Passenger seat replaced? Uh oh. What was the deal with your passeneger seat?
If you go onto Kia's website, click 'Owners' button, and then 'General Info'...then you need to create an account, after which you can view the TSB's under each Kia model.
Otherwise, just print the TSB No. and description I posted above and show your it to your dealer. It's possible that it was issued after you first asked them about a shift problem.
When I was at my dealer about 1 month ago and asked about it (when i was getting my passenger seat replaced) they told me that there was no recall for that. I will be going back in a week or two for a 5k oil change. Is there something I could print and take to them?
I dont know my production date but I purchased it in mid Aug
The service guy I talked to about this was an arse. I printed out the Kia TSB and tried to explain how I wanted the upgrade. He told me because that it did not pop up in his computer that he would not perform the upgrade for my vehicle. He wouldnt even look at the TSB I printed out and could not give me an explanation as of why I'm not eligible for this upgrade. He simply told me some are eligible and some aren't.
The service guy I talked to about this was an arse. I printed out the Kia TSB and tried to explain how I wanted the upgrade. He told me because that it did not pop up in his computer that he would not perform the upgrade for my vehicle. He wouldnt even look at the TSB I printed out and could not give me an explanation as of why I'm not eligible for this upgrade. He simply told me some are eligible and some aren't.
I would call Kia and get them after your dealer. My dealer called me and said they had 4 voluntary service campaign items they wanted to perform on my car. The shift upgrade, the bluetooth upgrade, the ECM trouble code fix, and the gas cap replacement. I was already aware of all 4 of these TSB's and was really only thinking of getting the shift upgrade done...until the dealer called me.
The shift upgrade makes a huge difference, make sure you get that done. Is there another dealer close to you that you can go to?
The service guy I talked to about this was an arse. I printed out the Kia TSB and tried to explain how I wanted the upgrade. He told me because that it did not pop up in his computer that he would not perform the upgrade for my vehicle. He wouldnt even look at the TSB I printed out and could not give me an explanation as of why I'm not eligible for this upgrade. He simply told me some are eligible and some aren't.
I think Im going to have the same problem here, I called today to schedule a oil change and asked about the shift upgrade, they had no idea what i was talking about. I go in next thursday Ill let you know what they did.
I bought my 2010 Forte a couple of weeks ago and have already put about 2800 miles on it. I notice that it seems to shift too soon if if easy on the pedal (trying to keep the ECON light on). If I am more agressive on the pedal, the shifts are much improved, but gas mileage goes to crap. When I took the car in 2 days after I bought it to have the cruise control installed, I mentioned this article online and the service advisor looked on the computer and said that the firmware was updated first part of December. Quite honestly, I think the car shifts better when the car is still in the process of warming up.
I'm wondering if I should just take my car in and have them scan the computer and tell me what firmware release I have and see if that is the most up to date? I've also had issues with the BT and people on the other end telling me that I sound like I'm in a hole so I've just disabled it altogether.
I had the 4 spd trans software upgrade done as part of the shift delay TSB, and I noticed a significnat improvement. Not only in removing the dealy, but stretching out the upshifts to a more normal mode. It's still not ideal, as it's alway trying to downshift due to being in a very tall top gear when cruising, even at low speeds.
Yes, this was designed that way for max fuel economy. So it's a tradeoff.
I've found that under brisk accelaration, such as taking off from a light on an expressway or a higher speed limit road, it will actually shift at about 3k rpms, each shift up...which seems a bit high to me. But hardly complaining, becasue the performance is good under those circumstances, it gets up to speed quick.
RE the BT problem, there is a TSB for that too. Mine BT was flashed and fixed at the same time as the trans upgrade...and the new gas cap TSB, and the ECM error code TSB. Owners should get all those done, free of charge. My dealer actually contacted me about all 4 of those TSB's and told me to bring it in to have them done.
Any dealer that is denying these TSB's or that they can't do them, is full of crap. Kia issues the TSB's for a reason, to take care of known problems and/or customer concerns. The dealers don't make any money on warranty repairs, unlike other repairs, so they are sometimes reluctant to devote time to TSB's, especially if it's not a stand-alone Kia dealer...which not many are.
My suggestion is to print out the TSB(S) and show it to your dealer, if they deny one exists. Then demand to have the TSB done. In fact, there is a notice by Kia to all dealers to have ALL applicable TSB's done BEFORE selling the car to a customer. Very few of the dealers do this, but to then deny the TSB's exist is shady.
Thanks Silver! I don't think my dealer was trying to get out of doing the work (luckily), but I am definately going to follow up on it. I've driven a lot of GM cars the last 15 years and a couple of Toyotas. Out of all of the cars I've owned, the old Chevy Corsica had the best shift patterns. The Toyota Yaris I had wasn't bad, but it used the auto trans to to engine brake (by design). I'm still trying to figure out the gas pedal on the Forte. It seems sensitive, but if I try real hard to take off slowly, it shifts too soon and at some points it actually feels like a manual trans when you shift too early and the car has a slight shutter (very slight). If I watch it, there are times when I see it shifting at 1500 RPM which I think is too low and will actually hurt the gas mileage. But, when getting on the highway and giving it the gas, it doesn't mess around and the shift points are perfect. If the TSB is for delay shifting, then mine has probably already been flashed as that doesn't seem to be an issue.
I just wish that there were ways for people to customize the shifting without putting it to manual. I know that many cars now days actually learn your driving and make changes to the shift patterns (my 2006 Impala). I don't really want it to learn my driving habbits, I just want to be able to customize to my liking.
So far I love this car. I've given up a few luxuries I had with my Impala, but I have saved so much time not having to go back and forth to the dealer every month or so for repairs! Plus, I love the way this car corners.
You're right and you make very good points. The TSB was really for the hestitation when the trans downshifts as you give it gas at lower speed and it's in top gear. Mine is at about 1500 too in top gear at about 40 mph, but I can be going along at 30 mph and it's actually at about 1200. That just spells trouble for when you hit the gas. It really shouldn't be in top gear at 30 mph. But that's the gas mileage thing that it was designed to maximize.
Throttle tip-in on the Forte is very sensitive, and possibly a little too aggressive. But I like it. I've had other cars the same way, a 2008 Subaru Legacy for example. It beats having a dog off the line.
Yes, the engine mgmt computer does adapt to driving technique, most likely the AT shift logic too. Mine seems to be getting back some of the hesitation on downshifts(in Drive mode) again. But not as bad as originally.
Hey guys. I just want to know if it is worth it to get the pcm update for the shift lag on my 2L a/t forte. Or will it just screw things up more. Is it worth doing?
__________________ KYLE'S FORTE IS STAYING STOCK...UNTIL THE WARRANTY IS UP...
Ive been told its just the electronic throttle control and nothing I can do about it...I have the latest update. Just a bad design. I'll call KIA and tell them what I think...not that it will do any good im sure.
You can register at kiatechinfo.com. Its free. Keep in mind, it is known that there are some discrepencies on kiatech, but generally, its a great place to start.
As for TSB's etc. Kiatechinfo, is more for US. Canada & US KIA are quite separate.
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