Bulletins


BulletinBulletin dateReplacement BulletinItem no.SummaryAdded
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE
TSB-06805/01/201010034246Kia: intermittent mil on with no fault code stored; information about dtc p1330. provides information relating to certain vehicles. in affected vehicles an intermittent short to ground in a circuit only intended for testing purposes may c10/29/2010
TSB-04411/01/200910033464Kia: ecm upgrade with tp sensor replacement-mil on with dtc p2135/p0638. information related to ecm software and tp sensor upgrade on some vehicles with 2.7l engines which may experience a malfunction indicator lamp (mil) illuminated with08/18/2010
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - EXHAUST SYSTEM - MANIFOLD/HEADER/MUFFLER/TAIL PIPE
01305/01/200810024290Sedona (gq) corroded heater coolant pipes - on some built from may 1, 2001, to aug. 30, 2005. *nj updated 6/17/08. *nj04/02/2008

Consumer Complaints


Fail datemilesoccurencesPurchase date
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
01/25/201159430
 I own a 2004 kia sedona 3.5l that i purchased on 08-31-2010 with 53638 miles on it. on 01-25-2011 as i was driving i heard a rattling from the engine compartment. i stopped to open the hood and confirm that it was coming from the engine, it was. i drove to the nearest auto mechanic and had it diagnosed to be told that i had a blown engine and it would have to be replaced. i had it towed to he local kia dealership to be looked at further. the engine was opened up to be inspected. i was told that the #6 cylinder was coming apart and that i would have to replace the engine. the van currently ha only 59430 miles on it. it is under the 60000 mile warranty mark but over the 5 year portion. i have been made aware that there was a kia service bulletin that mentioned that the 2004 kia sedona 3.5l engine had scoring on the #6 cylinder from the manufacturing process which also resulted in a gasket defect or malfunction. this clearly should be covered under warranty service. this is not the only case of this specific problem with the #6 cylinder.
06/10/200770000410/02/2006
 Tl*the contact owns a 2004 kia sedona. while stopped, the vehicle stalls. the vehicle can be restarted after the failure. the contact has not taken the vehicle to a dealer; however, a local mechanic could not identify the cause of the failure. the vehicle has stalled four times. the failure mileage was 70,000 and current mileage was 83,000.
01/31/2008642353312/04/2007
 I have repair paperwork from the two past owners. the kia sadona engine dies for no reason what so ever. this has been an on going issue with this vehicle. today, it almost got my family killed because it stalled at an intersection they were crossing through. *tr
04/03/200748000504/20/2005
 This van has brake problems squeaking and wearing out pads way too fast. i was told nothing is wrong with the brake system but when taking it to a brake shop i was told the calipers are bad, kia has not fixed them and denies that they're bad. the check engine light came on and i was told that a spark plug had misfired, that was fixed under warranty and then another spark plug misfired and was fixed under warranty. the oil level was getting low but i had no leak and i was told that the oil filter was simply loose so they said they fixed it. i asked if i should bring the van back in a week to have the oil level checked and we were assured there was no leak. check engine light came on again and the oil light flickered, did not stay illuminated, so we took it to the dealership immediately, as the owners manual and the mechanic had stated. then we're told that there's sludge in the engine and that it will be 2,000 dollars to take it apart and check the damage that we caused from continuing to drive it. they never told us there was any reason to not drive it nor did they mention sludge previously. the van will be towed back to kia tomorrow. *tr
03/10/20076
 Car bucking and shifting problems. kia has had many problems with the sedona and fuel problems that they are well aware of but refuse to do anything about them. the car stalls on the free way it buck violently and there are numerous owners that are having the same problems that we are facing. *jb
12/08/200624000106/01/2004
 My 2004 kia sedona has 24,000 miles on it and is in the 3 year 36,000 mile bumper-to-bumper part of the warranty. my check engine light came on and the car was towed to albert kia. the service manager said the car had a blown engine and that it would be replaced under warranty, however, we needed to bring in all the oil change records for warranty purposes -which we did. that dealership went out of business and the car was never repaired. a rep from kia usa told me that they were going to tow my car to balise kia in warwick, ri. two days later, scott, the service manager at balise, called to tell me that he and the district manager had looked at the car and it was determined that it had 5 liters too much oil in it. i told scott that the service manager at albert kia had already diagnosed the car and reported a blown engine, never once mentioning anything about too much oil. within the 72 hours, jeff from kia usa called and informed me that he had my case. after a brief review, jeff asked me to fax over the service records to him. on january 16th, my case was given to russell stuart. later in january, the kia dm and i checked the oil together and noted that it was not over the fill line. the dm removed the oil cap, looked at the underside, and noted that it filled covered with sludge. the dm now stated that the car never had an oil change - voiding the warranty. i asked if the sludge on the back of the cap was the result of a blown head gasket. the dm said no. my son, an ase master technician, found a kia issued technical service bulletin stating that some 2004 sedona models with the 3.5 liter engine had a defect that left a score mark at the #6 cylinder on the head, resulting in head gasket failure. my vehicle was built 4 weeks after kia said they corrected the problem but kia will not lend any credence to this bulletin regarding my vehicle. i'm stuck with a vehicle that has been out of service for 3 months.*ak
