Kia Sorento Questions & Answers (page 2 of 3)

Ball weight and towing weight are very different.
We tow a lot and our ball weight limit is 150kg and our caravan weighs 1700kg. The down force or ball weight is 142kg.
Each rig you tow will have a different down force to the ball and it can usually be measured with good bathroom scales (150kg) and a piece of wood about 100 x 100mm square/round and about 450mm long placed between the hitch and scales.
Cheers

Kia do offer a rear spring upgrade which increases the ball weight to 150Kg. This should be a lot closer to the towing limit of 2000kg.

"Jurgens" brand caravans have a 16ft Sungazer model which has a tow ball download weight of only 75 kgs. The maximum allowable loaded weight of the van is 1650kgs. The Sorento should tow it with ease.

Had same problem given same answer from kea dealer didnt replace any parts but when refulling tank put jet cleaning agent in with fuel haven't had any worries since .Also when turning key on wait till car symbol comes on dashboard before starting all the best I've had my vehicle since 2013

I rang the old owner whos had it since new and said if the key light doesn't appear it wont start and too pull the key out and it wil start. Its only happened once since. I will get to the bottom of it lol

Had the same problem with 2009 EX BL 2.5 DIESEL.(The engine turned over but did not start)Something to do with the key and the and the immobiliser/sender.
Took it back to the Kia dealer in Osborne Park, Perth,WA 3 times about18 months ago, each time they replaced transponders, sensors etc, etc.
Eventually they found the fault and I haven't had a problem since. Ring them.

I don't know answer to this question, you might have to call KIA for an answer

@ Emms. Thanks for your response. I'm very happy with the Kia Sorento....Great Family Car!, However To my disappointment I have asked people at the service/parts desk and the response I've gotten (Twice) Is......Please wait a minute and I'll ask the mechanic...and both instances when the person returns.....The answer is our head mechanic hasn't had to changed a timing belt or chain on the Sorento so he's not sure. Hopefully when you come in for the next service we will have an answer for you.

I think because dealership service centres are combined with makes of cars such Kia, Ford, Honda & Subaru and fall under the same service centre they have mechanics that are 'Jack of all trades and experts of none'!.

It has a chain that should last the life of the engine.

Mount it from the underside not the topside - always best to ask an auto electrician to be sure

Yeah the smart sensor is located on the left side of the smooth black piano finish area. If you have one that's small and doesn't cover that. It's worth giving it a try. Worse case is you just take it off if the smart cruise radar isn't working. Otherwise roof is the best area. You could also experiment on mounting it higher or lower to see if it interferes. I'll have a look at that area next time I open up the bumper. It's relatively easy to take out the whole bumper to do install work like this. Do let us know if it works please. I have a 27" light bar but yet to attempt It as mounting location is a little tight in that area.

Did you wave to the Jeep as you passed by in your Sorento ?.

A long time problem for Kia. They make a great car however, the leather and foam quality is less than adequate.

Our 6 year old XM front leather seats have collapsed side bolsters on the door side of the seat base. Were like that when we bought it second hand. Leather is hard and crappy quality but at least it hasn't cracked or split ... yet. In your case I would be hassling Kia Australia directly over that one. I stepped out of a 2010 X Trail with lovely leather pews in great condition after 120000ks. I would have thought Kia had it sorted by now.

Kia/Hyundai are as likely to resolve the Asian leather/plastic crisis as they are in resolving the demilitarised zone between north and south.

.

I don't know I have a 2015 kia

Many thanks Geoff D, for taking the trouble to respond my question.

Do you mean the transfer case needs replacing or the 4wd on the fly controller or both ?.

Yes, certainly raise it with Kia directly. If it was caused by a stone, why did the Service centre not find a problem when they had a first look? If you are not satisfied with outcome, probably raise with Consumer Affairs/Fair Trading. Not a great quality build for an AWD which are expected to be driven off-road and hit by lots of stones!

Write to Paul Glover he's a journo that has a motoring column in Sydney and Melbourne he seems to get action from car companies one person doesn't get much response but an article in a newspaper dedicated to motoring news has a fair impact

CV boots, tyres, brake pads etc. are always excluded under warranty, plus any further damage these items cause but______
The only way to solve this matter is to have a second and third opinion.
As you are in Mildura (and probably purchased there), why not visit the Kia dealer in Swan Hill and don't mention the previous Kia visit.
If they come back with the same opinion, your chances are looking slim, but don't feel defeated.
Finally, have an RACV independent inspection done on the whole car - they may pick up other things that need attention under warranty too.
If the RACV inspection is in your favour, you now have some real bargaining power with any Kia service centre, Kia Australia and VCAT for that matter.

Anyone?

We bought the SLI Diesel for $49K, but have heard people haggle for less. Platinum's have been sold for around $55-$56K with a few extras. Good negotiators can do well at KIA.

We just went through a broker and negotiated on a brand new 2017 Sorento GT-line for $55950 drive away.

We have the 2011 Platinum with the dark charcoal leather so can't answer your first Q. Our vehicle air con struggles if the vehicle has been sitting in the sun. It gets quite hot inside even though the exterior colour is silver and it has factory tinted windows. particularly if the front seats have been in the sun, and noticeably more so than our last vehicle, a Nissan X Trail with similar specs. We try and make sure we use a sun shade when parked. The dual climate system works well on a longer run but i can,t answer for the 3rd row as we havn't used it back there. I had it re-gassed recently which helped slightly. The engine is operating well and has plenty of grunt despite age, although I haven't run it on a dyno to check specs against factory. Oil usage has been insignificant between changes. It does have a rough spot / vibration at low revs below 1300rpm but is otherwise typical diesel and works well with the 6 speed auto. The fuel economy is excellent for the size and performance.
All the best with your purchase.

