[Bigmike4899k]

I had a 2017 Kia Nero. In March of 2020 it blew a head gasket. At the time the car had 189,000 miles on it.

The cost of the repair was $4500 or for $5000 I could get a new engine. I opted for the new engine.

October 31, 2020, at 40,000 miles it blew the head gasket again.

I was told I have a better chance of winning powerball then blowing 2 head gaskets in 8 months.

Has anyone else had a head gasket issue with their Nero?

 

[jmurphEV]

I had a 2017 Kia Nero. In March of 2020 it blew a head gasket. At the time the car had 189,000 miles on it.

The cost of the repair was $4500 or for $5000 I could get a new engine. I opted for the new engine.

October 31, 2020, at 40,000 miles it blew the head gasket again.

I was told I have a better chance of winning powerball then blowing 2 head gaskets in 8 months.

Has anyone else had a head gasket issue with their Nero?

You are the first I've heard having a head gasket issue. How did they diagnose the problem?

 

[Bigmike4899k]

You are the first I've heard having a head gasket issue. How did they diagnose the problem?

They didn't. They just said it blew again. My brother is a mechanic. He said there had to be underlying issues with the wngine to lead to a head gasket blowing

 

[Techy]

They didn't. They just said it blew again. My brother is a mechanic. He said there had to be underlying issues with the wngine to lead to a head gasket blowing

I'm having a major problem with your 2 posts. While I understand your choice to go with new vs repair old engine, I would be surprised if you could get a new complete engine installed for $5000. Did you just get a new short block with the old cylinder head? A new head gasket and labour should not cost $4500. If you did not get a complete new engine, block and cylinder head then I could see an underlying issue causing the head gasket to blow again. These engines are not known for head gasket issues or major engine issues in general.

 

[Bigmike4899k]

I'm having a major problem with your 2 posts. While I understand your choice to go with new vs repair old engine, I would be surprised if you could get a new complete engine installed for $5000. Did you just get a new short block with the old cylinder head? A new head gasket and labour should not cost $4500. If you did not get a complete new engine, block and cylinder head then I could see an underlying issue causing the head gasket to blow again. These engines are not known for head gasket issues or major engine issues in general.

I believe it was a short block engine. I also have the Niro hybrid. It was a labour intensive job because they had to remove the engine from the car to flip it upright to get to the heads. I am not a mechanic so I don't know if they screwed me or not

 

[Techy]

I believe it was a short block engine. I also have the Niro hybrid. It was a labour intensive job because they had to remove the engine from the car to flip it upright to get to the heads. I am not a mechanic so I don't know if they screwed me or not

Yes, my concern continues. A blown head gasket requires new gaskets which could easily cost $300 plus lots of labour. It would be foolish to replace the head gasket without checking the cylinder head carefully and it would be standard procedure to put at least a reconditioned head on with the head gasket. Replacing the cylinder head does not require removal of the engine but would certainly be lots of labour. Replacing a short block would be extensive labour and removing the engine might be beneficial. It would not be standard practice to replace the engine block because of a blown head gasket but certainly appropriate to replace the cylinder head because of a head gasket issue. I would tend to think you got screwed. I hope you have some kind of warranty for the work that was completed initially because $5000 should have provided at least another 150,000 miles.
You put a lot of miles on your vehicle

 

[Bigmike4899k]

Yes, my concern continues. A blown head gasket requires new gaskets which could easily cost $300 plus lots of labour. It would be foolish to replace the head gasket without checking the cylinder head carefully and it would be standard procedure to put at least a reconditioned head on with the head gasket. Replacing the cylinder head does not require removal of the engine but would certainly be lots of labour. Replacing a short block would be extensive labour and removing the engine might be beneficial. It would not be standard practice to replace the engine block because of a blown head gasket but certainly appropriate to replace the cylinder head because of a head gasket issue. I would tend to think you got screwed. I hope you have some kind of warranty for the work that was completed initially because $5000 should have provided at least another 150,000 miles.
You put a lot of miles on your vehicle

