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.
2005 Kia Sorento engine complaints
Page 2 of 5: complaints 11 to 40 of 106, newest first, as owners wrote them.
On 07/14/16 I tried to start my vehicle. It did not start so I called a tow truck to give me kick start. The engine started and the battery light came on, this is the first time it had. Two driver told me to take it and get the battery checked out it just didn't seem right to him. So I did and that is when I found out the I had a blown head gasket and upon further investigation they found that the coolant got into the engine and two of the pistons were gone and the interior wall of the engine was scorched badly. This vehicle has been taken care of I loved it and made sure I followed all the requirements bu kia to keep this car running. With such little miles this should of never happened. In my investigation, I found similar reports regarding kia sorento's and engine problems. I have been in contact with kia but they have not made any gestures to help me. I do not have money to get a new car and this was my transportation to drive about 2hrs to help my 93 1/2 yr old mother. Now I can't do that. I loved this car and can not believe that kia will not help. I have had to rent a car for 2 days, take a taxi and depend on others in my time of need.
Driving across a 4 lane expressway, barely made it across, the vehicle sputters and comes to a stop after fighting with the power steering losing all control. Crankshaft pulley has damaged the engine so severe, that a new engine was put in at our expense ($5,000), gas tank was discovered to have a hole and leaking gas. Air bag light comes on and off just depends on it's mood, the display on the radio, etc. Goes away in cold weather, and now have a constant thump thump when driving as if the tire is flat. Driving for 5 months with new engine, I pressed on the accelerator quickly to pass a truck when a loud noise (sounding like the engine blew) from the engine was heard then something comes loose and hits the undercarriage so hard I can feel it through the floorboard. No smoke, no elevation in temperature. Pull over, there is now a vibration when idling but cannot see anything obvious missing. Whatever it was took chunks out of the right front tire. Brakes seemed to lock up at times and you could feel something like a pump losing air and the car slides just before the complete stop with a low groaning noise. Haven't took to the mechanic yet, but will be soon.
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?
While driving a noise comes from engine compartment. Battery and brake warning light come on. Power steering goes out. Have to man ahndle SUV to a safe spot. Crankshaft bolt that hold harmonic balancer broke. Common problem known to kia engines they offer to fix it for $1300.00 plus more.
I purchased a 2005 kia sorento in november 2013 from dealership. In june 2014 I had the first incident. While driving on a highway, suddenly all warning lights came on, power steering was lost. I was able to pull over without incident. Had to be towed. Had the problem fixed: crankshaft sensor, warped pulley, sheered bolt on said pulley, resulting in more damage, including water pump and timing belts. Two weeks later the same thing occurred, again while I was driving in town. My mechanic said it is a defect in the kia design. Two weeks later got it fixed. Now ten months later the same problem occurs, again while driving. Each time this has cost me $2,000 to fix. I still owe $4,500 on the vehicle! Since repairing with kia parts and the problem is never solved due to poor design, kia really needs to step up and issue recall. Same problem 3 times in less than a year! Please help!
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 kia sorento. While driving 50 MPH, the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact was able to restart the vehicle; however, it was not able to fully accelerate. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the harmonic balancer pulley bolt fractured from the crankshaft. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 105,000.
Tl* 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. Updated 10/13/16*lj
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 kia sorento. While driving approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle stopped and shut down without warning. The vehicle did not restart and was towed to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the crankshaft bolt detached and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, but did not respond to the reimbursement request. The failure mileage was 82,310.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 kia sorento. While driving approximately 25 MPH, the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle failed to restart and was towed to the dealer. The vehicle remained at the dealer for three consecutive months to locate the failure. The cam sensor, crank sensor, and timing belt were replaced. In addition, the ECM computer was replaced. One month later, after the repair was performed, the failure recurred. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of failure. The approximate failure mileage was 100,300. ..updated 02/23/16 *bf....updated 03/16/16 *bf
Broken crank bolt with 100,000 miles.
I was driving down the highway and all the sudden my car gave a big sound and died. The steering was really hard to steer, luckly I was in the slow lane and coasted off the edge of the road. Had it towed to mechanic the started was bad, along with the fuel line and fuel pump. After got it running once again ran fine hour later the crank shaft sensor went out. I have read many many complaints about the same issues, also was told that my fuel tank and bottom was rusting out. And my sway bar is bad. My car shakes, I have had new tires and brakes put on and a new muffler put on. I have had all my oil changes and tune ups. They say there is no recalls, how could there not be recalls here in the USA. They had a class action law suit in canada and kia was made to fix these same issues.
