What is causing the smoke, no acceleration, and now no start?2008 Kia Rio LX

Asked by Stephanie Jun 26, 2022 at 10:08 PM about the 2008 Kia Rio LX

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

2008 kia rio lx automatic 1.6l engine. Son Was driving,
had trouble accelerating, and then black smoke came
from back of car, so he pulled over.  Opened hood and
it looked like oil had exploded all over it. He wiped it
off as much as possible,  added a quart thinking it
needed more, tried to start it and it just clicked.
Waited a few minutes and tried again,  this time click,
turned over but no start, and lost all power. Had towed
home. When i looked the next day, the alternator belt
was gone, completely ripped up and laying at bottom
of engine. Got new one, but before putting on, i
decided to do oil change. Drained pan, changed filter,
and then checked dip stick and it had oil almost to the
top of it. Waited a bit checked again same thing. So
tried draining oil pan again,  put screw driver in hole to
remove any blocks,  but very little, a few drops, have
drained. Not sure what to do now. Two weeks prior to
this we just had tune up and oil change. Car ran fine,
no issues until day before incident when it was slow
accelerating once, and then drove normal again. Any
advice on what the issue would be?

3 Answers

310,565

That sounds like a blown engine.

1 people found this helpful.
40,075

Next time you guys have car trouble shut the thing off and have a mechanic that knows what they're doing fix it .

157,865

Definitely sounds like a blown engine. To check the oil level you pull the dipstick, wipe it off with a rag or paper towel, reinsert the dipstick, then remove the dipstick a second time. That's your oil level. Were you with your Son when this happened? If not, I'm sure there's more to this story! Fun fact, the alternator belt on this engine also drives the water pump to keep the engine cool. So, when the belt broke, for whatever reason, a red warning light came on the dash to alert your Son that the alternator had stopped working. He should have pulled over then. But he didn't, he ignored it. Since the water pump also stopped working because the belt broke a few minutes later the engine began to overheat and a second red warning light came on to alert your Son that the engine was overheating. He ignored that too and kept driving until the engine got so hot it quit! When the engine gets that hot the oil thins out to the point it's like water and does nothing to lubricate the engine. Bearings start knocking and other strange noises start sounding from under the hood before the engine actually stops! But he probably didn't hear any of that with the radio playing, very loudly no doubt! I don't think the vehicle is salvageable but it doesn't hurt to have it looked at. You can remove all the spark plugs and try to turn the engine by hand. If it won't turn, junk the vehicle, it's done. If it will turn by hand replace the starter. The excessive heat probably burned out the starter. Check for any burned or damaged wiring too. Replace the belt and find out what caused the old one to break. Unless the belt was old, like original to the vehicle, it probably didn't just break. Possibly the water pump or something seized and caused the belt to break. This would have caused a loud screeching noise which, again, your Son ignored. Hope that helps! Jim

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