Kia Sorento

lok888

dirk1970 - Someone in this forum gave this website, www.suv-tuning.de (in Germany) then click SHOP and the picture of the Sorento. There are some nice stuffs for Sorento including this chrome grille (150,000 EUR) and chrome side mirror trim (79,000 EUR). Shipping to US is 20 EURS. I tried to email Tom for exchange rate but he seems to busy.

hicaffa - When I had my oil change last month, I saw at least 10 to 15 (or maybe more) Sorentos on the lot. Beige, white, indigo blue, you name it. They were EX as well. Inventory may be changed since last month. I think Korea is the only origin where the Sorentos are being built and shipped worldwide. And I think they are pretty catching up the demands. I looked at the Kia press release about the Sorento sale. For March, it is 3080 and year-to-date sale is 9289. That's 3000 Sorentos each month in U.S. I've got to do a reality check. Where are they?

lok888

We saw the Sorento Surf few months ago. And Check out www.sorento-forum.de/html/home.htm and see this facelifted Sorento with custom made front mesh grill, xenon projector type headlamps, molded running boards and 285/50R/18 tires and wheels. Someone out there is making these cool stuffs for Sorento.

so_cali

thanks for posting the pics of your black sorento. let us know when you get the grille installed and post photos of that too.

enjoying my ride in this exclusive sorento club and STILL (three months later) have not seen ONE on the road here in a san diego! i did notice that the dealer where i got mine still has one i test drove back in january on his lot! i guess they are not exactly flying out of the dealerships around here.

My Sorento Page

luvmysorento

I was visiting my sister this weekend and got pics of our Sorentos nose to nose. Awesome! It was time for me to leave and my sister had let my son go for a walk with his cousin and wasn't back yet. We jumped in my Sorento to retrieve the kids and I was driving SLOWLY through the subdivision. My sister pointed out a bright blue Lexus and I was trying to compare it when she yelled "Look out for that car!". This guy had backed straight back out of a driveway without looking and we were inches from impact when I slammed the brakes and threw everybody forward so hard that my arms hit the horn and blew it. The guy THEN stopped. Thank God Sorento's can stop on a dime when you need them to! This is the 3rd time someone has pulled out in front of me and the third time quick braking has saved my Sorento! I am now trying to locate the hidden bullseyes from my Sorento and dispose of them before this happens again!

fmunoz1069

I have finally found tubular side steps for my Sorento. I have a white and Pewter EX Lux package and had black side steps installed. They look great!! I will take some pictures and try to post them if anyone is interested. Still shopping for that grill that was seen on that Korean Sorento. That looks great on this truck.

slan_canada

Hi fmunoz1069

Oh yes, show us some pics of these black step bars. I'm currently looking to get some but can't find any here at Kia Canada. Did you bought them from Kia USA ??

dimitrie

someone posted earlier about windshield noise, sounds like ice cracking, when the defrost is on. Im having the same problem, any one else and updates?

thanks, Sorento Alpine EX Queens, NY

lok888

Would you folks tell me more when and how you hear the noise? Like driving condition, weather, etc. Is it only when the windshield deicer on or air flow setting is in defrost or at any setting? Or you simple hear it no matter when and how you drive? I almost turn on the rear window defroster, windshield deicer (with heated mirrors) and windshield defroster mode (except the A/C) in every cold morning here, just to check these are working properly. And I heard no noise.

dimitrie

anytime you turn on the heat or defroster for the front vent on the windshiled...its a clicking sound or like someone else mentioned like ice cracking in a glass of water, coming through every few seconds. I know im not going crazy, becuase others have complained too.

paisan

Just got back on Sunday night from NC offroading. Trails were great! I'm sure that the Sorentos would have had a ball out there with their Isuzu cousins! No one suffered any major damage, except the ego of the JEEP that we had to tow up the side of one of the trails cause he got stuck and nearly rolled down the hill! Also one of the other Isuzu guys was making fun of TOD (he had an older PT 4wd system) so just to prove him wrong I used TOD (instead of 4-low) the entire weekend!

pics at http://isuzu-suvs.com/events

-mike

paisan

luvmysorento

dimitrie: my sister's service department is replacing her windshield because of the popping sound. I have not had mine checked by the dealership yet, but it makes the same sound.

lok888: Perhaps your windshield is fine. I notice the cracking sound when I have my defrost on the windshield. The weather can be snowy to just chilly. I don't have a habit of turning on the defroster otherwise so I don't know if it does it any other time. It sounds just as described...a clicking sound or like cracking ice.

