Kia Motors Sorento Consumer Reviews - Page 2

I own a 2005 KIA Sorento. I purchased this automobile new. Part of the appeal for me was the 100,000 mile warranty. This was part of the sales pitch. Little did I know that they have some many expensive service requirements that the warranty is virtually useless.

I have done all of the oil changes. I also took the car to the dealership for the 30,000 mile checkup which includes a differential service. Each of the oil changes also included checking the fluid level in the differential. I failed to take it to the dealership for the 60,000 mile checkup which I now know also includes another differential service. The car has 79,000 miles and the differential has failed. KIA motors said that the differential failure is no longer under warranty because the 60,000 mile service was missed.

I am 63 years old. I have owned may automobiles including 2 fiats. I previously considered the fiats the worst vehicles made. They have been replaced by the KIA. This is the first time in my life of purchasing cars that I will be maintaining a five year old vehicle out of the junkyard. This is a very defective product. I have had the car too long for it to be eligible for my state's Lemon Law, however, I will be petitioning my state to include failures such as those I have mentioned in our current Lemon Law.

AUSTIN, TEXAS -- The Kia Sorrento engine with 67,000 miles, bought new by me, overheated causing damage that has been repaired. The total of the bill is over $3,600.00. Kia personnel first diagnosed the originating problem as failure of the plastic engine coolant reservoir cracking and losing coolant. After having it pointed out that the reservoir does not actually cool the engine, Kia has since changed their reason for the incident to a faulty thermostat.

They refuse to allow warranty on the repair work, saying that since the thermostat warranty expired at 60,000 miles, the 100,000 mile warranty is not valid. Their written warranty information at time of sale said nothing about the warranty after 60,000 miles being dependent on items expiring at 60,000 miles.

After the overheated engine incident, I went to a Kia new car sales department and asked a Kia sales representative, with the hood of a new Kia Sorrento raised, while pointing to the coolant hose, and asked the question "if that hose breaks or any part of the system containing the coolant fails, is the 100,000 mile warranty valid?" He stated, with two witnesses present, that "the 120 month, 100,000 mile warranty would be valid for any failure, including burn out of the engine from failure of the hose or any part of the system." That same salesman also offered me $1,000.00 for the 2003 Kia on trade, prior to the engine repairs.

OCALA, FLORIDA -- My KIA SORENTO is worth according to KIA $ 13,000 after paying $ 31,000 for it a year ago. WAnting to trade the Sorento for an optimia, same dealership and company, they said my car was worth only $ 13K on trade, but
the bank maintains it is worth $ 19 K.

I purchased a 2005 Sorento and it spent 9 months at the dealership in 2007 and 6 months so far in 2008. Efforts to contact principals in Korea via e-mail, letter has been futile. Local dealership in Jamaica (West Indies) have been unresponsive, hence the effort to contact Principals (or anyone who can assist with this untenable problem).