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Kia Sedona Steering Wheel Vibration

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Comments

  • lacoydr1lacoydr1 Member Posts: 17
    :) Thanks to both dougv and egg for the info. Dougv - that's great news for you. Egg, it sounds like both of us would be hosed in a swap. I would hope my dealer will fight for me. They are part of a really big consortium of 19 dealerships in 3 states. I would hope they would want to stand behind me (financially). 50 cents a mile seems extreme especially when you consider many of those miles for me were either spent getting the vehicle to the dealership, the dealership test driving it or me just driving the vehicle while it is broken. When you lease a car the charge is usually 15 cents a mile for every mile over the limit. As I said earlier, I am bringing mine back down tomorrow morning so they can "tear it apart". I will have a rental at Kia's expense. At this point I would be happy to swap my van for one of the dealerships "off lease" vans on the lot (even if it had more miles). They have three on the lot that are the same color with the same equipment. Well, I'll keep my fingers crossed. Good luck to you guys.
  • lacoydr1lacoydr1 Member Posts: 17
    Hi Dougv and egg. Here's my latest. As I said I brought the van back in on Tuesday. Here is what has transpired so far.
    · 09/25/2007 – Tuesday – Brought to dealer at 08:00AM so they could “tear it apart”. They supplied me with a rental vehicle (Chevy Silverado 4x4 Crew Cab). I called them at 4:50PM to see how things were going and they said they needed the vehicle for at least another day.

    · 09/26/2007 – Wednesday – I called the dealer at 2:00PM. I spoke with the Service Manager. He said they had made progress but it is still not perfect. They are now trying a different brand of tires (Kumho vs. Hankook). I thought this shouldn’t make a bit of difference because they already tried replacing all four tires. He said they were in the process of doing it and he would call me back after he test drove it himself. At 3:30PM I got tired of waiting so I called back again. I spoke with the Service Manager and he said the new tires didn’t fix the issue but that the vibration doesn’t start now until you reach 75MPH. I asked what exactly they had been doing over the past two days and this was his response. “We took all four tires and six rims (I assume he meant the 4 that were on the car and the 2 old ones they had swapped out) over to the Honda dealer where they ran a “Road Force Test” on all different combinations of tires and wheels until they got the best match”. But again this didn’t resolve the issue and they had already tried this during the week of 08/20. He said the problem was improved but still there just enough to be annoying. I told him that I was at the point of wanting to exercise my Lemon Law rights and that I would be speaking with counsel. He thought that Kia would be amenable to a replacement which is all I really want. He said he now had to report in on their progress to the district Kia rep and he would get back to me on Thursday. They still have the van.

    · 09/27/2007 – Thursday – I did some research on the internet last night and found a link to the Kia Tech Site. This site contains all of the Technical Service Bulletins, recalls, etc. for all Kia vehicles. I did a search and found several TSBs that could be related to my issue. All of them had to do with computer issues causing transmission and wheel vibration. I sent this info to the dealer. Then today I got tired of waiting for a call from the service manager so I called them around 3:00PM. The guy I spoke with said the service manager was out of the building at the moment and he would call me back when he returned. A little while later the service guy called back and said they were going to be keeping the van for another few days at Kia’s request. They were going to try swapping out the axles and do even more “Road Force Tests” on the wheels/tires. I told them that this had already been tried and would no doubt not make a difference. I asked if they had looked up or tried any of the TSB info I forwarded them and he said that they were going to try some of those as well. Wouldn't you think they would have read these things when I first had the vehicle in for the issue. He then told me I could get a different rental vehicle if I wanted to. Also, I just remembered that I had problems wth the idiot lights coming on for no reason. The TPMS (tire pressure monitoring system) and the ABS lights both had come on several times in the past. I asked the dealer to check this out on some of the first appointments and they said they couldn’t find any issues. Again, this could point to either defective sensors or a defective computer. I am thoroughly frustrated at this point and just want a different van or my money back. I have hired Kimmel and Silverman, a nationally recognized lemon law firm. They said worst case scenario that Kia will make me keep the vehicle and pay the difference between what I paid for the van and what KBB Trade in value is now. I could live with that. I'll keep you posted.
  • redstone1redstone1 Member Posts: 1
    I have the same problem described here with high speed vibration (in addition to other parts replaced). The first attempt to resolve this problem, used a third party road force balancing machine, which found two bad rims and one bad tire. They were replaced, and the problem persisted.

    I brought it back and the timing chain tensioner was replaced. The problem still persisted.

    A KIA Engineer came out to verify the problem, because I had requested aluminum wheels and new tires. He verified the vibration, as I was in the passenger seat next to him.

    The new wheels (17" aluminum) and tires (Michelin) were put on. Previously I had 16" steel wheels and Hankooks. The problem persisted.

