Broken crank bolt with 100,000 miles.

- Hollis Center, ME, USA

I was driving down the highway and all the sudden my car gave a big sound and died. The steering was really hard to steer, luckly I was in the slow lane and coasted off the edge of the road. Had it towed to mechanic the started was bad, along with the fuel line and fuel pump. After got it running once again ran fine hour later the crank shaft sensor went out. I have read many many complaints about the same issues, also was told that my fuel tank and bottom was rusting out. And my sway bar is bad. My car shakes, I have had new tires and brakes put on and a new muffler put on. I have had all my oil changes and tune ups. They say there is no recalls, how could there not be recalls here in the usa. They had a class action law suit in Canada and Kia was made to fix these same issues.

- Dayton, OH, USA

I was turning onto a street and heard a big clunk only to find out the bolt on the crankshaft broke off again on 10/29/15 as well as 7/30/13. The power steering went out & battery light came on. Lost power and everything after a big clunk! this happens all the time: There are a multitude of these same complaints: This engine was replaced in May 2010 and the harmonic balancer and pulley have been worked on twice since 2010. There is a defective bolt that was replaced with a new defective bolt. This is happening numerous times to many Kia Sorento owners and they are left stranded. Kia knows about it and refuses to do anything! my car is sitting at country Kia in charleston, SC because the extended- warranty will not cover this defective bolt and I can't pay $5000 on a car that is now only worth $3000. I had to stay in charleston, SC an extra 2 days at my expense $79 /night, pay $75 for the tow bill and an additional $55 or $65 for the Kia dealership to check it out. I had to rent a car to come back to fl as I was stranded in charleston without transportation. I cannot afford the $5000 for repairs and the $1500 to pay it off just to get the title to send this to a junk yard. The mileage just turned to 107,000 or 108,000. This is the 4th time that there was an issue on this part of this car having to do with the same issues related to this defective bolt, harmonic balancer and pulley as a result of this defective bolt. (this is only on one car). You will see how many times this is occurring to many other owners of these Kia Sorentos. Please read through the complaints on the following link: gotaclassaction.com/Kia-named-in-class-action-over-first-generation-2002-2009-equipped-with-A-Hyundai-manufactured-3-5L-24-valve-DOHC-V6-engine/

- South Pasadena, FL, USA

Had a car repair in October 2014 due to a broken bolt near crank shaft driving down the highway. Paid for repair and got car back and within a month the motor was shot. I went to go start the car to go to work and it was making a terrible noise, it was stationary. I still have at 7 more car payments to make on the car.

- Milan, IL, USA

The Kia Sorento has a catastrophic failor do to a single pin on the crank shat timing gear. This gear has broken free twice and caused head damage bent valves and also cost between 2 and 4 thousand dollars to replace the 30 dollar gear that will with out question fail again I'm on my third time of this happening this time the timing gear pin grow slowing only the crank shat himonic balancer to come free braking a 10 dollar bolt but with out a doubt it will cost me again thousands to fix. Each time this has happened it has been a different situation once was while driving on the high way the vechical made a loud bang and the vechical list power and came to a halt once while pulling out of my drive way this time the engine locked up and the vehicle had tobe towed to a shop only to find out they would not work on it because it is a know defect the third time was driving threw town and it sound like I had dropped a saw mille under the hood it damaged the valves and broke the fans and tore up the most thus time.

- Cameron, MO, USA

The vehicle's power steering didn't work, and it was rarely driven after transmission repair at a Kia dealer. Looking under the hood showed that the belts weren't moving. The crankshaft pulley was attached but not straight; offset. I called the dealer and they said the crankshaft bolt breaking is a common problem in these vehicles. Is/was there a recall for this? this is a potentially dangerous situation. Luckily the vehicle wasn't driven far when the problem was noticed. MA 10/8

- Mccordsville, IN, USA

Driving in rural eastern Colorado when the battery and brake warning lights came on. Drove on to the next town with a repair shop (brush, co) and checked under the hood. Belts were loose and the bottom pulley was lying in the bottom of the engine compartment. Had to have it towed 70 miles to the Kia dealership in windsor, co ($375). They did the repair and charged $1303.85. Had to rent a car while the repair was completed ($343.57). Harmonic balancer had failed and caused damage to timing belt, tensioner, crank sprocket, etc. Updated 10/9/15 updated 12/21/2015

- Iowa City, IA, USA

Crank shaft bolt broke three separate times (2nd time Jan. 21, 2015; 3rd time July 3, 2015) after repairs made. The last time, the car was considered irreparable due to the inevitability of failure due to faulty design of the factory made crank shaft bolt. Whole new engine needed for complete repair.

