Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| AIR BAGS | |||
| 12/26/2004 | 1 | 07/27/2004 | |
| They were minor at first, speaker cover, weather stripping, and noise when backing up. then the other problems came: faulty pilot bearing, clutch, and pressure plate, 4wd light, e brake, power windows, paint coming of vehicle in various places, dome lamp,door lock sensor, gear shifter, windshield molding, air bag light,gas pedal sticking, cup holder. the ones that concern me the most is the vibration that i have at speeds of 65-75 mph. the whole steering wheel shakes and the vibration can be felt below. i have seen where there are other complaints on this model for this. i am concerned because i have taken it to the dealer and they cannot locate the problem. i also have problems shifting into lower gears especially in the mornings. i also have problems shifting into 1st gear from neutral. i was sitting at a stop light and when the light turned green went to put my car into first, it would not go, i shifted into 2nd and tried to go into 1st but it would not go. i finally cut the vehicle off and got it into 1st. the other main concern is there is a delay on acceleration. i experience it after my vehicle has sat for 5 or more hours. when the gas pedal is pushed the vehicle will not go or will move several feet and then stop. i have made the dealership aware of these problems and some have been fixed but the major ones, vibration, hesitation, and shifting into 1st cannot be fixed because the cause is unknown. i have already had two close calls in this vehicle one because i could not get my car into gear and i was about hit from behind. the other was the hesitation where the car stalled just as i was pulling onto the road and would not go. the vibration concerns me too because this could be the transmission or steering, and i know that much of a vibration has to affect other things as well. i am going to contact someone about trying to declare this vehicle as a lemon. i am concerned for my daughter's safety and this is my only source of transportation. please help me. *jb | |||
| 01/30/2006 | 32 | 03/15/2004 | |
| I was just notified by state farm insurance that the air bags on the kia sorento are not working properly. this has caused them to remove the safety discount from the vehicle. if the air bags are not working in accidents then i feel that they need to be fixed or replaced so people will not die due to the failure of air bags. *jb | |||
| 01/29/2005 | 0 | 2 | 06/19/2004 |
| We were going east on a county road(219th), at about 40 mph. the passengers front tire crossed the white line and slipped into the ditch. van continued east into a telephone pole, breaking it in 3 pieces. the van then slide sideways and came to rest southbound after hitting a tree. after van came to rest and the driver checked family's safety, it was then discovered that the air bags on both sides had not deployed and that the auto lock feature of the seat belts had not engaged either. we were assisted from the van and contacted the police. van was towed to wrecking yard (not drivable).notified kia service manager of failures and he told me to contact kia. he gave us the number and said we need to contact them asap and they will contact him. kia took our information and told us to send pictures and a legible copy of accident to the main office in ca. *jb | |||
| 01/04/2005 | 24000 | 1 | 12/22/2003 |
| Hit some black ice and vehicle started to spin, then rolled. none of the airbags deployed. vehicle was totaled. this vehicle model is the sorento lx.*ak | |||
| AIR BAGS - FRONTAL | |||
| 07/15/2004 | 36000 | ||
| My 2004 kia sedona has had an air bag light on the dash for some time. it happened while it waas in the original warranty period, but the dealer did not have the parts necessary to complete the repair. he said they would order them and call me when they arrived. after several weeks with no call we went back to the dealer and were told that since we did not come back, they thought we no longer needed the parts and used them on someone else's vehicle. we protested and told them to get them again. when they arrived, we went back to get the repairs done. at this time, we were told that the warranty had expired and the extended warranty would not cover it and the cost would be several hundred dollars. the extended bumper to bumper warranty from zurich american cost $1,000.00 and was totally a waste of money. the van was in warranty when the problem was first reported. a call to kia produced nothing. they said that it was up to the dealer. | |||
| 10/20/2006 | 33000 | 1 | 05/13/2005 |
| My wife had a frontal crash at 35-40 mph. into the side of a box truck. neither passenger nor driver's airbag deployed. the hood had also flew off the vehicle and landed more than 20 feet away after being deflected off her windshield. this vehicle sustained more than $11,000 in damages. *jb | |||
| AIR BAGS - FRONTAL - SENSOR/CONTROL MODULE | |||
| 02/27/2007 | 1 | ||
| Vehicle originally seen d/t no heat on 2/16/07 by auto repair business. heater core flush did not correct problem, as well as new thermostat. heater core replaced on 2/22/07. technician noted a large amount of coolant leaking on floor from firewall. airbag light on after picking up vehicle. on 2/27/07, owner was in vehicle & a loud noise sounding like an explosion was heard. several plastic pieces covering seatbelt on pssger. side popped off. seatbelt frozen. strong smell resembling gunsmoke in vehicle. owner stopped at kia dealership. no kia tech available. appt. 3/2/07. dx. was that there was numerous short to ground codes that probably happened when dash was reinstalled after heater core repair. recommendation by dealership to take vehicle back to where repair was done. auto repair shop started looking at it on 3/5/07, taking dashboard completely apart. on 3/7/07, looked at vehicle/discussed situation. shop owner felt that incident was not caused by their repair work. he felt that the computer for the airbags shorted out d/t collection of coolant within the computer & stated what needed to be replaced, including a new computer, new restraining system & seatbelt tensioner. he felt the dealership diagnosis was incorrect,& was unhappy that dealership was blaming him for the problems that occurred. the shop owner feels that coolant had probably been leaking before repair work was done, & possibly be related to the way vehicle was made, since the coolant was leaking within the interior of the car underneath the dashboard, & not where it should have been. owner of vehicle called dealership on 3/9/07 & spoke with service manager, asking for a refund for services provided by them on 3/2/07. he refused, stating that their diagnosis was correct & that they did not do anything wrong. vehicle remains at auto repair shop. owner questions safety of vehicle. no accident. kia corp. called 3/7 by owner. rep. made comments blaming auto repair shop. *jb | |||