Engine Belts And Pulleys problems of the 2003 Kia Motor Sorento - part 1

While under motion on highway at 65+ mph, lost power steering due to crank shaft bolt and pulley failure, resulting in complete loss of accessory functions.

Tl-the contact owns a 2003 kia Sorento. The vehicle stalled and lost motive power while driving the contact was concerned for his safety when the vehicle stall the contact was concerned that it was related to the fuel system while driving at approximately 60 mph, the sputtered and stalled. The contact was able to restart the vehicle. The vehicle was not taken to be diagnosed. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to several independent mechanics where the fuel pump was replaced, a tune up was performed, the camshaft sensor, and timing belt was also replaced however, the failure recurred. The contact stated was concerned that the fuel system was the cause of the failure. Lakeshore kia, 330 e howze beach rd #2, slidell, la 70461, (888) 220-8645, was contacted and informed of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted nor informed of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 115,000. Ah.

The crankshaft bolt supporting the timing sprocket and balance pulley snapped again for the third time. Right now the vehicle is in the the kia dealer service center to replace it. Once again they are asking for a ridiculous amount of money to fix. Last bolt lasted 4,000 miles before it snapped while driving 25 mph.

The bolt holding the harmonic balancer pulley to the crankshaft fell out and all the engine belts and pulleys stopped turning resulting in a loss of power steering, and making the vehicle very difficult to steer. This happened at a low speed and the driver was barely able to turn off the road without an accident. At a higher speed, in heavy traffic, or on mountain roads, the result would likely have been much worse. The car was towed to a kia dealer and repaired for approximately $1,500. 00, replacing the failed parts with new parts and with a warranty of 12 months/10 thousand miles. Previously, at 70 thousand miles as preventive maintenance, the timing belt was replaced by a kia dealer. Kia motors, having known of many failures of the bolt, sprocket, and pulley, should have upgraded these parts years ago and issued a recall or at least a service bulletin to avoid such dangerous failures. After our experience, we did not trust this car and traded it in for a new car from hopefully a more responsible manufacturer.

I purchased this car brand new from stevens kia in patchogue, NY and had them replace the timing belt @ 58k miles as per their guide lines. While driving the car I lost my power steering and electrical charging system, I was going around 45mph, I lost control of the car and was able to get it on the side of the road without any damage to the car or anything else. I called corporate kia and explained the problem and was told the car is out of warranty. (it has 123k miles on it). They told me if I wanted I could have it towed to a kia dealer and they would look at it for a diagnosis fee, but it was still out of warranty and they also told me my VIN# didn't fall into the recall they had concerning that issue. I had my mechanic look at it and he told me the crankshaft dowel pin snapped on the timing gear causing the harmonic balancer to fall off thus taking all the belts with it. It costed me over $2,000 to have the car repaired. After doing a goggle search it seems this is a common problem with these cars and is being ignored by corporate kia.

I have service records showing I had the crankshaft pulley replaced at 55,000 miles under warranty by kia. The crankshaft pulley broke off at 105,000 miles. I was able to have the vehicle repaired cost $1500 out of my pocket. On 1/11/2015 the crankshaft pulley broke off for a 3rd time, shearing the threads to the engine, and causing the engine to no longer work. All 3 events caused loss of power and able to steer the vehicle.

My check engine light came on 2 months ago and I brought it to a kia dealership who told me it was the cylinders that were miss firing and the belts needed to be replaces and they fixed that. I asked about the crankshaft and they told me it was fine. When I left the light came back on and they told me I need new spark plugs, fixed that and the light came back on again. While driving on the highway the break light and battery light came on and the car began to loose power. Now the car is at another dealership and they are telling me it's the crankshaft. After reading what has happened with many other people I can see the original problem was the crankshaft. I have spent over $4k on fixing the car and the car is not worth it.

