Front Suspension Control Arm problems of the 2005 Kia Motor Sorento

I brought my vehicle for a coolant leak. My mechanic asked that I come over to look at underneath the vehicle. The rear drivers side control arm was no longer attached to the rear axle. He explained that the upper control arm bracket welded to the rear axle on driver side rotted right through, causing the control arm to come off. I called kia and they won't do anything to help. This problem has been addressed in the uk and domestically for hyundia santa fe. So basicly I have a 2005 kia with 93,000 miles on it that is unsafe to drive due to a design defect. Both kia and dealer said they would do nothing.

This is a follow up to NHTSA id number's 10819147 &  10824199. After filing vsc  10824199, I was contacted by a kia America representative from California. She requested a copy of my original bill of sale, the vehicle registration and the repair estimate from the dealer to repair the repair upper control arm brackets. She did not request any other documentation or pictures. She said she would review the case and speal to the dealer and depending on the cost would either have the repair completed or purchase the car to be scrapped for kbv. I received a call today and was informed that the repair would cost at least $3,000 and because the vehicle was 10 years old and not in the repair program ( I assume that was being done in the uk) kia would offer me $1,500 for the car. I asked if the vehicle was safe to drive in it's present condition and was told I should contact the dealer. I told the representative that the dealer did not give me any warnings when the estimate was completed. I was also told that "at least I had gotten 10 years of use out of the vehicle". Seeing as there is still a repair program in effect in the united kingdom for this defect is the ntsb going to require kia yo make these repairs in the us?.

This is a follow up to NHTSA id numbers, 10819147, 10824199 and 10838525. In researching the crossmember corrosion may cause loose control arm in the kia Sorento's I found that there was a NHTSA campaign number: 13v354000 Hyundai motor company ( kia's parent company) for the exact same issue. Was there an investigation into the kia Sorento's at the time?.

I have an 05 kia Sorento lx. I took it to my auto repair to day to have a tire repair done. My mechanic ask me to come into the shop to see an issue once it was on the lift. The rear upper control arm bracket on the driver's side had completely rusted away and was detached from the rear axle housing. The bracket on the passenger's side was heavily rusted but had not yet broken. The repair suggested was to replace the entire rear axle and differential housing . I did some researched on the NHTSA site and the internet and found that this is a problem that has been reported several times and in fact was probably caused by how the bracket had been constructed with no drain holes. Iss the NHTSA or kia going to issue a recall? I saw in my research that this was done by kia in the united kingdom. The attached pictures show the damage and also a picture of the front suspension to show this is limited to the rear and not a total suspension issue.

This is a follow up to NHTSA id numbers, 10819147, 10824199,10838525 and 10838531. I further researched the crossmember corrosion may cause loose control arm in the kia Sorento's and found that in europe kia issued the attached service bulletin to attempt to correct this issue before the brackets rusted out. Based on kia Sorento vehicle sales in the us from 2002 to 2008 (the production range noted on the attached service bulletin) this issue could possibly affect up to approx. 266,000 vehicles.

I have an 05 kia Sorento lx. When I was driving I noticed that my car kept making a grinding sound when making a left, and then I also noticed that it was rattling a lot when hitting bumps and just driving down the road. I took the vehicle into my personal mechanic whom I've been using for years and trust to the highest, and he told me that the entire frame was rusted through, with multiple holes and it was unsafe to drive and the cost to repair is was extremely high. He told me to take it to kia to see if there were any recalls or anything they could do because a barely 10 year old car shouldn't be having this issue, and it's a safety issue. I took it to the kia dealership, they inspected the car, and upon their inspection they said, "frame is rusting and has many holes, is unsafe. Advise customer to drive at own risk since it could break at any time. Entire frame and rear end would need to be replaced. Found several areas where the fame has rotted through, and the rear axle is broken where the control arm attaches. Advise getting a new car". To me, this is a huge safety concern - and I've seen multiple complaints about this same issue. Kia isn't doing anything to help with the situation, and quoted me way more than the car is worth to fix it. I just bought this car 2 years ago used from a dealership, and if this is an issue now, then it was an issue when they sold me the time of purchase. They clearly said that the car was unsafe to drive, and yet they're going to let their customers risk their lives instead of trying to help them.

While examining the rear suspension prior to replacing the shocks I saw that the upper control arm brackets on the rear axle are badly rusted. The left is slightly worse. I do not live in a rust belt area. Western washington to be specific. There is no other rust or corrosion on this car. There is a design flaw that allows water to stay in the area above the axle and corrode the bracket. When the bracket breaks the rear axle is no longer held in place. The car will be very difficult to steer and the wheels could lock up. The addition of a weep hole and an anti-corrosion coating would have prevented this. There are reports here on NHTSA where these brackets have rotted away and failed causing loss of control of the vehicle. This is a known design flaw that is just now appearing on the older cars. There are a multitude of comments on the internet worldwide. There will eventually be more of these failures and there is a potential for fatal accidents from loss of vehicle control. In the uk kia has acknowledged the problem and has been repairing Sorentos for free since 2013. Kia USA needs to acknowledge this design flaw and issue a recall before people are killed.

Took my 2005 kia Sorento in for a state inspection mechanic pulls me in the shop and shows me the problem left rear upper control arm bracket is completely rotted off and the right side is not far behind. I am a welder fabricator by trade so I look at the axke housing and instantly see the issue the brackets where welded on with no drain holes there is basically a cup created by the bracket that is about 3 inchs deep thst holds every bit of water that gets thrown in there this is a manufactures design flaw brilliant engineers that never think about the real world this should be a recall OH the rest of the axle housing is barely rusty.

Brackets that hold the rear end upper control arms are completely rusted into two useless pieces. Only the lower control arms and side link or canard is holding the rear end in place, any torque applied could potentially twist the rear causing catastrophic damage, obviously the metal is bad and with no weep holes salt, water, etc. Hold in bracket. I thought the handling felt bad, and heard slight, ever so slight clunking, would never have suspected this until too late except I was checking brake pads and noticed the disconnected suspension, now must grind off old brackets, fabricate new ones and weld on after freeing up upper control arm bolts, not your normal mechanic work on a 6 year old car,,[xxx],,I fear what could happen to the unsuspecting normal person,,stay well clear of any Sorento's you see on the road, and by all means inform any owners of these to check their upper control arms brackets. This should be a factory recall. Why should we (I) have to repair or junk an otherwise good car. P. S. Any and all garages that inspect this car should be failing them and if there not they aren't looking at the suspension well enough, every one I checked, three so far are in variously ill shape, not complete failure but so close, to call them unsafe again [xxx] metal brackets, other pieces of metal close by look brand new, thanks, I feel better now, time to recall. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6). Updated 06/13/lj.