I drive for Uber and Lyft plus I worked doing payroll delivery. The warranty for the new engine was only 12 months or 12 thousand miles. I already hit 40k in 8 months. Bit I agree, I figured I was good for at least another 189k miles. Seriously considering sueing Kia and the dealer

 

[Techy]

I drive for Uber and Lyft plus I worked doing payroll delivery. The warranty for the new engine was only 12 months or 12 thousand miles. I already hit 40k in 8 months. Bit I agree, I figured I was good for at least another 189k miles. Seriously considering sueing Kia and the dealer

Was it an actual Kia dealer? If so, I would consider sue as well but it may be very tough to prove an incorrect diagnosis.
I don't think you have any recourse with Kia - the manufacturer - but certainly the repair shop should do something for you and if it is an actual Kia dealer, I would at least threaten with a lawsuit.

 

[atc98092]

I believe it was a short block engine. I also have the Niro hybrid. It was a labour intensive job because they had to remove the engine from the car to flip it upright to get to the heads. I am not a mechanic so I don't know if they screwed me or not

A short block doesn't have a new head. I would not have wanted the old head on it myself.

 

[atc98092]

I'm having a major problem with your 2 posts. While I understand your choice to go with new vs repair old engine, I would be surprised if you could get a new complete engine installed for $5000. Did you just get a new short block with the old cylinder head? A new head gasket and labour should not cost $4500. If you did not get a complete new engine, block and cylinder head then I could see an underlying issue causing the head gasket to blow again. These engines are not known for head gasket issues or major engine issues in general.

I think it might be possible for a reman engine. We just had a Ford V-10 replaced new (reman) in an F-350 for a touch over $10000. As I recall, the engine itself was about $7500, and that was a complete engine except for the accessories (no alternator or A/C compressor). It had everything else for that price, and it came straight from Ford. I could see this engine being about $3500 and another $1500 in labor. It's a lot of work to replace an engine in newer cars.

 

[FlNiro]

I just looked under www.kiaparts.com and it said remanufactured sub engine for a 2017 Kia Niro LX is $1626.25 Not sure was is all included but it would leave me to believe it should be the whole engine but without the assesories.

 

[atc98092]

Yeah, not much of a description. But that does seem it should be a complete engine less accessories. I'm not going to second guess the $5000 installed price, as some cars are extremely difficult to remove/replace the engine. Labor adds up. Plus that $1626 is a sale price that might not have been available at the time.

 

[Techy]

I just looked under www.kiaparts.com and it said remanufactured sub engine for a 2017 Kia Niro LX is $1626.25 Not sure was is all included but it would leave me to believe it should be the whole engine but without the assesories.

This is great info for others on this forum but I don't think Bigmike is going to find it helpful at this point in time as he is out $5000 and now has....
In hindsight, he would have been better served finding another used car with low miles and hopefully many years of service.
I'm not sure it will go anywhere, but I think his mention of litigation is an option as the original repair facility made an error in diagnosis and subsequent repair - in my licensed opinion.

 

[Willy Am]

I had a 2017 Kia Nero. In March of 2020 it blew a head gasket. At the time the car had 189,000 miles on it.

The cost of the repair was $4500 or for $5000 I could get a new engine. I opted for the new engine.

October 31, 2020, at 40,000 miles it blew the head gasket again.

I was told I have a better chance of winning powerball then blowing 2 head gaskets in 8 months.

Has anyone else had a head gasket issue with their Nero?

Really you solved the consequence (the damage) but the mechanics didn't identify the real cause, then changed the engine but they didn't changed the parts involved in the thermal control of the engine.
In the future you should verify apart the cooler fluid of the engine the following parts:

• Engine water pump if is working ok, if it is not clear change it by a brand new pump
• The water valve that manage the hot water from the water heather mounted in the exhaust pipe
• The water thermostat that control the flow of water through the water radiator.

