2013 Sorento EX 2.4 GDI rough idle & flickering lights

[theboz001]

I have had the car for almost 4 months now, overall I love it.

The only issues I really have are (in order of importance)

1) rough idle (already had TSB done), better in drive, in neutral or park is shakes like crazy. Dealer says live with it since there are no codes or TSB other than the ECU upgrade.

2) Fuel ecomomy is nowhere near advertised. No matter how I drive. Keep the little "ECO" light on all the time and the best I get is 24. I drive just over 25 miles each way to work. 5 miles in town and 20 miles on the interstate.

3) At idle the dome lights flicker, rev it up and they stop. Had it at the dealer yesterday and they said it is related to the rough idle. Of course they put "no problem found" on the ticket so I look like an idiot should I choose to follow up. I put my multimeter across the battery this afternoon, found it jumps between 13.87 and 14.05 constantly (not loose connections, even tried hooking up an additonal ground wire between the battery and the engine)

4) All weather floor mat on drivers side worn through in 4 months.


Anyone else having similar issues?

[Monterey10]

Generally, I would suggest trying a different brand of gas.

Flickering lights might indicate problems with the battery or battery connections

We get terrible mileage driving around the village at 8 mph. Jump to the freeway and we get 27 mpg on flat ground. This is better than my friend's Ford Edge.

[Boxi1004]

Purchased new 2013 sorento ex on 9/24/2012. Next day, I went to service department for vibrate/rough idle. After 4 days of eval, they still could not identify the root cause. They told me that ECM software upgrade is alraedy done by manufacture and KIA is aware of rough idle issue. I like to know if anyone resolved their rough idle issue on 2013 sorento.

[beaverboy56]

Originally Posted by Boxi1004

Purchased new 2013 sorento ex on 9/24/2012. Next day, I went to service department for vibrate/rough idle. After 4 days of eval, they still could not identify the root cause. They told me that ECM software upgrade is alraedy done by manufacture and KIA is aware of rough idle issue. I like to know if anyone resolved their rough idle issue on 2013 sorento.

Any reason you copy and pasted this question in 3 different threads at the same time?

[Monterey10]

I would put a meter on the battery and see what Voltage it shows at idle. If the voltage is dropping down to ? 11 volts, the battery is bad or you have bad connections. If the battery checks out, then you can demonstrate to the dealer that the alternator is not keeping up at idle.

[ponynround]

I have had my 2013 Kia Sorento GDI 4cyl for only 2 months. The MPG has gotten progressively worse. Originally was happy with 29mpg on hwy even though is was not the 32 advertised. Now I am getting 24mpg. I drive using every trick I can think of to maximize gas mileage and this is what I get. Also noticed the about a week ago that the interior lights flicker. I thought I was imagining it until a passenger finally confirmed it. Love all else about the vehicle but did not intend on the poor of MPG would NOT buy again and would NOT recommend to others unless they have no care for MPG.

[pjt135]

Rough idle; The dealer installed a software update for my Sorento that did improve the idle on my 2.4 GDI. It was free and it helped.

Poor gas mileage; I have noticed that gas milage for my Sorento With the 2.4 GDI will vary from day to day. I get the best milage by keeping my tires inflated to 40PSI and driving between 60 and 65 MPH on cruse control. Driving this way I get better than 32MPG highway most of the time. You need to be fair to the car when figuring the miles per gallon. Traffic jams, altitude changes, speed changes, aggressive driving and tire pressure are just some of the things that can have a big affect on gas mileage.

[theboz001]

Called Kia about this issue. They advised there is another fix which calls for the replacement of the alternator and idler pulley. Called the dealer and was told they know nothing about any additional fixes.

My case has now been escalated to the regional Kia rep but I cannot get in touch with her despite having left multiple messages.

[badjujue]

Originally Posted by theboz001

I have had the car for almost 4 months now, overall I love it.

The only issues I really have are (in order of importance)

1) rough idle (already had TSB done), better in drive, in neutral or park is shakes like crazy. Dealer says live with it since there are no codes or TSB other than the ECU upgrade.

2) Fuel ecomomy is nowhere near advertised. No matter how I drive. Keep the little "ECO" light on all the time and the best I get is 24. I drive just over 25 miles each way to work. 5 miles in town and 20 miles on the interstate.

3) At idle the dome lights flicker, rev it up and they stop. Had it at the dealer yesterday and they said it is related to the rough idle. Of course they put "no problem found" on the ticket so I look like an idiot should I choose to follow up. I put my multimeter across the battery this afternoon, found it jumps between 13.87 and 14.05 constantly (not loose connections, even tried hooking up an additonal ground wire between the battery and the engine)

4) All weather floor mat on drivers side worn through in 4 months.


Anyone else having similar issues?

i have the same problem. i made a small shim to put on the gas pedal. it brought up the idle. the idle is to low it need to idle around 800 rpm. still idles a litttle rough but much better. i tried to tell them but they said no code no fix .only fix with any dealer is when a code is present

[Mr D]

Originally Posted by theboz001

Called Kia about this issue. They advised there is another fix which calls for the replacement of the alternator and idler pulley. Called the dealer and was told they know nothing about any additional fixes.

My case has now been escalated to the regional Kia rep but I cannot get in touch with her despite having left multiple messages.

Took mine back after one week for the same rough idle issue which oddley did not show on the initial test drive. The idler pulley was replaced and it might have made some improvement. Still waiting for my new alternator which had to be ordered. This was three weeks ago. Still waiting for the part. Seems odd that not all Kia dealers are up to speed on this latest fix.

Gas mileage is a big concern at this point. This car is primarly my shuttle to and from work, a 26 mile round trip with about 15 miles 2-lane highway and 10 miles interstate. I only have a quarter mile or so from my house to the highway. I'm only getting about 24-25 mpg according to the computer. I was expecting more since its over 90% highway miles.

Unfortunately, the computer seems on the high side and about 2-3 mpg better than my manual calculations. I've been very careful filling up the same way each time and keeping accurate manual records. Anyone else notice the computer mpgs may be off a bit?