You need to take it into a Kia dealership for this.

 

I have ...waiting on engineers in Korea to get back with my dealer.

 

I see. We at my Kia dealership have seen any problems with any of the 2014 Sorento's we've sold so far.

 

The sister car "2013 Santa Fe LWB" has the same issue. Check out the hyundai-forums

 

2014 kia sorrento SX-L ac issue

I was wondering if the dealer fix your problem with the ac since I have a 2014 sorrento sx-l and the ac feels weak sometimes and don't feel the cold air

 

2014 air problems

I just dropped off my 2014 Sorento at the dealership to get some work done and told them about the problem with the air conditioner. Basically, on long runs (once car gets up to operating temp) the air will stop flowing thru vents and will warm up. The fan is blowing but nothing is coming out. This is an intermitant problem. I will get back with what dealer says and would appreciate any info anyone else has dealing with this problem.

 

Anyone have an update on this? We experienced this on our 2 day old Kia Sorento Limited. I had the ventilated driver seat on and the AC on low. It seemed to be fine until about an hour and a half into our trip. We had also changed the passenger temperature to not so low. Had to turn AC off then back on to get air blowing again. It did sound like air was blowing but just could not feel it.

 

Did you verify which vents it was supposed to be blowing out of? It chooses which vents to use in auto, depending on temperature needs. You can hit the climate button anytime to check that.

 

I've had a problem with the AUTO function not turning off. Air flow seems okay, but I got my SX in July and even though I wanted manual air flow in the evenings (no A/C) the A/C would kick on. I found that clicking the manual A/C button on, then off made it allow to get only airflow from outside. I dunno. It's been tricky. I've also had the MODE (even on manual) suddenly change. Example: it would switch to vent/floor automatically in the morning even though I had set it to vent only the evening before.

Again, I dunno. I reported this to my dealership and they responded... uselessly. Some things on the Sorento might be too automatic for it's own good.

 

How did you turn off the AUTO function?

With my 2012, there is no real "off". However, as you manually change each function, that function is no longer controlled by the climate control.

For example, you press AC on/off, or the recirculate or the mode or the fan. As each is adjusted manually, it is no longer controlled automatically. However, the other items that are not manually adjusted continue to be controlled automatically. So, if you only press AC on/off, then the fan and mode, etc still change according to the auto control.

I haven't seen or tested a 2014. This is just from my observations on my 2012. YMMV. Let us know if this did the trick.

 

That is exactly right, 2014's work the same way. No real "off" function, just manually change each setting.

 

My wife tried adjusting it. We went into the climate controls and told it to blow on the floor and on us but it didn't seem to make a difference. I'll keep an eye on it for sure. We are new owners so it could be something we didn't do or did that caused it. I'll post after our next longer trip.

 

Wow!! I'm finally sitting in the service department waiting room waiting for my Kia dealer to "fix" my A/C. There was finally a Tech Service Bulletin released on the 15th of October for the A/C for Sirento units manufactured from Jan13-Sept 13. I'll keep you posted on this fix and if it works!!

 

I think that the A/C continues to run even if I manually adjust the fan speed (the AUTO does go out on the climate display). I even asked my dealership about this because sometimes just outside is cool enough. I found that if I manually turn on the A/C with the A/C button and then turn if off, the A/C really does shut off. I'm pretty sure...

Sknowski, where did you see this Tech Service Bulletin? Thanks.

 

Ok, I just read through the new TSB for the A/C. Turns out the problem people are having is pretty basic. In higher humidity areas, the evaporator is freezing, which blocks air flow. Pretty standard problem, possible on most a/c systems. Based on how much time mine spends in "recirc" mode while in auto, I'm not surprised. It looks like they reprogram the logic unit for the hvac system to make it spend more time in "fresh" mode. In the old days this often happened when people left it on "MAX A/C" for too long (that's all max is, is recirc).

So, if you live in a humid climate that gets hot in the summer, you should plan on getting this TSB done by next spring.

 

I found this TSB this weekend. I called Central Kia in Plano TX and he is aware of it. I'm taking it in this week. I found the info on https://www.kiatechinfo.com/Index.asp
I had to create an account (use IE with compatibility mode by the way) but I got all kinds of goodies including the TSB and downloadable versions of the books.

 

I just posted this in the "firmware update request" thread:

I vote for an option to turn OFF the AUTO Climate control completely. I like to have the fan on pretty much all the time, but even though I'm manually turning the fan on, the AUTO climate control kicks on. I have to always hit/cycle through the MODE button to turn off the AUTO climate control. I verified this during summer (with A/C) and now that it's cool, with the heater.

(Unless there's a way to do this and I haven't figured it out??)

 

I just posted this in the "firmware update request" thread:

I'll have to have a look at that thread...

I vote for an option to turn OFF the AUTO Climate control completely.

Same here...if it's cool but not cold (say 10c/50f), the heat will be on initially, but if the interior heats up too much, then it switches on the A/C when I'd rather just reduce the heat output or crack open a window. No need to have A/C come on all the time when it gets a bit warm.

