10th Sep 2008, 17:39
Sept.10/08 I live in Brantford ON, and own a 03 Kia Sorento EX. I purchased it in Nov/07, since then I've had countless problems.
I had to replace the head lights three times already. Recently I also had some problem with the license plate, maker, and park lights. I checked the fuses - all good!!! I noticed something inside the fuse box in the engine that made no sense to me. The manual told you that the (ext) 15 fuse controls all these lights, had a rubber fuse in it that was marked (DO NOT TOUCH). I replace all the bulbs, put a 15 fuse in and all the lights work. I then put back the rubber fuse, just to check and none of the lights work, I put back the (15) fuse and I am fine again.
My other problem was a week ago when it was raining really hard; I turn on the wiper, it works a few times then stopped. The next I pull off the unit just to find out the bar that attaches to the motor fell off. I went to the dealer to purchase one, they told me it doesn't comes like that. I need to buy the whole unit which is not cheap; if this bar is just a snap on, why do I need a whole unit. If they don't sell this bar by itself, then it shouldn't be able to snap out.
I had a HONDA for 15 years, never once I had these problems. I guess you pay to learn.
23rd Sep 2008, 22:37
Hi, 2005 Sorento LX (manual) purchased new in March 2005.
From day 1 I heard a strange 'squeak' as the engine settled down to idle, numerous reports of this to two dealerships resulted in no sir we cannot hear it???
Paint - there are what appear to be 'hairs' trapped under the paint, not clear coat the pant. Regional rep came in, took photos - heard nothing.
Headlight and taillight bub replacement 1 of each not too bad compared too many others.
Last year at 70000+ KM the engine blew... something about an internal oil pump, short block replaced 6 weeks later (KIA Canada did provide a vehicle as the Dealer would not)
Now wait for it - 102650km and guess what engine has gone again... dealer and Kia Canada advised that they are not 'FINANCIALLY OBLIGATED' to help as I am out of Warranty. OH and guess what... they do not warranty the warranty work, so if you have warranty repair completed a week before the vehicle warranty expires you are out of luck!!
Email me (kthomson@sympatico.ca) if you know anyway I can go after KIA as I am out over $3000.00 to replace the engine with a used engine that more than likely will go the same way.
We really liked the vehicle build, handling size etc but the engine!!! And quite frankly KIA's customer service at the dealership level is awful.
3rd Oct 2008, 23:06
I have a 2004 Kia Sorrento. I have replaced my headlights twice. Kia doesn't make them easy to get to at all. I finally had a co-worker tell me to unscrew the whole light and pull it out from the front. That worked much better than trying to wedge your hand into a tight spot. My interior back seat light stopped working while under warranty. Kia dealer fixed that now a year later it has stopped again. My gas tank metal cover weld broke and had to be replaced. It still doesn't fit right. Now my plastic resivor is leaking. My co-worker also own an 04 sorrento and replaced his 3 months ago. There has to be some kind of defect in them. He also has changed his headlights twice.
I really do like my car and I understand cars have problems... however it seems like most of us are having the same problems. There needs to be a recall on some of this stuff and someone needs to hold Kia responsible.
4th Oct 2008, 11:20
Its dagerous!My Sorento has started to cut out under load and hard acceleration, with the engine warning light coming on. It restarts OK if its switched completely down first. I was hoping someone could say what the problem is before I get the run around from the dealer?
Bulbs, Bulbs, Bulbs, Bulbs, Bulbs, Bulbs, Bulbs, Bulbs, Bulbs, Bulbs! I notice that the suspension damping can be quite hard when pushed and wandered if the shock produced may be jerking the bulb fillements?
16th Oct 2008, 13:01
Nothing but brake problems, my front rotors were replaced at 10,000 and now again at 25,000 miles, the brake rotors are worn and uneven again and yesterday they told me this is not covered by warranty. I called KIA customer service @ 1-800-333-4542 and filed a complaint, which will be sent to the district manager or whoever is in charge for review.
Warping is caused by heat, which means that they are either using crappy metal for the rotors or the pads are crap.
Another possibility is that the computer checks the braking system quite frequently, I think every 10 seconds or so, some of you might notice this on a slow turn or when you come out of a driveway and turn you can feel a fast pulsing sensation at the wheel. I would think that this might be causing the problem if and when you accelerate in and out of the turn, this would create an enormous amount of torque and could possibly warp the rotor. Either way, this is faulty engineering, I've had much older cars whose rotors lasted the life of the car.
If KIA cannot fix this problem then.
I would not advise anyone to purchase a KIA vehicle.
As it stands, since they will not do anything about it I am trading this car in, it's not worth the hassle of a lawyer.
19th Oct 2008, 08:22
I have a 2003 Kia Sorento. I am also replacing headlights and tail lights every other month. It gets quite costly and is a real pain.
Unfortunately this truck has had problems since it came off the assembly line with the check engine light coming on.
The head gaskets blew at 30,000 without the temperature rising until it blew up on the highway after a tin dragging sound; as soon as I heard it, I went to pull over, then the gage just buried and smoke came out, and it was a month long battle with Kia to honor the warranty.
Every time it goes into the dealership, it has to be there for over a month.
When the head gaskets were replaced, the dealership didn't put back parts (bolts, covers), and it is always a battle to get repairs.
I have 75K miles now, and have pay more attention to the check engine light and the temp gage than the road, since something flashes every two seconds!
Trade in value is nothing, and no dealership even wants it as a trade because it has no value.
Since the day I bought it used (3500 miles on it), I just pray every time I get in it for it not to blow up.
9th Sep 2008, 00:09
I live in Sulphur Springs TX, and I too own a 04 KIA.
We have had to replace the head lights, fuses and coolant bag as well as the tail lights.
I have found that Walmart will change my headlight bulbs for four dollars, and the bulbs there only cost ten dollars.
The earlier comment about the ground problem sound good to me. I will try that to see if it helps.
As for the coolant bag, had it changed in CA. It cost thirty dollars for the bag and forty-five dollars to put it on; they said that it was a stronger plastic because there had been a lot of them replaced.
I now have a recall notice on some clip in the manifold, that if it is not replaced, can break and go into the motor and tear it up.
I'm with y'all on the getting something done. My warranty is out and I can't afford to replace parts every other week.