I have what I think is a bad right suspension part. It sounds like a loose shock when the right wheel goes over small bumps in the road. Like someone forgot to tighten some bolts somewhere. The dealer could find no problem, naturally when it was delivered. It's still there after 1800 miles. The left wheel does not cause the problem. In fact the dealer said. "Common to this vehicle" Sounds like I have a GM service rep working at Kia!!! I am on the road from Florida to NY and will hope the dealer back homw is better at diagnosing the problem. Other than that, nice car. 32 mpg at 60. 27-29 mpg at 70. 20-21 mpg around town.
I have the same problem with my I4 FWD model. The dealer has inspected and found nothing wrong. However, this definitely doesn't sound like "normal operation"...
Took to a Rochester NY dealer today and again they must have bad ears as they said they couldn't hear any problem. When I offered to drive the tech over some bumps they declined. They submitted a tech request to KIA requesting similar complaints. I will call KIA and submit a formal complaint. Please do the same. It has simply got to be a defective shock strut assembly.
Or the strut's main top nut isn't tight. My '08 Rondo rattled over small bumps around 30K miles. Dealer replaced stabilizer bar end mounts--no help. They checked further & tightened the top strut nuts. No noise @ 73.200 miles.
Was called by Kia to test drive another sorento and see if it has the same noise. Will have to try this. They also suggested I ride or take the tech rep with me with my vehicle. I said that's a good idea but the dealer refused that suggestion saying his tech rep is fully qualified to analyze the problem Oh well. More trips . Maybe will file lemon law complaint after 6 tries. Will check top shock nut for being tight as suggested by another poster. Thanks
Same problem here.Mine also pulls to the right slightly.I couldn't make it to the appointment at the dealership,so my wife took it.They test drove it,and told her that they could hear the noise.Then the guy drove other new vehicles on the lot and said they made the same noise too,so he classified it as a characteristic of the vehicle.They also checked alignment and found nothing wrong.I'll have to take it back myself one day.I just wanted someone to look at it ,in case they found a problem,they couldn't call it neglect.
The strut noise has been fixed at the factory as for the pulling right
check the pressure in front tires.If they are the same then try swapping
the front tires.
Tire pressure same in both front tires.Checked allignment,they said it was on the money.I wanted them to rotate the tires,I was going to pay,but they told my wife there was no need to.I am going to take it back myself soon.
I checked my dust covers.They weren't floating,but would move up and down with VERY little effort.
I guess the old adage "never buy a new car in the first model year" holds true here.What did Kia do at the manufacturing level to fix the strut noises?
Well I jacked the body up and observed the shock dust cover and it is just floating up and down without being connected to either the top or bottom of shock assembly. A similar problem was acknowledged by Kia Canada with the Forte as shown in a previous posting link by me. So Houston or (Georgia) we have a problem. UNSECURED DUST COVERS covering the strut shock. They just bang up and down with the bumps and make noise. They even aren't secured to the bottom of the shock housing. Will have to wait till Kia Canada tells Kia USA they have a problem. Hate to wait that long but I am not going to crawl under the car and place a clamp on the bottom of cover and glue it to the top also to get it right. Lets hear from other owners who suspect they have a strut noise when going over bumps.
They are not supposed to move up and down at all. They are supposed to be affixed to the top of strut housing and the bottom of shock strut. The noise is when the cover bangs up and down and hits the top of strut housing.
5/19/2010 visited dealer for 3 time to resolve noisy suspension on right side. . He said the dust boots on struts being loose are normal. Funny the Forte had a recall for this problem. I test drove another brand new Sorento and guess what,....the same noise on mild bumps. So...... until Kia gets enough complaints and tries to find a fix I'll have to live with the problem. Too bad because the car is so nice otherwise. The quietness on the highway doing 70 is amazing. Back to the noisy strut. I think I'll put a tywrap around the bottom of the boot and secure it to the bottom of the strut and see if that stops the problem. Who knows maybe Kia will pay me for a fix solution. Ha!!
