[Simeon]

After following this forum for nearly a year now I have noticed that the majority of major failures ie engine replacements etc happen to you guys in the US. What are you doing to them?

As I understand it all Sorentos are built in Korea?
Is there any acceptance maintenance done in the country of purchase?

Chrysler Voyagers for example have a pecking list of quality as they are assembled in different places. Allegedly the European ones are the best and built in Austria, Is this the same with Sorentos?

I think this is a topic that needs discussing and will hopefully produce some questions that could be passed on to Kia.

Mine is a 2004 SX 2.5 CRDI which has been excellent (Touch wood)

 

[Ilan]

Most engine failures happened to the V6 3.5L patrol engine in the US. In the US they don’t have the Diesel engine.

I heard about a diesel engine replacement, but it seems rare.

The failures are due to a part in the fuel manifold that is sucked into the engine. I hope KIA fixed the issue with new engines.

 

[riverider]

I have yet to read of a engine failing in the 03 gas engine Sorento.The ones failing are the 04&05s. :57:

 

[beyond_help]

the 3.5 liter v6 also has a problem with the crankshaft vibration damper/pully assy coming off when the retaining bolt breaks off the crankshaft, just like mine did 270 miles from home. it was towed to the nearest KIA dealer about 50 miles away

it happened 900 miles after the engine was replaced for the "CLIP" breaking loose from the intake plenum

the replacement crankshaft bolt and the replacement vibration damper/pully (are different than the orignal according to the service manager) to prevent it from failing again in the future

tomorrow we have to drive 440 miles (round trip) to go get to the POS sorento, whats next?

we have had this vehicle 6 mounths and it has been out of service 36 days !! for engine problems and dead battery problems...again whats next ?

 

[lawgirl5]

I have always taken my Sorento in for scheduled maintenance and taken very good care of it. My Sorento SUCKS!!! Its a 2003 (will be three years old in November!) with 73,500 miles. Its been in the shop literally every two months!!! Its been a hunk of junk since I bought it!!! Its been in the shop now for the past two weeks. WHY?? A screw fell off the upper intake and landed in the engine valves!!! After repairing all that crap, it still has internal engine noise. The engine will probably be replaced. I can tell you... thank God its at the dealer in an auto mall! I will drive it from the Kia dealer over to Toyota or Honda and take the $16K loss I still owe on that ****! Friends don't let friends buy Kia's!!!! PASS IT ON! They are JUNK!!! UK or otherwise! You must be the lucky one! But don't be all smug with yourself....your's too will begin to fall apart! Its only a matter of time...tick, tick, tick.......

 

[Spec SX]

When I had my 04 Sorento it ran great. No issues with it at all.

 

[Dog1]

Before we bought our Sorento, I talked to alot of Kia owners, not only Sorento owners, which I was on the look-out for, but Kia owners in general.

I musta talked to 30 owners in the 6 months before we bought one. I can recall only 2 telling me of problems, but that they were hapy of the way the dealership handled them and of Kia in general.

You want POS cars? Try a Volkswagen. I went to 3 dealerships and to a "t" they were idiots. VWoA-Volkswagen of America's "Customer Care" or as VW owners call them "Customer Don't Care", once told me under a warranty repair-"We have no interest in helping you at this time"

WTF? It was right there that I started looking for another car...

Will my Sorento be a good, trustworthy vehicle? I don't know, but it cannot be worse than my VW ownership was..

 

[KiaMech]

All of the people I know of with any type of Kia are pretty happy with them. It seems that the only people that are unhappy with their Kia migrate to this site. I poke my head in to different areas of this forum, but I like it best in here, mostly because I own a Sorento, but not many people are unhappy with their Sorentos.

You want to hear a real bit**fest, go into the Sedona forum; there's a forum that needs some Prozac. Chances are, when the newly designed '06 Sedona comes out, Kia won't be able to count on repeat Sedona customers.

I have an '03 Sorento. No problems and I couldn't be happier.

 

[loco5]

We have an 03 Sorento w/~48k, and it has been great, no issues and quite reliable.

