general problems of the 2008 Kia Motor Sorento - part 2

My 2008 kia Sorento lx loses power & will not accelerate to 60mph. I fear driving my vehicle because I was almost rear ended on 2 separate occasions by an 18-wheeler diesel due to the fact the power is lost upon acceleration attempts. In addition to the loss of power, the check engine & esc off lights stay illuminated. Like many of the other complaints, I have tried turning my engine off & waiting 10 minutes before restarting the engine to see if that clears the status of the lights but had limited success. The vehicle has been taken to the dealership at least 3 times, while under warranty, for resolution. The dealership has advised that certain sensors have been replaced as well as the gas pedal but yet either has resolved the issue. The dealership even wanted to charge me $2800 for one trip & $1800 on the next. This was totally unacceptable & corporate was contacted immediately. I am currently waiting on a response from them. The brakes on this vehicle as well have been an issue & are another reason for why I fear for the safety of me & my passengers when this vehicle is driven.

I have a 2008 kia Sorento with just over 34,000 miles on it and am on my second experience with the esc off problem. The first time was July 2010, car was taken to a dealership and they replaced the sensor and car worked fine until this past Monday. I started my car to warm it up and after 10 minutes I returned to the car to leave and noticed that the esc off light was on as well as the check engine light. As previous experience has shown me, the esc off light is dangerous as the car loses power. I turned the car off, then on, but the lights were still on. I got a ride to work that day, but my dad went over to look at the car. The esc off light went off for him and so did the check engine, he drove it around with no problem. Now this morning I started it to warm it up, no lights came on. I got in to leave and when I reached the end of my road at the stop sign, both lights came on again. I turned the car off, then on and the esc off went off, but the check engine is still on. This problem will still happen every now and then. This problem has happend more than a dozen times and it dosn't matter what speed I'm driving it will happen when driving slow or fast. Loss of power is dangerous when there is nowhere to pull over. I have been on several websited where others have had the same problem. I have also been told that I need to have the accelerator sensor replaced, not the esc sensor. In July 2010 the esc sensor was replaced and the problem occured again the following Jan. 2011.

Esc off light comes on, sudden loss of acceleration, head lights constantly needing to be changed. Middle seat belt in back malfunctions by not unlocking at times.

Driving 75 mph on highway the esc off light luminated and check engine light came on. Car lost acceleration and power (went from 75 mph to 10 mph instantly on hwy). Kia replaced the tps sensor and updated ecm module. One year later same event happened repeatedly. Dealer will not fix even with tech bulletin. Tried to contact Kia Motors with no return response. At the current time the vehicle will not accelerate. Fastest it will go is 45mph even with acceleration pedal pushed all the way down. When you try to pull out or accelerate the vechicle looses power. Randomly the check engine and "esc off" light will go off and car will accelerate but once over 65mph will lose all power has almosted caused several wrecks that would have caused an accident from behind. The lack of power is dangerous but not as dangerous as the vehicle losing power on the highway or while trying to pull out from a complete stop. Vehicle has lost power in intersection nearly causing side wreck. Searched on internet and tps seems to be common problem.

We have a 2008 Sorento, purchased in March 2009 (new). Approximately a year and a half ago, only approx 15,000miles, we had our first incident that the esc off light and check engine light illuminated on the dash, at the same time, power was significantly decreased to the engine. Thankfully, I was driving in my neighborhood and not on the highway. I turned the car off and back on and the esc off light was now off, but the check engine light remained on for the rest of the day. We didn't think much of it until it happened again, about 2-3 weeks later. This time we took it to the service department. They insisted that they didn't know what caused it and that there was no record in the "computer" of the check engine light being on. We were basically dismissed because they could not even tell that it happened. The third time it happened I was on my way to work, turning onto the entrance ramp of I-95, I lost power and could not accelerate to merge onto the highway. I was furious and frightened of the possible danger of the situation, and called to make a service appointment, this was the 2nd time, which by the time we got there everything was back to "normal" and no record in the computer. I had printed out research for my husband to take with him to show them that other people have had this problem and that the tcm was replaced, however they dismissed him and did something else. It was fine for a while, then happened again (approx Dec. 2010) when my husband was driving down I-95, we lost power while going 65 mph and the esc and check engine light on. This time, my dad (who used to be a service manager) was available and went to the dealership and had a stern conversation with the service manager expressing his concern for our safety. They supposedly fixed the problem, I'm not sure what they did, and it has been fine for the past 6 months, until the past 2 weeks, the same problem has occurred twice. We also had the passenger airbag off when I am sitting in the seat as well.

Bought the vehicle brand new and noticed you have to depress the brake pedal all the way down in order for the vehicle to slow down and stop. Spoke to the dealership and they said all kia Sorento models are like this, you have to press hard down on the brake pedal for vehicle to slow down and finally stop and it takes a while for it to respond. Having owned several vehicles and driving for 15 years, I knew something was wrong with the vehicle braking system but I just dealt with it accepting the answer that kia Sorento brakes were not going to be as good as other brand brakes (Honda, Toyota, Mazda). I took the vehicle in for regular maintenance and always asked the engineers if they could do something about the brakes and how long it takes to brake (braking distance). I felt unsafe driving this vehicle and ultimately sold after replace brakes and shoe pads. The passenger airbag light was also faulty when an adult would be sitting there and it was not working. There was also a check engine light that would randomly come on as well as the tpms (tire pressure monitoring system). I took it to the mechanics and kia dealership and they would just turn off the lights but couldn't explain a reason for these turning on as the vehicle tires and engine were ok. I cannot understand why the braking system was allowed to pass on this vehicle when it was not able to stop at highway speeds in a acceptable time. I hope kia issues a recall on 2008 kia Sorento lx models to replace or fix the braking issues because it is very dangerous to be driving on the road and not being able to brake properly.

My 2008 kia Sorento's throttle accelerator sensor has gone out for the second time in a year. I looked this issue up online, since this is the second time, and found extensive complaints about the same problem. When it goes out the electronic stability control system quits functioning also. My car has less than 20,000 miles on it. It has a loss of power and stability control when this happens. The dealership knew exactly what had happened and ask me to bring it in. This should not happen repeatedly.