general problems of the 2004 Kia Motor Sorento

The contact owns a 2004 kia Sorento. While driving approximately 30 mph, the power steering and brakes suddenly malfunctioned. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the camshaft pulley was faulty and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer and the local dealer (quirk kia in brankly, MA) were notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 99,000.

I was driving down the road and all of a sudden my cars wouldn't turn the battery light came on and it was acting like it was dying. It happens a bout 5 miles from home and when I got it there I told my husband. He looked at it and told me my harmonic balancer was loose and it looked to have snapped the bolt. Now I cannot drive my vehicle until I can get the broken bolt out and get it fixed. I looked up what to do and noticed I am not the only person 28th this problem.

I was driving our 2004 kia Sorento with my 3 young children in the car. Driving down a city street at 45 mph the car began to jerk as all the lights flashed on the dashboard. I lost all power, but I was able to cruise to park next to a curb, however the vehicle would not restart. I had it towed to my mechanic. The mechanic found that the crankshaft sprocket, key shaft, damper pulley, and crank bolt all were damaged and needed to be replaced.

While I was driving out of my complex my the lights on the dash came on and it seemed as if I lost my brakes (which I costed to the side road as well as no steering. I had the vehicle towed and I was told that the pulley mounting bolt had broken off inside the crankshaft.

The contact owns a 2004 kia Sorento. The contact stated that the steering wheel seized and excessive forced was required. The failure occurred on several occasions. The dealer replaced the bolts. While driving at various speeds, the bolts fractured from the harmonic balancer. The vehicle was towed to the dealer who indicated that the crank shaft and engine might need to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 106,000.

Loss of power assisted steering due to loss of fluid from corroded steel lines between steering rack and steering directional control unit. This is the third incident of corroded steel lines on this vehicle. First was the brake lines then the fuel lines. Previous issues were also reported on this website.

Traveling a 45mph and crankshaft pulley broke off inside crankshaft sprocket. 3rd instance of same problem.

I was driving the car when I suddenly started hearing rattling noises from the engine. The power steering stopped working and the steering wheel would not turn. Thankfully, I was on a side street with no other traffic. If I had been in traffic or traveling at a higher speed, this would surely have caused a crash. My mechanic says that the crankshaft bolt is sheared off and must be drilled out to be replaced. Kia won't cover this expensive repair, says it is not covered by their warranty. After researching this issue, I see that kia is aware of a defect in the bolt and has issued service bulletins and discontinued the bolt, issuing a new part to replace it. There are already numerous complaints on this and other sites due to this issue, spanning several model years. To date, I have not seen a recall from kia. Dangerous defect and alarming lack of concern (not to mention customer service) from kia. I would never have bought this car if I had known the gamble I was taking with my family's safety. I hope others will not make the same mistake.

The contact owns a 2004 kia Sorento ex. The contact stated that while driving approximately 15 mph, there was an unexpected loss of power steering. The contact maneuvered the vehicle to a parking lot with difficult in turning the steering wheel. The vehicle was then towed to an independent mechanic who informed the crank shaft bolt fractured. The vehicle was in the process of being repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 71,000.

The contact owns a 2004 kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving at low speeds, steering became very difficult and the battery, check engine, and brake warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was found that the catalytic converter and the crank shaft bolt and pin needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 94,186 and the current mileage was approximately 120,000. The VIN was not available.

Traveling at 40mph crankshaft bolt broke off inside crankshaft sprocket causing harm balancer and belt to fall off. 2nd instance.

The crankshaft pulley bolt broke and messed up the steering, I was unable to steer the car. This has happened twice now and continues to be a problem as I'm reading the kia forums.

We have had 4 instances with the same issue in the fixing the pulley crank shaft. June 30, 08, (recall) October 6, 09, Aug 10, 10 and once again sept 18,12. This is the same issue that causes you to loose steering while driving with apparently no warning. I find this extremely troubling as we have a new driver learning with this car. We are lucky to report that there have been no accidents or deaths but I think it is a very dangerous situation that will soon happen. The dealer wagner kia of shrewsbury,MA feels that it is not an issue and is just from wear and tear. 4 times for the same problem? obviously kia has not fixed the problem correctly. It angers me that kia is not taking this seriously. We drive our children as well as other children in this car and could of had serious to fatal injuries. From this bolt shearing off it has also caused other major damage to the car that we have already had fixed.