This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
I have service records showing I had the crankshaft pulley replaced at 55,000 miles under warranty by Kia. The crankshaft pulley broke off at 105,000 miles. I was able to have the vehicle repaired cost $1500 out of my pocket. On 1/11/2015 the crankshaft pulley broke off for a 3rd time, shearing the threads to the engine, and causing the engine to no longer work. All 3 events caused loss of power and able to steer the vehicle.
Driving vehicle at about 45mph, engine started making a screeching noise and got louder when accelerating. There was a loud bang from engine area and immediately lost all power and ability to steer and brake. We were approaching a busy intersection and had to pull the emergency brake to avoid running a red light into oncoming traffic. Had vehicle towed to our dealership. The crankshaft pulley bolt snapped off and the belt and pulley fell off. The bolt did not break far enough into the engine block so repair was able to replace it. After this happened we learned of the safety concern with said vehicle and Kia denies anything wrong with their Sorentos. There is a pending lawsuit against Kia for this known problem. This is a very dangerous situation and we advised the dealer that we want to trade the vehicle as it poses a very serious safety problem. Kia should provide a major recall. Now getting a hard time from dealer. We are stuck in the middle and still owe a lot on this hazardous vehicle.
The overflow bottle for the radiator has been leaking again. The first one that came with the car was replaced in 2011 and now we are having to replace the radiator reservoir again.
I was told by the mechanic that "something happened inside the engine that cannot be repaired". prior to the engine failure (may, 2014) the rear throttle plate came apart and lodged in the lower intake manifold. The mechanic was unable to retrieve the screws and one was even lodged in a cylinder head. A throttle plate assembly was installed and the car was drivable but with an audible noise. At this time I was told the same problem exists with many Kia's and yet a recall has not been issued. My car is not drivable, it's a V6 and the left side of the engine is completely shut down and I feel Kia could have avoided this with a recall when they have known for years that the problem exists.
I bought a 2003 Kia Sorento from my niece back in November 2013 for $2000 and not even two weeks into owning this vehicle, the crank shaft broke in half! the bolt broke off in half inside the crank shaft pulley and the other half of the bolt was inside the crank shaft case. To my understanding, this is the second time that the crank shaft needed repairing (my niece, husband who were the first and original owners to this Kia Sorento had it break down on him on the freeway as well, had to get it towed to Kia then paid them to fix it when they owned the vehicle) but this time, when this issue happened again while I owned the vehicle, the crank shaft failed in a greater and more costly condition then the first time the crank shaft failed on them. Which then caused engine failure, loss of power steering, loss of the charging system, loss of the cooling system and loss of control of the vehicle, everything shut down, vehicle wouldn't start up after that and it could have been a very dangerous situation as it happened while on the freeway and while my husband, my daughter and my granddaughter was in the vehicle traveling. It could have jeopardize their life's as well as other!
- Ewa Beach, HI, USA
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My check engine light came on 2 months ago and I brought it to a Kia dealership who told me it was the cylinders that were miss firing and the belts needed to be replaces and they fixed that. I asked about the crankshaft and they told me it was fine. When I left the light came back on and they told me I need new spark plugs, fixed that and the light came back on again. While driving on the highway the break light and battery light came on and the car began to loose power. Now the car is at another dealership and they are telling me it's the crankshaft. After reading what has happened with many other people I can see the original problem was the crankshaft.I have spent over $4K on fixing the car and the car is not worth it.
I am single old lady, late Jan.2014, driving back from orlando, fl. To my home<2 hrs away> on I-95 car slows down, all lights go on dashboard. Get home at 40 miles an hour.next day go to tire plus, can not fix car, engine trouble..go to dealer bev smith Kia, ft.pierce, fl, I am a regular there, with car problemsell me can needs new lower engine, $7000 I almost faint, , car not safe, I left anyway, they would not exactly tell me what wrong with car...coworker at walmart, tells me of mechanic, can fix it...take it there, he tells me what really is wrong with car..screw that hold harmony part, had broken off, half of it was still stuck into lowere engine< by the way, this was a recall back 3 years ago, in which I had complyed with Kia and they had replaced new harmony screw>...this honest mechanic, told me leave Kia over the weekend, willput put screw softener on screw still in engine, see if it comes out...it did, they put new screw, give me all new belts, I paid $1,800 of my own money, ..I go ahead and drive to miami, fll< 2 hrs away> day latter I drive to orlando, fl.< 3 hrs away>...in I 95....next day, try to get out of my driveway, same thing happened...good mechanic comes over to my house, said same screw came off...he fixes it again, $1,500, ...he tells me, get new car, do not keep this Kia Sorento 2003, car has flaw, can not be fixed....if keep it, just for around town drive, under 50 miles an hour, do not take turnpike or interstate highways...I contacted Kia motors, bev smith Kia, told them about recall screw replacement, tell me out of warranty, neither will really answer back...no money, no new car....Kia motors is a crook, ...tell me car out of warranty, that what do I want with old car...can not find any other prior complaints I made with car, since first year I bought it...