As my family and I drove down 146 towards baytown, TX from dayton, TX I heard a loud "thud". Immediately followed by a loss of a/c, power, and steering. I pulled onto the shoulder immediately and popped the hood. I saw the harmonic balance lying on the splash guard and a belt lying beside it, as well as another belt loss but still hanging on the other pulleys. I got a friend to tow me back to my studio. I began searching online for why the bolt that holds the balance could just break. I found numerous reports of this problem, as well as law suits filled in other states for this very issue.

The bolt on the crankshaft pulley as well as the pin broke off causing the motor to stop and overheat dumping all the antifreeze and stopping all belts. My mother could have been injured while driving but it ended up being she was just blocking traffic thankfully and not on the highway. This seems to be a very common issue with hundreds if not thousands complaining about the crankshaft pulley bolt and pin. Kia says they won't do anything as it is out of warranty and I am not the original owner. This may have been fixed once before on the vehicle due to failure and I am very worried this may happen again with worse consequences. My mechanic was able to provide a temporary/permanent fix but we really dodged a bullet and it could have caused immediate catastrophic damage. I'm dissapointed with all of the serious complaints that kia still has not recalled it for 2002-2009 Sorento models.

Driving vehicle at about 45mph, engine started making a screeching noise and got louder when accelerating. There was a loud bang from engine area and immediately lost all power and ability to steer and brake. We were approaching a busy intersection and had to pull the emergency brake to avoid running a red light into oncoming traffic. Had vehicle towed to our dealership. The crankshaft pulley bolt snapped off and the belt and pulley fell off. The bolt did not break far enough into the engine block so repair was able to replace it. After this happened we learned of the safety concern with said vehicle and kia denies anything wrong with their Sorentos. There is a pending lawsuit against kia for this known problem. This is a very dangerous situation and we advised the dealer that we want to trade the vehicle as it poses a very serious safety problem. Kia should provide a major recall. Now getting a hard time from dealer. We are stuck in the middle and still owe a lot on this hazardous vehicle.

I am single old lady, late Jan. 2014 , driving back from orlando,FL. To my home<2 hrs away> on I-95 car slows down, all lights go on dashboard. Get home at 40 miles an hou. Next day go to tire plus, can not fix car, engine trouble. . Go to dealer bev smith kia, ft. Pierce, FL, I am a regular there,with car problemsell me can needs new lower engine, $7000 I almost faint, , car not safe, I left anyway, they would not exactly tell me what wrong with car. . . Coworker at walmart, tells me of mechanic,can fix it. . . Take it there, he tells me what really is wrong with car. . Screw that hold harmony part, had broken off, half of it was still stuck into lowere engine< by the way, this was a recall back 3 years ago, in which I had complyed with kia and they had replaced new harmony screw>. . . This honest mechanic, told me leave kia over the weekend, willput put screw softner on screw still in engine, see if it comes out. . . It did, they put new screw, give me all new belts, I paid $1,800 of my own money, . . I go ahead and drive to miami, fll< 2 hrs away> day latter I drive to orlando ,FL. < 3 hrs away>. . . In I 95. . . . Next day,try to get out of my driveway, same thing happened. . . Good mechanic comes over to my house, said same screw came off. . . He fixes it again, $1,500, . . . He tells me, get new car, do not keep this kia sorrento 2003, car has flaw, can not be fixed. . . . If keep it, just for around town drive, under 50 miles an hour, do not take turnpike or interstate highways. . . I contaced kia mototrs, bev smith kia, told them about recall screw replacement , tell me out of warranty, neither will really answer back. . . No money, no new car. . . . Kia motors is a crook,. . . Tell me car out of warranty, that what do I want with old car. . . Can not find any other prior complaints I made with car, since first year I bought it. . .

