Expert help please!

2000 Sportage 2-dr. Convertible 4x4.
110,000 miles.

Timing Belt broke and replaced at 60,000 miles. No problems began until 95,000 or so... Infrequent and random hesitiation/sputtering/no power, occuring ONLY under load/during acceleration. Gradual worsening/more frequent symptoms by 100,000. At 108,000, began repairs as follows:

ODB-II CODES Present: P0301 "random misfire cyl.1", P0326 "knock sensor"

New Spark Plugs.
New Spark Plug Wires.
New "Coil" wire harness (input to ignition coils, white connectors cracked).
2 New igniton coils (one definately cracked, one arcing through base)

No change whatsoever. Codes present again, same as before.

Paid Kia Dealer for evaluation.
$700 later - dealer had
Replaced cracked exhaust manifold.
Replaced clogged PreCat (warm-up cat. converter).
Replaced applicable gaskets.
Replaced front O2 sensor free (damaged upon removal from manifold).

Slight change in performance....back to like it was in the beginning at 90,000, with infrequent hesitation/sputtering ONLY under acceleration. Idle is mostly smooth, occasional little "blip" now and then (1 time every 2 minutes?) Cruises fine, no problems on slowing down.

After one week of driving, one ODB code returned: P0326 Knock Sensor

Returned to dealer, dealer says "screw yourself, warranty only on service performed. Additonal work extra charge". Can't repeat what i told the Kia dealer here!

Replaced knock sensor myself, what a pain in the a_ _ (almost as much work as the timing belt!), with no change....no difference whatsoever.
New Code present P0326 knock sensor. (same as before)

OK i've spent about $1000 so far.....I'll pay one of you experts to tell me what's wrong,if your answer fixes it! I'm gonna ruin my PreCat again if i dont fix it soon. This is my only vehicle, and i must drive it everyday!
The "misfire" codes are gone, presumably due to the repairs made....but the "knock sensor" code remains. Still sputters on acceleration, but idles and cruises fine.
Defective wires to the knock sensor? Faulty fuel injector? CKP sensor? MAF ? TPS? $1000 more dollars or "trial and error"? Turning a wrench does not a mechanic make, these days! Anyone out there with a brain?!?!

Thank you.

First of all have you tried using a higher octane fuel? That will isolate whether itis "real" detonation or a problem with your vehicle. Go for a couple of tankfulls of the highest octane fuel you can find and see if it still happens. Go to a different supplier too as some less scrupulous ones "water down" the fuel with other volatiles, decreasing the octane rating.

Assuming it hasn't


Having obviously changed everything else and other sensors are not throwing codes, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say it is likely to be an electrical issue, either with the wire from the knock sensor to the ECU, or internally within the ECU.

Axeman should be able to give us a bit of a clue as to what pin the knock sensor goes to on the ECU and if there are any splices within the loom (known problem in other areas). Make a lead up that connects the knock sensor to the correct wire to the connector in the back of the ECU. Don't cut the old wire, just use a 20 cent wire joiner - plastic thingys with a cover that clips over the top of them. Drive around and see if that fixes the problem.

Next solution by default would be the ECU, either causing the detonation through timing issues ("real" detonation), permanantly locked into "limp home" mode for some reason (internal failure - code??? causing fixed timing, when mixed with low octane fuel may cause detonation under moderate to heavy load), or not sensing knock sensor (faulty preprocessing stage of ECU). I don't know if the ECU's are swapable between years, but if you could get your hands on a spare from a breaker for a loan you could try swapping them over (this could be done in the breakers yard if they want to give you any grief about it, might need someone with a code reader too, to clear old codes).

Not much else that comes to mind, given that you appear to have jacked up the stoplamps, and changed everything else.

E-mail me at mjats@juno.com and I'll forward to you the section of the electrical manual that you'll need to diagnose the P0326. Sounds like a wiring harness issue.

After that's fixed then we'll tackle the hesitation issue. One thing at a time. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I'm having the same problem as the first poster, except no code. Hesitation stops with the use of high octane gas -- what does this mean? Sure hope I don't have to use premium from now on!!!! Lee

BTW: the vehicle I'm talking about is a 2000 Kia Sportage with over 260,000 miles. Thanks!

Might just be time for a simple decoke and valvegrind. Excess carbon deposits in the head and on the valves can cause preignition, the higher octane reduces the susceptability to ignition in the first place so would delay the onset of the preignition (pinging).

260,000 miles is a stirling effort, and I wouldn't begrudge spending the money fixing an item of wear and tear on what appears to be an otherwise reliable car. (should cost the same as a "plug change", plus a head gasket if you do it yourself. Maybe a day to day and a half leisurely work).

Like any vehicle, if you get a good one, stick with it.

Hello everyone,
I'm bringing this tread up since it seems I have the same problem.
Last week my "Check Engine" light went on for a day, and went back off. I checked with a scanner and it gave a Knock Sensor error code.
I disconnected the sensor, sprayed it with a contact cleaner and connected it back (it was clean but since it was already out I figured why not).
Today, the light went back on.
Any ideas anyone?
I also saw at the Kia Tech Info that I could check the sensor with a voltmeter, and I need to measure the voltage between ground and Terminal 3 (yel/grn).
Can someone pleas tell me where is this Terminal 3 inspection point?
The car is 2001, SWB sportage, with a little over 100,000 miles.
Thanks,
Lior

My engine light comes on all the time for a day or two. It usually comes on 3 miles after a fill up. This morning it came on while driving on the highway with about 1/4 tank of gas. I had the code read and it was a cylinder 1 misfire and catalyst. That's what the dude from Autozone told me. The truck doesn't ever run different with the light on. I'll just ignore it and it will be off in a day or two.

My dummy light stays on for a day or a week.
Has been off for about a month.
Just came back on yesterday morning and has been on since.
I don't feel a difference either on or off???
<img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

When I bought this car, just over a year ago, the light was on because there was a problem with the oxygen sensor, once I replaced it the light went off, and it has been that way since until last week.
Since then, the light goes on and off occasionally, it means that there is a problem and despite the error code I don't think its with the knock sensor, but in order to make sure I want to measure the voltage according to the Kia tech info.
Does anyone know where is this terminal 3 that they are referring to?
Thanks,
Lior