Some shots of the bumper off in case anyone is curious what it looks like under there.

 

How easy was it to remove the bumper? Any step by step info?


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I have a 2017 Kia Sorento SXL V6 AWD and wanted to change the front and back emblems.

I studied the various helpful posts on Kia-Forums.com and ordered the Loden C emblems. The rear emblem was straightforward to remove with a heat gun, 1/4 wide plastic strapping, plastic interior moulding removal tools, tar & grease remover, paper towels and lot's of elbow grease. Took me about an hour to get all the old adhesive off.

The front emblem was much more of challenge. I considered removing the front bumper but that was way more complexity than I wanted to get into.

My solution was to cut up the factory emblem in pieces using a Dremel tool with a cutoff wheel for plastic. Working carefully, I made shallow cuts starting at the center and stopping about 3/8 inch from the edge of the emblem to avoid damaging the grill. Run the Dremel at medium speed so it doesn't melt the plastic. A lot of fine dust but no smoke. I checked the depth of my cut frequently and learned the factory emblem is convex (curves outward) and you easily feel and hear when the wheel cuts through. I was careful to *barely* cut through the emblem.

Once I'd cut through a section of emblem (stopping 3/8" from the edges), I inserted a flat blade screwdriver in the saw kerf and twisted to crack the plastic through to the edge. Once the emblem is cracked in two vertically, it was loose and easy enough to cut out in pieces. The four plastic mounting tabs come out easily when it's only holding an isolated section of emblem with lots of wiggle room.

Total time to cut off the front grill factory emblem was less than 15 minutes!

I tossed the cut up emblem in the trash but thought better of it and fished several pieces out to share my story with the forum.

The 1st photo is the Dremel tool, cut off wheel for plastic and pieces of the factory emblem.
The 2nd photo shows a piece of the concave emblem and undamaged front grill.
The 3rd photo is the new Loden C emblem and heat gun to warm the adhesive before mounting.

 

The exact same way I took mine off,wasnt planning on keeping it so really didn't care what happened to it.Nice work

 

Since I'm new to the Kia world, this seems like a good place to ask...

What's with the "K" emblems? I see them replacing the standard emblem on a lot of forum vehicles. Is it the Kia logo from another market, or what?

 

I would like to know this too

 

Yes.. in Korea, it's the "flying K", their original logo.

Behind the Badge: Kia?s Korean Logo Is So Much Cooler! | The News Wheel

 

I ordered the Flying K emblems too and plan on installing them when the weather warms up. The set also came with logos for the wheels and steering wheel. Do the originals have to come off or do the replacements just go on top? If removing, what's the procedure?

 

The K emblems really look good. Wish that Kia used them here. That said, not a mod I'm interested in doing but I like the look.

 

Another question...if the front emblem is just held on with clips, what are the chances that strong fishing line (I have 100# test braided) could be slid under the ends and pulled straight out, popping off the emblem? Is there any sort of adhesive holding it on, or does the factory just line up the centering pin and pop the emblem in place?

 

The replacement emblems don't look all that great either to me. Very generic looking.

 

As a retired Army guy, this is going to be the very first thing I do to my 18 Sorento when I pick it up tomorrow. The acronym KIA is not something I want to stare at.

 

Not really a military person, but now that you mentioned it... who wants to be KIA?

I initially thought why are people going thru so much trouble switching out emblems... Now I want to change that stupid emblem too.

 

'Thin" not 'Think'

 

With the new official emblems out, Kia (or somebody) could make a good deal of money offering up kits to change over the old emblems. Dealers could make a few bucks if they offered to do it, etc. I would hire them to do it for sure.

 

Here. Looks promising. Might order the front one to see how it fits

17.04US $ 20% OFF|for Kia Sorento MQ4 2021 car logo cover modification stainless steel new car logo decoration|Emblems| - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

 

Just FYI, the actual spelling based on the Korean pronunciation should be "Gia" or "Ghia".

When I started working in Korea in 1997, the name of the international airport in Seoul was called Kimpo, and with a revision of the English translations it became Gimpo.

Gimpo International Airport - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Gimpo International Airport (Korean: 김포국제공항; Hanja: 金浦國際空港), commonly known as Gimpo Airport (IATA: GMP, SEL, ICAO: RKSS) (formerly rendered in English as Kimpo International Airport),

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translate.google.com

Ghia Motors = 기아 자동차

기아 - Movement that inspires

기아 공식 사이트에 오신 것을 환영합니다. 승차감 좋고 연비 좋은 기아의 승용, RV, 하이브리드의 다양한 라인업 및 사진, 제원을 확인 하세요.

www.kia.com

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Good to hear! Next would be the steering wheel and the smaller ones on the wheels too?

 

Rear one.