Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION | |||||
| 034 | 01/01/2011 | 10037693 | Ready | 06/03/2011 | |
| 034 | 01/01/2011 | 10037693 | Kia: there may be erratic shifting, shift shock, and a malfunction light on with stored trouble codes. this is caused by a problem within the transfer motor. *rm | 06/03/2011 | |
| TSB-021 | 10/01/2009 | 10032617 | Kia motors: some vehicles with a 3.8l engine may experience a bumping symptom during engagement of the damper clutch (torque converter lock up clutch), and a bucking symptom when the damper clutch is fully engaged. *pe | 04/19/2010 | |
| 018 | 01/01/2007 | 10021561 | Automatic transmission adaptive value reset/relearn. *kb | 05/15/2007 | |
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION - CONTROL MODULE (TCM, PCM) | |||||
| 021 | 05/01/2008 | 10024989 | 2007-2008my sorento (bl) tcm reprogram. *nj | 06/17/2008 | |
| 036 | 11/01/2007 | 10023624 | Powertrain control module (pcm) upgrade for 2007 sorento (bl) 3.8l models (p0110 reprogram). *nj | 01/15/2008 | |
| POWER TRAIN - DRIVELINE | |||||
| TSB-021 | 10/01/2009 | 10032617 | Kia motors: some vehicles with a 3.8l engine may experience a bumping symptom during engagement of the damper clutch (torque converter lock up clutch), and a bucking symptom when the damper clutch is fully engaged. *pe | 04/19/2010 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| POWER TRAIN | |||
| 11/01/2011 | |||
| This car was purchase new from the dealership. it has alwasy been serviced by the dealership. after a recent oil change i heard a whine noise in the rearend so i took it into the dealership. after inspection they say i need a new rear end for $2000 and that it is not covered under warenty becuse on previous work they mentioned that a change in fluid was requested. if this change in fluid was so important why was i not informed. this is like a doctor saying if you do not do this you will die. i also have purchased a second kia from this dealership and am very loyal. now i feel that both kia and the dealership have thron me under the bus. who cona one trust in todays world. | |||
| 10/15/2011 | 15500 | ||
| At highway speeds, vehicle check engine light comes on and the power from accelerator greatly reduces. appears to go into 1st gear, and vehicle only able to drive at 5mph. stopped car on shoulder, turned engine off and parked. restarted vehicle with no power or transmission problems; check engine light remained on. after 5 minutes of driving, repeat in activities. occurred 5 times within 20 mile drive. very unsafe to have occur on highway. | |||
| 05/09/2010 | 58000 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2007 kia sorrento. while driving at speeds of 35 mph, the vehicle abnormally began jerking violently and stalled. the vehicle was towed to the dealer yet the dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. the vehicle was left in the dealer | |||
| 01/11/2007 | 600 | 2 | 01/08/2007 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2007 kia sorento. three days after purchasing the vehicle, the air bag light illuminated, which indicated that the passenger side air bag was deactivated. while driving between 40-45 mph, the vehicle hesitated and jerked. when the vehicle is stopped at a stop sign or a red light, the exterior lights shut off. the contact has had to strike the dashboard in order to get the air conditioning to work. in addition, none of the windows will roll down. the blinkers, turn signal, and cruise control do not work. after owning the vehicle for ten months, the alternator had to be replaced and it currently needs to be replaced again. the rails to step up into the vehicle had to be replaced twice. during a crash with a deer, both the driver's and passenger side air bags failed to deployed and the seat belts did not work. as a result, the passenger sustained a broken arm. on two occasions, when the vehicle was taken to the dealer, the contact was informed that the tires needed to be rotated and aligned. on the third occasion, she was informed that the vehicle was out of warranty. since owning the vehicle, she has been to the dealer several times with many complaints, but they have never made any repairs. a hyundai inspector stated that the entire vehicle was out of specifications. the failure mileage was 600. updated 09/23/08. *lj the consumer hit a deer and the air bags did not deploy and the seat belts did not perform as they were designed. the transmission would delay in shifting and would not shift in the correct gear. updated 09/24/08. *jb | |||
| 02/16/2008 | 4400 | 1 | 11/17/2007 |