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/
Had a car repair in october 2014 due to a broken bolt near crank shaft driving down the highway. Paid for repair and got car back and within a month the motor was shot . I went to go start the car to go to work and it was making a terrible noise, it was stationary. I still have at 7 more car payments to make on the car.
The kia sorento has a catastrophic failor do to a single pin on the crank shat timing gear. This gear has broken free twice and caused head damage bent valves and also cost between 2 and 4 thousand dollars to replace the 30 dollar gear that will with out question fail again I'm on my third time of this happening this time the timing gear pin grow slowing only the crank shat himonic balancer to come free braking a 10 dollar bolt but with out a doubt it will cost me again thousands to fix . Each time this has happened it has been a different situation once was while driving on the high way the vechical made a loud bang and the vechical list power and came to a halt once while pulling out of my drive way this time the engine locked up and the vehicle had tobe towed to a shop only to find out they would not work on it because it is a know defect the third time was driving threw town and it sound like I had dropped a saw mille under the hood it damaged the valves and broke the fans and tore up the most thus time.
The vehicle's power steering didn't work, and it was rarely driven after transmission repair at a kia dealer. Looking under the hood showed that the belts weren't moving. The crankshaft pulley was attached but not straight; offset. I called the dealer and they said the crankshaft bolt breaking is a common problem in these vehicles. Is/was there a recall for this? This is a potentially dangerous situation. Luckily the vehicle wasn't driven far when the problem was noticed. Ma 10/8
Driving in rural eastern colorado when the battery and brake warning lights came on. Drove on to the next town with a repair shop (brush, co) and checked under the hood. Belts were loose and the bottom pulley was lying in the bottom of the engine compartment. Had to have it towed 70 miles to the kia dealership in windsor, co ($375). They did the repair and charged $1303.85. Had to rent a car while the repair was completed ($343.57). Harmonic balancer had failed and caused damage to timing belt, tensioner, crank sprocket, etc. Updated 10/9/15 *ln updated 12/21/2015
Crank shaft bolt broke three separate times (2nd time jan. 21, 2015; 3rd time july 3, 2015) after repairs made. The last time, the car was considered irreparable due to the inevitability of failure due to faulty design of the factory made crank shaft bolt. Whole new engine needed for complete repair.
I was driving though a parking lot on late friday afternoon and heard a rattling noise coming from under the hood. So, after I parked I popped the hood, I also started to hear a squeaking noise (belts rubbing), so I drove home and parked it until monday when I took it to a local shop and they said it sounded like a pulley for the timing belt, they got it in on wednesday and called to have me come take a look at what was causing the noises when I got there, they explained that it was the crankshaft bolt that held the fly wheel on and there where two options (1)I could drive it until the bolt snapped or (2) they could try and break the bolt loose and replace it, so we went with option number 2 and after about five hours I got a call telling me that the bolt had snapped and they had tried welding a new bolt on to try and break the rest of it loose, and they had tried to drill out the bolt but with no luck, they then gave me an estimate to replace the engine with a re-manufactured engine the estimate was $6,900.00 before tax, so I called kia corporate and they took a week to come back and tell me due to the age, the mileage, and not the original owner they would not pay to replace the engine so now I'm going to join the class action law suit. Very bad engineering design to think one seer pin could hold that bolt plus it sounds like they are using a deep thread skinny shaft bolt which means the threads are holding a 15-20lbs fly wheel when that seer pin snaps, very disappointed in kia, will never buy their cars again ..updated 08/24/15
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 kia sorento. The contact stated that when the key was turned to the off position and removed, the vehicle failed to shut off. The contact removed the battery from the vehicle, but the vehicle continued to run. The contact then removed an air mask valve that caused the engine to shut off. The vehicle was unable to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 95,000. Ma 08/05/15 updated 11/13/2015
I have a 2005 kia sorento and last august I was coming to a stop at a very busy intersection and my car made a very loud clanking bang sound. My car died, my battery, brake and engine light came on. I turned the key and it started and I was able to get it off the road but my power steering was gone. I had it towed to a garage that said they would not fix it because it was to intense (cost $150), so I had it towed to another. An ase certified chevrolet dealership and they told me it should be covered under my warranty because it was part of the power train and I had less than 60,000 miles on my vehicle- my crankshaft bolt was sheared completely off (no charge). They and I contacted kia, kia had me tow it to them (which is 50 minutes away). They then told me it was not covered, and the part was $10.97, however the work involved to fix it was a lot more extensive and gave me an estimate of $650.00-$750.00! It cost me $650.00 plus all my towing costs ($240.00). I could have saved the towing cost and had the chevrolet dealership fix it since I had to pay for it! Now, not even a year later, I bring my sorento to the chevrolet dealer for an oil change and the mechanic asked me to come look at my driver side trailing arm bracket. It is completely rusted and no longer attached and the other side isn't in good shape either. They tell me it will cost hundreds of dollars to fix it and I really should contact kia because this should not have happened. I decided to research this and it appears that both of these issues are common and unsafe. I am waiting to hear back from kia now on how to get this taken care of.
