Kia Sorento Maintenance and Repair

joboo1

Is there anyone in this room who owns a 2005 Sorento and is having a problem with the door impressions.

piverson

Yes I was told - by Kia customer service - that I would need to have them made by a locksmith ONLY and not just any key replication service. I also called the dealership and was told that I could come out to them and they would give me the key code for my truck. I hate calling them because of all the trouble they gave me with my clock that needed replacing and sure enough the general manager (who I was told to speak with) insisted that I should have gotten a duplicate key set with a key tag on it. DUH! If I had I would not be calling. I don't want to talk with them unless it is absoulutely necessary!

piverson

No switch found to activate dome light on door openning, this must be an EX option. Us poor LX owners have to stay in the dark when to door opens.

I have an LX and my dome light and door lights come on when my doors are opened.

speedykia

To get that manager to take notice about your spare key. I would not waste my time trying to deal with him. I would call KIA direct and let them know how that manager is treating you and let them do the dealing for you. Hey you bought a Sorento they KIA did not give it away to you free. Don't let that jerk manager talk down to you. He has this idea because your a woman he can say anything he wants. Let him know he can't.

piverson

Hey you bought a Sorento they KIA did not give it away to you free.
I love that line!!

That is exactly what I am going to do SpeedyKia. This is the same dufus manager that told me that they installed a brand new clock in my truck when they didn't! Yeah - I'm a woman. What do I know about the time and why my clock is not working!! I had to call Kia consumer affairs and they called them and I got the clock the same day. If I go out there and get no satisfaction regarding my key tag I am going to call Kia from my cell phone while I am at the dealership. I'm sure it will be noted somewhere that I have had to call twice to express my unsatisfaction with this dealership.

stever

I don't see a "How to Deal with a Dufus" article in the Car Buying for Women section; maybe Erin will write an article about negotiating after fact.

Oh yeah, if you have to call Kia, make sure there are a few tire kickers in the showroom who can hear you complaining. :-)

Steve, Host

lok888

The key tag (small metal plate with a number) was attached to one of the factory keys. It gives a quick and easy way for the parts people to cut another key without the master or spare key. I am sure your dealer or even Kia can the code/number by looking up the VIN. Yes. Extra keys can be made at any Kia dealer or locksmith without the key tag. The Sorento (U.S. model) has no engine immobilizer so there is no chip inside the key which easy to duplicate at any place.

I am not sure what Kia told you is right. I have an extra key made in one local Kia dealer. They saw the number and just made one for me without remove any key.

joboo1

are we allow to talk about class action suits in this chat room

piverson

UPDATE:

Dufus Manager was not there when I went to get my key tag - I wonder if he knew I was on the way??? LOL Anyway - I won't have to go back out to the dealership until I get ready to order/pick-up my cargo tray. I shudder to think what problems could arise from something simple as that!

beyond_help

after alot of research, we purchased a new 05 sorento ex.
at my price and at my trade in value! after some haggling with the sales manager about both
during the test drive the check engine lite came on, the problems was diagnosed by the service dept at once and the parts were ordered,
evap, canister and valve and were air freighted for the following day. when i arrived to have them installed i told them that the front rotors were bad. i am a mechanic myself, (fork lift)
in about an hour and a half they installed the ordered parts and two new front rotors, in the mean time they gave me a loaner so spent the time at the local mall.
well so far we have had no problems since then.
i wanted to buy two extra keys, they gave them to me for nothing.
the placement of the emergency brake lever could have been better though

piverson

i wanted to buy two extra keys, they gave them to me for nothing.

Oooooh! Did you really have to say that TODAY??? LOL

tidester

are we allow to talk about class action suits in this chat room

Class actions, per se, would be off-topic. Certainly, if you have issues with the performance or design of a vehicle it would be germane. You might try News & Views for matters that are not vehicle specific.

tidester, host

joboo1

thanks for the info.

lok888

How is your car doing? Did they figure out the photo sensor yet? Speaking of photo sensor, I may have a similar problem with it. Here is my story.

My '03 EX (with auto climate control) has light or no heat since a month ago. They replace the thermostat and it was OK until a week later. My car was in the shop for about a week for heating coil replacement. They need to remove the dash in order to reach the parts. I drove it for a week after the replacement and got very little heat (or none). I bought it back and they couldn't find anything wrong.

