Two problems related to engine failure have been reported for the 2004 Kia Motor Sorento. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2004 Kia Motor Sorento based on all problems reported for the 2004 Sorento.
While in a fast-food drive-thru line, my car shut down. I immediately tried to restart the car and after several attempts, it tried to turn-over, but it didn't start. I didn't want to flood the engine, so I waited a few minutes. When I tried again, it started right up and I headed straight home thinking I must have some water in my gas because no warning lights came on. After talking with my husband, he agreed with my assessment and put some dry gas in the tank. I drove the next day, Monday, June 23rd, with no problems, but Tuesday, the car shut down again. It took a longer time to restart and then finally I couldn't restart it and had to get it towed to our mechanic who told us that the engine needed to be replaced. He assured us that there was nothing we could have done to prevent this from happening - according to our car mechanic, the cam sensor was actually burnt which led to a catastrophic engine failure.
No problems before hand to indicate there was a problem until complete power loss with engine failure, within a 50 second span of driving on interstate. This was the only failure , as stated, with this car. Nothing could be done. The coolant reservoir tank was faulty on this model . Informed of this from the dealership and local corporate rep. , after the fact. I was never informed of this faulty part at any time. Even when car serviced. This was a 3 year known faulty part that manufacturer knew about. Car was new when bought. Had a engine warranty of 10/100,000. I only had 5 years and 77,000 on car. Car corporation refuses to honor or deal with replacing engine. Was told the first week twice it would be covered. Local corp. Rep. Then said no to warranty coverage. I have since pay for a new engine out of my own pocket.