general problems of the 2004 Kia Motor Sorento

Took my car in for nys inspection and was alerted to an issue with my rear suspension. The rear cross member is completed rotted out and the upper trailing arm have become separated from the cross member due to rust and corrosion. This is a 2004 kia Sorento ex that I purchased new and now has 103,000 miles. This corrosion is an extremely hazardous situation and the vehicle cannot be repaired. Needless to say it cannot be driven.

Was driving wife to work , stopped at light when light turned green I pushed the gas pedal and I heard a bang so loud I thought someone hit us from behind. I drove car home and looked under it and I couldn't believe it ! the rust on the rear end brackets and the two bars connected to them were totally rusted through and hanging off. I went to the kia dealer where I originally bought the car and asked them about it they said they never heard of that problem. I told them there are hundreds of complaints on the internet about it ,they told me don't believe everything you see on the internet. Then they said that it's not a kia problem it's a road salt problem. I told them nothing else under the car was rusted that bad , and I believe it's a design problem. They said there is nothing they can do, so now I have a car with only 83,000 miles on it that is too dangerous to drive. This problem had to have started way way before 83,000 miles to have gotten this bad.

My daughter took my car a 2004 kia Sorento in for a nysi and the shop dead lined the car and made me flatbed it home due to the fact that the rear end was falling out due to excessive rot on the brackets and they deemed the car unsafe to drive. The women that runs the shop told my daughter and son that this isn't the first time that she has seen this on a kia. In fact its a prevalent issue! upon coming home I did some research on the internet and found that this is a major issue that the federal government should be looking into ordering kia to do a recall,my daughter could have been killed driving this vehicle. I also saw on the internet that in the uk kia had taken care of this issue with consumers. I would like consideration in having kia repair this car free or purchace the vehicle back at blue book pricing. This is an extremely dangerous issue that could have killed my daughter or anyone else on the road where my daughter was driving the kia Sorento.

The rear axle is falling apart and it's rusted where I can't even weld a bracket for the rear suspension it's so rusted that I was told by a mechanic that the rear axle can actually fall off the vehicle I would have to replace the entire rear axle so I can put a bracket or it will come with a bracket it will cost me $4000 and I think a kia should be responsible because the whole entire car underneath it rusted bucket full of rust.

The contact owns a 2004 kia Sorento. While driving approximately 50 mph, the rear of the vehicle shook violently. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who noticed that the crossmember bars were corroded through and were not able to be repaired. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer and manufacturer were not contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 150,000. The VIN was not available.

Purchased used, was driving to grandson's ball game, when car started making funny noise and acted as the the rear end was going to fall out, we pulled over in grocery store parking lot, got out and looked, could not see anything, had daughter follow us home, just in case, took it to friend who noticed the rear bracket arms are completely rusted out , looks like it is what holds the rear end in place. I'm not sure what to do, I paid over $5000 used and I can't just park it, I think kia should be responsible for this mishap, it is not like it can just be fixed, it needs replaced, so I'm thinking it would be a major job, I've read many many other forums after finding this out about mine and researching, I"m sure this could potentially be a serious or even life threatening problem, I'm not sure I would want to sell it to someone else, if it is dangerous, I would really like to know the seriousness of this problem, is this a minor or major problem, is there more holding that rear end in place then just those rusted out arms or brackets? would you want your daughter driving this?, I don't know if the previous owner was aware of not, if so we were not notified, I would hate to think I could be driving down the road with myself and grandbabies and something horrible happen. Please help, I"m really concerned about this, especially after all the trouble with the crankshaft bolt I" reading about. I'm scared to death to drive this thing, if it had never went up on a rack we would be none the wiser and would still be driving daily just as if we did not know, but now that I know, I don't know what to do. . This is a real safety issue, there is to much nonsense car dealers get away with anyway for us consumers to worry about our lives or someone else's while driving. Will the rear end fall out? is it safe to drive? you tell me? would you drive it?.

This is a follow up to NHTSA id #10852665. I contacted manufacturer regarding the rusted frame. Suggested towing to dealer for diagnosis. Towed to dealer, who called saying it was bad and to call kia back. Called kia and a case was opened #k3156514. Was told I would hear back by Wednesday the 6th of April have not received any return calls, left 2 voicemails car is still at dealer, its been 8 days and no info. . Kia needs to step up and recall these vehicles before someone gets killed! this complaint starts at 2003 and so far have read up to 2005 for thi issue. Europe recalled it but not here? mileage was 92000 not 82000.

Mechanic at a gas station told my mil she needed a new rear axle. When I checked the axle I found the top left stabilizer bracket was badly rusted. I took the car to the local kia dealer to get a recall repair. This should never happen to a car with only 60k miles. The dealer has not completed the estimate. The car is not drive-able. There should be a recall.

