KIA Ceed CRDI 2.0l Sport 2009 - Lack of performance after mandatory ecu upgrade

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Wed 31 Jul 2013 11:27
KIA Ceed CRDI 2.0l Sport 2009 - Lack of performance after mandatory ecu upgrade - GRT51

Hi, after a main dealer ecu update the performance has dropped off alarmingly and the drive is very disappointing compared to previously.Max torque before was from 1800 to 2000 rpm, I don't know where it is now for there is no 'wow' acceleration factor. I would want the procedure reversed because this is not the car I bought anymore. What can I do?

Tks

Edited by GRT51 on 31/07/2013 at 11:30

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Wed 31 Jul 2013 11:51
KIA Ceed CRDI 2.0l Sport 2009 - Lack of performance after mandatory ecu upgrade - skidpan

My immediate reaction is has the car ever been re-mapped. If it had the dealer ECU upgrade will have overwritten the re-map. If this is the case you will be comparing the performance after a re-map to standard spec. Some companies who re-map engines will re-map them FOC if their map is overwritten by a dealer during an upgrade.

If you have not owned the car fron new it is possible it was re-mapped without your knowledge. But without knowing who carried out the work getting the original performance back will be difficult and costly.

But don't blame the Kia dealer, they have only carried out work detailed by Kia themselves.

From personal experience I found the 2.0 CRDi very disapointing when we drove it. The 1.6 CRDi (which we eventually bought) felt just a good and was very much quieter.

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Wed 31 Jul 2013 12:02
KIA Ceed CRDI 2.0l Sport 2009 - Lack of performance after mandatory ecu upgrade - jc2

What was "MANDATORY" about the upgrade?

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Wed 31 Jul 2013 19:42
KIA Ceed CRDI 2.0l Sport 2009 - Lack of performance after mandatory ecu upgrade - GRT51

Hi, mandatory in the sense that the car went to a main dealer with an egr problem and was told when fixed that they also did an upgrade that would make the egr perform better. This was later discounted when I talked to a manager and said as previously mentioned that the main dealer will put on any ecu upgrade that Kia tells them to. I was not told that an ecu upgrade would take place or what it would mean to the cars drivability.

To my knowledge the car has not been remapped in anyway, came from a main dealership about 18 months ago with just 13800 on the clock. Looking at specifications on the web this car as always been a flying machine with max torque going down with the rpm range and to quote from one online car spec website "Peak torque from the four-cylinder engine is rated at 305Nm which is more mid range muscle than a BMW 330i, this figure attainable anywhere from 1800 to 2500 rpm. In other words you won't need to rev the Ceed to high heaven in order to extract meaningful peformance."

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Wed 31 Jul 2013 20:18
KIA Ceed CRDI 2.0l Sport 2009 - Lack of performance after mandatory ecu upgrade - skidpan

To my knowledge the car has not been remapped in anyway, came from a main dealership about 18 months ago with just 13800 on the clock.

So it could have been re-mapped. Suggest you try and get in touch with the original owner to ascertain the facts.

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Thu 1 Aug 2013 00:23
KIA Ceed CRDI 2.0l Sport 2009 - Lack of performance after mandatory ecu upgrade - McP

There is an ECU upgrade for the EGR Valve Control Logic

ceedonline.info/SearchResults.aspx?query=KFE10-14-...D

The only 'useful' info in this document is.....

This bulletin provides information related to ECM software upgrade of some 06MY~10MY
Cee'd(ED) vehicles with D2.0L engines which experience hesitation at acceleration as soon as vehicle starts.

The rest of it is about the upgrade process

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Thu 1 Aug 2013 10:36
KIA Ceed CRDI 2.0l Sport 2009 - Lack of performance after mandatory ecu upgrade - oldtoffee

Ask the previous owner in a non accusing manner saying if it was remapped you like it and want to contact the tuning company to see if they offer a low cost repeat remap to over write the new dealer remap (many do.)

If the difference is that significant then there's a good chance it was remapped as a "factory remap" shouldn't affect it too much. Some maps are able to adjust to your driving style so things might improve over time.

Maybe ask the dealer for a favour if you could try out another same spec engined Ceed just to put your mind at rest and see how that drives.

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Sat 15 Jun 2019 21:37
KIA Ceed CRDI 2.0l Sport 2009 - Lack of performance after mandatory ecu upgrade - Rathamon

Mentioned on HJ somewhere Kia did a ECU update to reduce boost and stop damage caused by over boost on some models.

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Thu 1 Aug 2013 11:56
KIA Ceed CRDI 2.0l Sport 2009 - Lack of performance after mandatory ecu upgrade - craig-pd130

Contact the dealer and tell them that performance has decreased dramatically after the update.

New ECU updates can and sometime do cause unforeseen problems that take the manufacturer a while to realise. I had a similar situation with my Volvo V60 D3 after its first service -- it came back to me with significant turbo 'lag' and generally flat performance compared with how it was before the service.

I called the dealer and described the symptoms. Guess what? There was a dealer service bulletin covering the problem and how to remedy it.

Talking to the dealer service manager, the problem was that the new ECU update downloaded from the main Volvo service computer was wiping / resetting parameters including turbo boost curves, turbo actuator mapping etc. They took the car back, sorted it and it was as good as new.

