Kia Sorento Maintenance and Repair

jc3656

I have noticed very recent after purchase (1 week) that when I come to a complete stop after accelerating to over 20mph or higher..that as soon as I lift off of the brake (even ever so slightly)the entire car slips (or kicks in, as I call it). It is a very uncomfortable feeling on a new vehicle. I did take it in and the service dept said that Kia recommended they "grease the hell out of it"..which they did. The first time I drove it thereafter, it continued to happen. The service dept will now replace the driveshaft. Now, the question is on the all time 4x4, won't this truck have several driveshafts? and will they all be replaced...or am I mistaken? Also, as a note, I had a 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee Ltd that I had this identical driveshaft problem with (right off the lot when purchased new). Is this common on the AWD 4x4? Specifically to the 2004 KIA Sorento is there any known problems that anyone is aware of, or had similar problem with?

lok888

Many months ago, we started a discussion about this "thump" feeling. We often hear click noise when braking from high speed and lift off of the brake. At least me, hicaffa and few others have been experiencing this. We found out the we all own the 4WD model. I am not sure if this is a driveshaft problem. But some believe this is normal with LSD. One poster (pasian?) who owns an Isuzu Trooper with TOD also has this feeling. Let us know the outcome if driveshaft is the blame.

hciaffa

lok888 is right it seems that many owners have experianced this thump feeling after coming to a stop and then starting off again. And it seems that it happens with auto 4x4. So this would lead us to believe that it is the differential releasing itself when starting off. I have a 03 as well with the luxury package and this started right after we got the vehicle. Nothing broken and no problems with the drive shafts. With this model it is mostly rear wheel drive unless slippage is noticed then power is transfer to the other wheels, but when you start off the power shift is I believe its 60% rear and 40% front then after getting into 2nd gear (auto) it releases the front and goes to 90% rear and 10% front. This set up is like the Subaru models. If you live in snow areas the Sorento handles great in the snow as well as in the rain. Still have yours checked because its no cost to you.

jc3656

I forgot to mention mine is a 2004 EX with luxury package sorento. I assume that everyone figured that out, but wanted to document it ). Well, I am awaiting the results of the new driveshaft installation. Dropped it off last night and will pick it up tomorrow night..I will advise as to the results. I really can't wait to get this beast out in the WI snow! I keep hearing how great the auto 4x4 handles! Oh yeah, like no one has heard this before, the Sorento mpg is horrible on mine too. I am getting 15mpg in 50% city/50% hwy (rushhour). yeah, I know it could be worse. No desire to get the 4 gallons to the mile like the hummer. I guess it will get slightly better in the future after break in.

jasonc

I have a 2004 LX with 4WD and I get the same thump sound when I let off the brakes from a stop sign or stop light. From reading this forum this seems to be fairly common in Sorento's. It dosen't seem to cause any problems though. I hope everyone keeps posting about this so maybe we can all find out exactly what it is and if its going to be a problem.

lok888

So now we have started the same discussion again. I agree with others that this is a normal condition with the LSD. We only feel this when brake from high speed (like 20 mph or higher) and lift off of the brake.

jc3656

Ok, got my truck back! The driveshaft was replaced and I am happy to report that the "thump" feeling has gone away. jasonc, get yours checked - as mine was deemed a "deformed driveshaft" and was covered under warranty. Albeit my truck has only 1000 miles, but, should still be under warr. The total with labor came to be approximately $800 for this repair. Part# listed was 49100-3E200 (propeller). These forums are very helpful to consumers, thank you!

jc3656

Has anyone had an aftermarket (ala Viper, etc.) alarm installed on the Sorento? What kind of issues and prices can I expect to encounter. I also found out that Kia direct does not offer a rear vertical net option (to keep items from falling out when door opens), only the net that attaches to floor. I did, however, notice that a net can be attached from floor anchors to what appears to be hidden screw holes (where top 2 net anchors could go?) Anyone try installing a vertical net in their Sorento? Lastly, has anyone had this happen...it's rush hour and overcast, you are driving 65mph and cross under a very short or normal underpass...then your "auto lights" kick in...then shut off immediately after your car hits light again (1 to 2 sec later). This has to be adjustable?

jc3656

I did have that exact same rattle. It was the speaker grill that had a loose screw.

jacques

sucks

lok888

I don't have an aftermarket alarm system installed yet. I have been looking for an alarm system with remote starter. My installer charged me $350 installed (alarm with remote starter) for my other car. And he is going to charge me the same if I bring my Sorento in. Since we don't have engine immobilizer (US model), so we don't need to spend extra $50 on decoding. I quoted $250 or less for the alarm only. I found the alarm with remote starter is a good deal.

