I bought my 04 Sorento from my aunt who was the only owner. It had a power steering issue at that time which took several attenpts to fix. About a month later we we visiting family and had to turn around. Upon stopping we noticed smoke from the engine compartment so I grabbed my 4 Y/O daughter out of the car and by boyfriend opened the hood to find a small fire on opposite side fro where battery is. Once fire was put out we drove.5 miles on a city rd to family. The power steering was gone at that time as well. 10/13/19 - the directional worked all day and come night time when I came out from the store and started vehicle they did not work. The next day they worked finehowever, on 10/14/19 - I started the car in am and there was a squeaky belt. I hit the gas pedal quickly and noise went away. Then while driving, the battery and brake indicator lights came on the dash and stayed on so I pulled over and shut car off. Iwas driving my daughter to the park a mile away from home when the battery and brake indicator lights came on again. I turned car off for a few minutes and when I restarted it the lights were off. I went to turn around to go home and the steering completely failed so it was extremely difficult and dangerous. I have not driven it or started it since. My mechanic camt to my home 2 days in a row and was convinced it was crankshaft bolt that snapped. He got it into his shop the following week on Friday 10/26/19 and called a short while later informing me that it was in fact the crankshaft bolt that snapped deep in the shaft and the crankshaft would need to be replaced for a cost of around $3000. I called a few other places and they said the engine would need replacing which would coat around the same. My daughter and I now have no vehicle and are walking her to school which will be difficult come winter months.

- Athol, MA, USA

Oct, 2016 - I am the orignal owner of the vehicle and had maintained regular maintainence on the vehicle. I had just put $700 of new tires on vehicle and had a routine oil change and fluid check before we left for our vacation. I never had any issues with the vehicle and I still own. The vehicle does not run but I wanted to know what started the fire. My daughter and I were headed out of town for a week, about 200 miles into the commute the front of the vehicle began to smoke from under the hood, we were traveling at 55-60 mph. As I was exiting the 421 highway flames began coming out from around hood and the paint on the hood began to bubble up due to heat. I immediately called the fire dept, as I was driving, pulled onto the shoulder and immediately removed my daughter and our belongings from the vehicle and distanced ourselves from the vehicle. When the fire dept arrived they put the flames out and the vehicle was transported to a local shop, I had the vehicle towed back to our home city upon departure from our vacation. Upon further observation I was able to see the fire started in the area closest to where the engine meets the dash on the drivers side and continued to spread from that point to the front of the vehicle and under on the drivers side.

- Monroe, NC, USA

They had a recall and a lawsuit on the Kia for the pulley bolt keeps breaking and I never got a notice and mine keeps breaking and Kia won't do anything about it.

- Lousville, KS, USA

I have fixed my pulley bolt 3 time and it keep braking and I don't know what else to do to fix the problem

- Lousville, KS, USA

Unintended acceleration. RPM would range from 1000 to as high as 2000 RPM without warning. Iac valve was replaced and did not resolve the problem. Final diagnosis was cruise control randomly operating. Disconnected cruise cable at the throttle body. Problem ceased. Green light on cruise switch never indicated it was operating. Vehicle was operating as well as stopped at lights when this occurred.

- Spanish Fork, UT, USA

The contact owns a 2004 Kia Sorento. While driving approximately 30 mph, the power steering and brakes suddenly malfunctioned. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the camshaft pulley was faulty and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer and the local dealer (quirk Kia in brankly, MA) were notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 99,000.

- South Boston, MA, USA

Crank shaft bolt issues. I am on my 3rd harmonic balancer and now my mechanic is saying it is the crank shaft bolt.. I called a&B Kia and they said no issues. I have received a claim letter for this issue and a&B Kia is refusing to correct this issue.

- Paden City, WV, USA

The contact owns a 2004 Kia Sorento. While stationary, the vehicle caught fire without warning. The contact extinguished the fire. There were no injuries and a police report was not filed. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was 170,000.

- Sacramento, CA, USA

I was driving down the road and all of a sudden my cars wouldn't turn the battery light came on and it was acting like it was dying. It happens a bout 5 miles from home and when I got it there I told my husband. He looked at it and told me my harmonic balancer was loose and it looked to have snapped the bolt. Now I cannot drive my vehicle until I can get the broken bolt out and get it fixed. I looked up what to do and noticed I am not the only person 28th this problem.

- Des Arc, AR, USA

Harmonic balancer pulley bolt broke. Very bad design. Driving down the road it broke off causing loss of power steering. Bolt snapped off inside crankshaft.

- Henderson, NV, USA

I was driving our 2004 Kia Sorento with my 3 young children in the car. Driving down a city street at 45 mph the car began to jerk as all the lights flashed on the dashboard. I lost all power, but I was able to cruise to park next to a curb, however the vehicle would not restart. I had it towed to my mechanic. The mechanic found that the crankshaft sprocket, key shaft, damper pulley, and crank bolt all were damaged and needed to be replaced.

