A Florida driver spent four months trying to find out why their 2025 Kia Sorento Hybrid kept losing power. Despite several trips to the dealership, the problem kept coming back.
While driving, the SUV would suddenly struggle to accelerate. Sometimes, it could not go faster than 50 mph. The owner wanted to know why the vehicle was having so much trouble.
Mechanics had already replaced the high-pressure fuel pump twice. They also replaced other fuel-system parts, but the repairs didn’t fix the problem.
During another visit, the dealership tested a sample of gas from the SUV’s tank. The fuel looked cloudy, leading workers to believe it was contaminated. The owner shared a photo on Reddit to find out what might be wrong.
A Strange Fuel Sample
Contaminated fuel
by
u/Revolutionary_Mode27 in
MechanicAdvice
The owner posted the photo in Reddit’s r/MechanicAdvice community on October 16, 2026. According to the post, the gas came from a newer station in Central Florida, near Clermont and Minneola. The driver had filled the tank with regular 87-octane fuel.
Inside the clear test container, the liquid appeared to have several colors. Some Reddit users joked about its red, white, and blue appearance.
However, the owner explained that labels behind the container caused the colors. The cloudy area in the middle was the real concern.
One commenter suggested water could be mixed into the gas. Another pointed out that cloudy fuel does not always mean something is wrong. Without more testing, nobody could say for sure what was in the tank.
Repairs Keep Failing
The Sorento had shown the same trouble code during earlier dealership visits. That code, P019100, pointed to a problem with the fuel rail pressure sensor’s readings. The dealer had already replaced the sensor and the fuel rail system.
During the latest test drive, the dealership found another problem. Its computer showed that all the engine’s cylinders were misfiring.
A misfire happens when an engine does not burn fuel the way it should. This can make a vehicle shake, lose power, or struggle to speed up. The owner believed the hybrid system helped keep the SUV moving when the gas engine lost power.
Fresh Gas Helps
To see if the fuel was causing the trouble, the dealership drained the tank and filled it with fresh premium gas from its own supply. After the fuel was changed, the misfires stopped. The owner said the Sorento was running normally when it was picked up.
Still, the dealership could not explain what had been mixed into the original gas. The shop lacked the equipment for further testing. Although the fresh fuel seemed to solve the latest problem, the owner wasn’t sure whether it was related to the earlier repairs.
The driver hoped the previous work had fixed the SUV’s other issues. The reviewed comments reported no further breakdowns, but the owner had not confirmed the problem was permanently fixed.