general problems of the 2005 Kia Motor Sorento

My vehicle was in motion on a highway driving 60 miles per hr to work (30 miles from home) in pouring rain when engine, brake and battery light came on. Thank god that I made it to work safely but then only to realize that power steering had locked up. Looked under the hood, power steering fluid and brake fluid fine but one belt had came off and the other belt just barely hanging on from the alternator and pulley. Thought pulley had locked up but took to a mechanic just 1/2 mile down from my job and he said that my problem is that the crankshaft bolt had broken off inside of the crankshaft. I go online and find that there were a lot more complaints of the same issue with my make and year as well as others. The previous recall by kia was only for 2003-2004 (certain models) not including mine but this seems to be a definite issue so the recall should be extended to other years and models such as mine. Thank god that I made it to work safely and now have to find another means to get around since this is my only transportation.

Driving on highway rte 24 when crankshaft pulley broke off causing engine and brake lights to come on. It was impossible to control and to steer the vehicle causing me to nearly get into an accident. Subsequently, my vehicle got towed from the highway to a mechanic shop who informed me that my 2005 kia Sorento's crankshaft pulley bolt broke off - therefore to buy an engine or junk it. Unfortunately, I owned this vehicle for only 1 year 3 months and with these problems. I don't have any money to replace it right now and I don't know what to do to get to work going forward.

In November of 2015, I was on my way home from work and just picking my one year old up from daycare, when I heard a loud screeching noise from a belt. My gauges went wild and I my power steering was in and out. By the time I hit the main highway to get home as I was exiting my power steering went completely out and the car could not be driven any further, so I had to coast to the side of the road. This was during rush hour traffic, I am soooo lucky that I hadn't quiet entered the highway yet. Had to get towed home. Got home and noticed the crankshaft bold was broken and the belts were thrown. We fixed it and now it has just done it again on July 1st as I was backing out of the driveway to go out of town. I didn't drive it because I knew the bolt was about to break because the harmonic balancer pulley was wobbling really bad, the air wouldn't work and the gauges started going crazy. Also the pulley's were struggling to spin. Is it going to take someone to loose their life before something is done about it?.

I purchased this 2005 kia Sorento and on my way home there was a knock before I lost my sterring and brakes. Luckily I slowed down when I heard the sound. I got the car home safelybeing only a half a mile away. Called the dealer I purchased the kia from and he came and got it to repair it. He bought the updated so call bolt that was suppose to fix the issue with the crank shaft bolt. Then I got the car back and had the gas tank leaking from the seams. He fix and replaced that. Just the other night on my way to work and I lost my sterring and brakes again. . I travel on main roads but there is a lot of amish here and thank god I wasn't going around any of there buggy and hurt those people or myself. . There is no fix what so ever for this issue and someone needs to make kia stand up and take responsibility for this faulty defect before a innocent child or woman or husband gets killed.

I was turning onto a street and heard a big clunk only to find out the bolt on the crankshaft broke off again on 10/29/15 as well as 7/30/13. The power steering went out & battery light came on. Lost power and everything after a big clunk! this happens all the time: there are a multitude of these same complaints: this engine was replaced in may 2010 and the harmonic balancer and pulley have been worked on twice since 2010. There is a defective bolt that was replaced with a new defective bolt. This is happening numerous times to many kia Sorento owners and they are left stranded. Kia knows about it and refuses to do anything! my car is sitting at country kia in charleston, SC because the extended- warranty will not cover this defective bolt and I can't pay $5000. 00 on a car that is now only worth $3000. 00. I had to stay in charleston, SC an extra 2 days at my expense $79. 00 /night, pay $75. 00 for the tow bill and an additional $55 or $65 for the kia dealership to check it out. I had to rent a car to come back to FL as I was stranded in charleston without transportation. I cannot afford the $5000. 00 for repairs and the $1500. 00 to pay it off just to get the title to send this to a junk yard. The mileage just turned to 107,000 or 108,000. This is the 4th time that there was an issue on this part of this car having to do with the same issues related to this defective bolt, harmonic balancer and pulley as a result of this defective bolt. (this is only on one car). You will see how many times this is occurring to many other owners of these kia Sorentos. . Read more...

