What causes grinding o r unusual noises from the starter when starting the Kia Stonic, especially after long use?

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What causes grinding o r unusual noises from the starter when starting the Kia Stonic, especially after long use?

Some Stonic drivers hear grinding noises, o r feel that starting is rough starter drive doesn’t engage smoothly o r gear teeth are noisy. Could this be due to wear in the starter’s pinion gear, misalignment with the flywheel ring gear, o r damage to the flywheel itself? Are there known parts quality issues OEM vs aftermarket that make this worse, particularly under Pakistani road/heat/dust conditions?

Talha Kyanii asked on 20 Sep 2025 16:15:05 pm

1 Answer

28 views |

Gari Master - on 20 Sep 2025 16:16:31 pm

Likely Causes / Explanation:

Worn o r damaged pinion gear o r starter drive Bendix — the gear that engages with the flywheel might have worn teeth o r may not engage properly, causing grinding.

Flywheel ring gear damage — the ring on the flywheel that meshes with the starter pinion may have damaged o r missing teeth. This leads to grinding when the starter tries to engage them.

Misalignment — if the starter is not mounted properly, o r if there has been wear in the housing/bushings, the alignment of the pinion vs the flywheel may be off, causing grinding.

Degradation of internal components — worn bearings, worn bushings, looseness in drive gear assembly can lead to play that causes mis-meshing.

Aftermarket / lower quality parts — sometimes lower‑quality replacement starters o r gears have poorer tolerances, so wear o r misfit is more likely, especially under heat/dust stress.

What you can do / what to inspect:

Inspect flywheel ring gear teeth for damage.

When starter removed, inspect pinion gear for wear o r damage.

Check mounting bolts & bracket – ensure starter is properly aligned and tightly secured.

Prefer OEM o r good quality replacement check fitment.

Replace worn parts early if grinding noticed, deal with it before further damage to flywheel occurs which is more expensive to repair.