Like you, I keep the fan on low all the time to prevent fogging of the front windshield when it's cool outside. Even during a mild summer evening rainfall, the window will fog due to the high humidity and mild outside temp. Running the A/C is just not necessary when ambient air temp is comfortable and will clear the fog off the windshield.

I haven't figured out a way to disable the auto modes unless you turn off the fan completely and use ventilation only. But that often is not enough to clear fog from the windshield.

 

if it is in any part on windshield, it will always use A/C.

The way to go around it is to pull A/C fuse or A/C clutch relay.

 

if it is in any part on windshield, it will always use A/C.

That can't be right...you're saying the A/C is on when it's on Defrost and temp is set at 89?

 

That's true, the A/C kicks on in (pretty much) all cars when defrost is selected to de-humidify the air. But, PLP... pulling the fuse? Dude, extreme.

But, there is no doubt that it is overly complicated to just have the fan going with no A/C or heater running in the KIA Sorento. If anything, the driver should be able to override any setting as long as it doesn't hurt the vehicle or compromise safety. And, getting outside air without A/C or heater should easily fall in that category.

 

But, PLP... pulling the fuse? Dude, extreme.

A/C fuse only, dude. Just to not allow the compressor to kick in.
Yeah, I have done it in some "domestic" cars as I could not deactivate the logic.

It's called Defogging Logic and it uses A/C to dry the air (page 4|144). Press the Fan speed buttons to adjust the fan and Auto turns off. Then press the Mode button to select where you want the air to blow, setting it to Defrost. Then while holding the A/C button press the intake control 5 times rapidly within 3 seconds. It should blink to indicate defogging logic is disabled. Repeat to enable the defogging feature.

Cool...

Great. That is exactly same way you can deactivate logic in manual climate control systems. I did not know it would be exactly same procedure.

 

Yes, I found this out awhile ago that the compressor always runs with Climate Control on, even if the green A/C light is not lit. The "defrost logic" mode from the owners manual, will put it into manual mode, But, Defrost will not turn on the compressor, unless you do it manually. I've done this on my 2011 Sportage EX.

 

But, Defrost will not turn on the compressor

Maybe that is true on Sportage, but 2007 Optima, 2012 Sorento, 2007 Rondo, Elantra's (2004 XD, 2009 HD, and 2013 GD), 1997 Plymouth Neon, 2002 Dodge Intrepid, 2006 Dodge Durango - all of them would turn on compressor when in defrost.

Those are all cars I have owned or drove and Sportage is not there, so I will not argue.

 

Wow compatico! Thanks for finding that information in the manual and posting it. In my neck of the woods, there's no need to have the A/C running because our humidity is very low. I'm going to re-read that whole section to see what else I've missed.

What I don't understand is, why isn't a setting like this under the User's Settings? It's almost set up like a game cheat you have to punch in on your controller: A-A-B-X-X-Y... stupid.

 

Wow compatico! Thanks for finding that information in the manual and posting it. In my neck of the woods, there's no need to have the A/C running because our humidity is very low. I'm going to re-read that whole section to see what else I've missed.

I haven't read the paper manual...I downloaded the PDF from Kia and do searches for info when I need to figure something out. Much easier than flipping pages. Most of the stuff I figured out on my own, but that one issue needed clarification so I had to do some reading.
:lol:

 

So... seriously, all this... what did I say?... over complicated to get fresh air without A/C or heating... right? I didn't find any additional info from compatico's entry. It sucks. This should be taken to KIA directly... anyone?

 

I noticed that my 2014 Kia sorento ex while the heat is on, the rear vents blow cold air out while the front vents have warm air. Anyone else noticed this? I had the air conditioner problem as well.

 

Yeah I noticed this as well. Even after a 20-30 minute trip...still cold(ish) air.

 

do you have dual climate control?
besides, keep in mind it takes time for rear ducts to warm up before they deliver hot air.

 

I do. I looked in the manual and FYI they suggest closing the rear vents that blow at the face while using the heating system

 

Yeah I noticed this as well. Even after a 20-30 minute trip...still cold(ish) air.

now when you mentioned it - I am not quite sure, but I think they mentioned somewhere here that the upper vents are always cold... could it be?
look up in the manual or search here.
If I find a moment I might do it for you... only IF.

 

When we need heat, I make sure the fan is off until the engine temp is well past cold...if not at normal operational range. Then I turn on the fan and have the mode set to dual outputs...on the feet and out of the dash. It works well enough. And of course we turn on the seat bun warmers. We are toasty by the time we get to IHOP for breakfast.

 

But isn't that kind of ridiculous that we can't have hot air blowing out of those vents? Sometimes the passengers need a little hot air blowing on them if they've been in the cold for a while.

 

The rear passengers get hot air from vents under the front seats. The upper vents behind the front doors are just for A/C.

 

Makes sense. Thanks!