My wife and I were traveling from Oklahoma to Kentucky for her father's funeral. The car died while we were driving. There were no warning lights, nothing. We paid $425 to have it towed 65 miles to Kingdom Kia in Rollo, MO. They said we need a new engine. Their price to do that was a little over $11,000. We can't do this. If anyone had told us that Kia's have this engine problem we would not have spent over $46,000 on the car. Now they want another $11,000 and who's to say that is the only problem. Basically, we have been told that the car just needs to go to the junk yard. How can Kia, in good conscience, sell this product when they know it will not last much longer than the payments do?
Well I was coming down Rt. 95 north when I felt my car like slowing down when the check engine light started blinking and the engine started losing power and it started making a noise. So I pulled over to a rest area and it had a knocking sound, So I call a tow truck and they said that it sounded like the engine was gone.. And sure enough they weren't wrong it was the engine. The bad thing is I just bought this vehicle. That's the part that sucks..
I was driving and as I am going thru the intersection, the car started sputtering, black smoke came out and then the engine died. I had it towed to Rick Case Kia in Duluth GA where they inspected vehicle and said it was indeed the engine. They said my engine was not covered, so I had the car towed to my garage where it sat until I found a mechanic who would take it. It has been with the mechanic for a month because he can't find an engine and I have no car. I had a case opened with Kia corporate where they strung me along and finally said they wouldn't fix my engine because my warranty was over at 100,000 miles. I have no car and am still paying a payment on a car that's not drivable.
Engine had a sudden loss of oil, causing it to seize up. Estimated cost to repair is $10,000.00. Kia will not cover it. Oil changes were done on a regular basis. One was done 2 months prior to engine failure. Customer service representative was rude.
I still owe on the car which I now have to salvage. Will never buy another Kia as long as I live.
I purchased a Used 2015 Kia Sorento from a Kia dealership in Monroeville PA on 09/29/20. I can't make this crap up... Driving down the parkway at 60mph at 2:30pm on 10/01/20, the car just dies... I haven't had this vehicle for a full 48 hours and possibly have to get an engine replaced...
I don't want the car and will never deal with Kia again. They are on my s*** list just like Ford. I don't understand how a dealer can sale a car like this then look at you like they are helpless less than 48hours later. Thank God for warranties... in which they only tried to give me a 30 day warranty. They know their cars have these flaws and are still selling them like this. After reading all of these complaints regarding fires and deaths I know for a fact I made a BIGGGGGGGGGG mistake choosing Kia... I swear by Chevrolet and shouldn't have gone astray. I am beyond livid...
- Janice S.,
Turtle Creek, PA, US
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This had been a great car up until this incident. I replaced the oil regularly, and took generally good care of it. As my family and I were driving it home from an out of town trip, the check engine light came on and the engine shut off. I was able to limp home only doing 60 mph as that was as fast as it could go without knocking.
The next day I decided to drive it to the dealership to get looked at, but on the way there the engine died again 3 miles away from the dealership. This time though, the knocking was so bad after I started it up I knew I wouldn't make it so I had to use ERS through my insurance to tow it in. The people at the dealership informed me that Kia had given my model year of Sorento a lifetime engine warranty.
While traveling at a rate of speed of 65 mph on busy SH 59 in Houston, Texas my 2015 Kia Sorento died. I lost all power, steering and braking. I had to coast to a stop. I had to cross 3 or 4 lanes of traffic while coasting still wasn't able to stop had to coast off an exit ramp and found a parking lot to finally coast into and come to a stop. As of late yesterday the dealership said that the mother computer is broke and not communicating.
This could have been a fatality with my family not even knowing that the vehicle would have been the blame.
I have only taken my vehicle to the dealership to be serviced. All records are there.
Last month I had to replace sensors and relays.
Seems to me like this is not a safe vehicle to be driving.
Car died going down the interstate for no reason, no engine light came on, no noise...just nothing. Car will not restart and I’m not due for a oil change for another 1,000 miles. However my car is now bone dry. I’ve been told that my motor is locked up.
The car worked and acted perfect. We bought the Sorento SXL new in 2015. Almost all highway miles. Didnt even need to change the brake pads until 75k. Normal maintenance and all of a sudden the car goes into "limp mode". Towed to Dealership and they said we needed $1700 fuel pump. They called me this morning and after the mechanic took it for a test ride they car died on him. Now they are taking the engine apart. Claim we might need a new one. This sounds awfully familiar to ever yother Kia engine failure. No notice and bammo you need a new engine.
I have extended warranty and they said I need to get my documents in order. So what documents? Well every-time I put oil and any other washer fluid apparently. Well i said I did a few oil changes myself and he said I should find when I bought the oil etc. Will know more tomorrow. Not happy with Kia quality right about now. They said oh the 4 cylinder engine is the one with the issues. Well I come here and I see that is not the case. Engine failure don't happen the exact same way without it being a manufacturer issue.