    Then I found this forum.
  • smillersmiller Member Posts: 32
    on my 2006 Sedona LX! The wheels and tires were replaced because the good load force testing computer found problems but replacing the wheels and tires did not
    stop the vibration completely. It was still there at about 72+ MPH but then the steering and back seat would vibrate while braking. I took it to the dealer and they replaced both front rotors and turned the back ones. The van now drives smoothly like it should. I hope the rotors last at least until 50K miles but I'm not counting on it, Consumer Reports gave the brakes a low score for the 06 Sedona, a black circle.
    I wash the van once every one or two weeks and is parked in the garage so that should help.
  • dougvdougv Member Posts: 19
    Hi lacoydr1 and Egg,

    So this is the time of the year for miracles! Two weeks ago I picked up a new 08 Sedona at my dealers and he told me to just drive it like it was mine. It drove just perfect. No vibration of any kind. Today I went in to his office where he had the paperwork from Kia. I'll skip all of the accountant and lawyer legaleeze. Bottom line they took my 06 Sedon LX and gave me the 08 Sedona LX straight swap. No tax title or License fees and they waived any mileage fee that there might be. No monies exchanged anywhere. I think the dealer was a little surprised also since Kia had originally had said that there would be a fee based on differences in the MSRP. They even washed the two week old van and filled it with gas. As I have said before Kia was not going to admit anything and accordingly the papers I signed said that very same thing that they were not admitting that anything was wrong but they just wanted to settle everything. So after 9 1/2 months I have the van I wanted. Also I have posted with the final resolution as I had promised many months before. To those of you still with problems you can go back and read my oddessy page by page. Also to those still with problems I think some of the new posts point to a real solution to repairing the vibration. As I had posted before after I had test drove an 07 Van in another state and found the same vibrations there the Service manager there told me that had problems with the rotors and he would just resurface them and they would be fixed. I now believe that this is a solution. I don't believe the rotors are the cause, I think it is in the computer when either the ABS or the ESC comes in to play because of some computer error the brakes are brought into a slight contact with the rotors and the ESC causes the brakes to pulse causing the vibrating. I don't think the rotors are warped, no QC department would ever let that happen, But when they are shaved down the thinner rotors do not make contact with the brakes when the ESC or ABS misbehaves. This is really such a simple and cheap solution I don't follow why Kia would not make the adjustments. But everyone goes though the same change the wheels, tires, force balance, etc. Maybe it takes one to know one, that is the corporate or legal mind.
    Also one other commonality, the Kia rep is never any help. I think my final disposition really came about because my Dealer had just worn out his patience trying to work things out with the Rep and talked to the factory direct-Consumer Affairs and got things done by them. He has all of my sympathy and also any other car buying I might be doing.
    So unless something unexpected happens this will be my last post here. If anybody wants to ask questions go ahead and post and I will respond.

    Lots of Luck,

    DougV
  • lavrishevolavrishevo Member Posts: 312
    The low score for the brakes comes from the TSB's on the the Sedona redesign first year model. I have had my 06 for almost a year now and no vibration or problems whatsoever. I really like the van, even had the thing up past 100 MPH on open road just to see how she felt and it was fine. Not like my 400 HP mustang but great for the kids and wife, and no the kids or wife were not in the van while testing it.... :surprise:
  • eggegg Member Posts: 9
    dougv,

    Glad that everything worked out for you. I wish that Kia would be that good to me. I have had an lawer now for about 3 months and all they have offered so far is to give me $3000.00 ( I would only see $1500.00) and I would still keep the van that is not fixed and has several other issues beside the vibration. Looks like now we will be going to court. You would think that It would be cheaper for them to settle out of court, but I guess that they figure that I will get tired of the process and take their offer, which will not happen. :lemon:
  • dougvdougv Member Posts: 19
    egg,

    Sorry to hear of your aggravation. Question: Why would you only get $1500 of the $3000? If it's attorney's fees I think the looser pays those. I guess it's too late now, but KIA is required to give you arbitration if either party requests it. Sounds like you would win that one. Could be that KIA wants to make you wait since you got a lawyer. How are you getting around? Certainly a lawyer should expedite things if you had no transportation. Also I don't know what your lawyer is doing but in my letter to KIA claiming I had a lemon I cited the fact that nobodies mechanic could find out what was wrong including theirs and then therefore nobody could guaranttee that what was wrong was not a safety hazard and maybe the steering might fail or a wheel fall off. If you read earlier in these posts you will read that in fact a wheel did fall off on somebodies van.

    I do agree with you that the only thing we know for sure is they really want to drag things out. All I can say is drive another car and wait. I am sure you will prevail if and when it goes to court if for no other reason than they are dragging it out. The Lemon Laws are specific in stating that the purpose of the lemon law is so the customer doesn't have to get aggravated and he can get quick action.

    You can download all of the previous comments from me and the others from this web site also as evidence.

    I guess this doesn't help you but I have just put 1500 miles on my 08 Sedona to Scottsdale and back and the thing just purred. It was so steady and a real joy to handle. All the things the 06 was not.

    LOL,

    DougV
  • lavrishevolavrishevo Member Posts: 312
    Doug

    Besides the problems you had in your 06 do you notice any differences in your 08? Power, handling, and so on?

