Kia bulletin TSB_ELE319
What it says2.5L GDI THETA III ECU SOFTWARE UPGRADE FOR ISG OPERATION LOGIC - This bulletin provides information to upgrade the Engine Control Unit (ECU) software on some 2023MY Sportage (NQ5) vehicles equipped with a Theta III… NHTSA’s full summary ↓
Kia filed this with NHTSA as a service bulletin dated Feb 6, 2024, received Mar 2, 2024, about the engine. It names 1 model year (2023). 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.
TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: 2.5L GDI THETA III ECU SOFTWARE UPGRADE FOR ISG OPERATION LOGIC - This bulletin provides information to upgrade the Engine Control Unit (ECU) software on some 2023MY Sportage (NQ5) vehicles equipped with a Theta III 2.5L GDI engine, produced from December 15, 2021 through July 17, 2023 and Sportage (NQ5a) vehicles equipped with Theta III 2.5L GDI engine, produced from January 12, 2022 through July 10, 2023, due to the possibility of an intermittent restart failure in rare circumstances with Idle Stop Go (ISG) enabled. The existing logic may prevent the vehicle from restarting automatically within a short time period (0.2 second) after entering "auto stop" mode and under certain engine and ambient conditions. However, if this occurs, the engine can be restarted by the driver after placing the gear shift selector to Park (P) or Neutral (N) and pressing the ENGINE START/STOP button.
Document filed under this number
| Document | Kind | Dated | NHTSA id | At NHTSA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TSB_ELE319 | Service bulletin | Feb 6, 2024 | 10249938 | PDF, 761 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.
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 1 model year this bulletin names have filed 311 complaints with NHTSA since 2015. 158 of them name Electrical System, Engine — 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 2023 Kia Sportage, the 12 owners who gave an odometer reading for Engine reported it at a median of 47,000 miles. That figure is one model year’s, not the whole range this bulletin covers — medians from different model years are not averaged.
PHEV vehicle: charging interrupted in the middle of the night. When attempting to reconnect the charger, a "Charging unsuccessful" message was given. A warning with "Check Hybrid System" appeared, as well as the check engine light. I cannot charge the car anymore and had to leave it at the dealership
2023 Kia Sportage · Electrical System · filed with NHTSA Apr 7, 2025 · ODI 11653278
1. Hybrid system failure And check engine light on . 2. Car jerk while driving and gone to limp mode and my speed was reduced to 10 mph at traffic putting my self and other in danger . 3.
2023 Kia Sportage · Engine · filed with NHTSA Jan 1, 2026 · ODI 11708252
In depth: 2023 Kia Sportage electrical problems → · 2023 Kia Sportage 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 group12 other manufacturer communications filed against the Kia Sportage under the same component group (engine), newest first. The eight newest are listed; the rest are on the Kia list.
| 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… |
| CA2516 | Service bulletin | Apr 1, 2026 | TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: CUSTOMER ACTION: ECU LOGIC IMPROVEMENT FOR DTC P2B59F0 (CA2516) - This bulletin provides information to upgrade… |
| SC325 | Emissions | Feb 20, 2026 | TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: VOLUNTARY EMISSIONS SERVICE CAMPAIGN: AEWP INSPECTION AND REPLACEMENT (SC325) - This bulletin has been revised t… |
| DC26 | Service campaign | Feb 10, 2026 | TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: DATA COLLECTION: EXTRACT CALIFORNIA EMISSIONS DATA FROM ECU (DC26) - This bulletin has been revised to include a… |
| SC320 | Emissions | Nov 20, 2025 | TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: VOLUNTARY EMISSIONS SERVICE CAMPAIGN: EGR VALVE ASSEMBLY REPLACEMENT (SC320) - This bulletin has been revised to… |
| CA2509 | Service bulletin | Nov 8, 2025 | TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: ITM REPLACEMENT AND ECM LOGIC IMPROVEMENT (CA2509) - This bulletin has been revised to include additional inform… |
| 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… |
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 TSB_ELE319 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 TSB_ELE319 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 TSB_ELE319 cover?
The manufacturer filed it against 1 model year: 2023 Kia Sportage. 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: 2023MY Sportage (NQ5): built 15 Dec 2021 – 17 Jul 2023; Sportage (NQ5a): built 12 Jan 2022 – 10 Jul 2023; Sportage (NQ5): built 15 Dec 2021 – 17 Jul 2023 — the build date is on the certification label in the driver’s door jamb.