[kiaguy002]

I've read enough of these 'stripped head bolt' Sorento issues (almost all 2016 Lambda 3.3L) to now believe it's a systemic issue. Definitely not anywhere remotely close to the volume of the Theta GDI/turbo debacle, but probably not an insignificant number either. I think the most likely root cause would be a run of defective blocks, a result of either a process or materials issue. All of the above is of course completely JMO, with nothing that I'm aware of from Kia to provide any confirmation. So I have no grounds to argue about it, and have no intention of doing so.

But in any case, I'd be more than a bit concerned If I owned a 2016 3.3L Sorento. And if I owned one that was still under powertrain warranty, I'd be giving strong consideration to checking for this issue by retorquing the head bolts. Not to the full torque spec - perhaps 20% below the final specified torque. Any head bolts having become loose should be easily detected by doing that activity.

Now I'm not suggesting that any owners out there in cyberspace should do this, but OTOH I wouldn't try to stop anyone from doing it either. Just work carefully and don't leave any tool marks on the bolts

 

[tom4416]

Be careful about retorquing head bolts - lots of them are one time torque to yield bolts and if they've become loose, there is something a lot more serious going on. I have no clue if KIA uses TTY head bolts.

 

[gunrunnerjohn]

I had two Ford's years ago with the crappy one-time torque head bolts, both of them eventually leaked coolant into the engine and destroyed the bearings! To this day, I've never owned another Ford, and it's unlikely that I ever will!

 

[kiaguy002]

Be careful about retorquing head bolts - lots of them are one time torque to yield bolts and if they've become loose, there is something a lot more serious going on. I have no clue if KIA uses TTY head bolts.

Yes, most head bolts these days are TTY, and the torque spec is an initial fixed torque, followed by one ore more torque-to-angle, as the final step(s). And that's why I said I would use the specified torque value, because the final torqued value of the bolts will always be much greater than that initial value, given the extra force from the subsequent torque-to-angle(s).

So torqueing the bolt with the wrench set to the initial value should never cause an issue for a solidly torqued bolt. It would be something along the lines of torqueing a lug nut to 60 ft-lbs, where it had been previously been torqued to 100. Nothing other than a click is going to happen.

However, if this were done to a head bolt which had somehow worked its way loose, then IMO pulling on it with that much force would certainly cause it to move. And that's exactly what I would be wanting to know about.

Now one could argue that a loose bolt probably would show up under just a small bit of torque from wrench, and I would agree with that as well.

 

[ecanderson]

It hasn't been a problem of the bolts coming 'loose', as I understand it. It's been outright thread failure.
And no, a re-torque is not a good plan.

 

[Blucht7]

I purchased my 16 Sorento Sx certified used back in Jan of 2019, which the vehicle was leased prior with all service records. The dealer tore the block down after noting the head gasket failed and during the tear down the bolts failed inspection.

 

[tom4416]

I purchased my 16 Sorento Sx certified used back in Jan of 2019, which the vehicle was leased prior with all service records. The dealer tore the block down after noting the head gasket failed and during the tear down the bolts failed inspection.

Well, the bolts would "fail inspection" once they are removed since they are one time use. If would be nice to know if they failed by pulling out of the female threads which is what the few reported head gasket failures are related to.

 

[Blucht7]

I received my car back last week, I will post the the description on the paper work. Also after driving my car with a new engine I noticed while breaking (before coming to a complete stop) in drive and reverse the car now stutters. I took it back into the dealer but they cant seem to figure it out and think its fine. I have brand new brakes and rotors on the vehicle and the car never did this prior to getting a new engine. Any ideas on what could be causing this?

 

[Yury]

I think +1 blown 3.3 engine here. Wife was driving this Sunday and suddenly something popped under the hood and she noticed engine temp is at high. Stopped the car, white smoke started coming from under the hood. Opened the hood, the coolant reservoir cap is off, coolant splashes all around engine compartment. No check engine or any other warnings, serviced 3 weeks ago... Towed it to the dealer today, got a call that head gasket is done. Car has 73k miles, was purchased as CPO, supposedly still has powertrain warranty. But I was told to approve $2k head gasket removal and engine inspection job, only after that Kia people can decide whether they cover it or not, if not that's on me. Is this a normal practice? Oh and dealer thinks, it will likely need new engine, because the gasket bolts will likely come out with threads, damn... Loved that Kia so much.

 

[scosgt]

That sucks

 

[DougL]

New owner 2018.

Consumer reports judged these high. BUT my local car parts place that strips cars, said KIA engines have issues.