    I have an 06 without any issues and am very happy with it but I am curios about the 08 if there were any changes.
  • eggegg Member Posts: 9
    Dougv

    Kia is only required to pay lawyer fees if it goes to court. I have counter offered but the lawyer seems to think that they will not except and we will end up in court. I currently am still driving the van, although not on long trips. Wife just drives it to work and back (only about 2 miles). Have also had several instances of have check engine light on and Air bag light on. Can't wait to get rid of this thing! :lemon:
  • dougvdougv Member Posts: 19
    lavrishevo,

    I don't remember. I stopped driving the 06 in March of 07 after only 625 miles of driving and left it in the dealers parking lot. I have seen the brochures for the 08s and the only changes they state are some small cosmetic inside like changing some leather to vinyl etc. However we know for sure they changed something to stop the vibration. Also one time when I was in the shop I saw the dealers mechanic changing the timing belt idler on an 06. When I asked him he said that they were changing a lot of them. This certainly would have an effect on engine performance. There might even be a technical bulletin on it.
  • lavrishevolavrishevo Member Posts: 312
    Bad choice to go with 17's if you want tire life. You will never get more then 35K or so on a 17+ rim. Just the name of the game with larger rims. You will have to go down to a 16" to get 60K+ out of a set of tires.
  • abarboabarbo Member Posts: 1
    Hey Guys, I also have had vibration problems in my 07 Sedona EX with 17 inch wheels and Michelin tires. This problem started with about 1400 miles on van which now has 14600 miles. 4 tires have been replaced and tires have been road forced balanced numerous times without resolving problem. Also, front rotors have been replaced which did not help this problem. Kia reps have been denying they are aware of this problem and do not reply to my calls. I was unaware of these forums until today and now have the ammunion to go back to dealer and show that I am not the only customer with this problem. Thanks for the input and I will post what happens next.
  • lacoydr1lacoydr1 Member Posts: 17
    Hi Dougv,

    I am so happy for you! And thanks so much for the info. The resolution you are describing is exactly what I had suspected - that the computer is going bonkers and applying the brakes ever so slightly whenever it thinks the car is the least bit "out of control". I have also acquired a lawyer via the internet. First offer from Kia was next to nothing. They still have not responded to the second 30 day demand letter and we are approaching 33 days. It looks like I will be going to court unless Kia has a sudden change of heart. I am scheduled to bring my van to the lawyer's Massachusetts office at the end of the month so they can have their ASCE mechanics inspect the issue and write up an official report that we can use in court. I just wish it was over. Again, I'm very happy for you and your family and thanks for keeping us all updated. :)
  • dougvdougv Member Posts: 19
    Hey Lacoydr1,

    Thanks for the nice note. I think your best bet is to just stay calm and wait out the events. That is proceed with your case now that you have gone this far. I don't know what else your lawyer is claiming but as I said before I believe that it is their responsibility to assure you that the problem is not safety related. And since the problem is real and they can't fix it!!!!! It's too bad that they are stonewalling this problem. I think they have been very lucky. If anyone driving a Sedona was killed in an accident and a lawyer saw all of these posts there's no way they could say that they were not liable. They are taking a big chance. I'm not sure that the upper management of Kia knows about this. They could be letting the local or area reps handle each case individually. And for every case lost there is probably a charge to the local cost center which is still probably less than a general recall. In my case there was doubt until the very last. That is the Kia rep wanted to take me to arbitration after 9 months of fixing attempts and then that is when my dealer put his foot down and told him that enough is enough. Then Kia came through and sweetened the deal I guess so everybody went away happy. So patience, patience.
  • julieer1julieer1 Member Posts: 2
    I am currently going through the BBB about my van. Kia tried to settle with me for $900. when the problem still exists. The customer service rep is not a trust worthy person and very rude. I think they ae trying to settle on as little as possible. Not supprised. I have had 5 road force balances new rotors and it took them three set of tires before the vehicle would pass the road force balance. Now I have a new set of tires, but the problem is still there. They tell me now they are working on control arms. They have no idea how to solve the vibration. I love my van, but KIA needs to admit when thre is a problem and do the thing right for the customer.
  • capecoralbillcapecoralbill Member Posts: 51
    The latest issue gives Kia and Hyundai Minivans low marks on reliability.....is there any wonder why? I have the same vibration issue on my 2007 Entourage. Is this still a problem in the 2008 minivan models?
  • dougvdougv Member Posts: 19
    Hi Guys & Girls,