I have been so impressed with the quality turnaround at KIA, I bought another in March. 05 Spec5, it has been a SOLID daily driver/runabout with double the fuel economy of anything else in my garage...
especially the daily driver it replaced, my rockcrawler/4x4, 99 Amigo.

Unfortunate for those of you with the issue, it sounds to me like a manufacturing flaw and a possible TSB or recall should be in the works for the 04/05 3.5L motor.

Guess I purchased a "Wednesday built" vehicle... :blush:

 

[Simeon]

The picture that is emerging is that the 3.5 litre engine is the problem. Here in europe we tend to buy the diesel due to high gas prices which makes the problems look like they are coming from the US.

 

[mikeb]

We have an 03 V6 3.5 Kia Sorento with which we tow an 18ft caravan and also drive on dirt roads - minus the van - So far we have not had an ounce of trouble with the Sorento.
We think it's a really great car and are very happy with it !! :trophy:
Regards Mike

 

[sackia]

I've drove my 05 Crdi EX sorento for about 6000 miles (aprox: 10000km) and my only issue is a squeak sound inside, by the dash board. It really gets me going nuts but other than that I feel safe, even though it's a diesel I enjoying steping on to pass other gas cars.

It's nice to drive a shiftronic transmission in a country like CR where we have hills all over.


I will complain about this noise with the dealer, because sometimes it gives you the feel of an old car.


Average consumption: 35 km/gal.

 

[hciaffa]

picked up some info at the service departement yesterday. I dropped off my wifes Sorento as she is having a axle replaced to see if this helps with the rear end thumping feel that occurs when coming to a stop then starting off. Had the spline joint lubed a couple of times but the felling returned. Now talking to the service manager and the parts department guys, these two fellows seem sincere and I would take their word on the service inputs they have given me. I mentioned abut the crankshaft pulley bolt that breaks off and the clip in the intake that gets lose and damages the valves. These seem to be a big discussion item on this and at Sorentosite forum. They can honestly say that they have not run into this at all. Their biggest issues have been some warped rotors and this thumping feeling and the clock replacement. They are thinking that it could be Sorentos that are in certain area of the country lets say out west or in the south (I am in the New England area). Maybe we can get a poll of where this problem is occuring. They did mention that there might be a recall set in Oct for the 03 MY Sorento's about the gas line being pinched near the gast tank and replacement of the lines. Also there was some talk of the engine in the Sorentos that are built by Mitsubishi. Not true the parts guy said all Sorento gas engines in the US have a HY (Hyundia part # and not MB for Mitsu). Many earlier models of past KIA's had Mitsu engines or parts but they have gotten away from them as Ford took greater control of them. He was nice to show part #'s in his books to prove what he was saying.
As soon as I run the Sorento around this weekend and test the new axle I post back to tell all.

 

[beyond_help]

information that the service manager told me is that the 3.5 v6 is a Mitsubishi engine

i ask if it was built by a Mitsubishi licensee or Mitsubishi themselves he stated the engines were built by Mitsubishi themselves in Korea

although i have noticed some hyundai and Mitsubishi componets on the engine

so hyundai or Mitsubishi engines, whatever, these two serious problems are out there lurking and can happen any time on these 3.5 v6 engines

KIA should own up to these problems and recall these vehicles

when my vibration damper came off i was diong appx 30mph and i could hardly steer the vehicle

imagine doing 65 on a busy multi-lane roadway and loosing the ability to steer you vehicle !!

the replacement engine they installed in august had a build date of june 05 and did not have the updated crankshaft bolt and updated vibration damper on it

i purchased my 05 at the end of february, but don't know the build date

this bolt and vibration damper update may be very new. the delay to fix mine was because the updated vibration damper was on backorder and as stated in my previous post the dealer had another one in for the same problem broken bolt

when my sorento was in to have the engine replaced for the broken clip/bolt in the intake plenum/throdle body, was never told exactly there was a sedona in for the problem as well

why some dealers see these problems and some do not who knows

why did mine have both failures ?...it was certainly not due to abuse or agressive driving, i baby my sorento and i think it has only seen full throdle twice

 

[riverider]

My 03 Sorento's 3.5v6 has a hyundai engine. So your saying the 05s have a Mitsubishi engine?

