2003 Kia Sorento LX from North America - Comments

I am another 2003 Sorento owner and have had it since new. We really enjoy driving the vehicle and like the room in it.

We have had the issues with lights and fuses, but that is not the problem now. At 130K Km I had the timing belt replaced and the dealer replaced the crankbolt at that time, and everything was OK until last week when the bolt broke and the engine now needs to be replaced from all the valve and piston damage this caused. I called the dealer and was told that as I drove for another 30K after they changed the crankbolt that they had no responsibility for the damage. I have now contacted KIA Canada and am waiting for their response.

Here's hoping.

Ontario, Canada.

Wow glad to see that I am not the only one with these problems, I have a 06 Kia Sorento and have the same problems as everyone else; right headlight was fine until 50K miles, I figured it just burned out.. Replaced it, now it's out again 5 months later.

Rotors also have been a problem, Replaced by dealer at 10K miles and I was told they would not replace them again. I had to pay for the 2nd time at 29K miles, now at 55K the rotors are out again, I will not pay Kia to replace them, I will do it myself.

The dome lights also quit long ago... Other than those items the vehicle has been great.. People often ask me about the Sorento. Every vehicle has issues, but Kia dealers are by far not the best to deal with!

I have a 2006 Kia Sorento and have had repeated headlamp and fog lamp issues since 10.000 miles. I have had extensive communication with Kia Motors America and finally got them to agree to replace my vehicle with a new comparable vehicle through working with the Better Business Bureau under the Georgia Lemon Law. The replacement offer was extended three business days prior to the scheduled arbitration on 05-12-09 and expired the day after the scheduled arbitration. The Kia rep that appeared for the arbitration 1) was not familiar with my case 2) did not know Kia had offered a replacement in writing and 3) LIED UNDER OATH! The Kia rep testified that there had been no recalls or technical service bulletins regarding a headlight or fog light issue.

If you Google NHTSA Item Number: 10028268 Service Bulletin #: KT-200812090 you will see that Kia released this bulletin on 12-09-08. The bulletin states: "KIA: HEAD LIGHT BULB LIFE CONCERN. THERE MAY BE CONCERNS OF SHORT HEADLAMP BULB LIFE IN VEHICLES. A NEW RESISTIVE WIRE HARNESS HAS BEEN INTRODUCED TO EXTEND THE LIFE OF THE LOW BEAM BULBS."

The arbitrator did not follow the arbitration guidelines that allowed me to fully present my case and he would only ask me specific questions. He would not accept copies of any of my documentation. He then denied the replacement that Kia had already offered and stated that the failure ws due to my use of the lights all the time. NOTE: the owners manual does not describe the headlamp settings or make any comments or recommendations.

Bottom line: Kia will be held accountable. I will be pursuing a class action suit against Kia regarding the headlamp and fog light issue. I have done extensive research and the problem seems to be with model years 2003 and beyond. I had the recommended harness installed in August 2008 and the problem returned.

Please contact me if you are interested in being included in any information I uncover about a class action suit.

Michelle C, Atlanta, GA michelle@michellelynnunlimited.com

I too have replaced a couple headlights, a couple taillights and have possessed interior lights that come and go at random. I have also had the rotors replaced three times (by 50,000 miles).

My biggest beef though is the transmission staying in overdrive and not shifting back down to 4th gear or lower when needed. I actually had to pull into a rest area a couple days ago and come to a complete stop in order to get the transmission to "reset" before I hit a more mountainous area that I was approaching... pretty pathetic!

I filed a report with kia.com last night... we'll see how far that gets me. Other than that, I love the looks and the drive of my Sorento... just sounds like they have some long standing bugs to work out.

I also have owned a 06 Sorento LX since new. I have replaced the rotors at 12K, 22K, 55K and now at 62K they are going again. I replaced them myself at 55K, so I will do it again.

Both headlights have went out 3 times and both fog lights have been replaced. Also 1 rear brake light.

The hatch had to have work done to it when we bought it brand new because it was installed wrong from the factory. Main overhead interior light quit along time ago.

The vehicle has never left me stranded but I would not buy another one. I have a 92 Accord with 215K miles on it that has better brakes.

03 Sorento with 42000 miles: clock stopped working within the first year and was fixed free of charge.

Front wipers stopped operating correctly and would stop in the center of the windshield. This repair cost just under $500.

Headlight covers are filmed over.

Numerous front and rear light bulb replacements.

Squeaking door hinges.

Dome lights controlled by opening/closing the door no longer work.

Rear hatch light no longer works and the bulb is fine.

Dash light for "D" no longer works.

Air bag light stays on.

Multiple battery replacements.

Love the look and drive, but we are very disappointed with the problems.