    It's me I'm back. I see that KIA and Hundai are still stonewalling it. Like you Julieer1 I love my Sedona. If you have read my previous posts you know I also went through what you are doing now. I wonder if we had the same KIA rep as he really is the scum of the earth. My new news is that since I received my "buyback" Sedona 2008 for my old Sedona 2006 the rep called me to come in and talk to him. Now I am not making this up, he actually tried to get me to give back the incentive that the dealer was giving to all buyers in Feb of 2007 for the remaining 2006's in stock. He said there was a new girl at KIA America Consumer relations and since there was no incentive for the 2008s I should not have got it applied to my new 2008. Is that unbelievable!!! He said if I was a "real man" and had a sense of fair play I would give the money back!! I talked to the dealer and he said it's too bad there has to be a bad penny show up some times and I don't owe anything. Of course all the paperwork has been done and I have the title and the car too. Again as I have said before I believe KIA knows the problem and the beancounters have recommended to Management to stonewall it. I don't know which year your van is or how much mileage you have on it as the Lemon Laws allow a prorating of the cars value according to mileage. There was another poster that had a lawyer and was having trouble as well. I really think there is good justification here for a class action suit if some lawyer wants to take it up. As far as what they did on your van for repairs, my final conclusions were that the problem was in the ESC computer. The ESC comes on and is not sure about applying the brakes and therefore comes on and off and therefore the brake pads are just bumping the rotors. That's why just changing the rotors does not help. I had a service manager in another state tell me that to fix this problem they turn the rotors on the lathe and shaving them down makes them smaller so the brake pads don't hit the rotors when the ESC comes on. So good luck whichever way you go!
  • lacoydr1lacoydr1 Member Posts: 17
    Hi All,
    I am currently at the point of a "state run arbitration". My lawyers said since the issue happens over the legal speed limit in MA that Kia will never give me a replacement or buy me out. They said the best I could hope for is up to a $2000 cash settlement to go away. They want to bring it in before the hearing for another repair attempt but my dealership went out of business two months ago. I'm kind of ticked off :mad: that the "lemon law" lawyers took the case stating I had a great chance of winning even though they knew the issue was reported at a speed above the state speed limit. Dougv, I'm sure you won because the speed limits in Arizona are 75. If Kia does decide to settle for a small cash stipend, I might just refuse it and make it my lifes work to bring it down to another dealer every week to bleed Kia dry. Then maybe they will have thought twice about not wanting to give me a working vehicle. I know I'm probably dreaming and one little fish isn't going to make a bit of difference to them, but who knows.
  • dougvdougv Member Posts: 19
    lacoydr1,

    Sorry! to see no progress. Too bad you have a lawyer! You know how that goes? Not insinuating anything but KIA I'm sure would be willing to pay your lawyer a lot more to settle the case than you are paying him. I think you should go to arbitration. There it really doesn't matter if you have a lawyer. The arbitrator is usually very fair and is probably not a lawyer. I think you have a good case, just show the arbitrator all of these posts. As far as the speed limit is concerned I don't think that is an issue. If you are limited to driving only in MA then they should advertise it in the car sales ads. It is an unusable issue. Again as I have stated before KIA has implicitly agreed that you have a problem that they can't fix and don't really know what it is. Therefore I would claim that they cannot assure me that it is not a safety problem and assure me with evidence that the wheels are not going to fall off at some unknown speed. I really believe this and I think you should tell the KIA people this also. Deal with them direct and let your lawyer go. I wouldn't be surprised if they were more willing to work with you without having to go through a lawyer. Since there is a lawyer involved now their lawyers are probably calling the shots and if it's just you you could get the Consumer Affairs to talk to.
    Again I do believe that they are walking a thin line and if there is a fatality with their car they will have to come up with the evidence that the accident was not caused by a faulty steering system. But who knows. Ford knew that their escort(?), forgot which car it was, was faulty and calculated how much a recall was vs so many fatalities and picked the fatalities as the cheaper way.

    Again, LOL
  • bucci2007bucci2007 Member Posts: 2
    I have a 2007 sedona and the dealer replaced all 4 Michelins there was still a vibration throught the minivan. I then decided to take it to a tire Kingdom to have all the tires reballanced. The tech from tire kingdom told me 3 of the rims were bent
    the back passanger was the worst one. after fighting with the dealer they decided to replace the rear rim. I insisted that tire Kingdom remount it because they had
    better balancing equipment. The new rim was sent to tire kingdom the tech took it out of the box rolled it on the ground and it was hobbling up and down
    (brand new Kia rim Defective) they ordered a new one put it on and still at 60-75 mph we feel vibration. This Sedona ride should be smooth as Glass.
    I recently took it to another dealer with copys of this post he called KIA Corp
    Tech line and they told him to take off 4 wheels & rims off a new 2008
    and put them on my 2007 to see if this solves the problem.
    I'm wondering if the 2007 model rims are defective and thats what could be causing this vibration. I even took this Sedona up to 75 put it in neutral and still
    Vibrates. If anyone would like to talk by phone about this please e-mail me
    paulbucci@roadrunner.com
  • dougvdougv Member Posts: 19
    bucci2007,

    You could learn a lot by going back over all of the previous posts to this forum. Many others went through exactly what you are experiencing right now. I myself almost had every moving part on my 06 Sedona replaced, over a 9 1/2 month period, before I was offered a buyback. So far I am the only one that has been offered this deal. I attribute this to the dealer and not KIA or the KIA rep. I am curious also since you have posted your email address are you somewhere in New Mexico as the roadrunner is the state bird. Anyhow if you read backwards you will see how insane the antics are of the KIA people. They obviously know what is wrong but are willing to spend unlimited dollars on repairs that they know will not do the job. As you will read in the past posts I recommend to hang in there, if you have the patience and another car, and work with the dealer. Having a lawyer, as you can read on the other posts was no help. Look up your local lemon law and see if you qualify and then proceed with the steps as outlined in you law.