The contact owns a 2005 kia Sorento. While driving approximately 60 mph, the crank pulley bolt fractured without warning. The failure disabled the steering wheel, which made it difficult to control the vehicle. The contact coasted the vehicle to a stop. A certified mechanic stated that the crank pulley bolt fractured and detached from the vehicle. The contact had the vehicle towed to the dealer for repairs. After the repair, the vehicle stalled without warning and lost all steering power. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the engine failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer informed the contact that the vehicle was no longer under warranty for repair. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000.

Driver side axle broke in June 2015 and July 9, 2015 passenger side axle cracked and passenger side hub assembly went bad. Making a rattling, metal grinding noise. When the Sorento was raised up the whole underneath is rusted out. Im lucky I didnt have a major accident. Should be recalled for safety issues.

At a stop light, I heard and felt a shudder throughout the vehicle. The brake and battery light came on immediately after the shudder. The engine continued to run normally. Proceeding through the intersection, I experienced the loss of power steering making the car very difficult to control. Managed to get the vehicle to a nearby parking lot where I called for a tow to the kia dealer. Dealer confirmed a sheared crank shaft bolt. Incident occurred on a busy state highway during rush hour. Speed limit is 45 mph on this stretch of road and very busy at rush hour. Had the vehicle been in motion at the time of the part failure there would have been an accident.

Tl-the contact own a 2005 kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 7 mph down an icy hill, the vehicle was shifted into 4-wheel drive but it did not engage. The driver loss control and crashed into another vehicle without warning. The driver's shoulder and left arm was injured but did not need medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the front pinion was broken. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 119,700. Sg.

First incident-on August 16, 2014 while on vacation and driving from virginia to chicago ill, the vehicle start making a rattling noise coming from the front of the vehicle and warning lights came on the dash (battery, brake) and the power steering went out making the vehicle very hard to maneuver, I immediately pulled over into a fast food parking lot to check the noise and found that the harmonic balancer was loose and belts were not turning, I had the vehicle towed to a mechanic after inspection I was informed that the crank shaft gear pin had broke off to the harmonic balancer. I purchase the parts (harmonic balancer, bolt and crank shaft gear) and had the mechanic repair the vehicle and drove back to virginia. Second incident-October 2014 while my wife was driving the vehicle, she encountered the same problems the warning lights, rattling in the front of vehicle, power steering locked unable to turn vehicle, I inspected the vehicle and saw that the harmonic balancer was loose and belts were not turning, the pin in the crank shaft gear has broken again, I had the vehicle towed to the kia dealership in richmond, and they stated that I needed a new motor. After investigating complaints about this vehicle on line I found out that this problem is well documented with this make and year vehicle. If I or my wife had been on the highway at the time of this fault it could have been catastrophic. I also found that their is a class action suit against Kia Motors addressing the exact same fault. (civil action no. 13-006 united states district court, district of new jersey) essentially, plaintiffs claimed their vehicles were designed with a “defective crankshaft pulley bold and balancer,” which could result in “breaking off the spring guide pin,” causing “catastrophic engine failure. ” this vehicle is unsafe, a recall is warranted and Kia Motors needs to correct the defect.

