This Kia was housed and stored in a garage for most of its life and driven only in the summer. In the winters of Michigan is was housed in a clean dry garage. This Kia was a 2 owner car. I am the second owner. I had driven it one winter and this summer took it to get an alignment because it pulled to the right. Alignment center could not do the alignment because the whole right driverside of the frame was rusted out beyond their safty standards. The Kia was pulling to the right because the whole frame on the right side was 80% rusted out and the left side was also but not to the extent of the right side. There are foot long gaping holes in the frame due to the rusting. It is irreparable. There is no safe spot to weld to to fix it either. After a rain I noticed the pools of water go directly under the Kia instead of on the sides pooling and dripping off the frame on each right and left side. A flaw of design but a deadly if travelling and the car snaps in half. The Kia looks perfect and runs perfect. The underside it's frame is totally rusted beyond repair. Kept in a garage and out of elements for virtually all of its life, this should not have happened. Defective steel " defective body design" defective Kia. Not safe not drivable.

- Kalkaska, MI, USA

While my daughter was driving on the highway, the brakes failed. The mechanic showed me the brake lines toward the rear suspension rusted through. Also the support for the rearend rusted through making the vehicle dangerous to drive. The brake lines from front to back were changed and I am looking to have the support brackets changed.

- Chicago, IL, USA

Oct, 2016 - I am the orignal owner of the vehicle and had maintained regular maintainence on the vehicle. I had just put $700 of new tires on vehicle and had a routine oil change and fluid check before we left for our vacation. I never had any issues with the vehicle and I still own. The vehicle does not run but I wanted to know what started the fire. My daughter and I were headed out of town for a week, about 200 miles into the commute the front of the vehicle began to smoke from under the hood, we were traveling at 55-60 mph. As I was exiting the 421 highway flames began coming out from around hood and the paint on the hood began to bubble up due to heat. I immediately called the fire dept, as I was driving, pulled onto the shoulder and immediately removed my daughter and our belongings from the vehicle and distanced ourselves from the vehicle. When the fire dept arrived they put the flames out and the vehicle was transported to a local shop, I had the vehicle towed back to our home city upon departure from our vacation. Upon further observation I was able to see the fire started in the area closest to where the engine meets the dash on the drivers side and continued to spread from that point to the front of the vehicle and under on the drivers side.

- Monroe, NC, USA

2004 Kia Sorento ex with extensive rust damage to rear cross-members #2 and #3. discovered during tire rotation in Nov 2018, but is obvious the damage has existed for a substantial amount of time. Cross-member #2 is just in front and above the rear axle and has the mounting brackets for the axle struts, which keep the axle in place, it also has a mounting bracket for the fuel tank, as well as a pass through bracket for the rear brake lines, and a muffler hanger. The car is not safe to be driven due to the imminent danger of a full failure. Cross-member #2 is about 70% rusted through on the fuel tank side and perforated in several other places as well. Crossmember #3 which is behind the rear axle contains no mounts, but a torsion bar does connect where the cross-member passes through the left frame rail. Strut mount connectors on axle are also severely rusted. Backing plate for rear disc brakes on both sides is rusted so severely they crumble like an eggshell. Contacted Kia and they said they will not cover repair of the defect, case #12944853 opened. It only takes a quick search online to find there are many cases of this with particularly 2004 models.

- Leesburg, VA, USA

Whole driving down road started to loose control. Upon bringing to a service station found out rear frame of vehicle is completely rotted away leaving suspension hanging and not drivable.

- Southington, CT, USA

Purchased used, was driving to grandson's ball game, when car started making funny noise and acted as the the rear end was going to fall out, we pulled over in grocery store parking lot, got out and looked, could not see anything, had daughter follow us home, just in case, took it to friend who noticed the rear bracket arms are completely rusted out, looks like it is what holds the rear end in place. I'm not sure what to do, I paid over $5000 used and I can't just park it, I think Kia should be responsible for this mishap, it is not like it can just be fixed, it needs replaced, so I'm thinking it would be a major job, I've read many many other forums after finding this out about mine and researching, I"M sure this could potentially be a serious or even life threatening problem, I'm not sure I would want to sell it to someone else, if it is dangerous, I would really like to know the seriousness of this problem, is this a minor or major problem, is there more holding that rear end in place then just those rusted out arms or brackets" would you want your daughter driving this?, I don't know if the previous owner was aware of not, if so we were not notified, I would hate to think I could be driving down the road with myself and grandbabies and something horrible happen. Please help, I"M really concerned about this, especially after all the trouble with the crankshaft bolt I" reading about. I'm scared to death to drive this thing, if it had never went up on a rack we would be none the wiser and would still be driving daily just as if we did not know, but now that I know, I don't know what to do.. this is a real safety issue, there is to much nonsense car dealers get away with anyway for us consumers to worry about our lives or someone else's while driving. Will the rear end fall out? is it safe to drive? you tell me? would you drive it"

- Springfield, OH, USA

Excessive rust to the frame. It is so bad now you can poke holes in the frame with your finger. If it is this bad now it was already rusted badly at or before 10 years old.