I agree with you about the tie down cargo net. My car comes with a cargo net which I don't use. My Camry has a vertical net. My wife loves it. I really want the grocery bag hooks like those on the back seats of Sedona.

This is normal for the auto headlights. Many times people think that I am flashing the high beams on them. I don't know if we can adjust it. I usually turn on lights and serve as DRL.

lok888

Let's us if there is any problem lately on. I am still surprised this is a driveshaft problem.

lok888

This probably the no. 1 complaint for many Sorento owners. It drinks more gas like other V8 powered large size SUVs. But we still love this truck.

hciaffa

Just asking but what drive shaft was replaced, front or rear?

jessejames4

The KIA Sorento diesel is here and available in the US but there is a slight catch: you can't register the car until 2005 when Kia starts officially bringing them in. I talked to an importer who has about 10 of the Kia Sorento diesel luxury models here in the states which are going for about $25k. I think that is a great price considering that the Plastic Jeep Liberty is going for around $31k. I've seen pictures of the Kia Sorento diesel and the interior looks great: even have a picture of the CRD (engine compartment) I'd love to get one of these but how do I drive it around town until I can get it registered?
The importer suggested repair plates, which I thought was pretty smart, however I don't own a body/repair shop anymore.
Anyway, Kia diesels will be here I am assured, in 2005, which means around September?

Jesse
Connecticut

jasonc

Thanks for the info. I'll probably take it by and have them check it out.

hciaffa

Jesse can you tell me at what dealer this was at,I'm interested. I'm from CT and we have an 03 bought at Crowely's.

jxd

I just bought a 2005 Sorrento EX with the luxury pkg...It has a knob on the dash that selects from 4wheel full time (AUTO) setting to 4 wheel low setting...The book states to put the vehicle in N when changing this setting...The problem I am noticing is that is goes easily into 4wheel low but takes several tries to get it back into 4wheel Auto. ???? Also when driving under a overpass the headlights go on for 1-2 seconds then off??? Thanks. Joe

lok888

It is the same procedure for switching back to AUTO mode from 4Lo. It works fine on my '03 EX with luxury package.

The auto headlights seem sensitive especially when drives under an overpass and overcast skies.

hciaffa

This is pretty normal for any 4x4 when engaging into Lo gear. You have to stop and put it in neutral and put your foot on the brake to engage. Do the same to get out of lo gear. We have an 03 with EX with Luxury package as well and you will find leaving it in auto 4x4 will work very well. Here in Ct with the heavy snow we tend to get, the 4x4 auto goes like a bear. I think in the 2 years we have owned the Sorento I may have engaged the 4 lo about 4 times mostly just to try it out and you will notice that it runs like a tank. You do have to drive much slower and in fact the gearing seems much lower than my 4x4 Ranger in Lo gear. As far as the auto headlights I usually don't use that feature that much as it can be an annoyance to other drivers as it tends to be to sensitive and will only work when it is very dark out. Sometimes at dusk when it should come on it dosen't. By the way the sensor is a button on the passenger side in the dash up by the windshield. I am experimenting with a cover to see if it will make them work better.

jc3656

According to the service report, it was the rear.

renl08

jasonc - I'm glad you got yours fixed. Since everyone is putting in which vehicle this is happening to I have a 04 sorento 4WD - Not auto - I have to turn the switch and it's also not the luxury package. I have this "thump" happening a lot. The dealership told me they couldn't reproduce the problem. The only way I could see that is if they didn't actually drive it. I think I have to take it back. Thanks for your info.

jxd

Thanks for the reply.