In September 2012, traveling at 35mph my kia came to a stop. At first glance it was determined the drive belts had unfastened and the cam shaft bolt was laying on the engine pan. After inspection at kia service shop the specialist identified that the cam shaft bolt had sheered off due to the defective part: cam shaft sprocket-c, part # 23120-35701 cost $60. 00. The final suggestion was to replace the bolt set, sprocket, crank angle sensor, damper pulley, auto tensioner and all drive belts a total of $2,000 repair cost. In 2014, the cost repair is now 4,000 to replace the engine because of the same exact issue but traveling over 40mpg causing more damage. The main cause of this defect derives from the small pin attached to the sprocket that turns the harmonic balancer and grinds the steel with the force of the engine into nothing. The result of this defect causes the harmonic balancer to come lose, sheering off the crank bolt first, then if traveling at low speed will follow with the repair above, however if at high speed will result in engine damage in the valves making it necessary to replace the engine at a cost of $4,000. You may refer to the following resources for more information: the kia Sorento engine defect class action lawsuit case is robinson el al v. Kia motors America inc. Case no. 13-cv00006 us district court of new jersey. . Read more...

I recently had to have the crank shaft sensor replaced on my 2005 kia Sorento. This morning, driving my young son to school, I lost the steering on my vehicle. Additionally, the engine light and brake light came on. As I understand it, this is an ongoing defective issue with kia's. This is a dangerous problem for the public as well as consumers.

I was driving from daughter bus stop after leaving the hospital and it just was shaking or felt funny then brake light and battery light came on and took to parking lot called mechanic told me crank shaft was broke reported to kia as well.

The contact owns a 2005 kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving approximately 45 mph, there was a sudden loss of steering power and the vehicle became difficult to maneuver. The vehicle was taken to a private mechanic where it was diagnosed that the crankshaft pulley needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure and current mileage was 90,000. The VIN was not available.

Kia Sorento 2005, similar crank bolt main pulley assembly break that many, many of the others have all been complaining about and unfortunately been experiencing. This is the third time I had this very same issue repaired for substantial dollars and now my mechanic stated there is not enough thread left into the crankshaft to fix and it needs a completely rebuild or engine replacement - which in all likelihood be less expensive. There should definitely be a recall for this - as so many have the same issue. Thank god my incidents were all at slow speed because this would easily cause a crash because you loose all power steering and control.

Driving approximately 55mph 22 Nov 2013, heard a thump from engine compartment, and lost all power to vehicle, ending up in a ditch. Engine stopped, no steering, no brakes. Dash lights illuminated. Vehicle would not re-start. Crank pulley bolt broke off. Over 5 hours to extract remainder of bolt to repair engine. $1359 in repairs. Now, 22 sept 2014, 10 months later, had same happen on highway at 70mph in heavy traffic. Thankful I was in a lane at the edge of the roadway. Current mileage slightly under 114,000. Yeah. 10 months and 13000 miles and another huge repair bill. No recall, kia claims no liability. Other issue: interior lighting turns itself off and on at whim. Headlights burn out every 45-90 days.

Second failure of crank shaft pulley bolt within 2 months of it being repaired. Dealer assured me it was fixed properly according to the manufacturers TSB. Bolt sheared off again and all belts came loose. 18 year old female driver, while slowing to turn corner lost power assist steering, incredibly lucky to be alive. Loud clunk. . . That was the harmonic balancer falling off the vehicle. Kia fails to acknowledge design flaw in this dangerous, dangerous vehicle!.

The power steering on our 2005 kia Sorento being driven by my 18 year old daughter failed. It was so fortunate that it occurred when she was decelerating to turn a corner, however it was incredibly hard to steer with the loss of power. She was lucky to be able to navigate out of traffic safely. Had aaa tow to the dealer who had sold us the car 2 months earlier. I had purchased an extended warranty for just this purpose. . . Never thinking that I would need to use it so soon. . The aaa driver said it looked as a belt had come off. When at the dealer, found that the crank pully bolt had sheared off resulting in no power steering, ac or charging system! bolt had broken off and harmonic balancer had dropped off the vehicle! after some net research I found a technical service bulletin{ #072 revised} for this same crankshaft bolt. Kia is well aware of this failing bolt and continues to put peoples lives at risk? this is a huge design flaw.