 

[beyond_help]

i only know what the service manager told me and "i beleive" information supplied from another poster on this forum, that sorento engines (all years 03 to 05) are Mitsubishi engines.

i remember talking to a friend of mine who owns a Mitsubishi SUV and he stated Mitsubishi is one of the largest engine manufactures in the world and makes engines for alot of car and truck companys , chrylser corp is was one and may still be making some of their engines

quote from, phoenixrider


KIA has been replacing these things left and right, but there is no Service Bullitin on it. Since this is a Mitsubishi engine, it uses the same flawed designed as the the Mitsu engine - and there have been recalls and hundreds and hundreds of people with Mitsus that have snapped this bolt.

 

[riverider]

Looking at my engine chart for year 2003 from Wards Auto World.I see the Kia Sorento using a Hyunda 3.5v6 Sigma code engine. Mfg. in Ulsan South Korea. Both the Kia Sedona and Sorento used this same engine. there were 55,861 engines Mfg.

 

[beyond_help]

Originally posted by riverider@Sep 2 2005, 06:22 PM
Looking at my engine chart for year 2003 from Wards Auto World.I see the Kia Sorento using a Hyunda 3.5v6 Sigma code engine. Mfg. in Ulsan South Korea. Both the Kia Sedona and Sorento used this same engine. there were 55,861 engines Mfg.

Quoted post​

good research ! accepted !

Hyundai Sigma engine


The G6AU and G4HC (both also called the 3.5 D ) are the large 3.5 L (3497 cc) versions of the Sigma engine. Bore and stroke are both larger at 93 mm and 85.8 mm respectively. Output is 200 hp (149 kW) at 5500 RPM and 214 ft.lbf (290 Nm) at 4800 RPM for the older G6AU V6 and 217 hp (162 kW) at 5500 RPM and 232 ft.lbf (314 Nm) at 3500 RPM for the new G4HC Sigma.

The 3.5 D has an cast iron engine block and aluminum DOHC cylinder heads. It uses MFI fuel injection, has 4 valves per cylinder, and features forged steel connecting rods. It is designed to run on "regular" unleaded gasoline rather than the premium fuel used in many other high-output V6 engines.

The US-market version produces 194 hp (145 kW) at 5500 RPM with 219 ft.lbf (297 Nm) of torque at 3500 RPM. It was introduced with the Kia Sedona minivan in 2001 and was, at the time, the largest engine offered in a minivan and the second-most powerful. Since then, many other makes have passed it on both counts. It has been more of a Kia than Hyundai engine, with the Santa Fe and XG350 coming later.

Applications:

* Hyundai Santa Fe
* Hyundai XG350
* Kia Amanti
* Kia Sedona
* Kia Sorento

 

[kia4life]

*TO ALL MEMBERS AND TO THOSE WHO CARE*

I am an owner of a 2004 KIA Sorento LX. In previous years I have been a loyal HONDA owner, but have moved on due to there prices. Now I currently have 43,165 Miles on my 04' KIA Sorento LX and I have had know problems with the vehicle. I have done some preventative maintenance, such as using synthetic engine oil, synthetic transmission fluid, and synthetic gear oil for the rear differential. I use AMSOIL! I drive my vehicle a lot and it drives just as well as the day I drove it off the lot and with the K&N air filter and Lucas Fuel Treat every 15,000 Miles, I get about 20 -21 MPG that is (420 - 441 Miles per tank, 21 GAL). So you see I can't help but think that either weather conditions are causing these problems or it might be the owners. When I say this I hope know one takes offense. But ask yourselves, how do you drive your vehicle? (AGGRESSIVE or NON-AGGRESSIVE), Are you an off-roader, if so your LX Rear Wheel drive is not the model for this. Keep in mind your vehicle depends on the fluids you use. KIA uses some of the worst brand fluids for there vehicles, I know that every KIA dealership uses different fluids but it's all still regular conventional oil. I hope that your problems are taken care of and fixed properly so it does not happen again.

*IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS YOU CAN REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE OR E-MAIL ME AT [email protected]*

 

[KiaMech]

What do you mean "kia uses some of the worst brand fluids"? Do you mean because its conventional instead of synthetic? Or do you really know what brand fluids they use?