On Monday, August 10th, 2015 I was driving my 2004 kia Sorento lx and heard a loud bang and then the vehicle began to fishtail. I was traveling at a low speed of around 35 mph. I immediately slowed down and managed to drive the vehicle to a nearby garage. At the garage the vehicle was placed on the lift and it was identified that the drivers side frame rail had completely broken in half and was severely corroded. The passenger side was also severely corroded but not broken all the way through. The cross-member above the rear axle is almost completely gone. I now have an 11 year old vehicle which should have a retail value of around $5k which is now completely worthless. I did some internet research and found I am not the only one experiencing this severe corrosion problem with this year and model kia. I am surprised there have been no safety recalls for this problem. Had my incident happened at highway speeds the story may be a lot different.

Major rust problem with frame and suspension kia Sorento purchased March 30 2004 2 months past the warranty 85392 miles having just driven on the highway 65mph vehicle was entering school parkinglot, at the enterance vehicle went over speed bump at this point there was a loud bang and the vehicle started shaking and squeeling. Upon inspection the passenger side rear stabelizer-traction bar broke completely off the frame rail just forward of the wheel. This causes the rear axel to move freely forward and back. Furthe inspection by kia dealership shoed more components above the rear axel broken free. I filed a good will complaint with kia who responded with a big no regardin any help. Fortunatly this breakdown happened in a parking lot and no injuries happened but if this had happened on the highway it would have been a major accident with posible injuries or death if the vehicle rolled over . This was very good low maintenance low milage vehicle and we were hoping for a few more years of usage, now we are disapointed with kia that no notices of major rust issues were made avalable. Now what we have is a car that worthless and dosnt live up to the waranty limits.

Was driving vehicle when frame broke and almost crashed it found out from a body shop that the frame had corroded and broke and we owe money on this piece of junk and the kia corporation has never heard of this happening.

Rusted brackets recalled in europe, refused by kia to replace even tho they were rusted under warranty, pose a dangerous safety risk to unsuspecting owners. The entire bracket holding the differential rusted through creating a safety hazard. Presented with a small squeak in rear. I asked kia to send people letters warning and they would not address the request. How kia is getting away with severe rust, causing safety hazards in all vehicles, is beyond me. I know they are less expensive, is it worth it? can someone please address the issue and at least let the public know it is happening before someone gets severely injured or god forbid dies. There are thousands still on the road. I paid for their diagnostic worthlessness to make sure it was documented.

Brought vehicle to dealer for oil/filter change at 53,000 miles. Dealer found one of the two brackets on top of rear end was completely rusted and broken off and the other bracket was severely rusted. Dealer would not allow me to drive vehicle and is not repairable. There are no new replacement rear ends for vehicle and the brackets are not available as a replacement part. I noticed other very similar complaints on your site: NHTSA id #'s - 10452414, 10439449, 10427559, and 10403443. There may be other id's that have been retired (microfilm, etc. ). As such, the vehicle is a total loss. Don't know why NHTSA hasn't issued a recall.

The contact owns a 2004 kia Sorento. The contact stated that the vehicle was serviced by the dealer when the dealer advised that the rear housing linkage was corroded. The manufacturer was contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 107,000 and the current mileage was 107,500.

Summary: update to below problem I bought my Sorento in 2004, new. I replaced the coolant reservoir at 61000 miles due to overheating, replaced the low beam headlight bulbs on 4 occasions, tail lights on 2 occasions. My vehicle, 5 speed manual transmission, started to have a roaring noise approx. 6 months ago and the u-joints were replaced. It still roars. It quit running on 2-16-12 while I was driving, but restarted. It finally quit again and would not restart on 2-17-12. Check engine light indicate a fuel pressure sensor problem, but mechanic says this should not cause the problem I presently have. It has been in the shop since 2-18-12. The mechanic said it started for him. I insisted he let it run for a while and see what happens. Sure enough, it quit. Kia mechanic told me it may be a crank or cam sensor issue. Other problems--front dome light off and on at will, rear one works, clock on and off at will, vehicle hums loudly when driving for a while. It has been a reliable vehicle for the most part, but when there is an issue, it is hard to detect. Above work was completed at a cost of 1126,00. But now crankshaft bolt broke while driving costing damage to engine heads. Vehicle went back into shop and is still waiting repairs. Kia owes it customers better service and must pay repair cost and take responsibility for the faulty crankshaft bolts they provide to the mechanics .

The contact owns a 2004 kia Sorento. The contact stated when the accelerator pedal was engaged the rear end rocked back and forth. The vehicle was taken to a private mechanic where the mechanic confirmed that the hangers on the rear end were corroded. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 90,000 and the current mileage was 101,000.

Consumer felt vehicle was unsafe on washboard type roads in certain type weather conditions. While driving over rough road the vehicle ride was very bumpy and caused physical pain to the occupants. The consumer indicated that the manufacturer was aware of the vehicle's suspension problem. The consumer request that the manufacturer repurchase the vehicle.