- Ontario, CA, USA

The contact owns a 2004 Kia Sorento. Within less than 30 days of owning the vehicle, the contact stated that the fuel gauge on the instrument cluster continued to indicate full whether the contact refueled the vehicle or not. Also, when the air conditioner was turned off, smoke emitted into the interior of the vehicle and under the hood. The contact exited the vehicle and lifted the hood to fan away the smoke. The contact drove the vehicle to her job. Another consumer called the fire department because the vehicle erupted into flames. The fire department extinguished the flames. Neither a fire nor a police report was filed. The approximate failure mileage was 107,000. The manufacturer was notified of the failure.

- Bakersfield, CA, USA

I brought a 2004 Kia Sorento used in June 2015 with 96,000 miles on it and noticed the engine was making noise after a short time it wasent that bad I thought, until it started getting worse. Then I took it in to the Kia dealership and got a call from them and I was told the blancer pulley bolt broke off in the crankshaft and was a big issue and they would let me know if they could get it out, they did but found the sprocket was damaged also, I went online to see if their was a recall and found many Kia owners have had this issue. I had to pay 1300 dollars to get this fixed because of a bad part by Kia. I'm very upset.

- West Bloomfield, MI, USA

On 10-4-2015 I was driving on interstate 80 from hastings, ne to kearney, ne. My girlfriend heard a bang from the engine, shortly after that noise I lost all power. I managed to steer our 2004 Kia Sorento onto an off ramp. I popped the hood and saw the harmonic balancer and the lower timing sprocket laying on the skid plate. We had her brother-in-law come get us. We put the Kia Sorento up on his trailer and towed it to a mechanic. The mechanic told us that the crank shaft bolt had sheared off. After fixing this bolt, and putting everything back together he then informed us there was no compression in the engine. It has been sitting every since.

- Kearney, NE, USA

200 miles from home, out of the blue, car acted like it was misfiring then lost power and died on highway at highway speeds. Car would not turn over or crank. Called tow truck to bring vehicle home for $490 and mechanic came out and hooked up machine to it and code came out crankshaft position sensor system. Check engine light wasn't on at all, until we got it home and it started up like no problem, but then died again. Weren't the crankshaft bolts already recalled and fixed?! maintenance schedule always kept up to date and wouldn't you know, happened one month to the day that my extended warranty expired! still haven't had it to shop, can't afford to bring it in after having it towed 200 miles, others thinks it can be fuel filter/pump or the brain, ECM. Who knows. Sitting with no vehicle is so much fun, thanks, Kia!

- Ephrata, WA, USA

Three times this week I have been traveling 35 miles an hour or less and the car has just turned off. The first time I was in a parking lot and had to push it into a stall (cracking my tail light while doing that quickly to get out of the way.) the second time was turning a corner and it died. The third time I was just entering the freeway on-ramp when it died. It gives no warning other than silence and a last gasp of gas going through. All three times I was able to stop the car, put it in park and restart it. It has been harder and harder to get it started after that. I took it into the mechanic and he cleaned the fuel filter, but it hasn't stopped the problem totally.

- Castle Rock, CO, USA

The contact owns a 2004 Kia Sorento. While driving at approximately 35 mph, the vehicle lost power and the contact heard an abnormal noise coming from the fan and air conditioner. The battery indicator was illuminated and the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was able to be restarted. This was a recurring failure. The contact stated that the neighbor assisted her with the failure by check under the engine. It was discovered that the air conditioner belt fractured, was on top of the engine block, and the pulley was loose. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where the vehicle was diagnosed and repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 190,000.

- Los Agnelos, CA, USA

About to get on hwy in nc, red light turned green started driving not even 10 seconds later gas pedal goes straight to floor and sounds like something drops. In the middle of the road car just stops with no warning-right before major hwy. Try to crank the Kia, nothing. Again, nothing. Physically push the car off road while others are speeding by-accidnet waiting to happen thank god it didnt. Get it towed home. Sat in yard ever since. Replaced multiple parts. Still does not run..

- Zebulon, NC, USA

I was driving approximately 35-40 mph and my car suddenly lost power with all the dash lights briefly coming on (battery, oil, etc.). fortunately I was close to a side street and was able to make a hard turn and coast to the curb. I waited a minute and was able to restart the vehicle. I drove home and there was one more incident when the car started to lose power (lights dimmed) however I pushed on the gas and it powered up again. I have had the lights dim and the car seemingly lose power several times. Just prior to this the car typically hesitates when you are going full speed and then the dimming occurs. I've had my car idle at stop signs and at train crossings and have not experienced any power loss. It always seems to happen while driving 35-40 mph or more. I've had it happen while driving 60-70 mph on the highway. I had a diagnostic run on the car at the dealership with no concerning results. I've had a mechanic I trust check the alternator, the spark plugs, flush the coolant, put in fuel cleaner, etc. And he cannot locate the problem.

- Wyandotte, MI, USA

The contact owns a 2004 Kia Sorento. While driving at 65 mph, the vehicle lost all electrical power. The vehicle stalled and all the warning lights illuminated on the instrument panel. The contact was unable to restart the vehicle. The vehicle was merged to the side of the road and after opening the hood of the vehicle, the contact noticed that the drive belts fractured. Upon further inspection, the contact noticed that the crank shaft pulley was loose and the crank shaft bolt had fractured. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 177,000. Updated 9/21/15.....updated 10/01/15

- Santa Fe, NM, USA