    Lots of Luck
  • bucci2007bucci2007 Member Posts: 2
    dougv,
    Thanks for the reply, I'm in Cleveland, Oh
    So basically if they give me all new rims and tires the problem will still exist ??
    Do you know if or what ever the problem was did Kia corrected it on the 2008 models ?
  • lemonade3lemonade3 Member Posts: 3
    dougv
    I would like to thank you for your persistence in replying to the people on this board.

    It seems that turning the rotors has worked for a few people, I wonder why the dealers don't do it more often? It seems the mis-applying of the brakes is a safety issue since it can cause unpredictabilty in the handling.

    I have a similar issue to what capecoralbill posted. It has a lungy, bumpy feel at low speeds and works its way into a bumpier feel at increased speeds, literally chugs between 30-35 mph, and at higher speeds is a constant vibration. :sick: There is a rocking or rolling sensation too especially at highway speeds, as if the van sways from one side or corner to the other.

    I am considering having a local auto service center turn these rotors, since the dealers just sit there and shrug their shoulders. If it fixes it, I will be happy, and figure out how to make Hyundai reimburse me.

    BTW...I have a 2007 Entourage SE
  • lacoydr1lacoydr1 Member Posts: 17
    Well, I'm back for hopefully my last post. I had my arbitration (via my lawyer) scheduled for next week. As it turns out, Kia finally paid attention and decided to settle out of court. I am scheduled to get a $3K cash settlement from Kia. Not even enough to cover the difference between what I owe on my van and KBB value, but it's about the best I could have hoped for as my lawyer said I would have had about a 10% chance of winning since the issue was reported to happen above the legal speed limit in the state of MA. Now I am trying to decide whether I will live with the issue for another 1 or 2 years (i.e. when my loan has been paid down enough to breakeven on a trade in) or to just bite the bullet and go and buy something now, just to unload my Sedona. All I can say is it wasn't worth all of the aggravation (i.e. my time, sanity, etc.). I do so much appreciate everyone posting on this board though as it gave me a sense of "I'm not in this alone". Thank you all and good luck in your cases. ;)
  • dougvdougv Member Posts: 19
    lacoydr1,

    If your convinced that this is the best you're going to get why don't you take the van to a brake shop and get the rotors (all 4) turned down the maximum allowable by spec. This would probably only cost you about $100 total. This is pretty cheap to get a car that you enjoy driving plus from all thats been posted this is the only modification that seems to have worked in some cases.

    LOL
  • lacoydr1lacoydr1 Member Posts: 17
    Hi Dougv,

    That's a great idea. Maybe I'll just do that. Does anyone know how much less time I'll get out of the rotors before they'll have to replaced since I will be shaving them down? Thanks. :shades:
  • julieer1julieer1 Member Posts: 2
    I was offered $2500 to release KIA from the defect of the van. No way will I except that. I enjoy driving my van around with writing on the windows about how much I hate the van. I will not release them from the liability of my family. They have told me they do not know how to fix it at this time. So I supposed to live with it or take there goodwill money and release them. I dont' think so, not when utube is such a grest rescource.
  • lavrishevolavrishevo Member Posts: 312
    Just like to report a little over a year and 11,000 miles on my early production 06. Never been to the dealer and change oil myself with Mobile synthetic. Been a great van. Extremely safe, comfortable, powerful, and my infant and family love it. Driving it in Puerto Rico - hot all the time, a/c almost never is off, not the most refined roads and very little highway use due to the size of the island. Brakes are holding up great and never any vibration.

    It is sad to hear about others having problems but by far do forum's accurately reflect fair percentages of owners not having problems. In general, people search out forum's to try to solve problems or rant and rave not so much to report how well a vehicle is performing.
  • dougvdougv Member Posts: 19
    lavrishevo,
    Purpose of your post?? I'm sure it is no consolation to the ones who posted and got a lemon that you got a good one. If you have read some of my posts you will see how I "ranted and raved" about how good my 08 was when I finally got one. Also since you have "very little highway" maybe you never got your Sedona up to 75-80 mph. Anyway if you are happy with your car thats all that matters. I wouldn't go looking for reasons to be dissatisfied.
  • lavrishevolavrishevo Member Posts: 312
    The purpose of the post Doug is to bring some balance to the non stop post of problems. When I say very little highway I mean percentage wise. When on the highway normal cruise speed here is between 65 - 75. Just for your information the van has been up past 100 mph, without my family inside of course, just to test how she did. She did very well surprisingly. Anyway, I was not trying to bring consolation to anyone just wanted to state how satisfied I am with my van. If stating this offends anyone or causes negative reactions I find that incredibly pathetic. Also, my point still stands that forums are one of the worst places to get fair unbiased opinions about a vehicle. Glad you got a good one. I wish people with good ones would come and post as well.
  • meninblack454meninblack454 Member Posts: 1
    I am new to this forum and I am a proud owner pf an 06' KIA SEDONA I am not the tipe of guy with a lot of experience on cars but I going to tell a little story about a trip I made about 6000 miles I drove my minivan i live in New York city for a reason i has to go to phoenix AZ. i drove the car for 5 days strait meaning almost 24 hours arrond the clock just stoping to refill gas and eating, and I found the car very reliable even going up hill in the state of Pennsylvania I was doing 85 to 90 miles an hour i thing I notice even cars with a V8 engines could not keep up with the van just to mention there was 5 passengers plus lugage by far the most reliable car I ever owned
  • daveukdaveuk Member Posts: 1
    We bought an 08 Sedona in the UK in March. We had the vibration / pulling to the left problems which led me here when I search the web. It started around 40mph and got worse at higher speeds.