Just because it's a 'main dealer software update' doesn't mean it's been fully tested, or even works properly. Think about all the Microsoft, Adobe, Flash and other software updates for PCs that don't work, crash and cause problems .... it's exactly the same with cars.

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Thu 1 Aug 2013 13:12
KIA Ceed CRDI 2.0l Sport 2009 - Lack of performance after mandatory ecu upgrade - skidpan

"Maybe ask the dealer for a favour if you could try out another same spec engined Ceed just to put your mind at rest and see how that drives."

The problem is the 2.0 CRDI is as rare as hens teeth. It did not sell well since it was not particularly economical and little faster than the very popular 1.6 CRDi. Many were re-mapped because they disapointed the owners in standard trim. Kia dropped it in 2009 because of poor sales.

Chances of finding one to drive is slim and any you find may have been re-mapped.

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Thu 1 Aug 2013 13:13
KIA Ceed CRDI 2.0l Sport 2009 - Lack of performance after mandatory ecu upgrade - GRT51

Found this concering the 1.6 crdi

This bulletin provides information related to ECM software upgrade for some cee’d (ED) vehicles with U-1.6L VGT diesel engines, to prevent possible damage to the turbocharger components, such as the turbine and compressor/impeller wheels or the shaft, which may be caused by turbo spinning to RPMs far beyond of what it is safely capable.
2. Vechicles affected
¦ Model: cee’d (ED) U-1.6L VGT diesel engines<*** id="itxthook3icon" class="itxtrst itxtrstimg itxthookicon" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 4px !important; vertical-align: baseline !important;" src="http://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/icon1.png" alt="" />
¦ Applicable vehicle production date range : From Nov 23, 2006 to July 07, 2009
¦ VIN Range : a. 5 Door: U5YFF24427L001608 ~ U5YFF24439L186618
b. Wagon: U5YFF52428L000499 ~ U5YFF52429L116244
c. 3 Door: U5YFF23428L000011 ~ U5YFF23429L042569
¦ Area: All export countries (except North America)

From another KIA Service manager " to protect the engine from potential damage due to the turbo being able to over boost and generate more engine power than preferred."
I am waiting to hear from the main dealer I took the car to and will give it until Monday then it well be a case of writing to the dealership manager. Scenario, buy a car for the performance then have it downgraded at a service, would this be a breach of the sale of goods act?
Thanks for the replies

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Thu 1 Aug 2013 13:29
KIA Ceed CRDI 2.0l Sport 2009 - Lack of performance after mandatory ecu upgrade - skidpan

Found this concering the 1.6 crdi

This bulletin provides information related to ECM software upgrade for some cee’d (ED) vehicles with U-1.6L VGT diesel engines, to prevent possible damage to the turbocharger components, such as the turbine and compressor/impeller wheels or the shaft, which may be caused by turbo spinning to RPMs far beyond of what it is safely capable.
2. Vechicles affected
¦ Model: cee’d (ED) U-1.6L VGT diesel engines<*** id="itxthook3icon" class="itxtrst itxtrstimg itxthookicon" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 4px !important; vertical-align: baseline !important;" src="http://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/icon1.png" alt="" />
¦ Applicable vehicle production date range : From Nov 23, 2006 to July 07, 2009
¦ VIN Range : a. 5 Door: U5YFF24427L001608 ~ U5YFF24439L186618
b. Wagon: U5YFF52428L000499 ~ U5YFF52429L116244
c. 3 Door: U5YFF23428L000011 ~ U5YFF23429L042569
¦ Area: All export countries (except North America)

From another KIA Service manager " to protect the engine from potential damage due to the turbo being able to over boost and generate more engine power than preferred."
I am waiting to hear from the main dealer I took the car to and will give it until Monday then it well be a case of writing to the dealership manager. Scenario, buy a car for the performance then have it downgraded at a service, would this be a breach of the sale of goods act?
Thanks for the replies

But that is for the 1.6 CRDi which is a totally different engine and irrelevant to the OP's problem.

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Fri 2 Aug 2013 18:18
KIA Ceed CRDI 2.0l Sport 2009 - Lack of performance after mandatory ecu upgrade - focussed

Whoa! What's happened to the formatting on this thread?

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Sat 3 Aug 2013 20:03
KIA Ceed CRDI 2.0l Sport 2009 - Lack of performance after mandatory ecu upgrade - GRT51

as suggested this only applies to 1.6 VGT crdi's, my issue is to be resolved. Thanks

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Sat 15 Jun 2019 22:13
KIA Ceed CRDI 2.0l Sport 2009 - Lack of performance after mandatory ecu upgrade - Rathamon

What's Vgt ?

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Sat 15 Jun 2019 21:46
KIA Ceed CRDI 2.0l Sport 2009 - Lack of performance after mandatory ecu upgrade - Rathamon

My Carens fitted with the 1.6 126 bhp had a egr cooler replaced under warranty and had this ECU update applied at the same time, results were slightly less tourque but still pulls very well despite the size of the car.

This engine has the same turbo and egr as the older 2 ltr as far as I know

There is a Kia Technical Bulletin available on the web that lists this ECU update.

Edited by Rathamon on 15/06/2019 at 21:49

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