2005 Kia Sorento: sudden loss of power

Filed Nov 24, 2018 · 3 miles · PA

Battery and brake light came on and lost power steering control, power steering belt came off and AC belt had to get towed home. When I went under the hood noticed the damper pulley was wobbly the bolt in the middle was still in place had this happen twice before issue was fixed and it happened again. Can't afford to take to a professional mechanic because I'm a single mother of 4 children and I need my car running. I was driving into a shopping plaza parking lot when it happened and as I turned in that's when this happened.

Filed Jul 22, 2016 · 88,000 miles · MA

Driving on highway when crankshaft pulley broke off causing belts to shred and come off. Lost all power steering and engine shut down!

Filed Nov 4, 2015 · Electrical, Engine · 107,000 miles · FL

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. Please read through the complaints on the following link: http://gotaclassaction.com/kia-named-in-class-action-over-first-generation-2002-2009-equipped-with-a-hyundai-manufactured-3-5l-24-valve-dohc-v6-engine/

Filed Jul 9, 2015 · Transmission · 50,254 miles · MA

Wife was driving away from house, heard screaching sound, then lost power steering while driving nearly ending up on sidewalk. When I checked under hood, I saw a bolt sitting on lower part of engine compartment, crankshaft pulley not moving, but bolt that holds it on spinning. None of the belts were moving. Most of the warning lights were also lit up. Apparently, there is a class action lawsuit involving this issue.

Filed Apr 25, 2015 · Engine, Steering · 87,000 miles · OH

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.

Filed Nov 5, 2014 · Engine · 69,586 miles · IA

While leaving our home to run errands, I lost power steering and several dashboard lights came on. We purchased the kia sorento in 2005 new and have had very few problems with it until now. It has less than 70k miles and has been serviced by the dealer every 3k miles. I had the vehicle towed to the dealer, who rather quickly diagnosed the problem as a broken crank bolt and estimated repairs would cost about $1300. The dealer checked with kia on whether our 100k warranty would cover the repairs. Kia said this problem was not covered. At the time I didn't realize this is a fairly common problem with the kia sorento's. Checking the comments from other sorento owners, I have concluded this certainly appears to be a design defect. Our concern is that this could have happened in traffic at 70 MPH and the loss of the ability to steer could certainly become a very serious problem, with potential fatal consequences. I am especially concerned about the number of situations that the bolt failed a second and sometimes a third time after the initial repair was made. Request serious consideration of kia issuing a recall to remedy this design defect. Updated 01/14/15

Filed Sep 22, 2014 · Electrical, Engine · 101,000 miles · GA · crash

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.

Filed Mar 25, 2014 · Engine · 142,000 miles · MO

I was driving on the way to work and the car lost power and shut off.... Lost all ability to steer, luckily no other cars were close by. Or else there would have been a crash between us. Had it towed to a local shop. Before looking at the vehicle they immediately told me it sounded like the infamous crank shaft pulley bolt. I was at a loss for word as it sounded like its been an on going issue that needs to be address. Too many peoples lives are and can be in trouble because of it. After the local shop looked at it and confirmed it was the crank shaft pulley bolt. I was advised to talk to the local dealership because there has been a recall of the bolt. When I spoke to the parts rep a kia, I was told there is no recalls on the bolt or anything else 2003-2006 kia serento. They could get me a new/used motor for $4k.... Seems that kia is only in the business of putting money in their pockets while other peoples lives are at stake. For a part/piece they know is faulty. After further investigation there is a countless amount of people with the same issue. Even people covered under the 100,000 mile warranty was told its not apart of the drive drain so its not covered. I would not recommend a kia to anyone...

Filed Apr 27, 2013 · Steering, Transmission · 106,000 miles · CA

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!

Filed Mar 22, 2013 · Steering · 104,424 miles · CA

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.

Filed Sep 1, 2011 · Engine · 85,000 miles · FL

Harmonic balancer bolt broke causing failure of all belt driven components. Loss of power steering while driving at highway speeds being the worst of which. It was extremely difficult for a small framed older woman to control while pulling over. Harmonic balancer fell from vehicle representing substantial risk to other vehicles on roadway. Vehicle had been to dealership for previous repairs but they neglected to adhere to the manufacturers tsb and replace the bolt. I have since found that many many other owners of this vehicle have had the same issue spanning many model years. I don't believe the defect to be in the bolt but rather in the design of the harmonic balancer, the crank shaft and the mating of the two. When this failure occurs the vehicle becomes inoperable and leaves it occupants stranded. Loss of power assisted control and the high probability of a large and heavy piece of steel being dropped in the midst of oncoming traffic represent a substantial risk to the public. This issue has not been properly addressed by the manufacturer as no notice that this bolt should be replaced has been given to consumers. Kia motors is aware of the problem and sent a tsb to dealers directing them to change the bolt in question upon the vehicles next dealer service. However this practice is not properly adhered to and with the customer being unaware of any possible problem it becomes easily overlooked. I have also noticed that many people have more frequent failures after the bolt has been replaced. After having the vehicle towed to kia I was informed that the engine would have to be replaced and that kia would not cover this under it's power train warranty.

Filed Jul 11, 2011 · Engine · 80,000 miles · KY

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 kia sorento. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH the brake lamp, battery warning lamp illuminated and the vehicle lost power steering without any warnings. The vehicle was taken to a dealer who diagnosed that the drive belts, and crank bolt sheered off and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but did not offer any assistance since the vehicle was not included in any recalls. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 80,000.