Engine warning light came on, and when driving it would lose power and die. Left it for a few minutes and it would restart, took it to the garage I bought it from, and they changed the fuel filter, but it still happened. Took it to Kia for diagnostic testing, and it turns out the teflon coated fuel tank has corroded, and it needs a new one and a sender unit.

Warranty was with the original garage, and fuel tank isn't in the list of exclusions, so fingers crossed it's covered. Oh yeah if I had to pay, it would cost £1200 plus.

Sharron.

We bought an '04 Sorento last year. One week after driving it off the lot, the D and R lights stopped working. When they don't work, neither do our backup lights.

3 weeks ago our check engine light came on, and nothing we do seems to make it turn off. 2 weeks ago our FWD low lights came on, making it very difficult to drive on the freeway. No matter what is done they won't go off either. The transmission won't shift into overdrive.

Last week the control arm on the back hatch blew grease all over the car and today the air-conditioner came on by itself and wouldn't turn off.

Don't get me wrong, we love our Kia, but we bought it based on it was newer and we wouldn't have to put anything into it 20,000 miles in. Looking back we would have been better buying an old $600 used car that we could actually work on ourselves instead of something that costs us money every time we blink an eye.

I have just bought a 2004 Kia Sorento with 94000 km. I have owned it for three weeks.

First I had the bolt on front of engine changed, and then the gas gauge started acting up, so I had to change the fuel sending unit, took me 15 minutes to change and the dealer told me it would be over $100 labour.

Now the service engine light is on and the code said po446, which said evap-emission control system vent circuit malf. I have reset it 5 times and it comes back on at different times. The dealer that is closest is 60 km away and they said they would have to check the code on their machine for over $100. I am starting to get scared of what else is going to happen.

I like the way it drives and handles.

We bought a 2003 Kia Sorento in November 2008 with 48,000 miles. I love my car we bought the EX model leather, sunroof, the works... my dream car.

Immediately after we got it, the rotors had to be replaced, we thought that maybe it was just time, but they are needing it again less than a year later.

Not long after purchasing it, we began to smell a burnt wire smell. We took it back to the dealership where we bought it, and they couldn't find anything. They changed the oil and we were off again smelling the smell from time to time.

During the last few months, the door dome light stopped working and the back hatch stopped locking. All of these I decided I could live with so that I wouldn't have to deal with going through the hassle of having them fixed.

Then my husband drove the car to work one day, and after arriving home, smoke began boiling out from under the hood. We had bought the extended service contract when we purchased the car, and so I called them and they told me to take it to the dealership and find out what the problem was, and then they would let me know if the contract covered it. We took it to our local Kia dealer, and they told us that our seals were bad (on a car with 56,000 miles) and that the contract would cover it. I also told them about the dome light, the smell and the back lock, he said that they would check it out while they had it in the shop, and that there wouldn't be no charge for it. He said that the smell was from the oil on the manifold, which is crap! My husband works around oil and wires and knows the difference in the two smells. When I told the man at the dealership this, he told me very sarcastically that my husband needed to have his sniffer checked because he was wrong (you can imagine a man's reaction upon hearing that!). He told me to bring my car back in a week to do the work. I told him not to do any work to it until they notified me of the cost so that I could approve it and he agreed.

A week later, after they had ordered my parts, I took my car back up there and left it with them for the day, I had it to them at 8 in the morning. He called me about half way through the day to tell me that they had fixed the lock and that it would cost $45 for the parts and service. I reminded him that I had told him not to do any work without running it by me first so that I would know if I wanted him to do it or not. He then told me that they had torn into my ceiling to find out what was wrong with my dome light and that it was a diode and that to put the part in and fix my car back would cost me $80. I informed him that I didn't have the money to have the work done right now and he said that they would put it back together and get to work on my seals.

We were due to pick the car up at 6, and when we arrived it still wasn't ready. We ended up waiting until almost 7 to get it. I paid only my insurance deductible, which was $100, and they ate the cost for all the other things. It was daylight when we got in, so I didn't notice but now none of my dome lights work! Then the dealership put their sticker on my car without my permission, which I think borderlines vandalism! Luckily it peeled off easily. They couldn't fix the light and lock under my service contract, because even though I told them about it the first day, they didn't tell the insurance people about it and so they would have to start another claim, which would have meant another $100 deductible. My total bill ended up being $559, of which I paid my $100 deductible. It breaks down as $70 for parts and $489 for labor (that's not including the back lock).

And we asked them, since we told them that we thought it was a wire burning smell if it happened to still be there, would they fix it without us having to go through our service contract; he said no. We would have to go through the whole thing again, even though we had told them about it. We're pretty upset and don't plan on going back there with any problems we have with it.