The engine also sounds, for lack of a better word, healthy. That is, theres no obvious knocking, banging, rattling, or other noise that would indicate catastrophic damage. Of course, that might change when it fires up but my gut says it won’t. That kind of damage is usually apparent even when just turning over.
And yeah, it sounds like you might need a new battery. Or at the very least the one you have needs charged.
Get your battery on a charger ASAP.
At this stage, which codes are you getting?
I don’t know what the mechanic got but I am getting these. The first two were the ones that came up before everything went kablooey, on both my OBD gadget and on AutoZones:
P0441
Evaporative emission system incorrect purge flow.
P0116:
Engine coolant temperature sensor one circuit range performance
After the Fall:
PO117
Engine coolant temperature sensor 1 circuit low
PO326
Knock sensor one circuit range/performance Bank one or single sensor
P0302
Cylinder 2 misfire detected
Ignore the Evap. Emission error for now.
You have a shorted cable to your temperature sensor, or a defective sensor.
Ignore the knock sensor for now - it’s probably related to the next issue:
Replace the spark plug and/or the coil for Cylinder 2.
Expanding on my previous post in this thread, I want to ask about this item on page 7-29 in your owner manual:
Check the antifreeze protection and coolant level at least once a year, at the beginning of winter season, and before traveling to a colder climate.
Have you been checking the coolant level at least annually?
If there’s a catastrophic hose rupture that dumps most of your coolant in the space of a minute, you’ll generally notice a lot of steam coming out from under the hood, which is your cue to pull over and shut down the engine before it gets damaged. But if a slow leak is gradually causing the coolant level to drop, then your only chance to catch it is by visually inspecting the level on a regular basis, i.e. at least once a year per the owner manual. If a shop won’t do it for you (because they don’t want to keep your car long enough for the engine to cool down so they can pop the radiator cap without getting burned), then you’ll need to read the owner manual and do it yourself some time when the engine is cold.
Crossing my fingers for you, hoping it doesn’t cost you too much $ to get your car back up and running.
I LOVED it…I was specifically looking for a vehicle for rideshare, and the kia checked every box, right down to the color, which is bright yellow: so many riders expressed relief at how easy my car is to spot, among the sea of gray Priuses. Saved me time and hassle as well. I was always amazed when a rider did a plate check… really? Do you see a lot of bright yellow cars of ANY description besides mine?
Thank you! I am in a much more hopeful place since my best friend’s hubby, who is also my friend, and happens to be The Master Of All Things Mechanical (really, he’s one of those guys… the kind with a preternatural understanding of How Things Work) FaceTimed with me and we did some testing and there is hope… I am going to bite the bullet and pay to have it towed to the nearest dealer, which is 30 miles away. 
$$$
I take it that your best friend’s hubby isn’t local and therefore can’t recommend an independent mechanic? Because for cars out of warranty, I would opt for an independent mechanic over a dealer, but I understand you may not have much of a choice or want to deal with it at this point. Good luck either way.
Having dicked around with Kelley blue book, just to see what’s possible, it occurs to me that dealers always want to sell you a car. That’s their number one goal in life.
Imma bet that if I go to a Kia dealer with my sad little Kia and its sad little problem, and even with my admittedly marginal credit (which isn’t bad it’s just kind of nonexistent, except for paying off a car, resulting in a sad number) and my sad income based on being an old woman getting a check from the government who wants to get back on the road driving UBER and Lyft… they will probably be willing to sell me a reasonably decent vehicle with a reasonably doable car payment. Betcha.
And if this does become an option I’m gonna snatch it quicker than you can say…well, something you could say very quickly!
And of course I will be letting you all know.
If so, here’s my thinking/question. In the paraphrased words of Chico Escuela, as embodied by Mr. Garrett Morris, “Toyota has been berry, berry good to me.” Nissan was also good to me for a little while in the form of a truck.
So in the modern world, shopping cars that are newer than 2008, roomie but not monster SUV gas suckers… Should I just be Toyota /Nissan all the way, don’t even talk to me about anything else or…thoughts? And I doubt it would come up but don’t even even bother saying the word Ford I wouldn’t drive a Ford if my life depended on it. I’ve only owned one and everything about it was a nightmare, putting me off them permanently.
I would delete Nissan and swap in Honda, personally.
YMMV, though.
It’s also not my impression that the car biz – old school (ie, dealerships) – has changed that awfully much over time.
Meaning: do your homework, read up on their tactics and how best to manage the process, and understand what you should pay for anything you may be interested in buying.
Alternatively, I’ve seen SDMB threads where people rave about Carvana … if they’re anywhere near you.
I’m slightly confused about your plans for a different car.
I was under the impression that at least Uber has standards about how old a driver’s car could be and it wasn’t very old. Like 5 years max. Perhaps that’s only for the premium tiers or perhaps that’s a leftover once-but-no-longer-true factbite from when they were getting started.
Hondas have been very good to me.
You might also check out CarGuru. I have friends who work there, so maybe they are just biased, but they say good things about it
Can you confirm that they actually put oil back in the car? It is a well-known problem with quick lube places that they forget that step.
This thread has reminded me how much I appreciate my mechanic.
Yes, when my daughter was an Uber driver, the car couldn’t be over 10 yrs old. I don’t know what the limit is nowadays.
If a person isn’t driving a hybrid, then they’d want the best gas mileage car they can find if they want to survive on delivery driving.
Do you happen to know if there are such limits for Uber deliveries like Uber Eats?
Uber’s requirements for vehicles:
https://www.uber.com/us/en/drive/requirements/vehicle-requirements/
There is an expandable drop down by make listing every acceptable model. Uber says must be 16 years old or less, so 2008 or newer.
It also says there are local community guidelines to be met.
I recently had to replace my Honda Civic which was totaled by a young kid on his phone. It was parked on the street, I was inside in my pajamas drinking my morning coffee, reading da Dope. I found doing a deep dive into Consumer Report’s car buying advice very helpful. I have a subscription (worth every penny) but it would also be available through your public library.
For instance:
And here’s a list from cars.com of ten specific reliable models:
https://www.cars.com/articles/consumer-reports-what-brand-makes-the-most-reliable-cars-488650/
Deliveries can be done by scooter or bicycle. The car requirements are 16 years old or newer which leaves a lot of room for low cost used vehicles.
Just a general note, but it’s pretty rare for a modern engine to catastrophically fail with no warning. Again, it does happen (it happened to me once), but it’s rare.
If an engine loses oil, for example, it is usually (not always) due to the burning of oil, or a relatively slow leak. The oil pressure will eventually get low enough that a light will come on, or the oil pressure gauge will read abnormally low.
If an engine loses coolant, there will usually (not always) be signs. The coolant temperature light will come on, or the gauge will be reading high. There may also be a mist emanating from the hood.
In either case, it is imperative to turn off the engine at the first indication.
A failure that has no warning is a broken timing belt (for cars so equipped). If there’s no valve clearance, the cylinder head will need to be pulled and replaced or refurbished. I’m not sure I would classify this a “catastrophic,” but replacing a head is pretty involved.
There are a lot of other failures that will result in an engine suddenly not working, but they’re usually not catastrophic, e.g. a failed crankshaft sensor or failed camshaft sensor.