    We took it back to our Kia Dealer with a long description of the problem and low expectations. The car was returned later the same day, problem fixed. Their cure was in the Master Brake Cylinder, apparently they had to shorten the rod which connects the cylinder to the brake pedal. They didn't say (and I didn't ask) if this is a known fix but they didn't go through the obvious intermediate steps of balancing the wheels etc, so I have to assume this is a known fix for this problem.

    I know most posters here have US cars, and many have talked about 06 cars so the fix may not be the same, but it certainly worked for me.

    Since the fix we have driven another 1,000 miles without a re-occurence of the problem. The car also feels much more steady on the road at any speed and has been excellent in every other respect from new.
  • lacoydr1lacoydr1 Member Posts: 17
    Hi All,
    Well I haven't posted in a long time but I have an important update. Today, my rear passenger tire blew out on the highway. I had about 27,000 miles on the Hankook Optimo tires so I decided to replace them all hoping that maybe the issue was bad tires all along. Well, I am happy to report that I replaced them with General Grabber HTS tires and on the way home I ran the van up to 80MPH and I didn't feel any vibration! Of course we are in the colder months and generally, at least for me, the vibration is reduced in the colder months. But, to not experience any vibration is astounding for me. Of course through all the trials and tribulations I went through the dealer assured me they "swapped out" all four tires and wheels. But, I gotta tell ya, if it keeps driving as smoothly as it is now then I will be a happy camper and will probably keep the van until it's paid off. Hope this gives some of you hope. Happy Holidays to all. :-) :)
  • capecoralbillcapecoralbill Member Posts: 51
    I posted this 2 days ago in the Hyundai Entourage section. :"Hi, I purchased my 2007 Entourage in November of 2006, and I just replaced the Michilins for the first time at 22,000, they were NOT down to the wear strip, but they were getting close. It is winter here in Buffalo NY and I wanted a full tread so I got the tires prematurly. they are Kumho KR 21's I think. And they balanced perfectly, they got rid of that vibration i had at 73mph. Ahh! everything is good. Cost $131 each including tax and everything. " I hope my vibration is gone for good.
  • carguymncarguymn Member Posts: 2
    I just purchased a new 08 Sedona LX and have had it in twice for the vibration problems at highway speeds. The first time I was told 3 of the 4 tires were out of balance and that is what was causing the problem. I thought great, that's an easy fix only to discover on my drive home that the vibration still exists. I made a second appointment and was told that all Sedona's have this problem and nothing can be done. They let me drive another new Sedona from the lot and it did have the same issue. The vibration drives me crazy! Does anyone have any ideas?
  • lavrishevolavrishevo Member Posts: 312
    Sounds like you may have one or more a rims out of round. I have an 06 and do not have any vibration problems at an speed. Otherwise, I can not think of anything else.
  • stiller12stiller12 Member Posts: 13
    I was told that the dealer could "sand" the rotors and that is where the vibration was coming from. We didnt want to spend 200.00 on a vehicle that has been in the shop for squeaks and squeals at least 7 times. Kia as a company and their service is indeed a crock. I wish everyone on here luck in their exploits.

    I wish I spent the other 15.00 a month and bought a Honda. We cannot drive our Kia on a road trip without so many squeaks and noises happening to the point that we are stressed out, Our van had to be built on a Monday!
  • cjp3cjp3 Member Posts: 1
    just bought a 08 Sedona, and it vibrated like all of your descriptions. I suspected it was the ESC being overly sensitive. So I turned it off and drove 85mph again, TADA!!! no more vibration, can't believe it's that simple. leave your ESC off, only turn it on in rain or snow, the programmer for ESC set the sensitivity too high. hope this helps!
  • lacoydr1lacoydr1 Member Posts: 17
    Hi cjp3. Thanks for this tip. I don't think I have ever tried it so I will give it a try tonight on my commute home.

    A little history. My last post on this board (12/08) stated that I had replace all 4 tires and my symptoms were much improved, but only during cold weather. Yesterday, I had my front brakes replaced by a Meineke shop at 50,000 miles. The manager asked me if I knew why 7 of the frame bolts would be missing. He said they were ones that are located in the engine mounting cross member. I was like, "What????". He said that could cause all kinds of problems, and is obviously dangerous. But, he replaced the missing bolts and on the drive home, I noticed the vibration was much improved in the 70 mph range. I commuted 73 miles to work this morning and also noted a much smoother ride. So, for anyone else who still have the problem, have someone (or yourself) check underneath to make sure you are missing bolts as well. Who knows, maybe this is one of those things that gets missed by the factory or a mechanic or maybe once they take them off the first time they are inclined to vibrate out and fall off.