jc3656

Well..my truck has actually started to do the same thing again with the "thump". The driveshaft was replaced about 1 week ago and I have driven the vehicle about 250 miles since the installation. My guess is that the vehicle is just not engineered well enough to prevent this problem from occurring. It is very frustrating, and I will be addressing this issue with the service department AGAIN. I paid too much money and love this truck too much to let this go unnoticed to KIA. I think enough dealers and owners complain, they may re-engineer to possibly find a fix?

lilac0422

Just my opinion, but I don't think anything needs to be fixed. The thump feeling is present on similar vehicles (search previous posts as this topic is not new), so I think it has very little to do with the vehicle being a KIA. The thump doesn't bother me at all. I barely notice it anymore. I love my car and will not be bothered by normal noises. I have heard people that are upset by the antilock self test noise that happens after putting the car into gear. It is funny how no one notices that these noises are all present during the test drive. People are so excited that they forget to listen for minor annoyances.

goldsuv

As a Professional Engineer, I agree with lilac0422. Every vehicle has different sounds and vibrations. If they don't affect driveability, don't worry about it. Your more likely to have problems when unexperienced mechanics start taking apart a car.

hciaffa

First off we know that the thump occurs with both the regular model with the 4x4 and the EX with luxury. I think it is only on the auto transmission models. And the feeling is coming from the rear. I am thinking that it could be two things. One, the differential that when the vehicle starts to move the diffs tend to release them selfs and thus creating a thump. Or second the rear brakes releasing themselves. My thinking is that I wonder if it is occurring on Sorento's with ABS brakes. I it happening on any Sorento with non ABS brakes? Maybe the system is late in releaseing the rear brakes thus giveng the thump when you start off. My dealer has heard about this and has tried several things including replacing the main drive shafts and half axles (not to our vehilce)but on ours he has inspected it and checked the entire drive line and sees nothing wrong. It may be something inherent to the vehicle and until KIA works on it we may have to live with it. I have not noticed anything going wrong with the problem and when I get to drive it I tend to drive a little harder than my wife does. SHHHH... don't tell her. So until it does brake and with the warranty I will wait for it to cause some failure.

lok888

We were hoping a new drive shaft will solve the problem. I am not sure if this has something to do with the ABS. I do have ABS on Sorento with TOD 4WD.

If you drove a Jeep Grand Cherokee with the same thump feeling before, this must be normal. Some guy who has a Isuzu Trooper has the same thing.

I am interested to know if you don't feel the thump right after the replacement. It seems you don't hear anything during these 250 miles. Have you done any hard braking to test it?

jc3656

Yeah, off the lot and the next day (about 50 miles) it felt like a brand new TIGHT vehicle, no "thump". However, on day 2 after the replacement, it is exactly where it was before the replacement driveshaft. Yes, I know, it seems odd, but true. Ironically, I did recently have my first "hard brake"...or more like "semi-hard brake". Anti-lock, I assume worked fine, as it was on dry pavement. But, this was already after I noticed we had thumping again on new shaft installed. Look, I see it this way, I am a consumer who is not 100% mechanically inclined, I have owned at least 12 cars in my life and I just know this does not feel right. When I test drove and drove for a few days afterwords (I bought it right away), the car was tight..had a lexus feel to it, without the $$$. After a short period of time the car is settled in but, not in a good way. No other way to explain it. I am ok with some basic car noise, road noise, a rattle here and there, but, when passengers comment on the "thump" before I even mention it...it has an apparent noticability that just is not normal. I love the truck! Please don't get me wrong...but, I hope that there could be a documented or dealer/service explaination that can be relayed to account for this. The truck IS going in again (3rd time), and the dealer said this time they will call KIA to see what they will do. What does this mean? Well, in the ears of this customer..it means it will be FIXED or REPLACED. Whether that happens I will advise.

jasonc

I don't think its the ABS because I don't have ABS and it happens on my 2004 LX. After reading some more of everyone's posts I tend to agree that this is probably just a normal noise that is going to go along with owning a Sorento.