As my family and I drove down 146 towards baytown, tx from dayton, tx I heard a loud "thud". immediately followed by a loss of A/C, power, and steering. I pulled onto the shoulder immediately and popped the hood. I saw the harmonic balance lying on the splash guard and a belt lying beside it, as well as another belt loss but still hanging on the other pulleys. I got a friend to tow me back to my studio. I began searching online for why the bolt that holds the balance could just break. I found numerous reports of this problem, as well as law suits filled in other states for this very issue.
The bolt on the crankshaft pulley as well as the pin broke off causing the motor to stop and overheat dumping all the antifreeze and stopping all belts. My mother could have been injured while driving but it ended up being she was just blocking traffic thankfully and not on the highway. This seems to be a very common issue with hundreds if not thousands complaining about the crankshaft pulley bolt and pin. Kia says they won't do anything as it is out of warranty and I am not the original owner. This may have been fixed once before on the vehicle due to failure and I am very worried this may happen again with worse consequences. My mechanic was able to provide a temporary/permanent fix but we really dodged a bullet and it could have caused immediate catastrophic damage. I'm disappointed with all of the serious complaints that Kia still has not recalled it for 2002-2009 Sorento models.
The contact owns a 2003 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving approximately 45 mph, the check engine light illuminated before the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact also indicated that while refueling, fuel spilled from the filler neck. The manufacturer was notified. The failure mileage was 58,000.
In February this beautiful vehicle became a nightmare quick. A horrid sound came from below and I lost steering, several lights on the dashboard lit up and our was very difficult controlling the SUV. Me and my children were very afraid. I allowed the SUV to slow N it veered off and jumped the curb. After a tow, $2000 bucks plus, and several shops including Kia is just sitting like hunks unless I can stuff another $2000 or so in. Kia needs to fix this!!
The contact owns a 2003 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that the vehicle was shaking abnormally on multiple occasions. The battery warning light and the brake warning light were illuminated as the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer, who diagnosed that the crank shaft needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but the failure recurred. The dealer replaced the crankshaft a second time but to no avail. The vehicle was taken to the authorized dealer for further inspection of the recurring failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 34878.
I was driving the vehicle in the parking lot when I heard a loud noise and lost control of the steering because the car died and the steering wheel locked up. I looked under the hood and notice all the belts and front of the motor fell off and was laying at the bottom. I called the tow truck they towed it to the Kia dealer. Where they told me its a problem the 2003 Kia Sorento has. They told me they will replace the engine that was at 38,000 mile. Now the car has 72,000 miles on it so that's 34,000 miles on this motor now they tell me the same thing is happening and the motor has to be replaced. So the Kia motor is only good for 30,000 miles that's just ridiculous and the cost is on me.
The car been a problem since first year, I called district manager for Kia back in 2004, told him car was skipping beat, and shaking...he told me is was my imagination...the 2nd big problem car would just start losing power in I-95 or fl.turnpike and come to stand still, no matter how much I pressed the gas pedal, no go, almost got in several accidents in I-95, Florida late at nite...spend $800 at Kia of kendall in Florida, in miami, told me was fuel problem...way back home that same day, car did same thing slowed down in rushing traffic in I-95 floirda, almost got deadly accident from car behind me, took it to Kia of ft.pierce, kept car 1 week, mechanic could not figure out problem, ...I found on line, problem was at the fueling entrance, something dissolved and particles went to fueling injectors, clogging it and causing problems, told mechanics, replaced this part, car got fixed....last incident, major one, back 3 years ago took car to Kia dealer, due to letter from Kia corporation, major recall on screw that hold harmoney blancer to lower engine case...they replaced it...1/9/2004.driving back from orlando, fl, at nite, car just slows down, shakes, battery light and brake lite come one...miracle, 1 hour I drove car slowly back home...Friday I take to shop, find out same recall, replaced screw, rusted off, sheared off, half of it still in engine, harmoney fell off, ..miracle I did not ger major fire in car, late at nite, on I95..took it fri.to ft.pierce Kia, mechanic said can not be repaired, need spend$79000on new engine...nothing was mentioned same screw, recall, they replaced back 3 years ago...car has history of my complaints to corporate Kia..nothing ever done.
