Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STEERING | |||||
| 010 | 12/01/2002 | 10000034 | Electronic power steering (eps) logic change to improve steering feel. *tt | 02/10/2003 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| STEERING | |||
| 12/04/2012 | 10 | 1 | |
| My 2003 kia sorento start vibrating as i was pulling into my driveway and before i can park it i heard a load noise and my steering wheel became very heavy to steer and almost loose control. i had a mechanic look into the issue and found the pulley bolt (harmonic balancer) broke in half. i had also check if this is an unusual problem - came to find out that this could potential design defect from kia. as there are thousand of them that has similar problem complained on the internet. i had called kia dealer ship and they are not helping on this design flaw issue. *tr | |||
| 12/04/2012 | 10 | ||
| My 2003 kia sorento start vibrating as i was pulling into my driveway and before i can park it i heard a load noise and my steering wheel became very heavy to steer and almost loose control. i had a mechanic look into the issue and found the the pulley bolt (harmonic balancer) broke in half. i had also check if this is an unusual problem - came to find out that this could potential design defect from kia. as there are thousand of them that has similar problem complained on the internet. i had called kia dealer ship and they are not helping on this design flaw issue. | |||
| 08/01/2012 | 120000 | 1 | |
| While driving on hwy 275 at 60 mph. engine lights came on and steering wheel locked..total system power failure..2 daughters almost lost their lives trying to maneuver this death missile to emergency lane..just in time to miss multiple tractor trailers vehicles from crushing them..not to mention multiple passenger cars in harms way from defective part replaced malfunctioning again... kia claims no responsibility even though defective part is clearly at fault..have firestone mechanic willing to substantiate claim and is willing to help in class action lawsuit.. i urge everyone that has any history with this deathtrap to please get the message out that this vehicle will kill you..most likely their other vehicles will as well...do not ever drive or put anyone you love in any vehicle that they make!!!!! my daughters are scarred for life and never want to drive this vehicle or anything at this point..i am going to make sure that everyone that i can reach via social media really really understands the truth of this vehicles death warrant. *tr | |||
| 08/01/2012 | 120000 | ||
| While driving on hwy 275 at 60 mph. engine lights came on and steering wheel locked..total system power failure..2 daughters almost lost their lives trying to manuever this death missle to emergency lane..just in time to miss multiple tractor trailors vehicles from crushing them..not to mention multiple passenger cars in harms way from defective part replaced malfunctioning again... kia claims no responsibility even though defective part is clearly at fault..have firestone mechanic willing to substantiate claim and is willing to help in class action lawsuit.. i urge everyone that has any history with this deathtrap to please get the message out that this vehicle will kill you..most likely their other vehicles will as well...do not ever drive or put anyone you love in any vehicle that they make!!!!! my daughters are scarred for life and never want to drive this vehicle or anything at this point..i am going to make sure that everyone that i can reach via social media really really understands the truth of this vehicles death warrant. | |||
| 08/19/2011 | 93000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2003 kia sorento. the contact was driving 5 mph and attempting a turn when the steering wheel failed and would not respond to the direction it was turned. the steering wheel would only spin in a circle during the failure. the vehicle was placed in reverse and allowed to drift into the preferred parking space. the vehicle was diagnosed by a private mechanic who advised that the u joint was loose on the steering shaft. the manufacturer was contacted, but the vehicle was not taken to the dealer or repaired. the failure and current mileages were 93,000. kmj | |||
| 08/19/2011 | 93000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2003 kia sorento. the contact was driving 5mph while making a turn when the steering wheel failed to steer the vehicle in the direction the contact wanted to go. the steering wheel would only spin in a circle during the failure. the vehicle was placed in the reverse position and allowed to drift into the preferred parking space home. the vehicle was diagnosed by a private mechanic. the mechanic stated the u joint was loose on the steering shaft. the manufacturer was contacted, but the vehicle was not taken to the dealer. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure and current mileages were 93,000. rds. | |||
| 01/05/2010 | |||