My situation is I got no heat even I warm up the car for like half an hour and turn the temparture way up. But light heat was coming when car travels at high speed, then everything back to normal. They couldn't duplicate the problem when I was there. I probably drove for a long time before I get there. They suggested me to leave the car for the day so they can check the car early in the morning. But I got no more free time for this and the everything seems normal now. I have heat within few minutes of starting the car.

Then I went and followed the self-diagnosis procedure on FATC unit. It showed me E5 on the climate control LCD screen and that's mean photo sensor fail. I will go back for the fourth time and ask them to replace the sensor.

piverson

Ok.....when I first got my Sorento when you put the key into the ignition the doors would lock and unlock when you turned the truck off or took the key out - I can't recall which one. But it doesn't do either anymore. Has this happened to anyone else?

lok888

I can't do this on my '03 Sorento. And I checked with the sales brochures, Kia website for both '04 & '05 models (US models) and can't find anything about the auto lock features. I even checked with my 2003 Sorento Technical Highlights and can't anything.

I am thinking you just unlocked the driver's door by pulling the driver door handle inside the car. This way you don't have to press the "unlock" button on the driver's door panel in order to unlock driver's door. But you can't do this in reverse.

joboo1

Ivygrnsorento are you up. I need to talk to you regarding the door impressions. Maybe you can email me. My email address is in my profile.

piverson

Thanks lok888!

piverson

I'm ordering a stainless steel chrome plate with the Kia logo and frame to go on the front of my truck and wanted to know if there is anything that I need to know/do/have to make sure that the installation goes ok and I do not ruin the front of my nice,new truck. Anyone done this before?

lok888

To all Sorento owners:

As you know, I have been having the same heating problem with my 2003 Sorento since a month ago. My dealer finally figured it out what is the cause. First of all, they have been replaced the heating coil and thermostat but still no help. My car was in and out the shop for many times. It appears a slow leak in the anti-freeze coolant reservoir. It didn't get enough fluid and the car don't get heat until it is fully accelerated. This is exactly my situation for the past several weeks. I have no heat even after warm up my car in my driveway for a long time. I noticed the anti-freeze coolant is dripping from the car lately, but it is still OK to drive.

The service manager told they were working on 8 Sorentos in different model years (2003, 2004 and 2005) for the past few day with the same problem. Unfortunately, he just sold the last reservoir and I have to wait for a new one comes in a day or two. He thinks Kia should come up with a new reservoir design. BTW, I did replace the anti-freeze coolant reservoir back in 8/03. I had no A/C. In the meanwhile, there is no recall or TSB for this.

I hope this information will give you guys an idea for the ongoing issues. For those (EX owners) in the cold climate region and snow areas, pay attention to the rear door body cladding (inside with a metal strip) for rust problem.

jc3656

The outcome was exactly what I expected. Lemon law in WI is specific to what constitutes implementation of the law. Must be safety and quantity related. My problems were some aesthetic and some major inconvenience. I have had 6 or 7 rentals since 11/04. Kia did have their regional service tech spend a few hours with my vehicle and determined that everything was "within specifications", therefore, nothing further to be done. The KIA customer service rep is interested in offering monetary compensation for all of my inconvienience...this will occur in a few weeks on the specifics. I believe that KIA has done the right thing up to this point and the fact they are willing to compensate is a big deal to me. My car seems ok at this point, but, I am a little salty over all of the time I needed to spend in a compact rental car within the first 3 to 4 months of owning my Sorento. Best advise to you, keep good records and check into the lemon law in your state. Rule of thumb, if the problems are safety related, and have been recurring multiple times - good case. All others, must check you law. Good luck to you.

scottyv

We have a 2003 Sorrento that we're really happy with but...it seems that now we've run into a situation that we can't figure out. The doors will just automatically lock on their own. If I unlock the car, sometimes it will relock itself before I get to it - and it happens within seconds. We've had it lock while driving, when the car is not start, etc. Our dealer here said that it's the Theft Deterrent system. Whenever we have the car running, we'll leave a window rolled down because we're worried about it locking us out. I've seen some posts about similar problems. Anybody else seen this?

jxd

I have a 2005...If you hit the remote to unlock the doors and do not open the doors it will automatically lock...not sure if this is your problem..

joboo1

This is not a problem. It is a good security feature.

piverson

>>This is not a problem. It is a good security >>feature.

