2004 Kia Optima

I am posting to these newsgroups because of the vast expertise available.
Thank you for indulging me.

On April 30, 2007, I purchased a 2004 KIA Optima that had been used by the
dealer as a loaner. The car had about 19,000 miles on it when purchased by
me. The car had been placed in Service by the dealer on June 30, 2005.
When purchased by me, there was a little over 3 years and 40, 000 miles left
on the warranty. I have noticed on several occassions the car appeared to
be leaning to the left (when viewed from the rear) while parked in my
driveway. Yesterday, I took a few measurements in the driveway and the car
leans about 1/2" to the left. Measurements were taken at a point near the
left front, left rear, right front and right rear. I moved the car into my
garage, on a level floor, re-measured, and confirmed my original
measurements. I will be taking this up with the dealer but would like any
ideas as to what may have caused this problem and how to resolve it.

Thanks for any information.

 

Your not going to like this but the most obvious answer is it was
wrecked, the suspension damaged or unit body structure bent or both, and
then not properly repaired.

I'd take it to a good alignment shop and have them give it a through
going over. Or you might take it to a shop that does a lot of crash
repairs and get them to check it out for any damage or signs of repairs.

I actually had a vehicle (a Jeep Comanche) that had a definite tilt to
it for a while, it happened when I hit a piece of broken curb at about
45 mph and bent the front axle.

Good luck!

Jeff DeWitt

 

I'd expect this is either due to low tire pressure on the left side or
slightly different spring rates. This is a common occurrence in most
vehicles (all makes and models), and 1/2" is usually considered the limit
of normal variation.

 

Thanks for the suggestion. I failed to mention that I had also checked the
tire pressure. It is not a tire pressure problem.

 

Too much chocolate cake. Seriously, could be it was driven by someone that
was a bit on the heavy side and has some sag in the suspension. Usually
takes more than 19,000 miles though. Check the manufacturer's tolerance
too, it may be close to specification.

 

I've seen this on much older vehicles, caused by the sagging springs of
a vehicle driven mostly by the lone driver.
If the KIA springs sagged that soon they must be of quite poor quality.

 

Don't know if it applies to Kia, as I've heard of it mostly in conjunction
with Ford, but it's possible a left side spring has broken near the bottom.
Corrosion from road chemical build-up in the spring seat is the culprit
AFAIK.

Mike

 

Thanks, I'll have a look.

 

Biggest problem is that it is a Kia.
The car is already 3 years old, its probably pretty close to the end of its
life!

 

Driving a 5 year old that I do service calls out of , basically beating the
crap out of it to put if bluntly, hauling around tools and parts , don't
think it's "pretty close to the end of it's life " or are you a previous
owner of one?

 

FWIW, wife drives a 2002 Optima. The car has just shy of 100,000 miles on
it and is still fantastic. Only consistent issue we had was window
regulators which now are sorted. Very happy we bought the car.

 

My daughter-in-law is on her second Sephia. Her experience is that it isn't
a rugged car, but as long as she treats it gently it is reliable enough.
It's those 3K mile oil change requirements to maintain the warranty that bug
her. She has to have 33 done by the time the warranty expires.

Mike

 

That's one way to make a profit on the vehicle. >

 

Cheap insurance, on any car.

 

I think 3K is awfully short. I do 5K on my cars and that's a short interval.
10K is stretching it just a little bit IMO. The manual on my Toyota calls
for 7500 mile changes (5K severe duty) but the European manual calls for 10K
mile or 15 K km changes. My daughter's '93 Honda calls for 7500 mile changes
in either regular or severe duty and it's still going strong at 235K miles.

The price difference between 5K and 3K changes (if not DIY) can be
substantial. Even at $20 the additional 13 changes is $260, and a $20 oil
change has to be one with oil and filter I would never put in a car I wanted
to keep. Again, my opinion. I realize this is one of those "religious"
topics, so everybody is welcome to follow their own star.

Mike

 

Costs me about $12 and takes maybe 10 min.

I do it myself, about every 3000-3500 miles, oil is a LOT cheaper than
an engine.

Jeff DeWitt

 

I think 3K is awfully short.[/QUOTE]

Doesn't change the fact that it's cheap insurance on any car.

 

Cheap insurance against what, exactly? This thread is heavily cross-posted,
so it offers us the voice of a lot of experience. Everybody, everywhere,
when was the last time you saw an engine that actually suffered from 5K mile
oil changes? Even 10K mile? (Note the specific exception below.) And how
many have you seen fail because of timing belt neglect or head gasket
failure?

Have you ever heard (in recent times) of an oil analysis at 5K miles saying
the oil was no longer usable? Or even at 10K miles? Have you heard of any
engine (again, in the last 30 years or so) that suffered damage or sludge
from 5K change intervals? My view is well summarized in
www.nordicgroup.us/oil.htm#Oil%20Change%20Intervals - 3K oil changes are
from days long gone except as recommended by those entities that wish the
instructions could say "drain, fill, repeat." The previously mentioned site
noted that engines with hydraulic timing chain snubbers are an exception,
and I agree with that. I would also expand it to any engine with internal
hydraulics, like variable valve timing engines. However, I think higher
detergency oils are a more important factor in those engines than
excessively frequent oil changes.

Mike

 

Okay, Jeff, but if your oil change takes only ten minutes, you must have
either a hydraulic hoist or a lubrication pit built into your garage. I
(and most people) couldn't get the front wheels onto jacks in ten minutes.

 

Yikes, take me ten minutes to get the durned jack out of the trunk and
remember how the new fangled things work

Course I'm old and long retired anyways, so who cares?

Reminds me - how many old retired guys does it take to change a light
bulb?

Just one. But it takes him all day.

Take care.

Ken