Kia Sorento

StevePIII

H- the Color is Indigo Blue with Beige Cladding -- LUX Pack, Rear Spoiler ABS. Every Day I traved up 5-15 going to and from Work, Maybe I will Spot you.

Lok- I too saw that button -- I had that feature on my Land Rover --Never used it once.

lok888

I don't know much about its handling off road. But they mentioned it is tough on sand, mud or down snow. I guess it is the tire pressure and it's up to your driving skill. If you folks have a moment, go to Hummer H2 forum and check out post no. 377. The H1 even stuck in sank and flat tires on the Unimog. Will the light vehicle (Jeep Wrangle) outperform these big toys?

The picture of VAC must be non-US vehicle. No wonder it causes some confusions.

hciaffa

I don't know paisan I hate to argue but this time I must differ. Truck Trend did a write up on the over 16,000 mile trek they took throuh Alaska, up close to the Artic back down done through Canada and acros the US and then down to Florida and the only thing that went wrong was a busted windshield from rocks thrown up on a Alaska tank trail and a flat tire. It handled everything. They gave a great report and said it was close to the H1 but with better comfort. Several tv shows such as Motor Week and Motor Trend tested it and find it 2nd only to the H1 when it came to assaulting mountainous terrain. Just my opinion.

hciaffa

I will keep an I out for yours. Ours is a Ivy Green EX with Luxury package and a spoiler and mud flaps and ABS. It's really my wife's and she lets me take it a couple of days a week. Going to install front bug shield and window visors as soon as it warms up and I can give it a good wash.

paisan

I'm not sure what kind of trails they took it on so I can't verify it, but based on my offroad experience, the specs on it, being that it's a Yukon, really don't allow for good breakover angles, and what not. Unfortunately I don't have $58K to take one on the trail, but based on the sidestep bending when I jumped on it, plastic bumpers and the very low-hanging beams, I'd recon it's not as great as it appears in magazines. Don't forget a lot of these magazines rely on advertising, and aren't exactly un-bias, I believe they rated some of the worst "Car/Truck of the Year" awards to some vehicles we later found to be not so great...

99% of the H2s out there are for rich folks to go to the mall and soccer practice, that I can assure you. I'll see a Sorento out in the Pine Barrens or Uwharrie or Moab before I see an H2 for sure.

-mike

lok888

I am also looking for the bug deflector and rain visor, possible sunroof deflector. Just got a chance to hand wash my car. It was 50F on last weekend. There is a lot of detailing work on alloy wheels and tire. I don't mind spending 2 hours with her. Still wait for the weather gets warm so I can work on the leather seats.

Does anyone know how to post pictures online? Any website?

stever

Instructions are in Town Hall Help linked on the left. Where to "host" the photos is an issue - maybe your ISP lets you have a homepage or you can try one of the photo hosting services. Google.com should list a few.

Steve, Host

dindak

Every magazine review I have seen for the H2 pans it for mileage but totally praises it for off road ability.

Of course nothing could be as good as your Trooper right?

paisan

Not saying the H2 is "bad" offroad, but it isn't the paramount of offroad ability.

If I had an unlimited budget? I'd buy a Gwagen for offroad, it is hands down probably the most capable stock offroad vehicle out there. After that I'd go for a Toyota Land Cruiser, 4-runner, Cherokee (modified), non IRS Montero, Troopers, etc.

On many a trail I've been on, there has been 2" of space on both sides between my truck and trees. Right there the H2 would be finished due to it's width.

-mike

lok888

With lockable front, center and rear differentials.

brooklyn1951

I just received my third survey on the Sorento. The first was an extensive telephone interview from Kia. The second, was from a marketing company (I don't remember their name). It was a thick booklet of questions mostly about image and perceptions- just fluff. They asked you to compare Kia, Hyundai and Mazda. Silly questions, such as- "When you think about sex appeal, which brand comes to mind". They are supposed to send me $15 for completing it, but I haven't received the check yet. Today's survey from J.D. Power had a $1 enclosed with it. I filled it out, giving the Sorento mostly 9's with a few 8's and 10's and one or two 6's and 7's. I didn't comment on my TOD transfer case problem since it has not reocurred.

