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.
While driving down highway, both the break light and battery light came on and lost power steering. Was able to make it to a safe location. When at first glance it appeared that the main belt has slipped off the pulley. When towed to a service station for assessment and repair, it was discovered that the harmonic balancer bolt had broken off in the crankshaft. We are still in process of trying to find out of the remaining part of the bolt can be removed or if the entire engine will need to be replaced. The bolt is not considered a 'working part' of the engine and extended warranty refuses to cover the repairs. The root of the problem is in the roll pin inside the casing that wears down and the bolt can not support the stress. Kia has had a recall on model years 2003 and 2004 but the problem continues for 2005 and 2006 years and research is showing that Kia is not covering the problem for 2005 or 2006
The contact owns a 2006 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 45 mph, the temperature gauge displayed a dangerous increase in temperature. In addition, the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact mentioned that he attempted to restart the vehicle several times. The failure recurred intermittently. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic. The technician was unable to diagnose of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 90,000.
The contact owns a 2006 Kia Sorento. While driving approximately 65 mph, there was an abnormal noise coming from the hood of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the harmonic balance needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 119,000.
While driving almost home, (2-miles) the power steering stopped, we pulled into a gas station, barely missing the fuel pumps. The belt came off. When the mechanic assessed the problem, it was much greater. The harmonic balancer was loose, and the drive pin to the cam belt gear had sheered off. The repairs were costly $1300. This is a design defect and has affected thousands of Kia owners. The owners are like myself and don't know what to do, so we just pay the bill.. Kia denies any issues. This a huge Kia cover up! it has been a known defect for a long time, and Kia does not want to pay for all the damages, and I'm sure the accidents.
Kia Sorento 2006. Crank shaft bolt sheared off. Total control of vehicle lost. Can not drive vehicle. Contacted Kia motors who stated they know this happens. Exact words of person on phone were "you should have replaced the crank shaft bolt with an upgraded model". as I am a private owner and never got any information from Kia this was never done. The dealership was helpful in that they said they would look at the vehicle for a fee, in which case they stated that they could fix it for a large amount and that it was the crank shaft bolt which was the problem. Lol I asked them if they were going to put in the upgraded version I was told about, and they said they only have one kind which is the original part. After several conversations with mechanics at the dealership and outside mechanics the vehicle has been non-operational as it is too much money to fix a problem that is not being addressed and is not safe for the road. As a Kia owner of more than 2 of their vehicles I am highly upset as this company has took no action in such a huge problem. Stand by your product Kia. I stood by you buying more than 2 cars over the last decade. That is up in the air now as Kia refuses to step up to the plate. Kia should fix this problem and this vehicle should be recalled.
- Sacramento, CA, USA
Search CarComplaints.com for these popular complaint phrases...
I was turning at a stop light when I loss power steering and nearly crashed.I was able to get it pulled over.I raised the hood and saw the crankshaft pulley lying on the the bottom skid plate.I looked on the internet only to find there are probably thousands of similar cases worldwide.I called Kia.they basically blew me off!
While driving my 2006 Kia Sorento on Wednesday December 17, 2014, a week before christmas, the crankshaft pulley bolt loosened up. Under tremendous pressure from the engine the steel pulley bent skewing all belted driving systems: Power steering, electrical, electricity to engine, A/C, wipers, heating and defrosting systems, and etc causing me to lose complete control of car while turning corner at busy intersection; loosing steering, complete engine shutdown, panic, and putting me in 'harm's way'! my wife and I had specifically bought this SUV because we care and drive our 3 beautiful grandchildren to school/back and to all activities and so many other children (their friends) going to the same places and activities. I thank god this didn't happen with any children or my wife in the car and even under worse situations; ex: Expressway driving or so many other life threatening driving situations! I have paid many hundreds of dollars for the repairs and much time and worrying about that terrible incident I have suffered! also my immediate children put much pressure on me to get rid of this unsafe car concerned for their children (my grandchildren) and their friends!
