Just bought a 2017 Kia Sportage, can you help with this engine noise?

[Dan]

Hey! So my car is low on coolant (owned it 2 weeks now) and I have people telling me this sound is piston slap and my engine is going to fail. Other people say it’s 100% normal for GDI engines and not to be worried. Could I gather some of your opinions?

Topic

[Billy]

Totally normal. Somebody not familiar with GDI might reasonably think it was excessive valve noise, but anyone who thinks it’s piston slap has no clue what piston slap sounds like.

[Dan]

Thanks for responding! I know that higher pitched ticking is the GDI sound, I was more concerned with the slower, Lower pitched sound you can hear beneath it. I think I’m just listening way too hard though haha. The dealership said the AC compressor is noisy so they’re replacing that, hopefully that’s what I’m hearing. Thanks!

[Author]

Replies