StevePIII

Hciaffa -- do you have any photo's of your mudflaps -- I thought about getting them but i wanted to see what they looked like before hand.

thanks

hollier1

I posted this question on the Sorento Problems discussion but I see more recent activity here so I'm posting it again here. Sorry if I'm out of place. Has anyone experienced a tapping type noise from their engine? Got my Sorento today and noticed it tonight. It's kind of like the sound a valve makes that needs to be adjusted. Only it sounds thud like. It is consistent with RPM's. Speed up the engine and the sound speeds up. I appreciate any feedback.

paisan

The Sorento has a center locking diffy (when in 4-low) and the rear is an LSD which acts very much like a rear locking diffy in low-traction situations. The major thing is the front locking diffy that is important.

-mike

dindak

"Not saying the H2 is "bad" offroad, but it isn't the paramount of offroad ability".

You just can't admit you are wrong can you. Bang for the buck, I would guess H2 is not near the tops. Over all ability with no $$ limit, H2 is it.

paisan

Like I said, it's way to long and wide to be an effective trail rig.

Anyone who spends time in 4-low on the trails knows a big-heavy-long-wide vehicle is not outstanding on the trails.

Like I said the best offroad @ any price is the G-wagen, period.

-mike

lok888

brooklyn1951 - Two for me. A phone call was received within a week after I bought the car. It wasn't that extensive. Just some questions with answers rated from scale 1 to 10. An extensive written survey was received two week ago. Yes! They sent a brand new one dollar bill. I think Kia (and Hyundai) hire another company to do the survey so they can say how good about the Sorento on the ads. But I haven't received anything other than the J.D. Power.

StevePlll - You can go www.kiausaparts.com and see how the mud flaps look. I got mine on. I think they cost $30 for each front and rear set. They did a great job in several big snow storms here, even they are shorter than I expect. I like the long mud flaps on the MLs. I am starting taking some pictures of my Sorento. I still don't know how to post the online. I hope someone can help.

pasian - G500... lateral slope & gradient at 45 degree.. no problem. Angle of approach = 36 degree. Departure 27 degree.

dindak

Ok, you take the G, I'll take the H2.

lok888

Ha! I will fellow you guys in my Sorento. Place and time? I hope mine runs like the one in Sorento commericals.

hciaffa

As lok888 mentioned they are not a long mud flap, they hang down below the cladding about 3 maybe 4 inches. They do work out in the the snow and they do look good. Simple to install. Remove screws in place for the cladding and screw the mud flaps to it. I did some fitting to mine in the front because of the plastic inner fender wouldn't allow it to sit flush but after trimming no problem.
lok888 on the hood prtector after I had read the instructions some assembly is required. Its not the type that uses the 3M tape. And it dosen't seem to hard to do just one has to be carefull not to scratch the paint. You have to remove the front grill and then attach clips the reinstall the grill and add side clips with protective tape to it. I think its because the body shape had to many flares and ridges for a simple assembly.

paisan

Cool beans let's do it! Now where can we rent an H2 and a GW with FULL DAMAGE WAIVER! Hee Hee

-mike

lok888

Anyone interested? Check this out at www.bnm.com/bbh.htm For Hummer H2, $250 daily and $1300 weekly. For G500, $299 daily and $1620 weekly. First 55 miles is free and the price is after the 10% internet discount. You can pick your favor color. Must be at least 25 years old. They said these vehicles are brand new. They don't sell auto insurance. But they will verify your insurance. Guys! Ready to roll!

P.S. One local Kia dealer has the Sorento for rent for $69.95 per day with unlimited mileage.

carguy2001

Get it straight, it is not based on the Yukon chassis, it is based on the 2500 series heavy duty Sierra/Silverado chassis. The vehicle is built along side the heavy duty p/u's NOT the suv's.

paisan

Why does it have the same tranny as the Yukon and NOT the 2500 series trucks? The H2 gets the same ATF 4L60 as the mid-sized and 1500series AKA Yukon It's widely known the H2 is built on the 1500 series chassis along with the suburban (1500) Avalanche (1500) Yukon/Tahoe and Yukon XL (1500)

http://www.gm.com/automotive/gmpowertrain/transmissions/hydra/app- - - s/4l60.htm

The HD applications get the 4L80 in the 2500 and 3500 series trucks including the Suburban (2500) Yukon XL (2500). These have rear LEAF springs as opposed to the coils found in the 1500 series vehicles.