| I bought a 2003 kia sorento about 6 years ago and i've had a lot of problems. the worst and most recent problem is the gas spews out of the tank every time i try to fill it. it runs down the side of the car and on my wheel. sometimes it gets on me. this has been going on for several months now. if you pump very slow and stop every .80 cents it lessens the amount of times it spews out, but this is so very timely. the gas guage periodically goes out. the horn has never worked. the power steering periodically goes out. when using cruise control it will periodically go off on it's own. the paint looks horrible and has peeled off on the side mirrors. the leather seats have not held up well. the dome light will not work when you open the door, but if you press the dome light button it will come on. periodically the dash lights have flickered and i'm wondering if they are about to go out. i've already had to replace the ac compressor and the drive shaft, both of which have really set me back financially. i really want to get the gas tank issue fixed as it is the worst issue at hand and i fear it could be dangerous. | |||
| 11/16/2009 | 79000 | 1 | |
| I have a 2003 kia sorento. as i left the garage at my office around 6 p.m. monday 11/16, the car began making a horrible squealing noise. it immediately lost power steering, several warning lights came on, and it felt like the parking brake was on (it wasn't). i managed to get out of the garage to a space on the street. i turned the car off. when i tried to start it again, it wouldn't start. i had it towed to a service station, which said the car had thrown its drive belts and that it needed a new crankshaft balancer pulley, crankshaft sprocket, crankshaft pulley bolt and crankshaft pulley washer to fix the underlying cause. i called kia customer service to see if there was a recall related to those parts. there was a recall in 2007 and my car was serviced at that time as ordered by kia. kia said tuesday that they would only consider paying for needed repairs if i had the car towed to a kia dealership. i had it towed to king kia in gaithersburg, md., at my expense. the service writer, wayne johnson, told me that the garage that had put my new timing belt on had left a bolt loose. he told me his mechanic put the three drive belts back on. he told me i needed a new battery (though the current battery was only 2 years old) because the current one wasn't holding a charge. i told him to put one on. he told me the car was running fine and ready to go. i assumed -- it now turns out, wrongly -- that the kia mechanic had tightened whatever bolt he found loose. i picked up the car wednesday night and drove it straight home. when i started it yesterday morning to leave for work, i drove it about 1.5 blocks and the steering locked up, the brake and battery warning lights came on, and it felt like the parking brake was on. this time the engine kept running. i brought it back home and called the kia garage back. wayne now admits the mechanic never looked for an underlying cause. he simply put the old drive belts on and a new battery in. today he says it needs a new crank pulley. *tr | |||
| 03/16/2007 | 32247 | 2 | 08/22/2003 |
| I own a 2003 kia sorento lx. i used it mainly to go from home to work. this happened 2 days ago, march 16, 2006, at 32247 miles. while making a right turn from a stoplight, i had complete loss of vehicle control, it would not let me stop it and i could not control the steering wheel, it kept turning sharply to the right, and i landed on the sidewalk. luckily, it happened when i was just entering my neighborhood, going at moderate speed, and there were no cars besides or behind me. to think if i were driving 65-70 mph on the highway and have this happened and lose control, i would have been dead. but it is the second time it happens in 3 1/2 years. the first time was about 1 1/2 year ago, but i did not pay attention to it since i thought it was due to wet conditions. i was entering the multi-level parking lot where i work. i was going up to the 4th floor where i park, and when i turned left on the 3rd floor, the car went out of control, kept going round, and i could not stop. luckily again, it was so early in the morning that there were no cars in that floor. surely, a safety-related defect exists. what happened friday almost got me killed. it has happened only twice in all these years, but, no matter what happens, i will never feel safe on this car again. i cannot take any other chance of being killed because of a car's defect. i will be now using my husband's car to travel back and forth to work. besides that big problem, i have encountered other problem with my sorento. the front and back bulbs blow quite often. i have taken the car to the dealership every time it has needed replacement, and i have all the invoice sheets. i would prefer to have someone contact me in spanish. thank you kindly. | |||
| 07/15/2006 | 11/25/2003 | ||
| While driving on saturday, 7/15/06, i noticed a high pitched noise while steering. i was under the impression that the power steering fluid was low. after having an oil change and capping off my fluids, the noise continues and remains while driving. it is loud enough to hear over the radio and the air conditioner at the same time. i have placed this car in the shop for numerous repairs since its purchase in 2003 and have spent countless amounts of money on various problems, including replacing the bulbs, repairing the braks, the check engine light coming on immediately after purchase, the air bag sensor remains on and the list goes on and on. i have placed numerous complains to kia directly as well as filed a compliant with the better business bureau to no avail. it would be my assumption that kia will only be concerned about fixing these issues or recalling these vehicles only after some serious incidents have occurred. | |||