Went to leave house vehicle started. Felt like brakes were locked looked at dash red lights for check engine and brake light was on. Engine was running popped the hood seen fan belt wasn't turning. Called aaa
The contact owns a 2006 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving at 35 mph, there was an abnormal loud noise coming from the engine. In addition, the engine and the battery warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the steering wheel was difficult to turn and excessive force was reuqired in order to turn the vehicle. The contact noticed that a bolt fractured from the front of the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 106,575. Updated 4/15/15 updated 9/27/2017
From the moment I purchased my Kia Sorento my family has had nothing but issue. From replacing light bulbs monthly to valve cover leakage to now a knock under the hood. It has 113,000 miles and has been maintained. I would never recommend buying another Kia to anyone with all the issues we have had.
While stopped at a traffic light, the car was running fine. When the light turned green, I took my foot off the brake and all the lights on my dash illuminated and the car immediately shut off. I shift into park and restart the car with no problems as if nothing happened. No other issues occurred until today (3 weeks later). This time I started my car and was driving through a parking lot with no signs of a problem. After I stopped, to let a car out in front of me, I took my foot off the brake to proceed. Immediately as I stepped on the gas, the dash illuminated, the steering wheel locked, and the car shut off. I tried restarting it a few times, but it wouldn't budge at all. I shut off all electrical devices, such as headlights, radio, and hazard lights and tried starting it again. This time it started as if nothing was wrong. I drove around stopping and going for another 45 mins to see if it would happen again, and nothing. Based on what I've been reading, it sounds like this is a common problem. Why isn't this getting the same attention Toyota and GMC cars received when their cars experienced dangerous malfunctions in several of their cars? perhaps the media needs to be alerted to this to actually bring more attention to the matter. Apparently Kia is waiting for a few deaths first before they part with money to fix the problem.
I was driving out of walgreens parking lot on 6/2/2013 in alsip, Illinois. As I put my car in reverse to back out the parking space then I placed it in drive it was fine. Then I got ready to turn the wheel to come out the parking lot and it was very hard to turn. Then my lights came on the dashboard. The brake light & engine light. I then placed my feet on the brakes and placed it back in P (park) and tired to put in drive again and the same thing happened. It was very hard to turn to get it out of the way. I ended up going up the street to autozone to see if they can put in on the machine or even look at it to see what's wrong. They looked at it and told me it looks like my pulley belt is cracked / breaking / broke. So I park it in a residual area, and I called Kia dealership in oaklawn, il to order the part as autozone told me they did not have that part I will have to go to the dealer. So I called Kia to get the part and they said I had to order it. I did just that picked it up had the tow truck to take to the autoshop for repair. Once the mechanic looked at it he started the bolt was hard to get off to get to the pulley. He stated it is a 50/50 chance that it may break. If it does then I would need a engine. I then told him don't touch it or worry about it I will have it towed to Kia in river oaks which I did. They looked at it and stated the same thing. I said well lets pray they it does not break he laughed and said ok. The mechanic called me back a hour later an said it broke I'm gonna need a engine. He told me the price, and I could not afford it so I had it towed to my house.
I went to the bank in November of 2014. I shut my car off because its started to make a loud noise. I tried to start it when I was done and it would not start. I was able to get a jump to start it back up but it keep on dying. I was finally able to get it started enough to get it home. It died right before my house so we had to push it into the driveway. When I was driving it home the electrical kept cutting in and out and it was making a loud noise. Come to find out the crankshaft pulley bolt broke off into the engine.I only had the car for 8 months and paid $8700 for the car.
Was sitting parked thankfully but the crankshaft bolt sheared off causing loss of power steering and loss of alternator. This is the second time this has happened within a year. Thankfully we weren't in motion when this happened. Please investigate as this keeps happening and has happened to a lot of Kia Sorento owners (looking online). Kia issued a service memo telling the service people to use an upgraded bolt, however we had the upgraded bolt and the issue still occurred.
The contact owns a 2006 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the crank shaft bolt fractured as a result the engine and crank shaft bolt needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 138,000.