http://www.gm.com/automotive/gmpowertrain/transmissions/hydra/app- s/4l80.htm

-mike

ivygrnsorento

tee333

got my 1 month ago, gas mileage sucks but aside from that i cool with it. looking chrome 4 step bar now.

steve281

Hi People,

   There has been snow in Colorado, and I notice even though I have the defrost and windshield wipers on , during snow the windshield on, I believe both the inside and the outside gets a bit unclear.. it was a bit hazardous- any suggestions?
             Thanks
                Steve

lok888

steve281 - I usually try to put some warm air on the windshield. This is happen usually when there is ice on the windshield. The area with ice on usually has fog inside. The fog will disappear within minutes. By the way, how is the weather in Colorado? Here in Boston, there is a sign of warming up.

ivygrnsorento

...and have had no problems with the defrost issues. Are you sure your air vent setting is set to use outside air instead of recurculating inside air?

When the windshield on my Sorento is frosted or has an accumulation of moisture...it usually only takes about 5 minutes for the moisture to subside. But the key is to use the fresh air setting and defrost.

I have to say though...with all the snow we have...I'm the only one at work today....damn that Sorento!

lok888

steve281 - Like I mentioned before, warm air in defrost setting and let fresh air comes in will do. In my Sorento, fog occurred only in a small area with the area where the ice build up. Not the whole windshield. I would say Sorento does a very good job on defrosting. but sometime it could be tricky because you have to set the right temparture and setting.

stever

"With its car-like styling, decent on-road performance and capable off-road ability, the Sorento will change many of those misconceptions that Korean products are sub-standard."

Check out the interior pic too :-)

iafrica.com

Steve, Host

iluvmysephia1

I know as a Sportage owner that Kia can make a great SUV and from what I've read this hot new mid-size SUV Sorento is no exception. The only negative I've read from new Sorento owners is that people are kind of upset about gas mileage. The Sportage gets around 25mpg but the reason it's even as good as that is that I drive 90 freeway miles a weekday and that really helps stretch the gas mileage. When I'm driving around town the needle drops WAY faster.

hciaffa

I read in the problem area that you bought two colors of the touch up paint. One I would imagine is for the body paint and the other color, is it for the plastic cladding? My dealer only has the paint for the body color and can't find a number for the cladding paint. Mine is the pewter color. I'm still looking for rubber mats of some kind and other Sorento accesories.

dindak

I think the quality is pretty good. Durability over the years is yet to bee seen. The only part they need to fix on the Sorento is the engine. I guess I also wish it had a more original look.

lok888

hciaffa - I will check with my dealer. You can't find the cladding paint info on Kia website. And I don't know why. I typed my long message early this morning. I didn't post because I had to go out. I came back it didn't allow to post and it ask me to logon again. My message was gone!

stever

Next time try using the back arrow in your browser and see if your draft is still there. If so (and often it is), copy the message text. Then you can paste it into a new message.

It may still be there in fact.

Steve, Host

lok888

Steve - I think I did. But it was lost. Sometime I have login again in order to post or read messages on a particular forum. It seems there is a time out period, 30 minutes or something like that.

stever

Sorry about that. I forget the number but there is a "time-out" that logs you off for inactivity. You may want to play with the "auto login" feature if you don't share your computer with anyone else - that seems to cure the logout problem.

Steve, Host

dlb14frost

I purchased both body and clading paint. I too have the pewter gray plastic trim and the top of the bottle says. Pewter Gray V9 . On the side of the bottle is a 2251. Hope this helps.

lok888

hciaffa - My dealer also told me V9 for Pewter Gray. I thought it was a part number from Kia. They charged me $4.99 for a bottle. And I am sure the body cladding is made of fabric glass, similar to the material used for bumpers and side moldings. They cost less and easy to replace with few clips, screws and bolts.

For aftermarket accessories, I will order the WeatherTech rubber mats when I order the rain deflector in few weeks. I just replaced the high beam with xenon plasma (H7) bulbs. I am going to replace the low beam with super white bulbs. Be sure not to buy those high wattage bulbs. Any bulb with 55W output should be fine.

hciaffa

Thanks guys for the numbers on the Pewter Gray touch up paint. Now I can go back to my dealer and ask about it and order some if they don't have any.
lok888 I don't know why but I thought you had the sandstone color with the biege cladding.
Looks like it will start warming up in Ct and in Mass and we'll be able to give our Sorento's a good hand wash. I may be able to start attaching the window vents and front bug shield. When I do the bug shield I will post on whether it was easy or not.

ivygrnsorento

There is a great article at Autoweek.com

http://www.autoweek.com/

....about diesel engines and the feasiblilty of selling more vehicles with diesel engines in the USA.

