Kia bulletin PI2108
What it saysPRODUCT IMPROVEMENT CAMPAIGN NU 2.0L GDI - KNOCK SENSOR DETECTION SYSTEM (KSDS) ECU LOGIC IMPROVEMENT (PI2108) - This bulletin provides information related to a software update to the Engine Control Unit (ECU)… NHTSA’s full summary ↓
Kia filed this with NHTSA as a service bulletin dated Apr 15, 2026, received Mar 2, 2022, about the engine — 7 documents under this number: PI2108_OWNR_501, PI2108_OWNR_401, PI2108_OWNR_301, PI2108_OWNR_201 and 3 more. It names 2 model years (2019–2020). A service bulletin is not a safety recall: it is the manufacturer telling its dealers how to diagnose or repair a condition, and whether the work is paid for depends on the warranty in force. Quoting the number at a service desk can save a diagnosis.
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What the bulletin says
Source: NHTSA's summary of the manufacturer's communicationWhat it applies to, as the document itself states it — the build window in the manufacturer’s own words, read by machine from the PDF NHTSA serves. The build date is on the certification label in the driver’s door jamb; the dealer settles a borderline vehicle by its VIN.
PRODUCT IMPROVEMENT CAMPAIGN NU 2.0L GDI - KNOCK SENSOR DETECTION SYSTEM (KSDS) ECU LOGIC IMPROVEMENT (PI2108) - This bulletin provides information related to a software update to the Engine Control Unit (ECU) to install the Knock Sensor Detection System (KSDS), in order to protect the Hybrid engine from excessive connecting rod bearing damage. This update is for certain 2019-2020MY Optima (JF HEV) and (PHEV) vehicles equipped with Nu 2.0L GDI engines, produced from July 6, 2018 through October 28, 2019.
Trouble codes it names: P1326 all 1 read from the document itself; NHTSA’s summary names none
Documents filed under this number
| Document | Kind | Dated | NHTSA id | At NHTSA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PI2108_OWNR_501 | Other | Apr 15, 2026 | 11031847 | PDF, 194 KB |
| PI2108_OWNR_401 | Other | Aug 19, 2025 | 11021983 | PDF, 130 KB |
| PI2108_OWNR_301 | Other | Dec 16, 2024 | 11011943 | PDF, 130 KB |
| PI2108_OWNR_201 | Service bulletin | Apr 16, 2024 | 10253311 | PDF, 132 KB |
| PI2108_OWNR | Service bulletin | Feb 15, 2022 | 10208231 | PDF, 194 KB |
| PI2108_TSB | Service bulletin | Feb 14, 2022 | 10208232 | PDF, 600 KB |
| PI2108_QA | Service bulletin | Feb 10, 2022 | 10208230 | PDF, 111 KB |
The summary is NHTSA’s abstract of the document, as filed under 49 CFR 579.5. One communication is usually filed as several documents — the bulletin, a dealer notice, an owner letter — and the number on any of them finds this page. A PDF link is shown only once NHTSA’s own server has been seen to serve that document; the rest are checked over the following nights. Quote the number at a service desk; it is what the dealer’s system is keyed on.
Doing the repair yourself, or pricing it before the shop does? Search the part by fitment on eBay Motors — the listing and the price are the seller’s.
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Model years it names
Source: as the manufacturer filed themA vehicle page’s bulletin list shows the newest few communications filed against that model year; the count there is every one.
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What owners reported
Source: NHTSA complaint databaseOwners of the 2 model years this bulletin names have filed 369 complaints with NHTSA since 2015. 247 of them name Engine, Electrical System — the same broad component group this bulletin is filed under. NHTSA groups complaints coarsely, so that means the same area of the vehicle, not necessarily the same fault.
On the 2019 Kia Optima, the 20 owners who gave an odometer reading for Engine reported it at a median of 74,800 miles. That figure is one model year’s, not the whole range this bulletin covers — medians from different model years are not averaged.
I've had this car going on three years sometimes not all the time I will go to start it and it will barely start so I took it to the dealership three times when I got my oil change and they checked the battery but they're saying the battery is good and the starting system the car will just be sitting in my garage and I try to start it it…
2019 Kia Optima · Electrical System · filed with NHTSA May 9, 2021 · ODI 11415708
I purchased on my 2019 Kia Optima on 6/19. And since then off and on the car has experience intermittent starting issues. Now I have taken the car to two different dealers and neither one can find the problem. When pressing the stop/start button the car would hesitate to start no lights or codes are stored in the computer.
