Transmission Solenoid problems of the 2011 Kia Motor Sorento

The contact owns a 2011 kia Sorento. While the vehicle was parked, it rolled away and crashed into two headstones. A police report was not filed and there were no injuries reported. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the shift interlock solenoid failed. The vehicle was unable to be repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 72,000.

Attempted to park car while waiting for a relative to get off work. Car would not shift to reverse or park- no further than neutral. Was able to put car in neutral and brake to stop car. After dropping relative off at home (had to stop car in same manner as above), had to stop in a near empty parking lot, as I still was unable to put the vehicle in reverse or park. Contacted kia dealership by phone and was told by representative to pump the break several times in order to shift the car to neutral/park. Did not work. Was told by rep that the braking "solenoid" ? (spelling?) has malfunctioned and that I should use something like a small screwdriver to push down a button in a small box at the top right of the shifter. Further stated that this would release the break so that the car could be put in park. Was told that car would now be unable to be taken out of park unless the same process was repeated. I've owned this vehicle just over 3 months. Certified per-owed. Less than 34000 miles. Will attempt to take to dealership for repair. Unaware if service center will repair on Saturday. This is the second time this has happened, but it was quickly remedied when I cut the car off and turned it back on while depressing the brake. Thought it was a fluke until today. Should have kept my 2006. This is my 3rd kia. 1st vehicle with an issue like this.

While coming to a stop, the vehicle down-shifted hard and the engine started to sputter like it was going to cut off. Took to dealer and they found p0748- pressure control solenoid "a" electrical fault. They performed a reprogram of tsm per TSB# tra038. Drove off lot and it shifted hard three times on way home. Dealer said it would take 100 miles for the computer to re-learn my driving for best fuel mileage. Drove to work (shifted hard 5 times) and drove to run errands. While on errands the vehicle shifted down hard and engine sputtered while slowing down in traffic. Then, when releasing the brake and pressing the accelerator, the vehicle rpm/ tach went up but the vehicle wouldn't go. After stepping back on the brake and waiting 2-3 seconds I tried to move again and it did. I took the car back to dealer directly and while stopping to turn into dealer it shifted hard, engine sputtered and it again would not move ( only engine rpm's turned up). It did finally move and I was able to pull into the parking lot. Now the manufacturer is replacing the transmission because to their admission they do not know what is wrong with the vehicle. Nearly stranded on a five lane 35 mph road could be physically dangerous but a highway could be fatal. An evasive maneuver with this vehicle, requiring stopping and starting quickly is not an option if you can't drive during normal conditions stopping and starting.

The contact owns a 2011 kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving approximately 70 mph with the cruise control activated she heard a loud noise underneath the drivers seat. The vehicle then shuttered, stalled and wouldn't accelerate. The driver was able to keep driving, but couldn't accelerate over 20 mph. The vehicle was inspected by a dealer who informed the contact that the pressure control solenoid valve failed and that they needed to replace the transmission. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 3,500. The consumer stated the vehicle has been in the shop two more times since filing the complaint. The consumer stated there was a strange noise coming from the vehicle. The dealer was claiming there were different problems with the vehicle, which was causing the noise. The consumer stated the doors would not lock and unlock and also the dome light wasn't working. The dealer found the door locks were disabled and the dome light connector was not connected. Updated 03/30/11.