I was driving along and my battery, brake lights came on. I lost power steering and brakes. I popped the hood and realized that I had lost 2-3 belts. I had it towed to a mechanic shop, national chain who said the harmonic balancer had fallen off. Upon inspection, the crankshaft bolt had broken. Many, many complaints about this problem online.
As I was leaving work, the crankshaft bolt broke, and the bottom/pulley came out and hit the road.thank god I was still in the parking lot. I had it towed to a automotive shop to have it fixed it, has $ $768.45 plus 75.00dollars to tow it. I got my 2003-Sorento back on 06/20/2013 on 07/06/2013 I was going down the hwy about 55mph. And the crankshaft/bolt broke again after only having driven 1,674miles. I am a single mom of two, living week to week and I can, T afford to fix it again and it is our only car. If Kia is not going to fix the crank/shaft bolt ( it is a dealer item only) and they keep breaking, just look at all the repute incidents, over and over, then they need to be made to do a recall, I would like to know if their is a class action law suit on this matter.
Crankshaft pulley bolt sheered off and then the pulley fell off busting the power steering pull completely off. Making me almost loose control and flying off the freeway at 60mph with my child with me, very scary. Car was still under warranty but because it was the bolt that broke the bolt was not covered by warranty work. Replaced all by manufacture on July 16th 2012. Costing $1,300. This last week on fathers day my husband was driving the car to get his daughter and the bolt sheered off again and it is less then 12 months since this happened but because the warranty is 12 months or 12,000 miles, we were 1,000 miles over and now the dealership says its our problem and now we have to buy a whole new engine this time. Our car was fixed by portland Kia and now its at Washington Kia, Washington Kia is saying that portland did it incorrectly and they should make this right but portland Kia is not taking any fault for over torquing the bold with 130 pounds of a torque.
While driving my daughter to school, vehicle lost steering in a turn causing us to narrowly miss hitting a utility pole. Vehicle had to be towed to service garage where they confirmed that the crankshaft pulley bolt had become loose causing the harmonic balancer pulley to wobble, break and cause damage to all surrounding engine components. $1700 repair did not work and issue recurred. After a second repair attempt, same issue occurred again this time with the crankshaft bolt having sheered off. Vehicle is a serious safety hazard, is not drivable at this time, and will this time cost minimally $3500 for a replacement motor....and potentially a life. It is imperative that the NHTSA mandate a recall on these vehicles as it is ludicrous to wait for a death or multiple deaths before acting on what I am well aware is a commonly reported and potentially deadly problem. A good part of "safety" occurs in being proactive. The absence of a recall on this is mind boggling. NHTSA must act.
The contact owns a 2003 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled without warning. In addition, fuel would spew from the filler neck when refueling and the interior lights would flicker on and off sporadically. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to have a diagnostic performed, who was unable to generate a failure code. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 175,000 and the current mileage was 180,000.
I purchased car from orginal owner about 4 years ago with around 47K miles. Within a month or two the engine light came on. After numerous visits over the course of the last 4 years to the dealership, comments on the work orders that they could not figure out the problem, replacing the timing belts, plugs, wires and coils I am told that the 4th cylinder is bad and based upon the issue I am looking at between $2800 to $4,000 to fix. If its the top end the lesser of the two numbers and if its the bottom end I was told that I should consider wether or not I want to sink $4,000 into the car at this point. Whats more disturbing is when researching the issue on various websites I come to find out the most reoccuring problem is the crankshaft bolt coming out and causing serious damage and a very dangerous situation for the driver. The response by Kia seems to be consistent and now knowing that they do not stand behind their warranties, issue recalls(crankshaft bolt 2007) and still expect their customers to pay for the repairs I can confidently say I will never purchase a Kia product again. The car currently has 67,00 miles on it and I am intrigued by the comments and requests for a class action lawsuit against Kia. I am hopping that a enough people have the desire to follow through and if needed I would support.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Lisbon, WI, USA