| I was driving my 2 month old 2007 kia optima ex 6 cyc with 4,000 miles on feb 16 about 10:45 pm when it lost power steering and other car functions. i had just exit an expressway (ih 35) to reach my home when i heard a large clunk and warning lights appeared re: loss of electrical power from to the battery. i was unable to initial steer the vehicle b/c the power steering was not working with significant difficultly i gained control for the short mile distance to my home. this car is being used under normal driving conditions. i looked under the hood and saw that the main engine belt had come off and a large round metal circular gear was laying against the engine block. the engine belt had come off all the pulleys which runs many major engine functions. i had the kia towed it the following monday (2/18/08) at 8am to kia in georgetown, tx . kia service mgr., matt, around 5pm said that the harmonic balancer broke and it wasn't supposed to do that. when asked how this could happen with a brand new car, he said it just happens. kia customer service rep, eddy, told me this was a major part and repair. both kia reps remained very vague on explaining if this part was a result of an optima defect that caused the harmonic balancer to fail early and easily. this was a serious safety hazard that may/could have ruin my crankshaft, engine, and caused serious injury to many drivers present. i realized that i was very lucky this did not happen while on the expressway at 70 mph else you would never hear this story. this reason and kia | |||
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION | |||
| 08/01/2008 | 111000 | 1 | |
| I bought this 2007 sorento october 10, 2007. transmission was messed up from the start. i have posted earlier about my problems (odi id number : 10222227). some of my problems were fixed. the problem with the up-shifting and down-shifting at the same time were fixed. but i still have to much play in drive-line when shifting from forward to reverse. and that play comes in to effect when other shifts happen. when going down a hill and the engine and transmission catch up with each other, i can feel the ker-klunk or shutter when they do. and also at times i feel the same thing when the car get almost to the top of a hill and it's time for the transmission to up-shift, i feel that same shutter. i took it back to the dealership for those problems a week or so ago and they had my car for 9 days. now the car does a hard shift into almost every gear. started with feeling the hard shift into the first 2 gears and now feel it even in 5th gear. these transmission problem have been going on since october 10, 2007. plus as posted before, the sport-a-matic portion of the transmission is still screwed up. when traveling at 65 miles an hour and moving shifter from left to right into sport-a-matic position, the transmission automatically drops to 4th gear. i've drove 3 other models of there cars and none of them do this. they stay in the gear that they were in on the left side. this type of transmission are real popular now. i've checked with anybody i know with that type of transmission and there's all work properly. kia tells me since that year, that model does that, that i have to live with it. also the car has a slight vibration at times at higher speeds. *tr | |||
| 10/11/2007 | 300 | 1 | |
| I purchase a 2007 kia sorento at vandevere kia. it came with the 5-speed auto-matic sportmatic shifting. it bangs into gear, slips into gear and slides into gear. it hardly ever shifts 100%. plus it pulsates between 40 & 50 miles an hours. not all the time & not the same way all the time. also when it's in 5th gear and i move it to the right in the sportamatic position, it drops to 4th gear. i've drove 2 other kia's with that type of shifter and if your in 5th & move it to the right, your in 5th gear. also there is play either in the transmission or the drive shafts. you can feel it when you go from forward to reverse. comes into play as a detriment when on icy roads. i traded my beautiful 2004 kia sorento in for this piece of junk. i've purchased 3 kia's now & found out that customer loyalty doesn't matter to kia. i've been trying to get my car fixed for 6 months now. they know there's a problem & can't figure out how to fix it. i drove another 2007 sorento in there lot and it does the same thing mine does. *tr | |||
| 12/03/2007 | 1 | 10/13/2007 | |
| I bought a 2007 kia sorento in october, 2007. the car only has 3,000 miles and has a horrible shifting problem that i am told all 2007 sorentos have. when the car is going between 40 and 50, it sounds like and shudders like a 10 year old beat up car. it is like it won't shift gears. the motor is extremely louder than the 2003 kia sorento i owned (wish i had it back). i am terribly unhappy with the transmission and shifting problems this car has. *tr | |||
| 01/02/2008 | 20000 | 1 | 02/05/2007 |
| We purchased this a 2007 kia sorento for folgers kia in feb of 2007. after about 4 months we noticed that when accelerating between 35 and 45 miles per hour the car shudder violently and loses power. in my opinion very dangerous. we finally got the car in the shop on jan 2, 2008 only to be told that kia says their is a software problem and it can't be fixed. also told it is normal for the sorento. if normal, why didn't it do it when we first bought it and test drove it? i find their answer unacceptable. in my opinion it is very dangerous and if this problem can't be fixed then it is a lemon. please assist with how to proceed. i'm getting nowhere with kia's very inadequate service departments. *cn | |||
