2003 KIA SORENTO Complaints

I PURCHASED THE SORENTO 5/31/03, WHILE MAKING A RIGHT HAND TURN THE POWER STEERING COMPLETELY WENT OUT; I ALMOST HIT ANOTHER VEHICLE REGAINING CONTROL. CONTACTED KIA CONSUMER AFFAIRS IMMEDIATELY, THEY HAVE COMPLETE LOGS ON FILE. 6/2/03 DEALER REPLACED POWER STEERING RACK. 6/10/03 830 MILES,POWER STEERING FAILED AGAIN;HAD TO FIGHT WITH THE STEERING TO CONTROL VEHILE IN PARKING GARAGE.6/12/03 POWER STEERING PUMP WAS REPLACED. PICKED UP VEHICLE THAT EVENING AND PULLING OUT FROM THE RESTAURANT THE POWER STEERING WENT OUT AGAIN. 6/13/03 850 MILES, COMPUTER MALFUNCTION; NEW DOWNLOADS HAD TO BE DOWNLOADED TO VEHICLES COMPUTER. 6/18/03 ELECTRONIC POWER STEERING MODULE HAD TO BE REPLACED. NOW 6/20/03 DEALER SAID THEY WONT HELP ME, KIA CONSUMER AFFAIRS SAID THEY WONT REPLACE THE VEHICLE NOR BUY BACK THE VEHICLE. I'M TERRIFIED TO PICK UP THE VEHICLE TONIGHT. KIA WANTED ME TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE 30 DAYS MORE THEN CALL BACK AND THEY WILL RE-IMBURSE ME 2 MONTHS PAYMENTS FOR ALL THE TROUBLE. I REPLIED I WONT DRIVE IT, I'LL HAVE IT FLAT BEDDED TO MY HOUSE AND SEEK LEGAL COUNCIL.

FRONT BRAKE ROTORS AND PADS HAD TO BE REPLACED BY DEALER AFTER ONLY 20,000 MILES. DEALER SAID THAT THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM FOR THE SORENTO. *LA

1. (11/03/03 1ST INCIDENT) "AIR BAG" SYSTEM LIGHT CAME ON. VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO JEFFERY KIA FOR REPAIR. I WAS CALLED TO PICKUP VEHICLE TWO DAYS LATER. (UNAWARE AT THE TIME THAT THE AIR BAG SYSTEM HAD BEEN DISABLED) WEEK LATER RECEIVED CALL THAT AIR BAG WAS IN AND TO RETURN VEHICLE FOR AIR BAG REPLACEMENT. REPAIR COMPLETED AND VEHICLE RETURNED NEXT DAY. 2.) (2ND INCIDENT) ON VACATION IN STARKE, FA., DECEMBER 24, 2003 "AIR BAG" SYSTEM LIGHT CAME ON. TOLD TO RETURN TO DEALER (KIA HOTLINE) DROVE 16 HOURS 12/25/03 TO GET VEHICLE TO JEFFERY KIA AND DELIVERED TO DEALER 12/26/03. I AM DISTURBED THAT VEHICLE WAS INITIALLY RETURNED TO ME IN UNSAFE CONDITION AND UNSATISFACTORILY REPAIRED AND PLACED MY GRAND CHILDREN IN JEOPARDY.*AK

VEHICLE DISPLAYS RUMBLING VIBRATION AND NOISE AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. DEALER HAS REMOVED UNDERCOATING FROM DRIVELINE AND ROTATED AND BALANCED TIRES TO IMPROVE PROBLEM. THIS INITIALLY SEEMED TO HELP, HOWEVER, RUMBLING HAS RETURNED AND IS JUST AS BAD AS BEFORE. DEALER HAS NO IDEA WHAT ELSE TO DO. KIA DENIES THERE ARE ANY REPORTED ISSUES AND HAVE NO INPUT. WILL BE RETURNING TO DEALER AGAIN FOR #3 REPAIR THIS WEEK. *LA

THE SORENTO SUV WAS BOUGHT IN JUNE 2003. WITH LESS THAN 1000 MILES IN JUNE 2003 THE SORENTO WAS BROUGHT TO THE DEALER'S SERVICE TO CHECK AN OIL LEAK ON THE FRONT AXLE. THE DEALER CITED AN OVERFILLED GEAR OIL AND THE GEAR OIL LEVEL WAS CORRECTED. AFTER FEW WEEKS, IN JULY 2003, THE SORENTO WAS BROUGHT BACK AGAIN TO THE SAME DEALER BECAUSE THE GEAR OIL LEAK WAS STILL THERE. THE DEALER KEPT THE SORENTO, CITED NON-DRIVABLE AND HAVE TO ORDER THE PART. THE GASKET WAS REPLACED AND SORENTO WAS TEST DRIVEN. THE GEAR OIL LEAK STILL SHOWED UP. NOW THE DEALER SAID THAT THEY GOT HOLD OF KIA AND CITED THAT THEY HAVE TO REPLACE THE BLEEDER TUBE. THE BLEEDER TUBE WAS REPLACED AND THE GEAR OIL LEAK DID NOT GO AWAY. AT THIS TIME, THE WHOLE UNIT OF THE FRONT DRIVE AXLE WAS ORDERED AND REPLACED THE ORIGINALLY INSTALLED UNIT OF THE SORENTO. AFTER THE DEALER TEST DROVE THE NEWLY INSTALLED FRONT AXLE, THE GEAR OIL WAS STILL LEAKING. AT THIS TIME, FOR ALMOST A MONTH, THE SORENTO IS STILL IN THE REPAIR BAY OF THE DEALER AWAITING DIRECTION FROM KIA. *AK