 Maybe people need to go to their service departments about this so KIA is aware that this doesn't just affect a few people.

lok888

In addition to the service department, I found a special feature on Kia Consumer Affairs on the Kia website. It allows to contact the Kia by opening up your own case file with comments, problem and suggestion. You have to register first before you use it.

Anyway, I will mointor the sitution. Will the windshield noise stop after it was replaced?

Pasian - Great picture! I wish I was there. It looks like an Isuzu event with few Jeeps.

paisan

It was mostly Isuzus. We had 2 Jeep guys who are friends of ours along Then we ran into a few Jeeps (the one we had to bail out from rolling down the hill) along the way.

We were suprised that there were so many Troopers actually, usually it's mostly amigos and rodeos.

-mike

abc246

Is this the Kia Sorento page or memory lane for the very Isuzu fans?

hciaffa

lok888 if you go to the Sorento problem forum, go to mesages 267, 270 and 271 these are some post the I and luvmysorento had posted about it. It occurs when the defroster is on and now I notice that it can happen when the heat is on and coming out the front vents only. I am still playing around with this to see if and when it happens. It could be windshield but it could also be the dash board ductwork expanding. Luvmysorento, any word on your sister having her windshield replaced or has it been done yet.

paisan

Um, the Sorento guys were invited to the event, it was an offroad event for any and all makes. Sorry if this is too OT for you. I see you've started to Troll again in the forums.

Remember, don't feed the Trolls...

-mike

jrdowney

Anyone heard anything yet about next year's model? I would expect some improvements.

Thanks,

Jim d.

so_cali

i took delivery of my Sorento EX on january 9th and yesterday, april 8th, for the FIRST time, i saw another one driving around here in san diego! 3 MONTHS! wow! it looked good. a white EX and the lady driving it gave me a thumbs up when i pulled along side her.

how nice to be part of such an EXCLUSIVE family!

My Sorento Page

luvmysorento

All I know for now is that my sister has it scheduled to get her windshield replaced. I will let everyone know if this helps. I am also very interested because my windshield has already received TWO rock chips. If it is defective (because of the cracking noises) and we get a recall, I am not going to waste money on repairing the chips.

luvmysorento

That's funny that she gave you thumbs up! The first lady that I saw in the town next to me smiled at me. Probably because I was smiling and pointing and saying "OH! Another Sorento!" My kids think I'm nuts.

abc246

Host...#2205 post should be deleted. It has no real value to this topic.

-mike

tidester

... is the topic. Please stick to it.

tidester, host

saber86

I saw a blue with gray cladding on the hwy going home. I saw another one at the chinese eatery. It looks like recent purchase. It still had the dealer tags on them. It was a red with gray cladding. Both really looked nice.

lok888

jrdowney - I don't think there will be any change in 2004. We are still having fun with ours now. When I looked back, however, Honda did some minor change on its Acura MDX after a year of its debut. They re-styled the side mirrors, repositioned the roof racks and put better insulation on the A pillars, all meant to be reduce the cabin noise. Then they upgrade its (also the Odyssey) engine without any interior or exterior change a year after. I doubt Kia will follow practice. That will cost them big bucks. Just look for the new Sportage (car-like, compact SUV) next year. I also heard someone mentioned the Sorento Sport 2-Door version.

mrjammer

I bet the biggest change may be the price! What a great SUV! I love our loaded EX. We're taking it on the road tomnorrow for the first time - just got it 3/15.

luvmysorento

I was just wondering if we have all of the colors covered yet? What color is your Sorento? Also, is it EX or LX?

Indigo Blue EX with Stone Beige cladding here.

My sister has an Aqua Blue EX with Gray cladding.