tigger32

My 2003 EX Sorento has had no problems except with the AM-FM / CD / Tape player. The car is on its' third one after the first one failed on the 2nd day I owned it. It wouldn't eject tapes or CDs and the push buttons on the head unit wouldn't work. The knobs and steering wheel controls did work though.
  The first replacement had terrible radio reception although the CD and tape were fine. The dealer voluntarily replaced it after 3 months.
  My dealer has been stellar throughout the whole process and treated me like a king. They have definitely gotten my loyalty with that. Would I buy another Kia? In a heartbeat.
  I really like this car. It has all of the features that I wanted and the only downside I've found is the MPG. Around town I get about 14 mpg but I get about 20 - 21 on the highway. On a recent trip (6000 miles in 2 weeks) I had one tank of 22.0 mpg! And mine is a 4x4. Currently it is 16 months old and has 23,000+ miles.
  It is my understanding that Kia has switched from the Delphi (GM) radio to a much better Infiniti. Maybe I'll switch to the Infiniti on my own dime??

goldsuv

The thunk is from the movement of the slip yoke in the transfer case. This was discussed in the Isuzu Axiom forum which has a multi link rear suspension like the Sorento and the same Borg Warner transfer case as the Sorento.

pcarr

Thank you for responding to my issue, I was wondering if this would fall under the lemon law of VA.? I feel this car is damaged goods. With only 19,000 miles and all these problems. Is it possible to run into other problems because of this?

jxd

Just bought a 2005 EX with the Luxury package...it has the Delphi radio.

lok888

This is my third set of 6CD changer on my '03 EX with luxury package. The first set (factory installed) had poor radio reception and the second set had stuck CDs inside the slot. They had to replace it and sent it back to Kia for analysis and send me back the CD. BTW, the audio system has only 3yrs/36000 miles warranty coverage.

Kia uses Delphi on 2003-2005 Sorento. They put Infinity on Amanti and Optima.

renl08

Yes, this is happening on vehicles without ABS. I do not have ABS and it happens all the time. Even when I don't actually come to a complete stop but release my foot from the brake. It's not that I don't diagree with lilac, however I've had a 4X4 that did not do this and it's embarrasing. I paid a lot of money for the car and everytime someone else is in the car they keep telling me "it feels like your transmission is slipping". I bought a new car for reliability. I travel far to work and in a lot of traffic and what's worse is I'm not exactly feeling comfortable that it's doing this. I can only hope it's a "quirk" with the car and won't eventually cause a problem. I'll keep checking this forum for new information in case we find out something. Thank you everyone for your advice.

joboo1

Ivygrnsorento are you up. Just want to follow up on the door panels discussed earlier this year.

hciaffa

If I remember didn't you have your doors replaced because of the problem. I had noticed once on our 03 but I didn't want to got through the process of getting new doors and having them painted and not having the paint job not match. I also noticed that the problem continues with newer models. I saw some 05's at the dealer and noticed that the side impact protectors are constricting in the cold and you can see the outline of them on the outside door.

joboo1

well, I need to talk to you. can you email your address

hciaffa

Whats up joboo my e-mail is hciaffaglione@canberra.com

teach4aday

I also have the EX '03 and am in California. Funny you should mention inside wear because I am trying to buy 2 new front tires for that same reason. I have less than 30,000 on the vehicle. Wonder how many of us there are? Has anyone put different tires (other than Michelin) on their Sorento and liked them?

pao

I had major wear on the original OEM michelins on my 03 EX....down to the steel cords on the inside of the front left and pretty close on the right....I replaced all four with BFG Longtrail T/As., with raised OWL...they look sharp on the sorento...at National Tire and Battery...it didnt help the tires had never been rotated..at 30K.but that is another long story .....lol

BFGs come with 50K warranty...higher treadwear number than the OEM michelins..and slightly noiser on the road...but I dont drive it...the ex does.....otherwise..no problems at all with the sorento.....

lok888

I just noticed the control wasn't working this morning... couldn't do the power, seek, mode and volume control. Then it works fine again after I dropped off my kid and started the car. Anyone has this problem? It seems I can't show to my dealer unless it is dead and the factory warranty is only 3 years/36000 miles on audio component.