    Good luck to all. :lemon:
  • chris6414chris6414 Member Posts: 2
    Can anyone validate the turning off the ESC? I wish I had read this yesterday as I had my Sedona on the highway last night and I have been having this vibe for over a year. On the original Michelins and now the newer Kumhos. New brakes, road force balancing, alignment and it is still there. I will will be reseaching a clunk in the steering when parked I noticed last night. I had anothe car do this and it was a sticky caliper that caused the pad to just rub the rotor so the hyper ESC makes total sense to me.

    Chris
  • capecoralbillcapecoralbill Member Posts: 51
    On my 2007 Entourage with 45,000 miles turning esc on or off had no effect. I just did a 3,000 mile roundtrip to Dallas from Niagara Falls, and had great hopes after reading this website for the ESC thing. But i tried it at least 25 times and made NO difference. I think my car was better balanced befor I had the tires rotated, NOT re- balanced. I dont know if they put the tires on the axel slilghtly crooked, or tighten them too much to distort something or what. But the simple act of rotation made the vibration change on my car from very very minimal to annoying at speeds between 71 and 75 mph. which of course is my favorite speed. So i either go 69mph or 78 mpth to avoid the annoying vibration and steering wheel shake. After almost 4 years it still pisses me off, and i can't resolve it. The Dealer is worthless, they dont care and the max speed in NYS is 65 so they dont feel obilgated. Ths will be my last Hyundai. Plus the sound proofing on this minivan is non exiistent. Very unpleasant on a long trip.
  • chris6414chris6414 Member Posts: 2
    Thanks for the reply. My Kia has about 47000 on it as well. I just came back from a trip from Pa to Chicago and it drives me crazy. 78-79 almost gone. Any lower steering wheel shimmys. Go faster shimmy at an even higher frequency. I also rotated my tires before the trip and it seemed worse. I will be checking for loose parts in the front end tonight. :mad:
  • riverwalkriverwalk Member Posts: 1
    Well i have read ever post and I still have this problem as of day one when we purchased the van. anyone have any luck with a final replair fix!!
  • carguymncarguymn Member Posts: 2
    This problem was driving me crazy too. In my case it turned out to be bad tires. Once they were replaced the problem went away. It's been smooth sailing ever since. Good luck!
  • fishbreathfishbreath Member Posts: 58
    ATTENTION!!! the vibration WAS driving me crazy too. I took off my snow tires which I have mounted on other wheels, and put the rear tire on the front, then put my other summer tires on the back.
    Now for the discovery! As I removed each tire I looked for anything that might be loose, out of place and inspected each wheel and tire. Well low and behold each wheel has a groove in the middle of the flat part on the inside that faces the tire that goes all the way around the wheel. (If you look at it with this in mind it might be easier to find) Well the grove was filled with dirt and cinders from the road that had built up on the wheel. I took a wire brush to the dirt and thats how I found the grove. After I wire brushed all the wheels and finished rotating the tires I went for a ride. No matter what speed up to 75mph on straights or curves, on the gas or not the steering wheel was rock solid. I might add that before I had a wobble in the steering wheel at any speed even as slow as 15-20mph but on had hard curve it deminished a little.
    Sorry to bore you people but if it fixes the problem for you it was worth it.
    I change the oil and waxed the van and without the viberation it like driving a new van again. :)
  • lilreddodgelilreddodge Member Posts: 2
    As you can see this is for 04 Sedoona and may be the same for the 05
    You can get most of the information your look for at

    http://www.kiatechinfo.com/
    all you need todo is sign up for the site...

    SEDONA(GQ) >2004 > G 3.5 DOHC > Driveshaft and axle
    Symptom-related diagnostic procedure
    Front axle
    Problem
    Possible cause
    Action
    Steering wheel vibration
    Excessive wheel bearing play
    Adjust or replace
    Damaged or worn wheel bearing
    Replace
    Pulling to one side
    Excessive wheel bearing play
    Adjust or replace
    Damaged or worn wheel bearing
    Replace
    Bent steering linkage
    Repair or replace
    Improper tire pressure
    Adjust or replace
    Incorrect toe adjustment
    Adjust
    Brake dragging
    Repair or replace
    Fatigued front coil spring
    Replace
    Bent front suspension lower arm or loose mounting
    Repair or replace
    Excessive steering wheel play
    Loose front wheel bearing
    Adjust or replace
    Incorrect steering gear preload adjustment
    Adjust
    Steering gear worn
    Repair or replace
    Steering column shaft worn or damaged
    Repair or replace
    Front suspension lower arm mounting bolt
    bushing worn or damaged
    Repair or replace
    Linkage
    Damaged or worn wheel bearing
    Replace
    Insufficient grease on knuckle or joint of jointshaft
    Lubricate or replace
    Bending of joint shaftor drive shaft
    Replace
    Worn joint shaft spline or drive shaft
    Replace
    Insufficient grease on joint or knuckle of drive shaft
    Lubricate or replace
    Worn drive shaft
    Replace
    Grease leakage from boot
    Damage or tear of boot
    Replace
    Malfunction or misassembly of boot band
    Replace
    Excessive grease
    Repair
    Abnormal noise from driveshaft and joint
    Insufficient grease in driveshaft joint or knuckle
    Lubricate or replace
    Excessive backlash on knuckle
    Replace
    Worn front wheel driveshaft joint
    Replace