01/24/200626000103/24/2004
 The van will lunge or cut-off while being driven. the dealership has repeated this problem with several employees. no one knows what is causing this or how to repair. so they keep giving it back to us un-repaired. *jb
09/28/2005200250010/28/2004
 None. *nm
08/18/200418251507/28/2004
 While driving 50 mph vehicle stalled. vehicle was still driveable. dealership informed the consumer that there transmission failed. dealership was notified, but did not resolve the problem. *ak dealer stated problem was caused by electricl harness. also having multiple failures with output speed sensor; transmission 3 times; thermostat assembly; power steering leaked; input speed sensor; low ground voltage failed; fuse block problems; cruise control. consumer was advised that due to the design of the cruise control, the vehicle accelerates often while on an incline at 45 to 55 mph as if vehicle's engine/transmission was racing. *tt *tc
08/21/20046961
 When driving the vehicle started to shake and then shut down. the dealer changed the engine and the defect occurred again, the vehicle was placed on the computer and no defects have been found. *jb
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - COOLING SYSTEM
12/28/201087000
 I have a 2004 kia sedona the rear coolant lines have failed and now i am leaking coolant and it will cost $1000 to fix. it happened all of a sudden. now i can't drive my car safely.
04/27/2004290010012/29/2003
 When driving the van any speed. once it warms up with the ac on there is a loud groaning/growing sound coming from the rear cargo area of the vehicle. the sound starts out intermittently and then continues and increases in frequency. *nm
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - COOLING SYSTEM - RADIATOR ASSEMBLY
12/21/200456000111/18/2003
 Had to get my car serviced because antifreeze was pouring out of my car. after they looked at my car i was notified that kia does not have the part to fix my car but insists that i can still drive it. meanwhile i need to fill up the tank after my errands for the day, that's an estimate of $20 a day!they told me it would take up to 2-3 weeks until this part came in. i found it disturbing how they told me i can drive this car while it pours out antifreeze (antifreeze is poison to animals). also to get it serviced i called the place where i bought it and they couldn't even look at my car till another 3 weeks or so. my car is now an hour away and kia will not provide me with a rental. its a shame how they scam people into buying the car for the warranty because once they have your money they don't care after that. *nm
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE
01/01/201075000
 Tl*the contact owns a 2004 kia sedona. while driving at speeds of 70 mph the vehicle would continuously make a jerking motion and stall without warning; however, the problem would occur intermittently. the vehicle was taken to the dealer where they could not duplicate the failures and released the vehicle back to the owner. the vehicle continued to stall intermittently without warning. the vehicle was taken back to the dealer a second time and again they could not duplicate the failure. he then took the vehicle to an independent mechanic who also could not determine the cause of the failure. on the third attempt, a specialist at the dealership stated that the emissions sensor and the throttle valve were replaced; however, the failure persisted. there were no additional repairs performed and there were no recalls on the vehicle. the failure mileage was approximately 75,000 and the current mileage was 98,000.
08/20/200770000411/26/2006
 Tl*the contact owns a 2004 kia sedona. in june of 2007, while backing out of the driveway at an unknown speed, the vehicle stalled. the failure dates were august 20, 2007 at 74,200 miles and september 9, 2007 at 77,450 miles. when the contact approached a traffic light, the brakes were depressed and the vehicle stalled on march 28, 2008. while driving 50 mph, the vehicle stalled again at 83,000 miles. the contact was near a napa auto parts store and pulled into the parking lot. a mechanic inspected the vehicle to identify the cause of the failure, but was unsuccessful. the contact called two different kia dealers to attempt to diagnose the failure, but they were also unsuccessful. the failure mileage was 70,000 and current mileage was 83,400. updated 04/29/08 *bf
09/01/200642000104/01/2004
 Dt*: the contact stated the engine died without warning. the service dealer determined the engine short block needed to be replaced to fix the issue.