| 12/19/2007 | 7800 | 1 | 06/24/2007 |
| I have a two wheel drive 2007 kia sorento. when i drive between 35 and 50 mph the car begins to jerk, sometimes violently. i have taken it twice to the dealer to have it looked at. the dealer has contacted kia engineers who say that the jerking is within acceptable parameters and nothing will be done to fix the problem. they have described the problem as being called a fish bite. the invoice for service states that this is normal tcc lock up at lower speeds low rpm in lockup. *tr | |||
| 07/10/2007 | 110 | 1 | 07/10/2007 |
| In july, 2007, i purchased a 2007 kia sorento. on my first occasion to drive on the interstate, coming home from work, i encountered a major shudder or jerking when traveling at approximately 35 mph. the interstate was very show traveling due to an accident. when i tried to accelerate, the car shuddered (or jerked) several times extremely hard but then straightened out. the hard shudders occur at approximately 35 to 45 mph. also, when traveling with the cruise control engaged, if i have to disengage the cruise control due to slowing traffic, i press the middle cruise control button and take over manually. when traffic picks back up, i press the resume button, again...the shudder. the shudder or jerking always happens upon acceleration. when attempting a hill at 35 to 45 mph, the car loses power all together and really struggles until reaching the top. i had contacted the dealership and taken the sorento in for repair. the service manager drove the car, did in fact experience the shudder, but was unable to come up with a solution to fix it. he contacted his district manager who said he was working a car with the same problem and was trying to find a cure. i have taken my car back to the dealership and even drove with the service manager. he acknowledges the problem but, again, at this time, there is no solution as to how to fix it. i contacted kia headquarters to see if they were working on trying to find a solution to fix the shudder. i was told that this is probably a characteristic of the car and would be considered normal performance for the sorento. i find this totally unacceptable. i had driven a loaner sorento when mine was in for maintenance and it did not do the shudder. i am very disappointed with my sorento and am considering trading again. *tr | |||
| 09/10/2007 | 959 | 4 | 08/23/2007 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2007 kia sorento. while driving at various speeds, mainly between 42 and 45 mph, the vehicle jerks and vibrates. the vehicle has been taken to the dealer on four occasions. the second time, the dealer replaced the driveshaft, however, the failure still persists. the current mileage was 1,600 and failure mileage was 959. updated 12-12-07. *kb the dealer wasn't sure what the problem was. they stated the problem may be a software or torque converter issue. updated | |||
| 01/08/2007 | 100 | 1 | 01/06/2007 |
| I purchased a 2007 kia sorento on 1/6/07 from chris leith kia in wake forest, nc. not long after i bought it, i noticed that it frequently jerked when accelerating at higher rates of speed. on 1/11/07, i took the car back to the dealer and complained of the problem. at that time they told me it was the electronic throttle body which was self adjusting ,and would fix itself as i drove it. the vehicle continued to struggle, so i took it back to kia on 3/5/07. they had the vehicle for 3 days. after correspondence with kia, i was told to come pick up the vehicle. they told me that kia was aware of the problem and that they were working on a solution. it is believed to be a software issue. as of today, 4/5/07, i still have no solution to my problem. i have been in touch with the dealer, and have been told that they are still working on a solution. i am very frustrated! a brand new vehicle should not run like this!!!*ak | |||
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION - TORQUE CONVERTER | |||
| 04/26/2007 | 100 | 2 | 04/20/2007 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2007 kia sorento lx. the contact stated that the vehicle's transmission surges and has difficulty switching gears. she has taken the vehicle to a kia dealership twice because the torque converter continues to lock up. the failure is noticeable at 35 mph. during the first service visit, a software update was performed. on the second visit, the dealer stated that no repair was currently available for the torque converter. the engine size was unknown. the current mileage is 720 and failure mileage was 100. | |||
| POWER TRAIN - MANUAL TRANSMISSION | |||
| 01/16/2008 | 5000 | 1 | |
| I have taken this vehicle to the purchasing dealer 7 times for multiple issues including transmission or torque converter difficulty switching gears, the main wiring harness fell down into the dash, poor braking performance. the major issue has been the random, but daily esc off light coming on and off. the dealer seems either unwilling or incapable of correcting this issue. i have filed a customer service request we kia two weeks ago, randy ext 45295 kia customer service assured me he would | |||