2003sorento

I have had my brakes repaired three times, the fourth is set for tomorrow morning 8:00AM. I only have 30,000 miles. The first time was at 6500 miles, second time 13,000 miles, and third time around 21,000 miles. Dealership is now telling me it is my driving habits that are causing the problem, that is why I am searching the web for answers. Any replys would be greatly appreciated.

lok888

I have 26.5K miles on my '03 Sorento with original brakes. Other than the brake dust, not a single problem and no scratch on the disc rotors. But I start hear tiny little squeaking noise lately when the car is in slow motion. I think I will need a new brakes before 30K miles. What is the reason for the brake services?

mkoval2000

I have recently purchased a brand new 2005 Kia Sorento EX 4x2 with the luxury package

 

and I have now complained 3 times of noise in the power steering like a howling sound and I was told it was the ABS system and normal

 

My fiancee had it up to Terry Reid Kia in Cartersville GA last week and they indicated it was normal and didnt do anything (even though it was warm when he was there and couldnt reproduce the problem)

I called my salesman and he indicated he would return my call when they could guarantee a replacement vehicle

but he never returned my call.

 

The noise continued and when it got colder this week the noise was every time you started it cold

 

then this morning I had no power steering at all for about 3 miles , it was tight and very hard to turn the wheel.

 

Finally Kia agreed to have it towed in

and is putting me in a rental car.

 

Has anyone else had these type of problems?

I am wondering if I have a lemon

it has less than 2000 miles on it

 

also the clock doenst work

the part is on order

 

the passenger air bag indicator sometimes turns off but not all the time and without even checking the problem we were told that it probably just is because someone isnt sitting in it right

which is not likely because this happened 4 times with 3 different people

 

also when the driver sits in the vehicle and doesnt have the seat belt on the indicator on the dash doesnt light up indicating no seat belt

engaged

I havent complained about this yet

but plan on it

 

Thanks

lilac0422

That is normal to have no indicator light on the dash. You can check your owners manual but it just comes on and dings when you start the car. Others don't like that but that is completely normal.

lok888

Clock - My dealer replaced it clock few months ago. It showed 1:00 after almost everytime I reset it. Many here have the same problem.

 

Airbag light - Probably some lose cables or connectors under the driver's seat due to the movement. Or, in my case, they replaced the clock spring which is right inside the steering wheel column. This allow steering turn freely and the connection to the airbag on steering wheel. Your dealer was wrong about no one has sat on the seat. There is no sense on the seats.

 

Seatbelt light - No such thing on Sorneto and maybe other Kia and Hyundai vehicles. But the chime will go on for few seconds when after you start the car and the seatbelt is not engaged. The light will only on when there is something wrong with the seatbelt. This is why called seatbelt warning light.

 

Your dealer don't seem to know what they are doing. Your major concern is the power steering and how to write to Kia about what happened.

jd97

I've just had my first bad experience with my 2003 Sorento. At a stop sign I put it in 4 HI because it was slippery at the corner. As I got 50 feet from the corner I had a loud clunk then 5 seconds later another one. Felt like front of the car. Scared the hell out of me. Luckily my work was only another 100 ft. away. I will try it again at lunch time to see if it still does it but was wondering if you have heard of this. I'm hoping it is safe to take to my dealer who is 2 hours away from me. They tell me they haven't heard of this yet?! From what I've read on the net I can't believe they haven't heard of this yet.

lok888

I was new to 4WD. A Sorento EX 4WD is my first SUV. I have learned this after reading many posts here. Do not put it in 4Hi or 4Lo when making turns. Drive straight with light curve is fine. It is for off-road, on snow or steep hills for maximum traction. There is a warning on owner manual. And driving on dry pavement with 4WD engaged for long period of time may cause damage to transmission and transfer case.

 

I don't do off-road or driving on snow covered roads often. But I occasionally put it in 4Lo (my EX has luxury package, AUTO and 4Lo) and drive it on a quite street or parking lot back and forth for a short distance probably once a month. I make sure the gears and moving parts get lubricated. Yes. It drives and sounds like a tank on 4WD mode.