While driving my vehicle home I noticed pulsating in the steering wheel and the power steering went out, the vehicle became very hard to turn, after parking the vehicle and turning it off, I turned it back on and the power steering came back, this issue will be addressed with the dealership on Monday.

While traveling down the road in my 2005 kia Sorento my car lost steering. My brake light and battery light came on, I took it to the dealer where they told me crankshaft bolt had broke with half of it stuck in engine. Kia refuses to address the issue with some many people having it. It is a dangerous condition that causes you to lose steering while driving luckily I didn't crash, but some many others have. Kia must recall this crankshaft bolt issue, someone my get seriously hurt or killed!.

On Tuesday may 24, 2011 as I was about to make a turn in my 2005 kia Sorento the steering wheel locked and the brake light turned on. I was able to turn the steering wheel to the right slightly and drive diagonal to the sidewalk and park the vehicle. Upon towing the vehicle it was found that the bolt that holds the damper, controlling the steering had broken. I am currently researching how this bolt could have broken. My vehicle has 111,025 miles and I am the first owner. The vehicle is undriveable.

The contact owns a 2005 kia sorrento. The contact was attempting a turn while driving approximately 2 mph when the steering wheel abnormally locked. The contact was unable to turn the wheel and the vehicle was immediately shut off. The vehicle was then towed to an independent repair facility where she was informed that a bolt within the driveshaft had fractured and caused the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 64,000.

The contact owns a 2005 kia Sorento. The contact stated that when entering her vehicle she had a difficult time trying to turn the steering wheel. The vehicle was towed to a independent mechanic who informed the contact that the bolt on the crank shaft had fractured. The manufacturer was contacted and offered no assistance. The VIN was unknown. The vehicle has not been repaired. The failure mileage was 82,000.

The contact owns a 2005 kia Sorento. While driving at 15 mph, the contact noticed that the power steering suddenly stopped functioning. The vehicle was towed to an authorized dealership where the contact was informed that the crank shaft pulley bolt needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired at the time of the complaint. The current and failure mileages were approximately 72,000. Updated 07/29/10 the consumer also stated the vehicle lost steering. Updated 08/09/jb.

While returning from our vacation our kia started making at lot of noises in around the airconditioning heating system, the air coming from the vents didn't seem to be warm enough to defog the windows, then the next day when it was warmer it started making a rattling fan noise when the air was turned on. When the system was turned off it didn't make the noise anymore. We arrived home unloaded our gear and then went out again a while later. The fan noise started again and the warning light came on and the power steering didn't work, when the air was turned off everything resumed to normal. We arrived at our friend house and went inside. After several minutes we smelled something burning and went outside to see smoke coming from the engine area. We lifted the hood to investigate where we saw flames coming from the engine. We immediately extinguished the fire and had the vehicle towed the next day. Come to find out several days later that our vehicle was too badly burned to repair the engine. The engine had to be replaced due to a timing belt failure. If this is an ongoing problem it should be mandatory that they should be replaced by whomever owns the vehicle or the dealer if the car has been traded because the next owner would not know any of the previous repairs such was our case. As it stands now there are some interior electrical problems such as the lights an the electronic seats we are hoping for some kind of recall for this problem. There was also a problem with the fan running on after the car was turned off. This was still happening even after the engine had been replaced and we were told earlier that it was a sensor problem which still happened even after the sensor was replaced.

Intermittent hard steering as stated on technical service bulletin, Kia Motors, # kt2005022519, model: Sorento ex, produced before 10/06/04. May intermittently have variations in the level of power assist during driving and parking. Steering problems were related to dealer, alignment of front wheels was performed that required major rebuild due to defective parts. Did not solve problem. I became aware of this service bulletin recently while speaking with a service writer at new kia dealership. No action will be taken due to vehicle being out of warranty. This information was never made know to me since the vehicle was purchased new. This is a serious safety issue that should be addressed.