a few seconds ago ·
Took my Sorento in for the first service yesterday.They changed the oil and filter,replaced 8 bulbs as per the TSB,gave me a rubber mat for the tray under the USB/AUX ports,and road tested it for the front strut noises.Work order said "unable to duplicate customer concern of suspension noise at this time".When anyone rides in my brand new car for the first time they all say"what is that clunking noise in the front end?".It is embarrasing to have to suffer with this problem.I guess Kia is just going to turn their back on this problem that is apparantly occuring on many new Sorento's.It is sad to get all pumped up by the commercials showing the new manufacturing plant in Georgia with all of the supposed high quality vehicles being produced when in reality it all boils down to the almighty dollar.I suppose it would just cost way too much money to admit that the clunking noise is a defect and put in some better parts that would operate without excessive noises.I really like my new Sorento but every time I drive it the noises take all the joy out of my new car experience.I hope someone from Kia corporate reads this.When anyone asks me about my new car,I tell them about the noises and my dissatisfaction with the Kia.I have owned many new cars of all brands and have never had a new car front suspension clunk like this new Kia.Come on Kia.Man-up and admit there is a problem and fix it.In the long run the money spent will come back as happy customers are your best advertisements whereas unhappy customers are your worst.
Thumper777 That's the truth. A beautiful car, quiet on the road, except for going over bumps having to listen to what sounds like a worn out suspension and clunking all the time from the right side. I live in a town in NY where the state tore up the road last year and it is a real test track for suspension problems. I secured the loose dust boots and still have the same noise on the right side. So my assumption that it was the dust boots might be wrong. Trying to decide to go the lemon law route or simply going back to T&C van. Maybe Kia will come up with a modification or fix someday. Would sure like to know what Kia did for Alabama poster who said they repaired it at the factory.
I would sure like to know also what was done at the factory to fix the noises.I guess at this time all we can do as unhappy '11 Sorento owners is to complain about it any way we can.I am going to call Kia corporate on a regular basis and also email them with my concerns.If enough people complain,they might listen.It is obviously not a safety issue so a recall will never happen.We can only hope for a technical service bulletin down the road that might address this problem.There is a number you can call in the owners guide to voice your concerns.
To reiterate the results of my last service appointment. The dealer says it's characteristic of this vehicle. Kia suggested I drive a brand new one and sure enough the new one had the same rattle/clunk noise over moderate bumps on the right side only. Oh well if Kia doesn't come up with a fix by next year it's back to a Chrysler T&C van.
In case you haven't seen, there is a TSB and Kia is replacing all the exterior bulbs (just had mine done - though I didn't have any bulbs that were burnt out... so just a precaution). I guess they surmised they received a bad batch of bulbs from a supplier in late 2009...
It made the noise when picked up on the first day and still does it. Unfortunately I live in a town that had it's roads torn up last yr and it really is noisy. Especially on wash board type pavement near the stop lights.
I have had my 2011 Sorento for 2.5 months and has been in shop three times with the front end noise. 2nd visit i was told there is a tech bullentin about sub frame bolts being loose. They said they tightened and it helped but did not solve the complete problem. Also be aware that dealers are having after market stuff put on vechile which is not covered by KIa warranty. Fullerton KIa sold me my Sorento and will not warranty the sun roof which it came with. Spoke with senior KIa consumer rep and was told basically sucks to be me.
I have the same proble, thumping sound in the right or rear suspension. Brought to the dealer 3 times. they replaced the right strut and Kia susgested they replace the strut mount also. still have the same problem. Test drove a dealers demo and loaner car and they had the same noise. Kia called me and said they are aware of the problem. They said they have had several complaints about the same problem in other areas of the country. They also said that they have been working on a fix for the problem for 2 months and are close to a fix.
They told me to keep in touch with them or they or the dealer will call me when they find out what the problem is and how to fix it.
I love my new Sorento but the noise is extremly annoying, thgis is not what a new car should sound like. I will be calling Kia weekly for an update.
Has any one been able to get their Kia Soento fixed yet ?
I have a V-6 with no problems, I have notice that the people having this problem have a I-4. I wonder if there is a problem in the suspension of the engine, just a thought.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Kia Forum
702.4K posts
206.7K members
Since 2004
Kia Forums is a community dedicated to all Kia models. Come discuss the Kia Sorento, Rio, Sportage, Soul and more!