- Gambier, OH, USA

The contact owns a 2004 Kia Sorento. While the vehicle was stationary, the rear frame that connected the rotary bar was severely rusted and corroded. The failure caused the vehicle to become unstable. The vehicle was not repaired the manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was approximately 78,000. Updated 03/07/17 consumer stated vehicle was fixed updated 6/20/18

- Warrick, RI, USA

The contact owns a 2004 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while in park, the contact noticed that the rear sub frame had corroded. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 82,000.

- Wales, MA, USA

A section of the main frame rail is rotted completely through, where the rear sway control arm which attaches to the rear drivetrain. The vehicle is unsafe to drive as the rear drivetrain is at risk of detaching from the vehicle.

- Warren, RI, USA

My son was driving this car when he heard a loud bang and lost control of vehicle while driving in a roundabout in taunton mass and nearly crashed this vehicle due to losing the ability of stabilizing it, but was able to pull off to side of road thankfully because of the speed of travel at the time, thankfully he was not on the highway or I may be telling a different story. Upon driving vehicle home, my husband looked over vehicle to see where the problem was and noted frame near right rear tire had rusted totally through where it attaches to an arm of some sorts maybe a stabilizing arm(not sure). We purchased this vehicle March 2014-7 months ago and it passed inspection at the time, but I don't believe that it should have as they are supposed to check the frame as listed on inspection report and there is absolutely no way it rusted through that badly in 7 months time with roughly 6,000 miles put on it. This particular problem has been reported on many blog sites as well as on this site, their should be a recall as it seems to be a known problem, and consumers should not have to pay possibly their life for such a defect. I have pictures of this issue, and will also be notifying Kia about this as well.

- Berkley, MA, USA

I went to get my oil changed on/around 9/5 and they wouldn't change it due to severe rust damage that had rusted through the oil pan, brake line, at least one crack in the frame from rust, and the tires are barely held on to the car due to rust damage. Now my brakes don't work but I still have to drive the car. I went to 2 other shops and no one will work on my car due to it falling apart from rust. I purchase my car at abc motor credit August of 2013 and re-located to Florida before winter hit. I called them and they referred me their warranty company, lisa warranty group. Of course, rust damage and frame work is not covered. Abc motor credit sold me a car that should have been totaled, not re-sold to a consumer for $12,000!! I have tried 5 different dealerships to help get into a newer, safer vehicle, but no one will finance me due to the negative equity on this loan. Is there anything I can do? I should not be stuck paying $367 a month for the next 2 years after already investing over $4,000 into a useless vehicle. I have to conclude that abc motor credit sold me this car fully knowing the extent of the rust damage before putting it on their lot. I hope there is some law protecting consumers from this sort of business. Please let me know what I can do!

- Lake City, FL, USA

The contact owns a 2004 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that the frame was rusted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted about the failure. The failure mileage and VIN was not available.

- New Ipswich, NH, USA

Was driving vehicle when frame broke and almost crashed it found out from a body shop that the frame had corroded and broke and we owe money on this piece of junk and the Kia corporation has never heard of this happening.

- Lisbon, OH, USA

The contact owns a 2004 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving 15 mph, the brakes malfunctioned. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the contact was informed that the vehicle could not be repaired due to rusting of the frame, which damaged the brake lines. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 136,000.

- Worcester , MA, USA

The contact owns a 2004 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while having an annual inspection performed, the technician determined that the upper control arm hangers were completely corroded. As a result, the entire rear end of the vehicle needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 114,000....updated 12/03/13 the vehicle was repaired on 09/13/13

- Pittsburgh, PA, USA

The contact owns a 2004 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that the brakes were being serviced by a personal mechanic when he noticed that the bracket that held the control arm to the vehicle was rusted. The manufacturer had not been notified. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileages were 131,000.

- Waterville, NY, USA

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

- Plymouth, MA, USA

My sister purchased this vehicle new and has had nothing but problems with it and problems with dealership/Kia honoring their 10 year/100,000 mile warranty. She purchased this vehicle believing she would be driving a quality vehicle (advertising 10 year/100,000 mile warranty she assumed it must be of high quality because who would offer that kind of warranty if it was junk....wrong!) she has had nothing but stress, financial expense, lost work time, and a battle of her life trying to seek consumer justice...dealership, Kia motors, lemon law requires a part to fail four times, attorney generals office, conciliation court, writing to ruukivina, oberstar, and most recently amy klobuchar...all failed. No one has said that they will investigate Kia and protect the consumers from this fraudulent automobile manufacturer. Why? the problems she has had with her vehicle consist of rust on the tailgate and rear doors just a few months after purchasing, all kinds of electrical problems from headlights and tail lights burning out numerous times, the digital dash for radio and heater going black, the heater not work, a relay switch for fan failed, foam between windshield and frame coming out tapping on the window, a problem with the coolant reservoir, the rear driveshaft failed, the transmission had to be replaced and most recently the transfer case. Safety issues and concerns would be with tail lights and headlights burning out prematurely and frequently and the crankshaft bolt broke causing to loose all ability to steer the vehicle. There are probably other problems she has had with the vehicle but I do not recall at this time.

- Eveleth, MN, USA