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2011 Sorento with engine oil leakage

23K views 4 replies 4 participants last post by  FIRST TIMER 
#1 ·
Hello to all,

My wife and I are first time Kia owners. We bought a used/new 2011 Sorento with 17k miles on it for a great price at Riverside Kia in southern California. We've had the truck for 2 full weeks when I noticed it was leaking oil. My wife had noticed the leak before but had forgotten to tell me about it :mad:. Anyway today we took it back to the dealer for warranty work...I thought it was the oil pan leaking from the drainage plug and also around some of the mounting bolts. After going to see a movie (Incidious...it was pretty freaky so we both liked it!) the dealer called me back stating in fact that a gasket seal was leaking from behind the timing chain! So basically they have to pull the engine...disassemble it to get to the gasket...replace the gasket and then reassemble it. Needless to say my wife and I are heartbroken about it!

I wanted to post this to see if anyone else has seen or heard of such an incident? I've been watching Kia and Hyundai for quite a while now and have liked the way their companys are going...but like I said we are heartbroken about this problem. I'm even more angry that my father-in-law said, "Should have bought a toyota...your not gonna do good with this purchase." :mad: I so want to prove him wrong but so far he's winning the battle :(. Thanks for any and all comments.
 
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#2 ·
Welcome to the forum. Sorry to hear of the leak issue. I'd like to make a couple points about what the dealer said. But before that, here is some info:

Both engines available on the 2001 Sorento use timing chains (as well as many other newer Kia engines). We have had problems with oil leaks from the lower oil pans and the timing chain covers. Both of these leaks can both be seen, quite easily most of the time.

1) If the leak is coming from behind the timing chains as they stated, that would be internal engine, and they would have already had to remove the timing cover to discover this. I think they mean that the timing cover is leaking.

2) There is no gasket that seals the timing cover, upper oil pan, or lower oil pan. It is only a sealant.

3) The engine doesn't have to be removed and disassembled. The cover can be removed in the vehicle. Yes, I would be so much easier if the engine were out of the car, but it's not. Also, since the tech that would work on it is getting paid by warranty time standards and not customer pay time standards, it would not be in their best interest to remove the engine to complete the job.

As far as your father-in-law, Toyota make a good product. It's often difficult to change people's opinion when it comes to new products, especially when it's a large purchase like an automobile. I think you made the right choice. You may have to remind him that 30 years ago, Toyota was in the exact same place that Kia is now, with the Ford/Chevy/Chrysler fans saying the exact same thing. Look at how far Toyota has come. They were groundbreakers, along with Honda. Hyundai/Kia knows this and has learned from what other companies have done. Which is why no other auto company has improved as fast as Hyundai/Kia.
 
#3 ·
Hello to all,

My wife and I are first time Kia owners. We bought a used/new 2011 Sorento with 17k miles on it for a great price at Riverside Kia in southern California. We've had the truck for 2 full weeks when I noticed it was leaking oil. My wife had noticed the leak before but had forgotten to tell me about it. Anyway today we took it back to the dealer for warranty work...I thought it was the oil pan leaking from the drainage plug and also around some of the mounting bolts. After going to see a movie (Incidious...it was pretty freaky so we both liked it!) the dealer called me back stating in fact that a gasket seal was leaking from behind the timing chain! So basically they have to pull the engine...disassemble it to get to the gasket...replace the gasket and then reassemble it. Needless to say my wife and I are heartbroken about it!

I wanted to post this to see if anyone else has seen or heard of such an incident? I've been watching Kia and Hyundai for quite a while now and have liked the way their companys are going...but like I said we are heartbroken about this problem. I'm even more angry that my father-in-law said, "Should have bought a toyota...your not gonna do good with this purchase." :mad: I so want to prove him wrong but so far he's winning the battle. Thanks for any and all comments.
First Timer welcome. Sorry to hear your new pride and joy has hd a hiccup. But tht is JUST WHAT it is. A hiccup any vech might have had. KIA is not different then TOYTA. That said, if you happy with the purchase yeasterday then today should be no different. This is NOT henny penny the sky is falling issue. And here are few thing to keep in mind.