That is great - I did not know that until now. One more reason to love my new truck!

joboo1

anyone interested in my sorento

stever

Sure; what's going on with it (door impressions?).

Steve, Host

joboo1

Only when it gets down to the low teens do you see them. when it warms up they disappear.

beyond_help

experimenting with remote door locks, when i shut the door my sorento i hit the unlock button, the doors locked about 30 sec later, so if you hit the wrong button it does not matter they still lock as long as you do not open the door. good for someone as confused as i am!!

beyond_help

are these the impressions i see next to the rear door handles?

joboo1

not sure what pictures are you looking at

beyond_help

side impacked plates inside the doors or other sheet metal plates just under the door skin.
i noticed some slight disdortions of the door skins around the rear door handle areas extending forward a few inches but seem to go away when the temp warmed up. i did not see any pics of any and wondered if these where what were being talked about.

joboo1

yes that is the problem i have

joboo1

is your vehicle a 2005. because if it is kia has lied to me once again. do you have photos

beyond_help

i don't know how bad yours look mine are barely visable when very cold 20 degrees f.
i don't consider mine a problem, i think it is the door handle latch frame mount assy under the door skin, as long as it doesn't flex the paint enough to peal off, but i think that a very slim possiblity

another can of worms. i put on a trailer hitch on today and noticed the my 05 was under coated. i thought auto mfgs stoped under coating vehicles years ago because it was no longer necessary and under coating trapped moisture. and added weight and at 4400 lbs it is already heavy enough!!

lmorgan

My Kia sorento delivered Sept 2004 had the first of your problems. The solution is a modified brake switch. I had one fitted a couple of weeks ago and so the far the problems hasn't reappeared.

lmorgan

Has anyone had problems with rusty brake drums which, appart from anything else, spoil the appearance of an otherwise handsome looking car?

speedykia

Yes my 03 has them they are really nasty looking and do spoil the looks of the fine wheels.

beyond_help

being we only have <400 mile on our 05 i noticed that our auto trans (part time 4x4 model) does not go into high gear, (i am assuming fifth gear) for about 8 to 10 minuets of driving. ambient outside temp is about 30 degrees. is this mormal?
also it is an EX model and i see a glove box light and and an actuation plunger and the light does not work. it does not have the luxury group. it seems it should have a working glove box light

joboo1

Well, here is my story I had an 03 Sorento with the impressions. They looked like they were becoming a permanent indention. Kia gave me a new 04 Sorento to replace it. They told me that problem existed only in small batch/lot # of 03 Sorentos and does not affect the 04 line. Well, were they wrong, the new Sorento recently showed those nasty impressions. This time Kia stated they are aware of the problem in the 03 and 04 Sorentos, but corrected the problem in 05 (according to "beyond help" the problem exits in the 05 Sorentos). Well, the Kia rep. has informed me that there is no fixable solution to this problem at this time and has offered me approximately $1200. to keep my mouth shut and wants me to sign a goodwill agreement that has me give up all rights for future litigation. The agreement is so vague that I am not sure if I am giving up my rights for future repairs also. I have less than two weeks to make a decision.

iluvmysephia1

the brake dust and other road grime build-up on it's alloy wheels. I have tried several different wheel cleaners to no real total avail. Somebody needs to invent a really good grime cleaner for nice wheels, eh?

speedykia

Quote: i noticed that our auto trans (part time 4x4 model) does not go into high gear, (i am assuming fifth gear) for about 8 to 10 minuets of driving. ambient outside temp is about 30 degrees. is this mormal?
=========
Yes it's normal many other auto and trucks have this happen in cold weather it's programed into the systems computer. It had me worried back in 89 with a Nissan Maxima found it in the operators manual back then.

lok888

My dealer just replaced the coolant bottle Monday which caused the problem with lack of heat. They found some cracks at the bottom of the reservoir which caused the slow leak. Again, my dealer has replaced 8 or more Sorentos in different model years, 2003 to 2005 in the past week. And I am still waiting for the new photo sensor (part of the auto climate control unit) for my Sorento.

speedykia

While making a right turn from a stoplight I had to quickly get over into the right lane. I turned sharply to the right and hit the gas. The 2 wheel rear wheel pusher went from rear wheel pusher to a front wheel puller. So quickly I was almost pulled right over the curb. The Sorento thought it had to make a real fast move and it did just that.