| 05/15/2003 | 600 | ||
| I purchased the sorento 5/31/03, while making a right hand turn the power steering completely went out; i almost hit another vehicle regaining control. contacted kia consumer affairs immediately, they have complete logs on file. 6/2/03 dealer replaced power steering rack. 6/10/03 830 miles,power steering failed again;had to fight with the steering to control vehile in parking garage.6/12/03 power steering pump was replaced. picked up vehicle that evening and pulling out from the restaurant the power steering went out again. 6/13/03 850 miles, computer malfunction; new downloads had to be downloaded to vehicles computer. 6/18/03 electronic power steering module had to be replaced. now 6/20/03 dealer said they wont help me, kia consumer affairs said they wont replace the vehicle nor buy back the vehicle. i'm terrified to pick up the vehicle tonight. kia wanted me to drive the vehicle 30 days more then call back and they will re-imburse me 2 months payments for all the trouble. i replied i wont drive it, i'll have it flat bedded to my house and seek legal council. | |||
| STEERING - ELECTRIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM | |||
| 09/15/2003 | 19000 | 12 | 11/11/2002 |
| 2003 kia sorento would loose power steering assistance when transitioning from moderate speeds (30-50 mph) to low speed (5-10 mph), such as when exiting a highway by slowing in a center turning lane and turning left in front of oncoming traffic. first occurance was at 19,000 miles (sept 2003), kia dealer was unable to replicate problem and returned the vehicle to me. problem continued intermittently until 30,000 miles (may 2004) when i returned to dealer and they discovered a tsb on this issue. dealer replaced p/s sensor and loaded improved software code. there were a number of near collisions due to this failure. *nm | |||
| STEERING - HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST - PUMP | |||
| 03/24/2003 | 1398 | 1 | 02/13/2003 |
| Bought car new. power steering never worked. needed to be replaced. *la | |||
| STEERING - HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM | |||
| 04/05/2007 | 79000 | 1 | 09/01/2006 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2003 kia sorento. the contact stated that while driving the steering wheel locked and could not turn left or right. the mechanic stated that a bolt and balancer detached from the hinges. the contact suggested that the power steering may have been low in fluid. the current and failure mileage were 79,000.*ak | |||
| 10/04/2006 | 63760 | 1 | 11/11/2002 |
| 2003 kia sorento with history of power steering failures which resulted in no power steering assistance while turning at low speeds. problem fixed may 2004 (after thee visits to dealer) although tsb identifying corrective action was issued a year earlier. steering rack found to be seeping fluid during annual inspection at 63,760 mi. taken to dealer at 70,000 miles for evaluation. dealer advised that seals not serviceable, steering rack and hoses require replacement at cost of $2000 - not covered under warranty. kia customer service advised that steering rack covered under warranty until 60,000 mi; not part of 100,000 mi powertrain warranty. i have begun a search for a new vehicle, and kia products aren't eligible for consideration. *nm | |||
| 10/13/2003 | 10000 | 200 | 11/09/2002 |
| Ongoing problems with power steering. feels like engine is stalling and power steering is locking up when making turns at low speed. very difficult to steer. this happens intermittently. *jb | |||
| 08/25/2003 | 1 | ||
| Intermittently power steering failed, making hard to drive the vehicle. *ak | |||
| 05/31/2003 | 600 | 3 | 05/26/2003 |
| Purchased 2003 kia sorento 4x4 on 5/26/03. on 5/31/03 (odometer 600 miles)while driving and making a right hand turn the power steering failed, almost struck another vehicle, tried to regain control of vehicle and pulled to side of road. a friend was in the vehicle with me and can attest to the power steering failure because he tried to steer the vehicle also. 6/2/03 dealership replaced power steering rack, gear and assembly. on 6/10/03 (odometer 830) power steering failed again while i was exiting down in a parking garage; had to fight with the steering wheel to gain control. on 6/12/03 (odometer 850) power steering pump was replaced and later that evening while pulling out of a parking stall from the restaurant the power steering went out again. dealership said a team of 3 kia service techs now found out there was a program error on the vehicles computer; they came to the conclusion they(kia or the dealership) didn't have a clue. monday 6/16/03 engineer team from kia was to evaluate the vehicle. they could not figure the problem out. afternoon of 6/16/03 dealership said kia's field inspector will be out wednesday 6/18/03 to evaluate the vehicle further. i could have killed someone or myself driving this vehicle while the power steering repeated failed. now i'm deathly terrified driving the vehicle, i'm in a rental car until wednesday 6/18/03 while the kia field inspector evaluates the vehicle. in my opinion kia needs to recall this vehicle and give my money back. i don't need to risk my life in order to make the company look good. kia consumer affairs were kept in the loop from day one but no one cares how serious this is, please help. *nlm | |||