We have the 2015 Kia Sorento Platinum in sunset red. We have the two tone upholstery - no probs. Air con is very very efficient. Love the heated and cooler seats. Read my earlier post on product review re e gone missing.
Lesley

To be honest I never towed with it but I believe it's rated to pull 2T capacity. Just bear in mind that the 3.5 V6 is only front wheel drive so that might have
some bearing on how well it tows...As much as I love the V6's silky smooth powerful motor, I'm guessing the 2.2 Diesel AWD is a better option for towing...due to AWD?
My car is the MY 12...not sure how different from the MY11.
Good luck.
Joe

Sorry Mars, haven't towed anything bigger than a box trailer but did spy these 2 reviews. Cheers.
http://www.motoring.com.au/reviews/2014/medium-4x4/kia/sorento/kia-sorento-2014-tow-test-45077
http://www.caravancampingsales.com.au/editorial/advice/2013/tow-test-kia-sorento-si-4wd-36606

Hi Lesley,

Very strange, we have exactly the same issue. Same scenario. It happens one or twice a day so we thought that we would leave it till the 15000km service (we are now at 7500km).

I personally thought that it could be a fuel flow issue since it happens at very low engine load/fuel flow rate. Transmission would be my second guess.

I would like to stay in contact in case either of us get a fix. My email address is [email protected]

Best regards,
Ronel

Hi Ronel
Thanks so much for taking to the time to reply. We thought it was the transmission until it happened when my husband was driving it in manual - 5th gear. Thanks also for your e-mail address. I will e-mail you.

Hi Lesley,

Yes felt the same issue in the same manner you described. I had my 3000 kms check-up on Saturday and informed them about this. They took it for a test drive and found nothing but the service manager said they have re-programmed the engine an all. But I do feel the issue is still there.
I am in Sydney and would be great to keep in touch, just in case if/when things might get worse.

My email is
[email protected]

We had no issues in the 4 years we had ours and would probably still have it if my sons legs werent getting so long and needed more leg-room for him in the back seat. As for build quality, it's my opinion that the Koreans now match and probabaly even have passed some of the Japanese in quality and technology. Look at the tired old diesel motors Mitsubishi are still using in the Challenger and Pajero! Even our Prado diesel engine is inferior to the Sorentos if you compare the specs. Don't get me started on why they dont do a diesel option for the Kluger either.
Even the bottom spec'd Sorento gets a lot of bells and whistles compared to the rest so I would have no hesitation in looking at a Sorento if it suited my needs again. You have two options, wait til Jan to look at the new model coming out ( it looks impressive) or get a great deal now on the current one that the salesmen will be keen to move out the door asap with the new year and the new ones around the corner. Bargain hard!

My platinum Sorento started off fine then all the issues started. I laugh when I see/hear the 7 year warranty. In my experience they will look for any reason NOT to correct the issue. My GPS/Computer played up from day 1. it took over 18th months a very supportive and assertive service manager to get it replaced. Front tail shaft issues, seal in sun roof. Roof took over 12 months and the same old story a parts supply issue. The latest is a crumbling seat. You heard right the foam is actually crumbling and falling onto the floor ( to be clean up each week by vacuum) but hey that's normal wear and tear, and of course not using the seat correctly.!! WT&^@ The bells and whistles are fine when they all work but soon as you have any trouble watch then run for cover when you mention warranty claim !

Thank you for sharing your experience. This is my dilemma exemplified! One positive review and one negative. I just hope there are no serious issues involving the engine/drive train which it shares with hyundai. Kia seemed to rank 5 in a US warranty claim survey with 17% of owners making a warranty claim (whether small or big). This is behind toyota at 11%. So still very commendable. Maybe my fears are unfounded.

Nothing in my review was said about capped servicing or extra warranty

An eight year warranty sounds to good to be true. I have not been advised of this or offered one. My vehicle continues to operate well, only real gripe is that the speedometer needle is hard to see. If I turn the display brightness up the numbers become too bright and distracting for night driving.
grazier

I haven't heard whether this is the case or not. I have spoken to a few owners of that model (ie the petrol version) on our travels, and all have said that theirs has performed well, and have had minimal problems. We have just traded our diesel in on a new Isuzu Mux and got a good price for our 5 year old Sorento. The only reason we have traded it in is because we needed a higher towing capacity. It had done 104k km faultlessly. The next owner will get a great car! We pick up the Mux today!

No, I had no problem with the driveshaft

Thanks Leonard Grams. It appears to he been the tail shaft was not fitted properly

Hi Tracey, The sorento Turbo Diesel will tow up to 2000kg (Auto) and 2500kg (Manual) and still deliver exceptional fuel economy (I know ours does). Just check with KIA with regards to down weight on the ball because I can't remember if it was 120kg or if they upgraded to 150kg.

You need to have a "heavy duty" tow bar installed (not just the standard tow bar) at time of installation-costs more but worth it.. sorento is great combination of 4wd capability and urban style-we love ours!

Hi Tracey I agree with the previous answer(check with the dealer) I never done any towing with mine.You would need the proper hitch etc I think they already have a transmission cooler as standard.Len