01/15/200510000109/15/2004
 Check engine light on. engine was knocking. called the dealer 3 times and each time they tried to tell me it was my gas cap not locked on properly. when i finally brought it in they had to do an entire tune up because a plug was misfiring. *jb
03/14/2004103/14/2004
 Dt: the contact owns a 2004 kia sedona mini van. the contact stated their recall 03v158000 concerning abs brakes was issued in 2003 for the 2003 kia sedona. this vehicle was having the same problem as stated in the recall. however the manufacturer will not include 2004 in the recall. front ends shimmied while braking. she was concerned because the recall stated that this could cause extended stopping distances and result in a crash. kia has turned the rotors and pads four times. while making a hard stop when coming off of a freeway the front end, steering wheel, and the entire vehicle shook and shimmied. the contact had this problem since the purchase of the vehicle on march 14, 2004. the dealership and manufacturer were not willing to repair the vehicle right now under the recall. she was in touch with arbitration, and with consumer affairs to possibly apply the lemon law for this vehicle. she has a letter that was written from kia general sales manager, where she takes vehicle in for service. the letter stated: that 2003 recall came from kia motor corporation not from dealership. therefore, she might qualify for the lemon law. also, told her to pursue the problem that way. the contact has copies of the letters available from the agencies that she corresponded with. the consumer also heard a ticking noise coming from the engine *ak *nm
07/30/200414475
 Had engine and trans problems at 1200 mi. found metal in engine and could not explain why. have had recurring problems with brakes/rotors in which have had rotors replaced and new pads as well. has had vibration in engine on other occasions in which found crack in spark plug. interior lights would not work. my van would not start one day and had to have it towed to kia in lex and they had it for several days and was never given a reasonable answer to what it was that caused it to not start. the dealership has been friendly and helpful, however to many occurrences for any new vehicle so plan to start litigation to declare it a lemon! *nm
06/21/20052308603/30/2004
 Dt: the vehicle stalled intermittently. the vehicle was taken to the dealer on march 30, 2004. after the engine stalled the check engine light illuminated. the vehicle then sputtered and lost power but slowly regained it. took vehicle to dealer for this problem at least 6 times. kia says that a cylinders is misfiring , plugging wires are cross firing. the dates of failure are april 13, 2004, august 13, 2004, october 19, 2004 and march 11, 2005, may 12, 2005 and finally june 21, 2005. the consumer stated that his families lives have been in danger three times. *ak *nm
04/20/20041323503/10/2004
 2004 kia sorento leaks oil. four times in for service, latest time january 5, 2005. twice dealer replaced oil plug gasket. last time in dealer service dept says problem is caused by defective designed oil filters. dealer goes on to say kia aware of problem and going to redesign oil filter. dealer does not know when new filter is going to be available. in mean time my 2004 sorento continues to leak oil. fumes from oil burning on hot engine causing me headaches and nausea. don't believe dealer explanation. used to have a 2003 sorento which kia replaced because of major engine problems. now the replacement vehicle (2004 sorento) has oil leaking problems that are unresolved by dealer. going to take in again because fumes so strong it makes it undriveable except as a last resort. believe engine in 2003 sorento is same type engine in 2004 sorento. oil leaking in the 2003 wasn't an issue. only in this sorento 2004.*ak
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE - GASOLINE
03/10/20041323503/10/2004
 Oil leaks - 2004 kia sorento. compliant form does not allow me to select sorento as vehicle model when completing this form. dealer replaced oil plug gasket twice. been in for oil leak complaints 4 times. last time there jan 05, 2005 dealer service says problem is oil filter leaking because of defective oil filter design. dealer service says kia in process of re-design of filter. when new oil filters available dealer says unknown. find this explanation of problem to be unbelievable. don't believe 2004 engine different from 2003 engine in this vehicle. when last in dealer service another customer was in for same type of problem; oil leaks in 2004 sorento. was in multiple times for a solution. used to have sorento 2003 and never had leaking oil, kia replaced my 2003 with a 2004 sorento because of major problems with 2003. engine oil leaking was not one of the problems with 2003. believe same engine used in both models. don't believe problem is oil filter design.*ak