I bought a 2003 kia Sorento from my niece back in November 2013 for $2000 and not even two weeks into owning this vehicle, the crank shaft broke in half! the bolt broke off in half inside the crank shaft pulley and the other half of the bolt was inside the crank shaft case. To my understanding, this is the second time that the crank shaft needed repairing (my niece, husband who were the first and original owners to this kia Sorento had it break down on him on the freeway as well, had to get it towed to kia then paid them to fix it when they owned the vehicle) but this time, when this issue happened again while I owned the vehicle, the crank shaft failed in a greater and more costly condition then the first time the crank shaft failed on them. Which then caused engine failure, loss of power steering, loss of the charging system, loss of the cooling system and loss of control of the vehicle, everything shut down, vehicle wouldn't start up after that and it could have been a very dangerous situation as it happened while on the freeway and while my husband, my daughter and my granddaughter was in the vehicle traveling. It could have jeopardize their life's as well as other!.

I was driving along and my battery, brake lights came on. I lost power steering and brakes. I popped the hood and realized that I had lost 2-3 belts. I had it towed to a mechanic shop, national chain who said the harmonic balancer had fallen off. Upon inspection, the crankshaft bolt had broken. Many, many complaints about this problem online.

As I was leaving work, the crankshaft bolt broke,and the bottom/pulley came out and hit the road. Thank god I was still in the parking lot. I had it towed to a automotive shop to have it fixed it ,has $ 768. 45 plus 75. 00dollars to tow it. I got my 2003-sorento back on 06/20/2013 on 07/06/2013 I was going down the hwy about 55mph. And the crankshaft/bolt broke again after only having driven 1,674miles. I am a single mom of two ,living week to week and I can,t afford to fixe it again and it is our only car. If kia is not going to fix the crank/shaft bolt ( it is a dealer item only) and they keep breaking ,just look at all the repute incidents,over and over, then they need to be made to do a recall , I would like to know if their is a class action law suit on this matter.

Driving my 2003 kia Sorento in town when the brake, oil and check engine lights come on and lost my power steering. After almost hitting a couple cars got it to my in laws house to find that the crankshaft bolt had backed out of the harmonic balancer and caused all the belts to stop. Called my mechanic and he said it is a common thing for kia's. Told me to take the bolt out and inspect it to see if the threads are stretched if so to get a new bolt. After trying to get the bolt loose it will not budge. Now its on a trailer on its way to the mechanics house. Just paid my first payment on it last month. Bought it used because my wife liked the vehicle and had a thirty day warranty and wouldn't you know it 36 days after I purchased it something like this happens.

Crankshaft pulley bolt sheered off and then the pulley fell off busting the power steering pull completely off. Making me almost loose control and flying off the freeway at 60mph with my child with me, very scary. Car was still under warranty but because it was the bolt that broke the bolt was not covered by warranty work. Replaced all by manufacture on July 16th 2012. Costing $1,300. This last week on fathers day my husband was driving the car to get his daughter and the bolt sheered off again and it is less then 12 months since this happened but because the warranty is 12 months or 12,000 miles, we were 1,000 miles over and now the dealership says its our problem and now we have to buy a whole new engine this time. Our car was fixed by portland kia and now its at washington kia, washington kia is saying that portland did it incorrectly and they should make this right but portland kia is not taking any fault for over torqueing the bold with 130 pounds of a torque.

While driving my daughter to school, vehicle lost steering in a turn causing us to narrowly miss hitting a utility pole. Vehicle had to be towed to service garage where they confirmed that the crankshaft pulley bolt had become loose causing the harmonic balancer pulley to wobble, break and cause damage to all surrounding engine components. $1700. 00 repair did not work and issue recurred. After a second repair attempt, same issue occurred again this time with the crankshaft bolt having sheered off. Vehicle is a serious safety hazard, is not drivable at this time, and will this time cost minimally $3500. 00 for a replacement motor. . . . And potentially a life. It is imperative that the NHTSA mandate a recall on these vehicles as it is ludicrous to wait for a death or multiple deaths before acting on what I am well aware is a commonly reported and potentially deadly problem. A good part of "safety" occurs in being proactive. The absence of a recall on this is mind boggling. Nhtsa must act.

Driving to store and heard noise. Several warning lights came on and I had no power steering. Returned home and found crank pulley and broken crank pulley bolt laying in the skid plate.