I purchased a 2005 kia sorento from a dealership on nov. 18, 2014. In january 2015 the crankshaft sensor broke . It was repaired by the dealership under warranty. On april 8th I started hearing a knocking sound so I stopped driving the vehicle and did some research to find out what the problem was. I found out that the car I had was part of a recall and there was a lawsuit for the same issue I was having with my vehicle. I purchased the parts and had the car towed to my mechanic. My mechanic has attempted to repair the car without success. I have had to rent a car and also pay daily for rides to and from work. I contacted kia today and they stated that I would have to pay kia to do a diagnostic test before anything can be done. I was never notified about a recall. Even though it was a few years ago, this is information that should be given to every purchaser whether new or used.
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.
During my trip home from a local outing I noticed my battery light flashing intermittently. As I got closer to home the light became more steady steering became more difficult. I had a good guess what the problem was due to the fact that I've had this same issue twice in the last eight months. I made it home safely and had my vehicle towed a few days later to a repair shop. I was not at all surprised when the mechanic told me I had a crank shaft problem. This is something kia has known about for years and should have scheduled a recall to repair this issue. I might not be here today if I was traveling on the highway at a faster speed.
Vehicle died while driving, then would not crank over. Had towed to dealer. Vehicle was no longer covered by warranty. Dealer replaced cam and crank sensors, timing belt, crank bolt and badly fraying accessory drive belt.
Driving approx 55mph, my lights seemed to dim then my battery and brake light came on. I immediately turned my heater, radio, dashboard lights and lights to low. I continued driving for nothing else seemed to be wrong and was going to pull over when I noticed my power steering also was not working. I was able to get myself to a safe place to stop and put the car in park, it began making an odd sound (thinking a possible belt) it then made a popping sound thinking I broke a serpentine belt, I then turned the engine off and had my mechanic look at it. He said the crankshaft bolt had broken off and was an estimated $3000+ repair. I have also had issues with crankshaft sensor which caused my car to not turn over without a jump. After that was repaired I had to buy a new battery that prior to the winter season tested out to be good. Ihave also been told I need to replace a spark plug which could cost hundreds to replace because of the location. I have to replace headlights/taillights more than normal.I have seem to have issues with alignment and have put 2 sets of tires on after noticing abnormal wear on the insides, I've had it aligned twice. I still owe $6100 on a car that I would have to put $3000 into and now have nothing to drive!
Front drive shaft broke. Other issues and incidents include but not limited to: induction control system broke. Harmonic balancer broke. Crank shaft timing belt sprocket, crankshaft bolt broke and throttle position sensor.
On july 13th 2013 I started financing a 2005 kia sorrento lx from a dealership in pinellas park, florida called e-z car credit. During the first month of financing the car had to be serviced for many different reasons. Over the last year and a half of financing the problems have gotten worse an more expensive. Problems include but not limited to: overheating, bad sensors, front end alignment, new water hoses, new water reservoir, thermostat, power steering, electrical. An then we come to the most recent problem. The one 1,000s upon 1,000s of customers have been having "catastrophic engine failure" broken push rods, cams destroyed, valves, pistons. Estimated cost $4000. An now that I have $7,000 invested and owe another $5,000 on my loan I am joining the class action lawsuit against kia motors.
I was stopped waiting to turn into a fast food place when I let off the brakes to turn in ,the SUV took off from 0 to 60 in a split second.when I tried to mash the brakes it wouldn't go down and I couldn't stop.I ended up hitting a tree,the air bags did come out.the SUV was totaled.I contacted kia's office and they had the SUV towed to a lot for investigation.as of this date I haven't heard form kia as to what they found out.this was the second time the kia took off on it's own with me .I would like this accident off my record and info as to what went wrong with the kia.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 kia sorento. The contact stated that while driving 30 MPH, an abnormal noise emitted from under the hood and the power steering seized. The contact discovered that none of the belts in the vehicle were moving. The failure recurred several times. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the technician diagnosed that the crank shaft damper, harmonic balancer and the gear needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 40,000.
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