Has anyone experiencing this issue connected with the Law Firm that handled the recent Class Action Lawsuit? I had reached out to them in June 2017 after several failed attempts to have the issue with my vehicle addressed. They were unfortunately unable to assist as I live in Canada.
Currently in Canada there is a pending case regarding the 2015 Kia Forte by the Automobile Protection Association. I have asked if they are or will be adding other 2015 Kia Models as I have been trying to get this same issue fixed by Kia West in Winnipeg since 2017.
I have heard all the same reasons and excuses that everyone else has heard to date, maybe even a few different ones! Issue was because 1) some vehicles just burn oil that way 2) codes were outdated as to the check engine light always being on - even though they said they replaced that. Engine light continued to be on! 3) my vehicle did not come from the plant that had the issues 4) most recent is that my vehicle did not fall within the specific time frame that the recall was for.
Well... sticker on my vehicle clearly reads: Manufacture by Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia. Inc
Manufacture on Nov 13/14.
As for specific time frame - I've never seen any reports giving a period between dates just 2012-2014. All accounts by Kia themselves state that the issues at the plant were not fixed until September 2015 so how any engines made before the actual fix were not affected is beyond my scope of reasoning.
My story is very similar to everyone making comments now as well as those from the 2012-2014 claim. Tried to get problems fixed - under warranty which seems to not really cover anything. Oil had a sludge look to it, check engine light would not go off, and rattle sound coming from engine when applying gas on an incline. Had to continue driving the vehicle as I only owned that one- to where it quit running while driving down a busy highway on a long weekend (traffic heavier than normal). Had it not been for the quick reaction of the semi driver behind, that it is not a story about a fatality!
Since the incident and after months of connecting with a Kia Rep in Winnipeg - had the car towed to Kia Edmonton - told the motor was seized and that without very specific maintenance records there is nothing they can do. Exactly the same as I was told back in April 2017. /Not once has Kia ever indicated that the checked the oil in the vehicle. Oh I forgot to mention one other excuse I was given- they couldn't do anything because they couldn't verify how much oil was put in on the oil change I had just the day before they looked at it. Not a mechanic, but isn't it the same amount used no matter what mechanic changes the oil? And they didn't say my oil was done, or dirty or anything... that was their only excuse for not being able to do anything about the concerns. While I went into this latest round of communication with Kia without much anticipation that there would be any different outcome, different my hope was that they would test the oil to prove or disprove that there were shavings in the oil. That to me would be a clear indication if this is a result of the recall! And last but not least they are unable to provide me with the contact person they have been dealing with at Kia Canada for "my own protection???" (not sure what that means!)
I feel that Kia Motors/ Kia Canada is not taking responsibility for something that is clearly their error with these engines!
Is it going to take a FATALITY before they actually take ownership of their mistake!
Next plan of action .... looking for others wanting to start another class action lawsuit. We are not the only ones out there!
I purchased this as a used car with 38000 miles. I was driving on the freeway and the car just stopped. I had it towed to the dealer and they said my engine has seized. Their was sludge in the engine. I had all of the receipts for oil changes etc. I had had the oil changed 2 weeks prior. Because I was not the original owner, they refused to fix it. So now I am making car payments on a vehicle I can't drive.
Kia Dealership wanted proof of maintenance records. We provided maintenance records and they denied our claim. They want us to pay for a brand new engine on a lease with only 28,000 miles on it. Kia Motors DOES not back their own engines!!!!
I leased the Kia Sorento in February of 2015. All regular maintenance was done, oil changes every 5000 miles as suggested in the manual. The SUV broke down while driving on the highway with no warning. No messages or lights indicating any problem were displayed. The SUV was towed to the car dealer who had it for a week and a half before they even looked at it despite a personal visit and endless calls. When I finally received a call I was told they were waiting for approval from Kia.I called KIA customer service and they said they waiting for a call from the dealer, called the dealer and they told me KIA denied the repairs. The dealer had asked for proof of maintenance oil changes which I supplied receipts for. According to the dealer the claim was denied by KIA due to sludge found in the engine. After reading other complaints with the same exact problem, it seems that there is a manufactures problem that they are not willing to admit to. Now I am stuck with a vehicle that cannot be driven and fighting back and forth with the dealer and KIA to make the repairs.
Update from Sep 21, 2016: I would love to hear from other Kia owners with the same problem to find out how it was resloved.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
My wife and I were traveling from Oklahoma to Kentucky for her father's funeral. The car died while we were driving. There were no warning lights, nothing. We paid $425 to have it towed 65 miles to Kingdom Kia in Rollo, MO. They said we need a new engine. Their price to do that was a little over $11,000. We can't do this. If anyone had told us that Kia's have this engine problem we would not have spent over $46,000 on the car. Now they want another $11,000 and who's to say that is the only problem. Basically, we have been told that the car just needs to go to the junk yard. How can Kia, in good conscience, sell this product when they know it will not last much longer than the payments do?
- Maurita F., Oklahoma City, OK, US