While driving our 2003 kia Sorento we heard a loud clunk and bang. Pulled the vehicle over and found the crankshaft pulley laying at the bottom of the engine compartment. This is the second time this has happened. The first was in June of 2010 with 78,560 miles. The dealer replaced the broken bolt. (part number 23127 39801qqk) this is what caused the failure. When the bolt failed it caused the following additional damage, timing belt, sensor crank angle, blade sensing crank. The total bill came to 1197 for a bolt failing. The bolt failed again 14 months later on August 8th 2011. Same exact problem that occurred the first time. The car is currently in the shop and I'm fighting with the dealer now to repair it under warranty. I've done some research on this and this is becoming a growing issue with the Sorentos. If you own one have the bolt on inspected during every oil change. If the bolt seems loose have it checked out immediately. It could save you thousands.

My car broke down while driving. . . . . My mechanic advised me that the pulley broke off & I needed to take it to the dealer. . . The dealer advised, it will cost me almost $5000. . . I called kia corporate & with my VIN#, they found that it was recalled in 2007 & fixed it & can not be fixed again. . . . My question here is, if it was defective part & broke again, how can this be my fault? I have no car now to use, I can not afford to get it fixed, I still owe more than $5000 on the car. . . . The car is not worth $5000. . I tried to rent a car for a week to see what could be done, that will cost over $400. . . . I am desperate for your help!! thank you so much!!.

2003 kia Sorento. Consumer states several problems with vehicle the consumer stated on two occasions, the pin that held the crankshaft together broke loose. The crankshaft sensor located behind the timing belt failed.

Crankshaft pulley bolt failed. Brought to dealer for repair. Bolt was part of NHTSA recall. Dealer stated they needed to replace crankshaft as well. Dealer returned vehicle w/o replacing crankshaft. 15 months later the same bolt failed. Took to an independent repair shop, they explained the crankshaft needed to be replaced. Took back to the dealer, they replaced bolt and didn't replace crankshaft. On 9/13/10 the bolt failed again, independent repair shop, and a different dealer verified the need for crankshaft to be replace. Contacted kia of America, and casey kia with no sign of resolution.

The contact owns a 2003 kia Sorento. The contact stated that the vehicle was purchased in 2007. The previous owner had the crank shaft pulley bolt recall repair performed. While driving 35 mph the crank shaft pulley bolt snapped off. The vehicle was driven 1 mile to her destination and then towed to an authorized dealer. The dealer replaced the crank shaft pulley bolt in may 2010. The failure happened again on July 22, 2010. The vehicle was in the dealers possession when the complaint was filed. The contact was unable to provide a VIN. The failure mileage was 82,779. The current mileage was 84,000.

The contact owns a 2003 kia Sorento. The contact stated that the bolt crankshaft sensor bolt failed and caused the belts to fracture and the power steering to malfunction. The vehicle was taken to a local repair shop where it was repaired yet the failure recurred shortly after. The vehicle was not further repaired. The contact called the manufacturer who offered no assistance. The current mileage was approximately 106,000 and the failure mileage was approximately 78,000.

