos I uploaded because these were last minute for the service department and it is sporadic. I have had times where I have held it longer in the "D" position and it still move back to "N" and I have also had it happen when I nurse it to "D" and back to the resting place. During these times it goes into "N". I am not slamming it around or letting it bounce. It also is not constant. Other boards discussing the problem have mentioned the solenoid in the "D" position going bad and not registering it going into gear.

I have experienced exactly what you have described in this last post. Furthermore, when I'm underway on the road and am using paddle shifters and then decide to go back to normal mode (while underway), by pulling the shifter back to "D", it will drop back into neutral creating a potential dangerous driving situation. I mean if your underway and this happens and your left even temporarily without power, that could put you in a really bad situation on the road.

 

[Manaz]

To go back to D after using paddle shifters, either wait for it to revert, or pull the + paddle for a few seconds.

 

[torbach]

Has anyone been able to resolve this issue? This has been getting worse and worse for me. When I get into drive, about 50% of the time, if bounces back into Neutral even when I hold it down. This shifting into Neutral without pressing the button is ridiculous. There's a reason that shifting button is there. It shouldn't change from any gear to any other gear without pressing the button period.

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[torbach]

Here's a video showing this happening over and over again. It's driving me crazy, and more than that, it's happening from Reverse too. Kia Consumer Affairs has basically said a dealer has to reproduce this even though I told them I have this video. The dealer had the car for 2 days and couldn't reproduce the issue. Personally I don't believe they tried much. This has almost gotten me into accidents twice recently. In both cases as I was leaving a parking spot next to my office onto a busy street, the car bounced into Neutral, leaving me standing there at an angle spanning two lanes. It took me about 30 seconds to successfully shift it back to Drive in each case. By the time that happened, cars were quickly closing in on me from behind.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1w-802BnCG9yzq_nNN_9rpTrXMV4SMGX_

 

[torbach]

Just found this article in Motor Trend - long term review of an early production model - https://www.motortrend.com/cars/kia/stinger/2018/2018-kia-stinger-gt-long-term-update-4-review/.
Quote:
"The single worst thing about our long-termer is the transmission lever. The car pops itself into neutral constantly. Pull the handle back toward drive too aggressively, and bam, you're in neutral, not drive. Mind you, this is the optional, fancy shift-by-wire shifter. It drives me crazy in terms of annoyance, plus it's dangerous. Imagine expecting the car to go and instead it just rolls forward slowly. Terrible at an intersection. It's so bad that I called Kia. I was assured the bum shifter is because our car is an early build Stinger. To Kia's point, the Stinger still has a decal from the launch of the car. This red GT is definitely one of the first cars to come off the line ("pre-pro" as such machines are called in the biz)."

"Now, if the transmission lever were a model-wide defect, then the short-term replacement car would suffer from the same ill, right? Wrong. The short-term Stinger GT had no such troubles. Moreover, I spent a bunch of time trying to reproduce the flaw (violently putting the car in gear, whacking it forward with the palm of my hand) from the other car, and I couldn't."

This is clearly an early production model issue. My car is at the dealer now they're trying to reproduce the issue. I'm honestly out of patience - if they reproduce it in the next few days, great. If they don't, I'm going to be pushing them on this - clearly Kia has known about this issue since production began. For them to insist on dealer reproduction even after the video etc. is just playing games at this point.

 

[CKeeler]

That’s sad to hear. I hope you get it resolved.

 

[torbach]

That’s sad to hear. I hope you get it resolved.

Thanks. King Kia is now in touch with Kia Consumer Affairs and Mia corporate, and I’m hopeful they will replace the transmission. All signs indicate that the combination of the video and the article have convinced them. I’ll know for sure probably next week. My car is with them and they’ve given me a reasonably nice loaner car from Enterprise, at least with heated seats, which is really a must have in this DC winter weather.


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[CKeeler]

Squeaky wheel gets the grease

 

[torbach]

Quick update. They are replacing the transmission based on the video, plus the article from Motortrend and my making noise about it. At this stage I have to wait for the part to arrive and be replaced. Happy with the outcome, even if not thrilled it took that much to convince them this was an issue given that Johnny Lieberman from Motortrend complained about this identical issue in early production models in his write up. Can’t be the first time Kia has heard of this.

Anyway, other than this problem, I’ve had 19k problem free miles, so this still beats pretty much every German luxury car I’ve owned reliability wise, and it’s right up there in terms of fun to drive. Test drove a Tesla Model 3 for a friend the other day and was happy to step back into my Stinger GT2 afterwards.


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[CKeeler]

Quick update. They are replacing the transmission based on the video, plus the article from Motortrend and my making noise about it. At this stage I have to wait for the part to arrive and be replaced. Happy with the outcome, even if not thrilled it took that much to convince them this was an issue given that Johnny Lieberman from Motortrend complained about this identical issue in early production models in his write up. Can’t be the first time Kia has heard of this.

Anyway, other than this problem, I’ve had 19k problem free miles, so this still beats pretty much every German luxury car I’ve owned reliability wise, and it’s right up there in terms of fun to drive. Test drove a Tesla Model 3 for a friend the other day and was happy to step back into my Stinger GT2 afterwards.


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Glad to hear they’re actually doing something about it.

 

[torbach]

Final update here hopefully. King Kia with support from Kia corporate has replaced the gearbox mechanism. I got the car back today. They did this very quickly once it was raised to them this last time. So far so good, and the gearbox honestly feels much nicer, and tighter in general to shift. I am confident this will resolve the issue.


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[spider55]

Glad to hear the dealer took care of you....