2003 Kia Sorento: sudden loss of power

Filed Jul 31, 2016 · Engine · 88,025 miles · NY

While under motion on highway at 65+ MPH, lost power steering due to crank shaft bolt and pulley failure, resulting in complete loss of accessory functions.

Filed Feb 3, 2016 · Engine · 173,164 miles · RI

While driving on route 495 north in massachusetts between exits 7 and 8, my kia sorento lost power to the engine to the point I had to stop in the breakdown lane. No warning of prior smell or power loss had occurred prior to the incident. Towed to two different service stations and both informed me that the engine failed and lost compression on more than one cylinders. Very dangerous situation to be on the highway and losing power.

Filed Dec 17, 2015 · Brakes, Engine · 114,283 miles · IN

Crankshaft bolt backed out lost power steering brakes,kia is aware of this problem from 2002 to 2009 many reports have been filed,its the manufacturing of the bolt which is to small,they are not standing by this defect,there is no permenant fix for this and kia isn't warning anyone of this problem which could lead into a fatile accident with injuries and death.going at a high rate of speed there would be no control even at slow there is no easy turning the wheel.now im stuck with this problem and a temp fix wont fix it,so now I have no vehicle or anyway to get one,no way to work,no money to temp fix it,this is unjust and this vehicle should have never passed specs to be on the road.kia should step up and honor there products,they are deceiving buyers and putting there life in danger and u don't know it till it happens,I didn't...I was taking my daughter to school I am thankful I wasn't on the highway possible resulting in my familys life or someone else on the road,with no control all because of there negligence not caring for peoples lifes but for money,its sad .if u pull up crankshaft bolt for kia it will show you all the complaints and problems and this is a manufacturing problem and a dangerous defect,because you lose control of handiling of your vehicle.

Filed Nov 10, 2015 · Engine · 89,000 miles · KY

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 kia sorento. While driving approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle lost power. The brake light and battery light illuminated. The vehicle was able to restart after numerous attempts. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the crankshaft bolt needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 89,000.

Filed Jul 21, 2015 · Engine · 83,986 miles · CA

The bolt holding the harmonic balancer pulley to the crankshaft fell out and all the engine belts and pulleys stopped turning resulting in a loss of power steering, and making the vehicle very difficult to steer. This happened at a low speed and the driver was barely able to turn off the road without an accident. At a higher speed, in heavy traffic, or on mountain roads, the result would likely have been much worse. The car was towed to a kia dealer and repaired for approximately $1,500.00, replacing the failed parts with new parts and with a warranty of 12 months/10 thousand miles. Previously, at 70 thousand miles as preventive maintenance, the timing belt was replaced by a kia dealer. Kia motors, having known of many failures of the bolt, sprocket, and pulley, should have upgraded these parts years ago and issued a recall or at least a service bulletin to avoid such dangerous failures. After our experience, we did not trust this car and traded it in for a new car from hopefully a more responsible manufacturer.

Filed Jan 13, 2015 · Engine, Steering · 135,000 miles · WI

I have service records showing I had the crankshaft pulley replaced at 55,000 miles under warranty by kia. The crankshaft pulley broke off at 105,000 miles. I was able to have the vehicle repaired cost $1500 out of my pocket. On 1/11/2015 the crankshaft pulley broke off for a 3rd time, shearing the threads to the engine, and causing the engine to no longer work. All 3 events caused loss of power and able to steer the vehicle.

Filed Jan 3, 2015 · Engine · 155,000 miles · CO

Driving vehicle at about 45mph, engine started making a screeching noise and got louder when accelerating. There was a loud bang from engine area and immediately lost all power and ability to steer and brake. We were approaching a busy intersection and had to pull the emergency brake to avoid running a red light into oncoming traffic. Had vehicle towed to our dealership. The crankshaft pulley bolt snapped off and the belt and pulley fell off. The bolt did not break far enough into the engine block so repair was able to replace it. After this happened we learned of the safety concern with said vehicle and kia denies anything wrong with their sorentos. There is a pending lawsuit against kia for this known problem. This is a very dangerous situation and we advised the dealer that we want to trade the vehicle as it poses a very serious safety problem. Kia should provide a major recall. Now getting a hard time from dealer. We are stuck in the middle and still owe a lot on this hazardous vehicle.