I have a 2003 kia Sorento. As I left the garage at my office around 6 p. M. Monday 11/16, the car began making a horrible squealing noise. It immediately lost power steering, several warning lights came on, and it felt like the parking brake was on (it wasn't). I managed to get out of the garage to a space on the street. I turned the car off. When I tried to start it again, it wouldn't start. I had it towed to a service station, which said the car had thrown its drive belts and that it needed a new crankshaft balancer pulley, crankshaft sprocket, crankshaft pulley bolt and crankshaft pulley washer to fix the underlying cause. I called kia customer service to see if there was a recall related to those parts. There was a recall in 2007 and my car was serviced at that time as ordered by kia. Kia said Tuesday that they would only consider paying for needed repairs if I had the car towed to a kia dealership. I had it towed to king kia in gaithersburg, MD. , at my expense. The service writer, wayne johnson, told me that the garage that had put my new timing belt on had left a bolt loose. He told me his mechanic put the three drive belts back on. He told me I needed a new battery (though the current battery was only 2 years old) because the current one wasn't holding a charge. I told him to put one on. He told me the car was running fine and ready to go. I assumed -- it now turns out, wrongly -- that the kia mechanic had tightened whatever bolt he found loose. I picked up the car Wednesday night and drove it straight home. When I started it yesterday morning to leave for work, I drove it about 1. 5 blocks and the steering locked up, the brake and battery warning lights came on, and it felt like the parking brake was on. This time the engine kept running. I brought it back home and called the kia garage back. Wayne now admits the mechanic never looked for an underlying cause. He simply put the old drive belts on and a new battery in. Today he says it needs a new crank pulley.

2003/04 kia Sorento crank shaft pulley bolt is failing. There was a notice sent by kia in July 2007 to notify the owners of the issue and to have it fixed. The replacement bolts are failing. When the replacement bolts fail it is causing the vehicle to stop no matter what speed the driver is traveling and the steering is locking up. The manufacturer will not address this. This is a an extreme safety issue. Some owners have reported this part failing up to 4 times in less then 24 months. The first incident was June 27, 2007 and the second incident was 8/27/2009.

I purchased car from orginal owner about 4 years ago with around 47k miles. Within a month or two the engine light came on. After numerous visits over the course of the last 4 years to the dealership, comments on the work orders that they could not figure out the problem, replacing the timing belts, plugs, wires and coils I am told that the 4th cylinder is bad and based upon the issue I am looking at between $2800. 00 to $4,000 to fix. If its the top end the lesser of the two numbers and if its the bottom end I was told that I should consider wether or not I want to sink $4,000 into the car at this point. Whats more disturbing is when researching the issue on various websites I come to find out the most reoccuring problem is the crankshaft bolt coming out and causing serious damage and a very dangerous situation for the driver. The response by kia seems to be consistent and now knowing that they do not stand behind their warranties, issue recalls(crankshaft bolt 2007) and still expect their customers to pay for the repairs I can confidently say I will never purchase a kia product again. The car currently has 67,00 miles on it and I am intrigued by the comments and requests for a class action lawsuit against kia. I am hopping that a enough people have the desire to follow through and if needed I would support.

Second occurrence in less than 900 miles, third occurrence overall, of the crankshaft pulley bolt coming loose. Lose of power steering occurs when belts come loose.

The contact owns a 2003 kia Sorento. While driving 40 mph, the contact noticed that the front end of the vehicle began to vibrate. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the crank shaft pulley bolt was replaced. The failure continued. The failure mileage was 83,000 and the current mileage was 107,000.

While driving my 2003 kia Sorento on August 14, 2007, the engine began to make noises, loose power and slow down rapidly. Two belts popped completely off and the car lost all its power and shut down completely. I towed the car to the kia dealer at arbor place in douglasville, georgia for repairs. The dealer informed me that the crankshaft bolt was broken and did damage the crankshaft pulley and sprocket. The dealer made the repairs but after driving the car a few days later on August 22, 2007 it began loosing power again. I turned off the vehicle for approximately 10 minutes and tried to start it up again but it would not start at all. I again towed it to the kia dealership at arbor place. In short, they said that the car was dumping gasoline into the cylinders and that when they test drove it, the car looses gasoline rapidly. The car clearly has major manufacturer defects that should be fixed by kia at no cost to me.

