Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | |||
| 02/08/2013 | 74000 | ||
| I was driving the car when i suddenly started hearing rattling noises from the engine. the power steering stopped working and the steering wheel would not turn. thankfully, i was on a side street with no other traffic. if i had been in traffic or traveling at a higher speed, this would surely have caused a crash. my mechanic says that the crankshaft bolt is sheared off and must be drilled out to be replaced. kia won't cover this expensive repair, says it is not covered by their warranty. after researching this issue, i see that kia is aware of a defect in the bolt and has issued service bulletins and discontinued the bolt, issuing a new part to replace it. there are already numerous complaints on this and other sites due to this issue, spanning several model years. to date, i have not seen a recall from kia. dangerous defect and alarming lack of concern (not to mention customer service) from kia. i would never have bought this car if i had known the gamble i was taking with my family's safety. i hope others will not make the same mistake. | |||
| 12/07/2012 | 138057 | ||
| Picked up vehicle after having rear support bearings repaired driving back home at 65mph on i-35/texas 410 east started to experience strong smell of exhaust fumes in passenger compartment. during drive home started to rain, activated wipers, drivers side wiper blade fell off during rainstorm had to open driver side window to navigate! upon arrival at home noticed, smoke coming from engine compartment (passengers side) and smoke underneath vehicle from catalytic converter. looked underneath vehicle and catalytic converter, was smoking, inside engine compartment a hose at the rear of the engine compartment (sorry not a mechanic) had a hole in it and was smoking also? vehicle has not been driven since 12/7/12, vehicle was purchased 10/4/12, has limited warranty. | |||
| 01/01/2010 | 99000 | ||
| I had the vehicle in the dealership just below 100000 miles. they didn't bother to tell me the transmission control module was messed up and needed replaced. this seems to be an issue with several people. and then to find out this is a dealer only part and over 900.00! i think this was poor customer service and they shouldv'e known something was wrong. the gear shift wasn't sitting in drive and not shifting correctly. i doubt i'd ever buy another kia because their service sucks! they don't value their customers and that really makes me uneasy. | |||
| 07/01/2012 | 160000 | ||
| The crankshaft pulley bolt broke and messed up the steering, i was unable to steer the car. this has happened twice now and continues to be a problem as i'm reading the kia forums. | |||
| 01/01/2010 | 99000 | ||
| I had the vehicle in the dealership just below 100000 miles. they didn't bother to tell me the transmission control module was messed up and needed replaced. this seems to be an issue with several people. and then to find out this is a dealer only part and over 900.00! i think this was poor customer service and they shouldv'e known something was wrong. the gear shift wasn't sitting in drive and not shifting correctly. i doubt i'd ever buy another kia because their service sucks! they don't value their customers and that really makes me uneasy. | |||
| 07/01/2012 | 160000 | ||
| The crankshaft pulley bolt broke and messed up the steering, i was unable to steer the car. this has happened twice now and continues to be a problem as i'm reading the kia forums. | |||
| 12/31/2012 | 137685 | ||
| While driving on the highway at 65 mph the crankshaft bolt broke, the timing belt and drive belt came loose. | |||
| 02/16/2012 | 120200 | ||
| I bought my sarento in 2004, new. i replaced the coolant reservor at 61000 miles due to overheating, replaced the low beam headlight bulbs on 4 ocasions, tail lights on 2 ocasions. my vehicle, 5 speed manual transmission, started to have a roaring noise approx. 6 months ago and the u-joints were replaced. it still roars. it quit running on 2-16-12 while i was driving, but restarted. it finally quit again and would not restart on 2-17-12. check engine light indicate a fuel pressure sensor problem, but mechanic says this should not cause the problem i presently have. it has been in the shop since 2-18-12. the mechanic said it started for him. i insisted he let it run for a while and see what happens. sure enough, it quit. kia mechanic told me it may be a crank or cam sensor issue. other problems--front dome light off and on at will, rear one works, clock on and off at will, vehicle hums loudly when driving for a while. it has been a reliable vehicle for the most part, but when there is an issue, it is hard to detect. | |||
| 12/20/2011 | |||
| While driving i suddenly heard a sound coming from my engine and several dashboard lights alluminated. i was able to drive the car to the auto mechanic that works on my car who informed me that it was a crank pulley bolt that had sheared off. the mechanic also informed me this is a very common problem with kias. after doing a lot of internet research i found out that this is true. the car has 135,000 on it. i have spent over $4,000 on repairs on this car in the last year. it seems that everything decided to go this year. i only do highway driving and i am the only owner. i am very careful with my car. any chance kia will reimburse? | |||
| 04/08/2011 | 87192 | ||
| On the above mentioned date the vehicle was taken to ntb for a 90,000 mile check and to replace a bolt that had broken loose it was located near the rear axle when put up on the lift a very dangerous situation was revealed. the frame above the rear axle had completely rotted which caused the bolt to break and the resulting loss of integrity caused weakening and and bouncing causing the gas tank to be punctured. the car was deemed undrivable. i have written to kia with no response the car had been reliable and was taken care of this put us in a tough financial situation having to buy another car in our area alone there are two kia,s that had rotting frames one the same year and make as ours his had 106,000 miles the rotting was not near as bad as ours but the same bolt broke off another was a different model but he had to get the front axle replaced because of rotting our family was put in a very dangerous situation we could have been killed the frame of the car is about the last thing you would expect to fail kia is saying that it is antiperforation and not covered antiperforation has nothing to do with the frame anything you can do to helpwould be appreciated i am filing this on behalf of my daughter | |||
| 03/04/2011 | 141925 | ||
| Crankshaft pulley bolt_while decelerating to make a turn, i lost my power steering and power brakes. the brake and battery indicator lights came on. thankfully, i was not involved in a potentially serious accident. i managed to make it home the last two miles using battery to supply ignition. the 2 of the 3 belts had dislodged and the crankshaft pulley was lose to the point that it nearly detached from the crankshaft end. i am greatly disturbed that, after some research, discovered that this exact failure has been regularly documented. i purchased my unit used so i am unaware if a previous repair had been made by kia. i have not received any notification of such. this is a very serious issue. i am thankful that i was in a rural area when this failure occurred. based upon some research findings, i hope that i do not experience balking while attempting to have this issue remedied, as others have. i have reviewed some discussion regarding a service bulletin #018 (nhtsa item number : 10009688 date of bulletin : jul 01, 2004 crankshaft pulley bolt) issued by kia concerning this failure. i will be arranging for the unit to be delivered to my nearest kia dealer (45 miles away in quincy, il). | |||