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.

After all, they weren't present in cars in the 70's and these issues -
tranny, steering, etc. - were taken care of just fine in those earlier
cars without computer parts.

I couldn't care less about whether computer parts make cars safer.
Whether you are safe in a car or not primarily depends on the other
drivers on the road and how they drive...as well as on your own
driving ability and whether or not you are distracted while driving. I
doubt the computer parts do anything to make us much safer or to
protect us while we're driving, considering the two variables I
mentioned above are the most important with regards to your safety in
a car.

When those other drivers make mistakes, I am happy to have my ABS
and/or airbags to protect me.

cars. The problem isn't just "the little light". It's an emissions
issue that has to be corrected. The dealer told you they could repair
it if you supplied another computer, but did you tell them you were
planning on buying a used ECM? That $88 doesn't seem like a good deal
if it isn't usable.
It may be unfortunate that there hasn't been enough failures to
warrant a recall, but that's life. It would be fabulous if all
vehicles had a 100% warranty, one that covered every part for the life
of the vehicle. UNFORTUNATELY, the vehicles would be so expensive that
nobody would be able to afford them.

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?