Please keep us posted on how this evolves.

 

Towed to dealer and they finished diagnostic after an hour, saying I “had a code in the system for the ecm” and needs an ecm replacement for $1500 total. Does this sound correct? I’m not a car expert but shocked the ecm would need replacement and was the cause of this issue. I asked the dealer to send me more details.

How common is ecm replacement ? In mechanic ADvice subreddit someone said it’s rare for this to need replacing. Do you recommend getting a 2nd opinion? I already towed my car from one dealer that wanted to charge me $400 for a diagnostic that was gonna take a week to complete. I said no, towed it to another dealer charged $200 and completed it in an hour. l considering towing to 1 more but this is getting a bit pricey but might be worth it.

Side note: my car was recently in a collision 3 month ago someone rear ended me at 25-30 mph. I picked it up 3 weeks ago from collision center. Is it possible something disconnected after this collision to cause this problem ? I went back to the collision center today and they said if a mechanic thinks the error was caused by the collision, call back the collision center so they can add it to the insurance case
.

 

something like that happend with my 2005 KIA Optima Hybrid ( it was the year KIA was switching to models newer than what they sold in Korea)
anyway, took ti the first dealer, they replaced a computer model, didn't help, said I would be able to drive it home (about 75 miles) and it would just shift hard from 1 to 2, but the reset of the time it would be ok... drove it home, took it to the dealer I bought it from , they replaced the Trans and it was fine... this is of course not to say "that " is what this is... but more for , it does happen...

 

Ah, bummer...

 

Yeah, they list the ECM under the emissions warranty section, which seems an odd place for it. But it does technically control emissions since it controls the engine operations. And it's likely also responsible for controlling the hybrid/engine interface, which would explain the message it generated. I agree it's not a very accurate message, but I imagine a dealer tech would connect their equipment and get a more accurate message.

 

I assume that you turned the engine off when you stopped. Turn it on and drive home; 1.5 miles won't change much. It sounds like the car had less power because the battery was no longer assisting, so you were running on only the ICE.

 

Thanks. I left it at this business parking lot. I got scared thinking it would shut down in the middle of the road with 0% battery Hoping they didn’t tow it I’m about to go check it out and see if I can tow it to the dealer since it’s 10 miles away

 

I would think something happened under that rear seat from the collision. Maybe a wire came off or damaged the battery system management. Wonder if they are calling the ecm the BSM. But you’d think they would know.
Or something popped the main fuse.

looks like this

Pardon Our Interruption...

 

I would think something happened under that rear seat from the collision. Maybe a wire came off or damaged the battery system management. Wonder if they are calling the ecm the BSM. But you’d think they would know.
Or something popped the main fuse.

looks like this

Pardon Our Interruption...

the collision center did something to the rear seat as the seat belt was detached when I picked it up (the seat belt was hanging by the screw) so perhaps they did some work there too? The seat belt was actually hanging with the connecting screw that goes to the bottom unconnnected.

 

Personal opinions... most dealers will get you to buy something you do not need.

and yes it is a blanket statement...

 

fuse is very simple.

https://www.kianiroforum.com/threads/did-the-actuator-wire-and-fuse-swap-today-myself-safety-recall-sc276.12199/?post_id=119940#post-119940

 

It would seem that an ecm that fails at 90,000 miles should be covered by the KIA warranty. Yes, I know the powertrain warranty poops out after something like 5 years/60K miles for non-original owners. Page 14 of the 2018 KIA Niro Hybrid/PHEV warranty manual states "Warranty period for the following HYBRID SYSTEM components is limited to 10 years from the date of original retail delivery or date of first use, or 100,000 miles, whichever occurs first...Hybrid Battery Pack Assy, Hybrid Starter & Generator, Hybrid Power Control Unit, Auto Transmission & Traction Motor including housing case, clutch and all internal parts." There does not seem to matter if it is the original owner or subsequent owner--the chart on page 3 seems to support this.

@Lightspeed6 I would contact the service department manager and discuss this and get your $1500 refunded. If you don't get any traction, I'd contact KIA corporate.

On a related note, one of my offspring called me up a few years ago and mentioned that his 2009 Camry Hybrid had a similar error code on the dash and the engine stopped in his workplace parking lot--"check hybrid system". He was able to push the car into the parking space and he went to work. At that time an internet search yielded zero significant results. When I called him up later after work he said he pushed his car to the gas station next door and put some gas in the tank. The engine started and all was good--apparently he ran the tank dry and the ICE stopped charging the hybrid battery, the battery stopped providing power to the wheels when the charge got too low. Thankfully that was a pretty cheap fix for the problem.

 

It would seem that an ecm that fails at 90,000 miles should be covered by the KIA warranty.

In the warranty manual you linked, it has this:
Engine Control Module (ECM) * 8/80 All vehicles

So only covered for 80k miles.

 

@atc98092 Dan thank you for doing a deeper dive than I did--I forgot what the ECM was. Interesting that the ECM threw the "check hybrid system" verbiage (a red herring flag). Bummer.