My son is a lawyer and had his buddy law firm take care of us when suing insurance, in Florida insurance had to pay lawyers when they lost. check you may get a lawyer at no cost.

 

[Levonda Ingram]

No, a 3.3L failure of that magnitude is a rare event. A bazillion of these have been used in Kia and Hyundai vehicles in recent years, and the kind of failure you describe is even rarer.
You'd have been covered under the 5/60K in any case, but the 10/100K CPO certainly won't hurt down the road.

I purchased a Kia Sorento Sx which it was used and had 80,000 miles on it. The service records had been with KIA and it was great condition. The dealership said they did 150 point inspection before selling it. It still booked for 18,500.00. This vehicle wasn’t driven much by me because I had a work vehicle I used for my job. So at 85,000 mile mark at end of April ... my vehicle all of a sudden started getting hot ... so I stopped and had it towed in to a KIA dealership and they tell me the bolts had backed out from the head which goes into the block and caused a blown head gasket.So they said they recommended another engine but none are available because all being Refurbished so only other thing left to do is bore the holes out and rehex the block and put bigger bolts in but they can’t warrant the work because it’s not suggested way.I asked if kIA could help replace gasket or help send a new engine . I had purchased Carshield extended warranty but thry refuse to cover because they tell me the head and gaskets is not part of the internal mechanism. I contacted NHS to report and looks like they have had 300 reported issues with this 3.3L V6 engine doing sudden engine failure with no prior warning. Several like mine bolts backed out and developed a blown head gasket. I don’t qualify for the power train because I bought it at 80,000 miles and not original owner.. Kia has not put a recall out yet but they are aware. I talked to a KIA Customer Affairs Rep and all she could do is apologize but still no solution for someone taking responsibility for this and stepping up. It’s going to cost me 5300.00 to repair because it’s about 15 hour job plus they tell me it’s expensive to get the bolts redone . I have sent a letter to the Attorney General because this is not right and if it had been original owner it would be covered up to 100,000 miles. I am asking someone to give me some advise or any other solution

 

[Levonda Ingram]

New to the post so Hello,
Just purchased a 2016 CPO Kia Sorento. It was a beautiful car, but I only got to drive it home from the dealership before it had to go back to the dealership because the light tapping (I thought it was an injector) turned into a loud tapping (more like a lifter). Turns out the engine was eating itself up around the number one cylinder and at 41000 miles had to be replaced. Unfortunately there were no 3.3L engines available in the U.S. so I'm currently waiting for the replacement to arrive from Korea. I was told yesterday that there are supposedly 90 coming to the U.S., mine being one of them, (and one for the other Sorento sitting next to mine), but they won't be here until sometime around the end of March. The dealership said I can expect my car sometime in April.
The good news is that I will only have to wait 2+ months for my car while the car next to mine has already waited more than 6 months for an engine.
Has anybody else had an internal issue with their 3.3L engines (I believe it's the G6DH)? I'm curious to get feedback to see if there's a trend for these engines going bad. Anybody have any information on the reliability of these engines?

Thanks for any responses

Update: Received a call this morning from KIA Consumer Affairs. They are escalating my case to try to get an engine quicker. While speaking to the rep they told me that these engines are backordered due to a KIA campaign and having to replace a lot of them.
I looked for KIA campaigns on these particular engines and found one having to do with 2017-2018 engines and bad crankshaft.
I'm not sure this is the problem with my engine but the signs and symptoms closely align so perhaps some 2016 engines are defective as well. Regardless, I'll enter the info through NHTSA so there is a record of a bad engine in a 2016.
If anybody has any more info on these engines I'd sure like to hear it.
Thanks

Yes I bought a 2016 Kia Sorento V6 with 3.3 liter motor. I bought in 11/2020 but only drove it on weekends or to doctor but it had 80700 miles when I bought so on 4/28/2021 with only 85400 miles it starts getting hot all of a sudden no warning or lights so I pull over and have it towed to a Kia dealership 90
Miles from my home. The mechanics told me the bolts backed out of the head which were bolted down into block and caused a blown head gasket.They recommended a new engine but can’t find one but the only other thing they can do is to bore the holes out and and but new bolts in plus gaskets but the dealership won’t warranty the work because it’s not the recommended procedure. There has been 360 reports cases with department of highway safety on this engine and Kia Sorentos. I have lost faith with Kia the appearance of the vehicle is nice but what good of motor keeps failing?Cheaper aluminum they are using and just can’t torque them down tight enough

 

[Levonda Ingram]

New owner 2018.