txteacher

Hi there,
May I ask how your steering problem started? I had a 2003 Sorento LX and traded in October for a 2004 EX luxury package. My first Sorento gave me absolutely no problems--I just wanted an upgrade. After 3 weeks of ownership, I found it was leaking from the back. Turns out my driveshaft seal was broken and had to be replaced. Two months later, it was making a horrible humming sound. The differential had to be replaced. Since then, and on three seperate occasions, I've been driving down the highway at about 80mph (and its happened on really cold days), and when I stop or slow down to turn, my steering wheel locks up. It feels very tight, as if there were no power steering. I turned my vehicle off and a few minutes later, it was fine. I took it in, thinking that it might be the power steering pump, but the technician couldn't see, or feel, anything wrong with it. Any suggestions?

iluvmysephia1

your Kia tech.is going to have to figure this one out unless someone on the internet can help you discover the problem. I wonder if a sensor or computer that controls power steering has gone bad or something.

lok888

I am not sure if you have 2WD or 4WD. I feel the same when making a sharp turn or an U-turn with my EX 4WD with TOD. But I always try to avoid doing this that it may damage the drivetrain, 4WD systems and transfer case. I just don't turn the steering wheel all the way to left or right when making turns or U-turns. The TOD provides 80% power for the rear wheels and 20% for the front on dry pavement. You feel the rear wheels lockup when making sharp turns and U-turns.

alexandra

My digital trip guages on my 2004 Kia Sorento LX 4wd keep resetting themselves, at odd numbers too, like 996.7 & 998.4, the dealer told me that I had done it myself accidentally, but NO, then they installed a new instrument cluster, but it still happens. I thought they weren't supposed to reset until at least 10k, that way you can keep track of mileages like your next oil change etc. Anyone else have this problem??? And any ideas what I can tell the dealership mechanics on how to fix this problem?? (I'm leaning towards an electrical short of some kind myself!! But what do I know.)

piverson

I had forgotten all about this issue.
My husband bought my truck in December - 2005 model - and this happened a couple of times but hasn't done it since then. I accused him of doing it so that I would not know how far he had been in my truck!! LOL And of course he swore he had not touched it but I did not believe it and wondered why would it reset itself?? I guess it really did. I am not anywhere near 10k by the way.

Since it had not done it again by the time I had to take my truck in to get my clock replaced I did not mention it.

If you find out anything please post back here so that I can be aware of anything that needs to be looked at.

Good Luck!

ocgrassgirl

I am new to this board so allow me to explain my situation. I hope someone will be able to give me some advice. I bought a new '03 in June of 2003 and drove it for 18 months. I had put about 57,000 miles on it when I took it to the the dealer for regular maintenance. When we picked it up we noticed right away that when we applied the brakes the dash lights came on. We immediately returned the vehicle to the dealer. They said something had become disconnected during the transmission service and they would fix it. We picked it up and found the same problem continued and also realized that the brake lights would either stay on all the time or not work at all. The problems were different each time we drove it. To make a long story short. They had the car for over a month and tried several fixes to no avail. They finally tried replacing the entire wiring harness but were unsuccessful in doing so because the replacement harness that it called for in the manual did not fit. They had to order one specially made from Korea which was estimated to take another month and there was no guarantee that it would fix the problem. I am trying to make this short. They decided to trade us up into a new '05 model and pay the difference so we could keep the same finance terms. We were very happy with the deal. We took the new '05 home in November of '04. We noticed immediately that the clock did not work. It resets to 1:00 when you turn the car off. We let them know and they replaced it with a new clock that also didn't work. We headed to Florida from Maryland on vacation in our new vehicle with about 300 miles on it and got as far as North Carolina and began having transmission problems. We contacted Kia and were advised to keep going if possible and take it to the service center in Orlando. We did that and they replaced a shifting sensor module and said it was fixed. On the way back from FL. we had the same problems again. The transmission will not shift into overdrive which has us driving at high speeds in 4th gear. It will do it for a while and then works normally for a while. There seems no rhyme or reason to it. We took it to our dealer when we got home and they said to come back when the check engine light came on and they would be able to tell what was wrong. Today the light came on and I went to the dealer who said it was the speed sensor and they would have to replace the Transmission. A new transmission at 10,000 miles??? Oh, I forgot they replaced the clock a third time with what they said was a new model and again it doesn't work. I don't think I want a KIA anymore. Can anyone relate?