PURCHASED 2003 KIA SORENTO 4X4 ON 5/26/03. ON 5/31/03 (ODOMETER 600 MILES)WHILE DRIVING AND MAKING A RIGHT HAND TURN THE POWER STEERING FAILED, ALMOST STRUCK ANOTHER VEHICLE, TRIED TO REGAIN CONTROL OF VEHICLE AND PULLED TO SIDE OF ROAD. A FRIEND WAS IN THE VEHICLE WITH ME AND CAN ATTEST TO THE POWER STEERING FAILURE BECAUSE HE TRIED TO STEER THE VEHICLE ALSO. 6/2/03 DEALERSHIP REPLACED POWER STEERING RACK, GEAR AND ASSEMBLY. ON 6/10/03 (ODOMETER 830) POWER STEERING FAILED AGAIN WHILE I WAS EXITING DOWN IN A PARKING GARAGE; HAD TO FIGHT WITH THE STEERING WHEEL TO GAIN CONTROL. ON 6/12/03 (ODOMETER 850) POWER STEERING PUMP WAS REPLACED AND LATER THAT EVENING WHILE PULLING OUT OF A PARKING STALL FROM THE RESTAURANT THE POWER STEERING WENT OUT AGAIN. DEALERSHIP SAID A TEAM OF 3 KIA SERVICE TECHS NOW FOUND OUT THERE WAS A PROGRAM ERROR ON THE VEHICLES COMPUTER; THEY CAME TO THE CONCLUSION THEY(KIA OR THE DEALERSHIP) DIDN'T HAVE A CLUE. MONDAY 6/16/03 ENGINEER TEAM FROM KIA WAS TO EVALUATE THE VEHICLE. THEY COULD NOT FIGURE THE PROBLEM OUT. AFTERNOON OF 6/16/03 DEALERSHIP SAID KIA'S FIELD INSPECTOR WILL BE OUT WEDNESDAY 6/18/03 TO EVALUATE THE VEHICLE FURTHER. I COULD HAVE KILLED SOMEONE OR MYSELF DRIVING THIS VEHICLE WHILE THE POWER STEERING REPEATED FAILED. NOW I'M DEATHLY TERRIFIED DRIVING THE VEHICLE, I'M IN A RENTAL CAR UNTIL WEDNESDAY 6/18/03 WHILE THE KIA FIELD INSPECTOR EVALUATES THE VEHICLE. IN MY OPINION KIA NEEDS TO RECALL THIS VEHICLE AND GIVE MY MONEY BACK. I DON'T NEED TO RISK MY LIFE IN ORDER TO MAKE THE COMPANY LOOK GOOD. KIA CONSUMER AFFAIRS WERE KEPT IN THE LOOP FROM DAY ONE BUT NO ONE CARES HOW SERIOUS THIS IS, PLEASE HELP. *NLM

VEHICLE VIBRATES AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. TOOK TO DEALER THEY SAID WHEELS WERE UNBALANCED. DEALER BALANCED WHEELS AND STILL NO CHANGE. *NLM

VEHICLE WOULD NOT START/HAS BEEN IN SHOP 4 TIMES IN LAST WEEK/1ST TRIP REPLACE THROTTLE BODY 2ND RECALIBRATE ENGINE 3RD TRIP EGI UNIT FAULTY ENGINE LIGHT ON /REPLACE EGI UNIT 4TH TRIP REPLACED THROTTLE BODY(AGAIN) CALIBRATED. CHECKED IDLE SET ..VEHICLE WAS KEPT FOR 2 DAYS ON 2 OF THE VISITS. *NLM

THE VEHICLE WAS INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT, AND NONE OF THE AIR BAGS DEPLOYED. *JB

VEHICLE TAKES A LONG TIME TO START. SOMETIMES AS LONG AS TEN SECONDS. THE ENGINE CRANKS AND CRANKS AND THEN FINALLY TURNS OVER. HAVE BEEN TOLD IT MAY BE THE FUEL PRESSURE RISER SWITCH. HAS NOT BEEN FIXED YET. *NLM