My 2006 Kia Sorento, manufactured in August 2005 & was a basic vehicle, no luxury model.a rental car business was 1st owner and only had it for a few months, then I bought it from a dealer in Sept 2006 w 14,000 miles. It is 8 years old with 108,000 miles. The check engine light turned on, I heard loud banging in the hood, then suddenly it turned off while I was driving on city streets. Traffic was slow moving. I had it towed to an expert mechanic and owner of his own shop. My mechanic has done some preventive maintenance in the past and considered it to be in excellent condition. He took the engine apart and found pieces broken off from the "intake runner butterfly valve assembly & fell into the engine; also there was a bushing failure in the lower induction manifold. My 3.5 engine was totaled within minutes along with all surrounding parts. The same engine as in the recall. My Kia has a 3.5 engine, same as in the recall bulletin #TT2008020601. The recall bulletin was for Kia models 2003-2005, yet this exact incident was described in the recall bulletin. I have two photos of some of the damage (1st photo is the intake runner assembly w/two broken missing butterflies for cylinders 5 & 6 & the 2nd photo of a piece of the butterfly stuck in the intake port of the cylinder head -both taken on 9-12-2014.) I then had it towed to a garden grove Kia dealership. They inspected & gave me an estimate of $11,700. All they said it was out of warranty and that 2006 models was not part of the recall. How can Kia corporation guarantee that the same inferior parts were not installed in my 2006 Sorento? it was manufactured in 2005. Kia corporation should take responsibility for the damage due to the fact that this problem was not completely resolved with the 2005 models.
On 09/18/2014 arriving home I started to hear loud rumble noises coming from the engine, took it to a local shop and was told it might be the pulleys, however, it was determined the next day - different shop that could make the repairs, the crankshaft pin sheared off (this work was previously done on March 2014 at a total of 1,800+ and here it is again!). mechanic at the shop was the one that saved me $$ this time as he noticed the work as very recent, and suggested I take it back to where the repair had been done in March. One week later - 09/26/2014 I had my car back. However, I suspect this will happen again, since there are so many others having the same problems, and how many other repair shops continue to order the same part over and over. Really? hello Kia, they need to step up to this situation, before someone is killed. I am so glad I listen to my SUV and took it in for servicing, as this could have had disastrous results if I were on the highway going at a higher speed. The best thing here was the honest mechanic! I will never get another Kia, and if it does happen again, that's when I will get another vehicle. As I continue to drive, I feel that my SUV is just not the same, the engine may have had some damage to which I have no idea how serious. I learned about a year ago that the Kia 2006 SUV/Sorento we a very bad year for this model and it is true, this is not the only high costing repair I have had to pay for, and I do not even have 60,000 on it yet! worse SUV I have ever brought! never again. This vehicle is not safe, you never know what will happen as you are driving, and I always rent instead of taking this vehicle, I have no confidence at all.
Car at first would shut off while driving, pulled car over and would start back up, took car to mechanic and said it was the crankshaft sensor, replace crank shaft sensor, few weeks later problem return, mechanic thought it was the camshaft sensor still had the problem of car shutting off while driving in city and highway.finally after months of back in and out of the mechanics while driving crankshaft bolt broke while driving, affecting the harmonica balancer and timing belt causing the vehicle to lose all power in the car and had no power steering, very little control of the vehicle, coasted into driveway luckily no on-coming cars, after spending several hundreds of dollars for repairs, mechanic is telling me the engine is no good, car is undrivable needs new engine at cost of 5300 dollars.
Car dies while driving. No check engine light appears. Later car starts and runs fine until a few days later at next failure. Driver loses engine, power steering, and power brakes. Engine code finally appears after 3rd incident and is P0337 - crank shaft positioning sensor. This is a safety issue and may lead to a crash or death since driver looses all functions of vehicle. Dealer at Kia cerritos, calif. Seemed unconcerned and stated that nothing could be done under warranty, since warranty had expired, even with low mileage. This is safety issue and should be repaired as a recall. Independent auto repair shop group data bases show 100's of incidences of same part failure and engine code with Kia Sorento and low vehicle mileage.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Columbus, OH, USA