Last Feb. The coolant reservoir cracked, lost all coolant. Towed to dealer. They fixed it and told me that I needed a new belt. I didn't want anything more to happen as I take my 90 year old mom around, they replaced one belt for $120. Never ran right after that, with screeching noises and no more a/c. Today, just as I was driving onto the highway-I started losing my steering and I immediately pulled over off the ramp, then it stalled as I was pulling over. I have read about this happening to a lot of people and was just waiting for it to happen. Well it did and thank god I wasn't going 70 on the highway yet. It has been towed to dealer and they said it was the bolt on the drive shaft that broke. Then he said that since I'm only 8000 miles away from 60k, then I should just do the timing belt service now because if I don't and it goes, then my engine will blow. So I guess this is what I have to wait to happen next and I'm sure it will. Thousands of people can't be wrong. Don't buy a kia!!!!!!!!!!!!!.

I was dropping off someone at work when the car made a thump and all the dash warning lights came on. I drove it home about two miles away, and took it to a automobile service center the next day. They told me that the crankshaft pulley was ready to fall off. The next day I had it towed from the service center to the dealer. The dealer said the same thing as the service center, and that it was under warranty. Also, it a needed a 60000 mile service for which I paid extra. When I went to pick the car 5 days later the car was making a belt noise, it was slow in starting, the dash light wouldn't come on, and the airbag light was on. When I took it back to the dealer, they tightened the belts and checked the other problems at a cost of $150, and that these other problems were not under warranty, and would cost $1400 to fix them. I have never had a problem with this car until the crankshaft pulley failed, and could not see why if a warranty failure caused something else to fail, why wasn't it fixed under warranty? also, the person who worked on the CA rcomplained about the oil pan with the sealer that was used to seal the engine.

Crankshsft pulley bolt broke on 2003 kia Sorento v6 model. This caused loss of power steering in vehicle.

As I was driving down the freeway, the engine stalled and all lights on the dash came on. I was able to pull to safety (just by sheer luck) and called kia 1-800 for towing service. The vehicle was towed to an authorized dealership. I was initially told that the timing belt was malfunctioning. Supposedly the analyzer showed that there were "multiple misfires. I was asked if the car was missing prior to the stall. I told them it ran as smooth as silk. I authorized them to replace the timing belt despite the fact that it had been replaced as part of scheduled maintenance two months earlier. The dealership then called and told me they had "good news and bad news". The timing belt was repaired but it appeared the head was blown and that kia refused to pay for repairs because the overflow bottle was cracked. They stated that the head blew because the engine overheated and was caused by my negligence. The gauges never indicated that the car overheated. They are unable to tell me how much the repairs will cost because there may be further damage once they tear it down. The estimate is between $2500 and "wore case scenario" $4700 I am furious. The car is not yet four years old and still has 36,000 miles left on the warranty.

"the battery and brake lights were on the dashboard. Also, the vehicle lost power steering. Opened the hood and the engine area and found the alternator belt fell off its pulley. The power steering belt ran off the alternator belt. This was why the vehicle had no power steering. Checked the crank shaft pulley, and found the crank shaft pulley had play, and the crankshaft bolt backed out of place. Kia has a pit stop highlight , stating that the crank shaft bolt backed out of place due to improper torque settings on the crank shaft bolt. Highlight kt2006042501. Removed the radiator to gain access to the crank shaft pulley. Removed the crank shaft pulley and inspected. Found the crank shaft sprocket pin sheared off due to the crank shaft pulley backing out place. The crankshaft sprocket holds the pulley in place. The crank shaft pulley, sprocket, and bolt will have to be replaced. Removed the timing belt and to replace the sprocket. Installed everything back in place and started the vehicle. Oil was now leaking from behind the timing cover. Removed all parts again to gain access to the timing belt. Found oil was leaking from behind the timing sprocket. Removed the sprocket, and found the crank shaft rubber seal had signs of wear and was slightly bent. Replaced the crank shaft rubber seal, and reinstalled sprocket and timing belt. Started vehicle, and no signs of leaks were noticed. Road tested vehicle , and vehicle drove properly. The owner complained and questioned the result of the loss of power steering due to the improper torque setting on the crank shaft bolt as suggested by the narrative of the mechanic's report and as stated above. If it was so does the owner have remedy in contacting kia or the dealership )for possible reimbursement for the parts and labor associated with this part of mechanical performance.