                      Karen

lok888

That's my Sorento EX 4WD. There are already black, ivy green, indigo blue, white, Alpine gray and aqua blue in this forum. Diamond silver... anyone? I have seen all the color on the road or in dealer. But I haven't seen aqua blue and ruby red on the road. Some countries don't have gold beige.

lilac0422

TOD 4WD

In my area, I have seen two red EX's both with stone beige cladding and one aqua blue LX

dried

EX 4WD. Starting to see more Sorento's in N. Colorado. Saw another Red/Beige yesterday, a couple of blue and a couple of white's recently - probably others.

They are getting more numerous, but we still have to look hard to find them....
    -Dave

charlesm1950

This past week I passed 10K miles. I bought my EX last September. I am still very pleased with my indigo blue Sorento. I've had only one problem that was quickly fixed (done by lunch time) by the dealer. A loose connector under the hood that plugs into the fuse box caused most of the accessories in the console center stack to go off.

I'm averaging about 17 mpg for city driving. No problems with rattles, so far.

My #1 recommendation to Kia for next year is to not make the suspension quite so stiff. Austin has a lot of rough pavement and I'd like not to feel so much of it.

Lesser recommendations would be to add a trip computer to the overhead console, get the overhead console to show barometric pressure in inches of mercury for US customers, add an option for a navigation system, and for those with kids an option for a DVD player in the back seat. My old VAN had a VCR and it really helped keep the kids quite on long trips.

I'll check in again at 20,000 miles.

Regards,
CharlesM
Austin, TX

lok888

charlesm1950 - I would love to have the DVD player or navigation system on it. The retail on those vehicle equipped with these features properly runs between $1200 to $1500 a piece. That's really push this vehicle to $30K or more (currently costs $28K for a fully loaded). Few weeks ago, there was a Sorento EX (new) posted by one VA dealer on ebay with an aftermarket DVD player. They replaced the head unit and put a LCD moniter on the back on each front seat headrest. Very good looking.

Want to see how people love their Sorentos. I have already mentioned this www.sorento-forum.de (in German) before. And now I've found this www.sorentolove.com (in Korean). I don't know either one of the language. But there are tons of great pictures of Sorento with many factory and aftermarket parts & accessories (exterior only - front & rear bumper (unlike the bumper guard), rear parking mirror, & more) Just like AMG for Benz or TRD for Toyota.
For the direct site, go to www.sorentolove.com/index.asp?pageInfo=sorentoalbumlist&album- page=1 (there are total of 19 pages, so it will be page=2, page=3...) Sorry for this long web address. I don't know what's the icon say in Korean.

mike120877

Hey everyone, how are you? I am really interested in getting a new Sorento. I have a question about the steering wheel radio controls. What do they control exactly? Do they have a volume control? My friend's Pathfinder has the volume behind the standard three buttons. If you can get let me I know. I would appreciate it.

Thanks!

dbgindy

Mike,
The steering wheel radio controls are power, mode & seek. Behind that on the wheel is buttons to raise or lower the volume.Just as an FYI. I bought my Sorento EX about 10 days ago and it's performed very well. I was also looking at the Jeep Grand Cherokee and the Toyota Highlander and compared to those two for what you get for your money the Sorento can't be beat! I hope this helps. :-)

tmflaherty

Hi

Iam a new Sorento EX owner and cannot figure out how to change the climate control to Set/read in Farrenheit. Any suggestions?

Thankyou Yosorento, I tried your suggestion and it worked

lok888

Did someone already mentioned this before? Press AMB and UP on temp button for few seconds? I tried it and it doesn't work. Anyway, why bother?

dbgindy

Tm,
Shame on the dealer for not taking care of this for you. :-) If it's not too far away I'd advise popping into their Service Dept. where their advisor should be able to take care of that for you. Lok on your suggestion is that what the manual suggests?

lok888

dbindy - There were few discussions about switch the outside temparture reading from F' to C' They (US owners) also mentioned that you can do that by press the UP on temparture button for few seconds. I tired it and still no charge. I looked at the manual and found no such thing. I thought C' reading is only for Canada or elsewhere. I don't bother it.