1)Fatherinlaws can be the MALE counterpsrt of MOTHERINLAWS! Ignore the galoot.
2) Do not get bullied, I have had a few TOTOTA vechs amoung others. They are nice and good vechs. But I had a rare one, a 88 SR5 EXTRCAB V6 P/U to mention one. That had the TOYOTA 3.0L but did not have the FAMOUS INTERNAL HEAD GASKETS FLAW! Just like their replacement eng later the 3.4L version had the FAMOUS EXTERNAL HEAD GASKETS LEAK! My 88 Turbo Supra had two piece fiberglass driveshaft that had a known issue (and it did too) with the center support and shaft warping. The first time you feel it at 70mph it scares the crap out of you. And the vech shook (never stopped) untill you stopped and then not till you hit 70 again form rest. Camry 4cyls are prone to major oil sludge up/coking if not changed extra well OFTEN. These are just a few of the pearls of wisdom he (the wonderkint) should know about to take him down a notch or so. SO tell pops to cool his jets, AND SIT DOWN AND HAVE A BEER. Toyotas are NOT bullet proof NO vech is.

I will not disagree with matty much here in what he said. But If they are doing it for free as they should, do not care how or what they do. You are in a rental or loaner right? And do not listen to people that tell you, you do not have to do this or that at this point to fix it. Down the road yes SHORT CUTS can be taken and are good in some cases to cut down labor $ on your dime. This is not one of those times. LET THEM TAKE IT OUT! that way while it is OUT they see ALL THE LEAKS. Past/present/future. Have total access to the eng right side up, upside down WHATEVER. And they can seal any and ALL leaks or issues they see and find. Not just be pigheaded and only address the one they think they see right now in vech. Or while pulling it part to get at JUST THAT leak in vech. Eng out all is seen and not MISSED! for sure no if ands or butts. DO it once do it right. Period and its free so WHOM CARES if they take it or not. And to me it shows the mark of a great dealer here at work, saying they will do it. They want to do it the right way. They could do it the short cut wham bam thank you mam way. But they are NOT! And yes these days there are not many GASKETS on engines it is mostly SILICONE or some other types of sealers. An factory air bubbles are never a not going to happen ever in one in 10K engines type of thing. So do not stress on it. It happens.

You are listening to TOO MANY uninformed people (inlaw giving you greif) right now. And they are stressing you out needlessly. If they like Toyota so much then buy it for you and the wife free as a gift. And you will gladly drive it for them. You are making the payment not them. :) So in a polite way STOP it, and tell them to as well. You have nothing to make you and you lovely wife HEART BROKEN about right now. Except your inlaw being a yutz prematurely. You married her not him. Sooner he gets that the better. ;)

BTW you say he is winning the battle? He can not argue with nor win a battle with someone that is NOT engaging him back! Ignore him and he can talk to HIMSELF all he likes then. I take it form your text he gets under your skin and is never helpful ever. Do not let him then. IGNORE HIM. We all have members of our families like this. Some are helpful (you will learn whom) and some not (I think him). And we learn to IGNORE THEM. As they never give help just give "I would do it this way" "you should ...." "or if it were me" rederick. And do not earn the respect to be listened too thru that behaviour. So do what we all do withn them do I need to say it again? :lol:


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#4 ·
Yeah this is all good advice. I really don't want you to be "devastated" by this, these things happen all the time to all manufacturers including Toyota and also the luxury brands like Lexus - there are Lexus owners out there right now suffering with a similar issue I guarantee it! What it comes down to is the luck of the draw, each vehicle will have a small percentage of owners with problems, it's just the way the world works which is why there is a warranty! You've got a great warranty so just sit back relax and wait for your car to be good as new in no time!
 
#5 ·
Thank you to all for the warm welcome. I think you may be right Matty stating the leak was at the timing chain cover. I spoke with the service writer when I probably should have been speaking with the mechanic so I can be 100% sure of what's going on.

I am in a loaner so I have transportation. Kia's policy is to pay for 3 days of a rental car. My Sorento won't be ready till end of day Tuesday, so I need the rental for a few more days. The awesome thing is that the salesmans for us not to worry and that he would take care of the rental charge for the other days! That was super nice...but I don't feel that he should and that Kia corporate should pay for the other days that I need the rental for.

I very much appreciate the comments from everyone. I will take the father-in-laws words with a grain of salt and enjoy our sorento when we get it back.

Thanks everyone!
 
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