Doesn't sound like our government was very smart about setting the new emission standards that will be in effect in 2005.

lok888

hciaffa - I was out for few days. I hope this number can help. For pewter gray, UA006-AY-5014V9 or V9. I bought a bottle of each gold beige and stone beige. I just asked the dealer (not the one where I bought my car). They (parts dept.) are very helpful and willing to answer all the questions. It is Boch Kia in Norwood, MA.
I washed my Sorento several times already. The weather has been great here. But I still can't clean the tar or brake dust inside the alloy wheels with brush and alloy wheel cleaner.

lilac0422

I have washed my car also but the alloy wheels remain very dirty. I am not sure what to clean them with.

hciaffa

We bought our Sorento in November of 02 and really never got a good chance to see it all clean. We picked it up in the evening and the next day we had a blizzard and it's been dirty ever since. Sure I took it to a car wash but its not like giving some personnal TLC. This weekend was nice and washed both my Ranger and the Sorento. They look soooo good. I knew I bought a Ivy Green and not a gray Sorento. It was nice enough to install the Weather Tech window visors, simple enough to do just some flexing of the visor to make it fit in the channel. I also was able to assemble the Kia front hood stone/bug protector. This one was a little more challenging. You have to be carefull in removing the front chrome grill 10 nuts but you have to squeeze two snap in tabs. Just squeeze together with pliers North to South so the tab unlocks. You may need a extra pair of hands to align and mark the hood use a grease pencil or crayon. it really looks good but I prefer the non clip type like I have on my Ranger from Vent Visor which is held on by strong 3M tape. Now all I need is a set of rubber mats. Happy Motoring

hciaffa

On our Sorento we are not getting a lot of brake dust but they were really grungy so I used 409 cleaner and spray it on then let it sit. The wheels are clear coated so it is save to use it. Then I used a brush to clean them up then I wiped them till they were nice and shinny. Then I applied some Endurace tire dressing and they were bitchin. The 409 should work well enough to remove the brake dust.

so_cali

i'm up to nearly 1200 miles on my Sorento EX and still all cool, no problems whatsoever. in over two months of driving in the san diego area i STILL have not seen even one other Sorento on the road! how sweet to be so exclusive!

unfortunately i have to report that the BeneVento Moonroof deflector i was looking forward to having in place did not fit. they tried to take a part that fit a Mitsubishi sunroof opening and say it also fit the Sorento. NOT. hopefully they will get it right later as the model becomes more widely purchased. I wouldn't have even been interested in their roof deflector except it clips on and saves your paint from sticky tape or drilling and was real happy with their product previously on another vehicle - when it fits!

the link to my Sorento page has changed. check it out here now:

My Sorento Page

lok888

hciaffa - I use one of those safe-for-all-wheel wheel cleaner. But the brake dust is still inside the alloy wheel. It looks like they are already stick on it. And brushing seems not the real solution. My next try will be another brand or Simply Green.

so-cali - Nice picture. I do have a clean Sorento like yours. Mine is beige (two tone). Would you help me how to post picture online like you did? Do you want to get another set of wheel instead of get them chrome? I think the factory wheels are shine enough.

brooklyn1951

Well, it's been a while since my last post and I am happy to report that the lock-up problem with my Torque-on-Demand transfer case has not resurfaced. For now, I'll chalk it up to break-in gremlins.
I went on a 250 mile round trip last Sunday and figured a fuel mileage check might be in order. I have 4100 miles on the Sorento. Doing 95% highway driving, I averaged 18 mpg. This was with a ski rack on the roof, two passengers, no cargo and some moderately hilly terrain. I hope this will improve with some additional mileage, removal of the rack and maybe synthetic oil- but I really don't expect that it will, significantly. Yes, I know, the EPA rating was 15/18 and I knew it when I bought it and I accept it.

dlb14frost

I washed the Sorento EX and have noticed alot of small chipping on the cladding forward of the real wheels. I do have the KIA mud flaps, but I assume the winter anti skid material has been hitting the cladding. Stopped by dealer and they will re paint, but that won't stop additional chipping. Hopefully KIA will come out with some kind of clear adhesive protective iotem.