By the way, anyone know if the multi-meter is accurate? I remember saw some discussions about this. But it was before I bought mine.

hciaffa

If you're asking how to switch over to Fahrenheit, do this: press the TEMP DOWN button and the AMB button and hold for 3 seconds. it is in the owners manual.

lok888

hicaffa - Thanks. What about this? The DIRECTION seems corrent. How do I know the BAR readout is correct? I haven't tuned it since I bought the car.

dbgindy

lok are you saying you really care what the barometer reading is? :-) Seriously you have a couple of ways to test it. One if you have a barometer in your home or a handheld unit you could check it against that. Some of your more fancy tempature gauges have a barometer on them. Another alternative is to go to a weather site on your computer (weather.com,accu-weather.com,etc. and find out what the reading is in your zip code. It should be close enough to see if the readout in your car is correct.
Hciaffa, thanks for the info on switching from Cel. to farenheit for tm. I thought the owners manual talked about that although a good dealer should have done that for them in setting up their Sorento. :-)

mike120877

Hey everyone, me again. You can tell I like nit picky things. Is there a door ajar warning on the dashboard? What other warning lights come on?

I did test drive the Sorento. I love it, but I've never bought a new car before and I just want to know everything I can about it!

Thanks again everybody!

lok888

dbgindy - Thanks. I don't really care the readout on these meters and temparture gauage. But since they are on my car for purpose. I have to make sure they are in right setting. Or can I assume these readout are corrected because they were checked before it left the factory or prepared by the dealer? I guess not. Happy motoring!

hicaffa - I was tried to order the clip-on rain visor but I was in the middle of something. I read the installation instruction online. It is nice and easy. Unlike the one from Auto Vent, you don't need any tape. So, is that mean you can remove it when you have to work on the car door and window? My Accord has the Auto Vent. I had the window replaced twice (broken p/w motor).

dbgindy

Mike,
There is a door ajar light and a warning tone as well. It has the other standard lights including a low gas light when you hit about 3 gallons remaining (per the manual).

hciaffa

Ok Lok888 here is the lowdown on the Weather tech visors. They are nice yes but they are flimsy compared to the kia or Ventvisor brand. This weekend I notice that the ones on the drivers side which are just held in with the friction and not with any tape are becoming loose to the point that the window while traveling down unsprung it and it fell out of the track. I got it back on. It seems that the warmer it gets the looser they get in the track. The rear ones do use tape to hold them in the channel. Ventvisors uses tape as well on many of their models but many go inside the channel. I have had these for my Ranger for 5 years now and no problems. The Kia ones mount to the outside of the window frame with tape as well and those I don't care for these. If they continue to fall out I will notify Weathertech about it and see what they can do. If they do nothing I will get some 3M tape and adhere it to the inside of the channel. As I mentioned in a previous posting I was hearing some wind noise and even some wind whistling on the drivers side and having the visors has reduced the noise to almost nothing.

lok888

Thanks for the info. Do they include the 3M tape for the front set just in case? So you can have it install with or without the tape. I wonder if the tape will make the window difficult to close since it is inside the window channel.

dbgindy

dalan Have you used the Edmund's TMV for your zip? I find it hard to believe that even in a hot color they would get that much over sticker. One thing that worked for me was after you decide this is what you want you may want to get a price over the internet. As long as you know what you want on it you can usually get a good deal that way. Most internet managers get their bonus by # of units moved not how much they make per vehicle.
As an example I got my EX 4x4 with Lux. package and ABS for $200 over invoice. So that may be worth a shot for you.

dalancroft

I'm not in the market quite yet, so it didn't really bother me. My company pays year-end bonuses which can be quite good (if the stock market is agreeable) or fairly mediocre (as in the last couple of years). Since that's a fairly slow time for vehicle sales and Kia tends to discount then, that's probably when I'll strike.

yosorento

No worries! Glad it worked for you.

yosorento

I found this recent review of the Sorento on The Times Online.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,588-602769,00.html

I think the only thing that makes the review worse is the writer's dry British humour... indeed!

And if you think you're on the wrong page, I think he doesn't even mention the Sorento until halfway down the column.

This is the worst review I've read on the Sorento. It's one of the worst reviews I've read for *any* car. Most have been *very* favorable towards the Sorento... all I know is that we love ours and it's been a joy to drive!

For those of you researching the Sorento, all you have to do is read the positive reviews here and at all the major auto review web sites to know that this is a great vechicle at an outstanding price.