Consumer reports judged these high. BUT my local car parts place that strips cars, said KIA engines have issues.

My son is a lawyer and had his buddy law firm take care of us when suing insurance, in Florida insurance had to pay lawyers when they lost. check you may get a lawyer at no cost.

I was told that the 5yr/60 whichever come first but already had 80000 miles when I bought it... or am I misunderstanding something? Just curious because I am grasping at straws and I can’t afford to pay 5300.00 to have it done and still owe 18,000 on it and no guarantee that it won’t do it again with a few months. So i plan on calling bank anc have them just repossess it because Kia should be responsible and this is ongoing issues -360 reported cases with 2016 Kia Sorento V6 and built by Hyundai which is part of the problem . They had issues with 2.4!l snd 2.0 L and recalled them after class action law suit was filed. But 3.3 l still part of Lambda motor issues just not as many. First Kia I ever owned and loved it but sadden with issues. I never looked at reviews but I gave learnt will never purchase Kia again

 

[tom4416]

I was told that the 5yr/60 whichever come first but already had 80000 miles when I bought it... or am I misunderstanding something? Just curious because I am grasping at straws and I can’t afford to pay 5300.00 to have it done and still owe 18,000 on it and no guarantee that it won’t do it again with a few months. So i plan on calling bank anc have them just repossess it because Kia should be responsible and this is ongoing issues -360 reported cases with 2016 Kia Sorento V6 and built by Hyundai which is part of the problem . They had issues with 2.4!l snd 2.0 L and recalled them after class action law suit was filed. But 3.3 l still part of Lambda motor issues just not as many. First Kia I ever owned and loved it but sadden with issues. I never looked at reviews but I gave learnt will never purchase Kia again

Subsequent buyers can only get the remainder of any 5/60 warranty but on an 80,000 mile car, it was long expired and so you were not covered under the 10/100 warranty which only applies to original purchasers.

Letting the bank repo the car isn't going to solve your problem. Repossession doesn't absolve you of the financial obligation if they cannot recover the balance owed from the sale of the vehicle. With a bad motor, they might get $5,000 for it at an auction and then will get a judgement against you for the balance as well as ruining your credit. The bank isn't going to chase Kia, they could not care less who made the car, only who borrowed the money to buy it.

Maybe talk to a local independent shop about acquiring a low mileage, used engine from a totaled vehicle. Might shave a couple thousand off that estimate. Just give serious thought before calling the bank because you'll find yourself unable to finance a replacement vehicle due to the stain on your credit and the judgement they will obtain.

 

[Don67]

I had purchased Carshield extended warranty but thry refuse to cover because they tell me the head and gaskets is not part of the internal mechanism

What a steaming load of horse fertlizer to exclude something so major. Unfortunately this is what you get with most third-party warranty plans.

Paying a lawyer $200 to draft a letter threatening legal action might be your best investment here. Good luck.

 

[bobdec]

To all w/o warranty coverage, take it to a reputable non-dealer engine repair shop and have the block threads repaired with inserts. I your lucky heads are not warped, but have them checked and verified. Cost s/b much lower than a new engine !!!

 

[Tripplec]

Any powertrain warranty I'd seen always cover seals and gaskets. Another source or dealer and/or litigation. Call around to other dealers and talk to the service manager.

 

[tom4416]

Any powertrain warranty I'd seen always cover seals and gaskets. Another source or dealer and/or litigation. Call around to other dealers and talk to the service manager.

Not these new warranty companies like Carshield. They are basically fly by night crooks without any kind of reserve for paying claims. The language is so tightly in their favor that it basically covers nothing and a normal consumer isn't going to understand all the legalese in any case. They will disappear in a couple more years, to be replaced by yet another scammer with slick advertising and outrageous claims. It's one of the most unregulated industries out there and once they're gone, you've got no claim against fraud or any other action. Avoid them at all costs.

 

[Ricksza]

Not these new warranty companies like Carshield. They are basically fly by night crooks without any kind of reserve for paying claims. The language is so tightly in their favor that it basically covers nothing and a normal consumer isn't going to understand all the legalese in any case. They will disappear in a couple more years, to be replaced by yet another scammer with slick advertising and outrageous claims. It's one of the most unregulated industries out there and once they're gone, you've got no claim against fraud or any other action. Avoid them at all costs.

As a dealership auto mechanic I came across the worst aftermarket warranty. It listed pages of every system that it covered, but the final paragraph stated "worn or broken parts are not covered". We could not get a single item covered through them. To the dealership's credit, they personally paid for the repairs that should have been covered by the warranty.