    Rear axle
    Problem
    Possible cause
    Action
    Steering wheel vibration
    Damaged or worn wheel bearing
    Replace
    Excessive wheel bearing play
    Adjust or replace
    Pulling to one side
    Damaged or worn wheel bearing
    Replace
    Excessive wheel bearing play
    Adjust or replace
    Improper tire pressure
    Adjust or replace
    Brake dragging
    Repair or replace
    Fatigued rear coil spring
    Replace
    Excessive wheel play
    Excessive wheel bearing play
    Adjust or replace
    Loose rear wheel bearing
    Adjust or replace
    Linkage
    Damaged or worn wheel bearing
    Replace
    Insufficient grease on spindle
    Lubricate or replace

    Good luck with your KIA :cry:
  • lilreddodgelilreddodge Member Posts: 2
    Some owners of 2002-2005 Sedona vehicles produced from 5/1/2001-8/31/2005 may complain of front
    suspension noise over rough road surfaces at speeds between 18-31 MPH. To reduce the noise Kia has
    redesigned the strut mount with a modified rubber composition to improve the overall sound dampening in the
    affected speed range. However, all other suspension components should be checked for performance
    prior to installing these replacement strut mounts. Concerns with worn out struts andlor rubber
    mounting components should be addressed before installing these revised mounts. This TSB should
    only be used for customer complaints at speeds between 18-31 MPH.
    GROUP
    Chassis
    NUMBER
    01 5
    Use Date Coding on Mount Assembly to determine whether mount is of the latest configuration (Three (3)
    letters stamped on top of mount):
    MODEL
    Sedona
    DATE
    January 2007
    Examples Shown:
    TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN
    SUBJECT:
    2002-2005 SEDONA STRUT MOUNT IMPROVEMENTS
    Previous Mount Coding: YCE
    Y= 2004
    C= March
    E= 5th day of production
    Revised Mount Coding: BEN
    B= 2006
    E= May
    N= 14th day of production
    The date code must be after: AH5
    A= 2005
    H= August
    5= 31st day of production (A-Z then 1,2,3,4,5)
    I Days of the month run A-Z then 1.2,3,4,5 due to the fact there are only 26 alpha letters available. I
    File Under: Chassis
    Circulate To: General Manager X Service Manager Parts Manager
    Service Advisor(s) Technician(s) X Body Shop Manager X Fleet Repair
    Page 2 of 3
    Raise and properly support the vehicle.
    Remove the front tire and wheel assembly.
    Remove the two (2) Lower strut to upper
    steering knuckle bolts on each side.
    Disconnect the brake hose and ABS wheel
    speed sensor from the strut assembly.
    A * NOTICE 1 1 I ~ o t oeri entation bf mount before removal I
    I from vehicle I
    5. Open hood and remove four (4) upper strut
    retaining nuts.
    6. Remove the strut assembly from the
    vehicle. Mount strut assembly into strut
    compressor.
    7. Compress the strut assembly using
    manufacturers instructions provided with
    tool and replace upper strut mount
    assembly as required.
    Torque the strut to strut mount nut to 88-101
    Ibs. ft. (1 20-1 37Nm).
    TSB:ChaOl5 Sedona January 2007
    Page 3 of 3
    NOTICE 1 I I position dimple to match mount orientation I as removed in Step 5. I
    8. Install the strut assembly into the vehicle
    Tighten the four (4) upper mount nuts to
    33-46 Ibs. ft. (46-62 Nm).
    9. Connect the brake hose and ABS speed
    sensor to their retaining bracket.
    10. Install the two (2) Lower strut to upper
    steering knuckle bolts and nuts, tighten to
    65-79 Ibs. ft. (88-108 Nm).
    11. Install wheel and tire assembly. tighten lug
    nuts to 65-79 Ibs. ft. (88-108 Nm).
    12. Repeat procedure for other side if
    necessary.
    13. Perform wheel alignment.
    Parts Information:
    I Strut Insulator Assembly I QOK52Y34380Q I
    Warranty Information
    Repair
    Description
    Claim Type
    W
    I Labor OP Time Code I I Related Parts Causal PIN
    OK52Y 34380
    (If)ro nt strut mount
    QOK52 Y34380Q
    Part
    Q ~ Y
    0 Replacement of two 54797F01 I .6
    (2) front strut mounts I I I
    1 Wheel Alignment 15'902~00 1 ,0 1
    TSB:ChaOl5 Sedona January 2007
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