Filed Aug 26, 2014 · Engine, Steering · 96,000 miles · HI

I bought a 2003 kia sorento from my niece back in november 2013 for $2000 and not even two weeks into owning this vehicle, the crank shaft broke in half! The bolt broke off in half inside the crank shaft pulley and the other half of the bolt was inside the crank shaft case. To my understanding, this is the second time that the crank shaft needed repairing (my niece, husband who were the first and original owners to this kia sorento had it break down on him on the freeway as well, had to get it towed to kia then paid them to fix it when they owned the vehicle) but this time, when this issue happened again while I owned the vehicle, the crank shaft failed in a greater and more costly condition then the first time the crank shaft failed on them. Which then caused engine failure, loss of power steering, loss of the charging system, loss of the cooling system and loss of control of the vehicle, everything shut down, vehicle wouldn't start up after that and it could have been a very dangerous situation as it happened while on the freeway and while my husband, my daughter and my granddaughter was in the vehicle traveling. It could have jeopardize their life's as well as other!

Filed Jan 13, 2014 · Electrical, Engine · 1,000 miles · FL

The car been a problem since first year , I called district manager for kia back in 2004,told him car was skipping beat, and shaking...he told me is was my imagination...the 2nd big problem car would just start losing power in I-95 or fl.turnpike and come to stand still, no matter how much I pressed the gas pedal, no go, almost got in several accidents in I-95,florida late at nite...spend $800 at kia of kendall in florida, in miami, told me was fuel problem...way back home that same day, car did same thing slowed down in rushing traffic in I-95 floirda,almost got deadly accident from car behind me, took it to kia of ft.pierce , kept car 1 week, mechanic could not figure out problem, ...I found on line,problem was at the fueling entrance,something dissolved and particles went to fueling injectors,clogging it and causing problems, told mechanics ,replaced this part ,car got fixed....last incident,major one, back 3 years ago took car to kia dealer, due to letter from kia corporation, major recall on screw that hold harmoney blancer to lower engine case...they replaced it...1/9/2004.driving back from orlando,fl,at nite, car just slows down, shakes, battery light and brake lite come one...miracle , 1 hour I drove car slowly back home...friday I take to shop,find out same recall ,replaced screw,rusted off ,sheared off, half of it still in engine,harmoney fell off,..miracle I did not ger major fire in car,late at nite,on i95..took it fri.to ft.pierce kia,mechanic said can not be repaired, need spend$79000on new engine...nothing was mentioned same screw ,recall, they replaced back 3 years ago...car has history of my complaints to corporate kia..nothing ever done.

Filed Nov 22, 2013 · Engine · 128,000 miles · FL

I was driving along and my battery, brake lights came on. I lost power steering and brakes. I popped the hood and realized that I had lost 2-3 belts. I had it towed to a mechanic shop, national chain who said the harmonic balancer had fallen off. Upon inspection, the crankshaft bolt had broken. Many, many complaints about this problem online.

Filed Sep 17, 2013 · Fuel system, Transmission · 26,000 miles · NY

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 kia sorento. While driving 70 MPH, the vehicle failed to accelerate. The contact moved the vehicle off the roadway and the engine rpms increased as the vehicle began to perform normally. The contact also stated that once the fuel tank was below 3/4 full, the engine would lose power and began to idle. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was inspected but was neither diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue but provided no assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 26,000.

Filed Sep 2, 2011 · Engine · 120,000 miles · CA

Crankshaft bolt was replaced after recall in 2007. Crankshaft sensor was replaced in april 2011 after malfunctioning and causing car to stall out at anytime, including while doing 65 on the freeway. While driving a few days back, sudden loss of power steering and brake and battery lights came on. Had car towed to dealership where we were told that the bolt, which had been replaced per the recall, had broken, but the warranty on the replaced bolt is only 1 year. Now repair on this will cost over $300 and new bolt will still only be warrantied for one year. So this same problem with this faulty part could continue, but the part is only under warranty for one year.