2019 Kia Optima · Engine · filed with NHTSA Nov 30, 2020 · ODI 11377227
The vehicle is incredibly easy to steal. A simple flat head screw driver in the hands of a child will steal this vehicle. My car was stolen from Daytona Beach Florida on July 8 2022 by 2 14 year and one 15 year old kids. No key, no fob needed, who knew it'd be so easy to steal? They learned it on TikTok.
2020 Kia Optima · Electrical System · filed with NHTSA Jul 19, 2022 · ODI 11474661
In depth: 2020 Kia Optima engine problems → · 2019 Kia Optima engine problems →
A complaint is one owner’s account, not a defect finding, and a bulletin is not a recall. Nothing here says this bulletin was issued because of these complaints, or that the repair it describes fixed them. Complaint files on this site begin in 2015.
More bulletins about the engine
Source: same model, same component group7 other manufacturer communications filed against the Kia Optima under the same component group (engine), newest first.
| Number | Kind | Dated | NHTSA’s summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| SC340 | Emissions | Apr 4, 2026 | VOLUNTARY EMISSIONS SERVICE CAMPAIGN: THETA II 2.4L GDI EMISSIONS: ECM LOGIC IMPROVEMENT (SC340 REVISION 5) - This bulletin has been revised… |
| PI2104 | Service bulletin | Mar 18, 2026 | PRODUCT IMPROVEMENT CAMPAIGN: THETA 2.4L MPI - KNOCK SENSOR DETECTION SYSTEM (KSDS) ECU LOGIC IMPROVEMENT (PI2104) - This bulletin provides… |
| TSB_ENG222_R8 | Service bulletin | Apr 3, 2025 | TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: EXCESSIVE OIL CONSUMPTION NU/GAMMA/THETA/KAPPA ENGINES - This bulletin has been revised to include additional in… |
| TSB_ENG222_R7 | Service bulletin | Feb 28, 2025 | TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: EXCESSIVE OIL CONSUMPTION NU/GAMMA/THETA/KAPPA ENGINES - This bulletin has been revised to include additional in… |
| PI2108Y/Z | Service bulletin | Nov 8, 2024 | TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: PRODUCT IMPROVEMENT CAMPAIGN: SUBSEQUENT REPAIR ACTION: ENGINE REPLACEMENT INSTRUCTIONS FOR DTC P1326… |
| PI1802YZ_TSB_R5 | Service bulletin | Mar 22, 2024 | PRODUCT IMPROVEMENT CAMPAIGN: ENGINE REPLACEMENT INSTRUCTIONS FOR DTC P1326 (PI1802Y/Z) - This bulletin has been revised to include additio… |
| PI1805YZ | Service bulletin | Jan 12, 2024 | TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: PRODUCT IMPROVEMENT (PI1805Y/Z) - This bulletin provides information related to the Technical Service Bulletin p… |
Quote the number at the service desk. It is what the dealer’s system is keyed on.
Every manufacturer communication NHTSA holds for Kia, by the number printed on the letter.
Common questions
Source: NHTSA, 49 CFR 579.5Is Kia PI2108 a recall?
No. A service bulletin is a manufacturer communication filed with NHTSA under 49 CFR 579.5; a safety recall carries an NHTSA campaign number (two digits, a letter, six digits) and a federal duty to repair for free. Check the vehicle’s recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls, or on its page here.
Is the PI2108 repair free?
Not automatically. A service bulletin describes how to diagnose or repair a condition; who pays depends on the warranty in force, any extension, and the dealer. Quoting the number can save a diagnosis either way. Every Kia warranty extension on file lists the ones Kia has filed.
Which vehicles does PI2108 cover?
The manufacturer filed it against 2 model years: 2020 Kia Optima, 2019 Kia Optima. Whether one particular vehicle is affected is a matter of its VIN and its build, not its model year alone. The document itself sets the build window: Optima Hybrid (JF HEV/PHEV): built 6 Jul 2018 – 28 Oct 2019 — the build date is on the certification label in the driver’s door jamb.