Kia Optima ECM Causes Annoying Inspection Failure

It took alot of negotiating, but this week they replaced my car's
control module, as the original inspection failure occurred before
80,000 miles or 8 years, falling under the federal law regarding
emission standards.

I am satisfied; the design of the ECM marries it to the vehicle when
it is made, so if a Kia car is totaled, the module cannot be salvaged
and used in any other car. I don't know how common this problem is,
but it goes without saying that if a car's central computer can't
simply be reset by a Kia dealer, and has to be replaced, it must be
costing the company one pretty penny to install a factory new one if
it fails while the vehicle is still under manufacturer warranty.

I'l take this occasion to thank Shannon at Kia America, and Gary, the
supervisor who decided to make the effort to satisfy his customer,
me.

Cased closed on a positive note.
Thank you~~
God bless.

It appears now that after considerable negotiations with higher- ups
at Kia, we may have reached a solution. Under provisions of a federal
law, all cars must be warranted against emissions defects 8 years, or
80,000 miles, whichever comes first. My mileage was roughly 79,400
when the inspection was done, and issued a rejection sticker because
of the ECM malfunction. This was just before Christmas, and the
inspection station told me to take it to an authorized dealer for an
ECM firmware reset. I got the car into their shop about 2 weeks ago,
and the mileage was just shy of 80,600. The dealership recorded this
as 81,595~~ wrong!

After speaking directly with the higher-up manager at Kia
headquarters, we came to the following agreement:~~

I am to take my car to the EPA/RMV certified mechanic who has said he
can either reflash the memory in my existing ECM, which the dealer
could not, or replace it with my $88 Ebay unit and do likewise. If it
works, I pay them $100, and we're all golden. If not, the manager has
agreed that Kia will cover the ECM replacement as a courtesy, and
we're still all golden.

I'll post on here as things unfold, and will certainly acknowledge
Kia's efforts and customer satisfaction interests, regardless of how,
and by whom, this situation is remedied.

Right now, it's "we'll see," and that we definitely shall. I tend to
believe that Kia will stand by their compromise with me, which is all
I need to remain a satisfied customer. If it costs a few dollars more
to be done with this headache, so be it~~ $100-$150 is what my
mechanic told me to expect, and the dealership's quote of $135 is not
unreasonable at all.

Here's hoping for the best.....
I'll let you know how it goes...

Thanks for your feedback everyone, even those who may disagree with my
position...

All for now.

I would just pull the fuse that powers the check engine light, get it
inspected and plug it back in.

I feel for you for this issue. I've been driving around with the check
engine light on in my car for months now. My car - a Nissan - does
this because the little sensors in the car fail and that makes the
Check Engine light come on.

Putting computer parts into cars was one of the worst ideas ever.

The new technology additions don't improve the vehicle at all (I don't
use OnStar, play DVD's in my car or play MP3's, so please no replies
to this post talking about how we didn't have those in 70's cars and
how they are so nice and how other people can't live without
them)....and they break down and need replacing FREQUENTLY.

It's a shame you can't get a decent car like they made in the 70's
anymore - made out of steel and with as few parts as possible. Those
70's cars rarely broke down and, when they did, fixing the issue was
usually price-affordable (Unless it was something major like a
tranny).

in this case. I looked online and even from a shop it was only
$125.00. And that's a used one too so I don't see why you can't use
them if they are used. I don't know much about cars but one thing I do
know that dealers are ripoffs :-\

The dealership wanted $725 for the part, and another $200 to install
it.

I found the part on Ebay for $65, and paid my mechanic another $85 to
put it in. It works perfectly.

If the ECM in my car has gone bad, so be it. The dealer offered me a
new one for $1300+, and also said I could provide one of my own, and
either way, it would cost $135 in labor to swap the units out and
program the replacement.

It isn't my expectation that Kia should cover this 100%. I have no
problem supplying the part, and paying $135 to the dealership to set
things right.

My car passed all of the emissions tests. The check engine light stays
on because the ECM isn't recognizing the VIN number. I bought the car
new, and the ECM was never touched. Even so, I can accept that it
might have gone bad on its own, so all I'm asking of Kia is to honor
what I was told it would cost for to get that little tight to go off
and stay off.

These electronics modules have firmware inside. This is software the
manufacturer installs at the factory, and isn't normally accessible by
the end user. It is readily accessible by the manufacturer, and their
authorized service centers. When the dealership tried to perform the
reset, my car's ECM didn't take it, and they said it had crapped out.
A reset of another such unit from a vehicle of the same specifications
as mine should simply take the reset from the dealer's ECM computer. I
have the part in hand, and will gladly pay the $135 they quoted me to
resolve the issue. Kia America is telling me that the VIN pairing
can't be reset, and that's one big pile of buffalo chips. I have an
Associate's Degree in industrial electronics, and know for a fact that
firmware is not the same as hardware; it is software programmed into
the device, needed for normal start-up and function. This is how your
television, laptop, DVD player, etc... retain that information. Most
have a small battery used to maintain the required micro voltage, and
after 6 years it's entirely possible that the little lithium wafer
inside my ECM leaked or drained out. Either way, this is a minor fix.

Open up the chassis of any modern computer, and look on the mother
board. There you will see what looks like a watch battery, slipped
into a little clip. This keeps the firmware intact. However tiny the
voltage it takes, no information can be retained in a digital system
without some source of energy. Without electrical potential, firmware
goes away. I'm not one to rewrite the laws of physics, and I don't
believe Kia is either.

My ECM stopped working because the firmware is completely gone, or the
unit itself has suffered physical and/or electrical damage. If it has
to be replaced, once again, I have the part in hand, and the
dealership has the proprietary equipment and software needed to
program it to my car. Let's do it.

Thanks.

It sounds a bit like you maybe tried to take a shortcut with the ebay
device.

although you may feel it saved you money if it can't be used then it
may not help with the problem?