A question. The water radiator are ok, or it is jammed?
regards
Willyam

 

[cruztaker]

Interesting read.
Gonna follow
I have a '17 Niro with 84k.
Started drinking coolant in February. Dealer runaround.

 

[Willy Am]

Interesting read.
Gonna follow
I have a '17 Niro with 84k.
Started drinking coolant in February. Dealer runaround.

Hello,

My sincerely opinion is to do an inspection of the water hoses. (!!!!!WITH THE ENGINE TOTALLY COLD IN ORDER TO BE SAFE AND PREVENT ANY BURNING!!!!!). Using a small mirror and one flashlight start to inspect the cooling system looking for some small leaks of coolant in the parts of the hoses that are nearest of the clamps that press them with the intake pipes. The coolant when start to leak, after the engine is hot, the temperature dry the coolant let in the hose a footprint as a white powder. You can indicate to your mechanic the change of the water hoses and the clamps.
This inspection of the exterior parts of the water radiator is important too. If the water radiator was not hit by a small stone of the road, then is important to inspect the junction between the side black plastic pipes with the aluminum cooling panel that is in the center.
Normally in those cases when the car has 5 years old I prefer ask to the mechanic to change the set of water hoses including the clamps and inspect the thermostat. Is better expend only one time instead to had the headache frequently.
Regards
Wilfredo

 

[Chads]

Was it an actual Kia dealer? If so, I would consider sue as well but it may be very tough to prove an incorrect diagnosis. I don't think you have any recourse with Kia - the manufacturer - but certainly the repair shop should do something for you and if it is an actual Kia dealer, I would at least threaten with a lawsuit.

I have a kia niro 2017 and my heads were replaced because of a blown head gasket @40k miles. Dealer contacted the kia reps and they told the dealership to check the numbers on my heads because one manufacturer had defects in the heads. Sure enough my numbers matched that manufacturer so they ended up replacing heads. There should be a recall but isn't one. It's just kept in the down low.

 

[Relocated Vermonter]

I have a kia niro 2017 and my heads were replaced because of a blown head gasket @40k miles. Dealer contacted the kia reps and they told the dealership to check the numbers on my heads because one manufacturer had defects in the heads. Sure enough my numbers matched that manufacturer so they ended up replacing heads. There should be a recall but isn't one. It's just kept in the down low.

My 2020 Niro had to be towed to the dealership with only 30k miles. I'm told it's a blown head gasket. Still under warranty, of course, but REALLY inconvenient. They won't give you a free loaner until they diagnose the problem and Kia agrees that it's a problem under warranty. My car has been at the dealer for a week now. I hope it's a simple manufacturer defect and that it didn't do too much damage to the rest of the engine. I really love the car and, of course, the gas mileage!

 

[Techy]

My 2020 Niro had to be towed to the dealership with only 30k miles. I'm told it's a blown head gasket. Still under warranty, of course, but REALLY inconvenient. They won't give you a free loaner until they diagnose the problem and Kia agrees that it's a problem under warranty. My car has been at the dealer for a week now. I hope it's a simple manufacturer defect and that it didn't do too much damage to the rest of the engine. I really love the car and, of course, the gas mileage!

By any chance did the "over temp" show on the dash?

 

[Relocated Vermonter]

By any chance did the "over temp" show on the dash?

Yes, but not at first. The first problem was the heater wasn't working properly. Then the engine started stuttering. Check engine light eventually come on after the first few times it stuttered. Found there was NO engine coolant so filled it up, drove around the block and it was below min. again. Repeated that a few times as it wasn't holding coolant and eventually the over temp light came on. Wasn't holding coolant while running but was when it wasn't being driven (i.e. no leaks on the driveway). Couldn't drive it after that. That over temp light would go on when you started the engine cold. Had it towed to dealer last week.