- Olympia, WA, USA

I was driving though a parking lot on late Friday afternoon and heard a rattling noise coming from under the hood. So, after I parked I popped the hood, I also started to hear a squeaking noise (belts rubbing), so I drove home and parked it until Monday when I took it to a local shop and they said it sounded like a pulley for the timing belt, they got it in on Wednesday and called to have me come take a look at what was causing the noises when I got there, they explained that it was the crankshaft bolt that held the fly wheel on and there where two options (1)I could drive it until the bolt snapped or (2) they could try and break the bolt loose and replace it, so we went with option number 2 and after about five hours I got a call telling me that the bolt had snapped and they had tried welding a new bolt on to try and break the rest of it loose, and they had tried to drill out the bolt but with no luck, they then gave me an estimate to replace the engine with a re-manufactured engine the estimate was $6,900 before tax, so I called Kia corporate and they took a week to come back and tell me due to the age, the mileage, and not the original owner they would not pay to replace the engine so now I'm going to join the class action law suit. Very bad engineering design to think one seer pin could hold that bolt plus it sounds like they are using a deep thread skinny shaft bolt which means the threads are holding a 15-20lbs fly wheel when that seer pin snaps, very disappointed in Kia, will never buy their cars again..updated 08/24/15

- Indianola , IA, USA

The contact owns a 2005 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that when the key was turned to the off position and removed, the vehicle failed to shut off. The contact removed the battery from the vehicle, but the vehicle continued to run. The contact then removed an air mask valve that caused the engine to shut off. The vehicle was unable to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 95,000. MA 08/05/15 updated 11/13/2015

- St Charles, MA, USA

I have a 2005 Kia Sorento and last August I was coming to a stop at a very busy intersection and my car made a very loud clanking bang sound. My car died, my battery, brake and engine light came on. I turned the key and it started and I was able to get it off the road but my power steering was gone. I had it towed to a garage that said they would not fix it because it was to intense (cost $150), so I had it towed to another. An ase certified Chevrolet dealership and they told me it should be covered under my warranty because it was part of the power train and I had less than 60,000 miles on my vehicle- my crankshaft bolt was sheared completely off (no charge). They and I contacted Kia, Kia had me tow it to them (which is 50 minutes away). They then told me it was not covered, and the part was $10.97, however the work involved to fix it was a lot more extensive and gave me an estimate of $650-$750! it cost me $650 plus all my towing costs ($240). I could have saved the towing cost and had the Chevrolet dealership fix it since I had to pay for it! now, not even a year later, I bring my Sorento to the Chevrolet dealer for an oil change and the mechanic asked me to come look at my driver side trailing arm bracket. It is completely rusted and no longer attached and the other side isn't in good shape either. They tell me it will cost hundreds of dollars to fix it and I really should contact Kia because this should not have happened. I decided to research this and it appears that both of these issues are common and unsafe. I am waiting to hear back from Kia now on how to get this taken care of.

- Center Conway, NH, USA

At a stop light, I heard and felt a shudder throughout the vehicle. The brake and battery light came on immediately after the shudder. The engine continued to run normally. Proceeding through the intersection, I experienced the loss of power steering making the car very difficult to control. Managed to get the vehicle to a nearby parking lot where I called for a tow to the Kia dealer. Dealer confirmed a sheared crank shaft bolt. Incident occurred on a busy state highway during rush hour. Speed limit is 45 mph on this stretch of road and very busy at rush hour. Had the vehicle been in motion at the time of the part failure there would have been an accident.

- Kettering, OH, USA

During my trip home from a local outing I noticed my battery light flashing intermittently. As I got closer to home the light became more steady steering became more difficult. I had a good guess what the problem was due to the fact that I've had this same issue twice in the last eight months. I made it home safely and had my vehicle towed a few days later to a repair shop. I was not at all surprised when the mechanic told me I had a crank shaft problem. This is something Kia has known about for years and should have scheduled a recall to repair this issue. I might not be here today if I was traveling on the highway at a faster speed.

- Irvington, NJ, USA

Vehicle died while driving, then would not crank over. Had towed to dealer. Vehicle was no longer covered by warranty. Dealer replaced cam and crank sensors, timing belt, crank bolt and badly fraying accessory drive belt.

- Altoona, IA, USA

Driving approx 55mph, my lights seemed to dim then my battery and brake light came on. I immediately turned my heater, radio, dashboard lights and lights to low. I continued driving for nothing else seemed to be wrong and was going to pull over when I noticed my power steering also was not working. I was able to get myself to a safe place to stop and put the car in park, it began making an odd sound (thinking a possible belt) it then made a popping sound thinking I broke a serpentine belt, I then turned the engine off and had my mechanic look at it. He said the crankshaft bolt had broken off and was an estimated $3000+ repair. I have also had issues with crankshaft sensor which caused my car to not turn over without a jump. After that was repaired I had to buy a new battery that prior to the winter season tested out to be good. Ihave also been told I need to replace a spark plug which could cost hundreds to replace because of the location. I have to replace headlights/taillights more than normal.I have seem to have issues with alignment and have put 2 sets of tires on after noticing abnormal wear on the insides, I've had it aligned twice. I still owe $6100 on a car that I would have to put $3000 into and now have nothing to drive!

- Williamsfield, OH, USA

On July 13th 2013 I started financing a 2005 Kia sorrento LX from a dealership in pinellas park, Florida called E-Z car credit. During the first month of financing the car had to be serviced for many different reasons. Over the last year and a half of financing the problems have gotten worse an more expensive. Problems include but not limited to: Overheating, bad sensors, front end alignment, new water hoses, new water reservoir, thermostat, power steering, electrical. An then we come to the most recent problem. The one 1,000S upon 1,000S of customers have been having "catastrophic engine failure" broken push rods, cams destroyed, valves, pistons. Estimated cost $4000. An now that I have $7,000 invested and owe another $5,000 on my loan I am joining the class action lawsuit against Kia motors.

- Madeira Beach , FL, USA

I was stopped waiting to turn into a fast food place when I let off the brakes to turn in, the SUV took off from 0 to 60 in a split second.when I tried to mash the brakes it wouldn't go down and I couldn't stop.I ended up hitting a tree, the air bags did come out.the SUV was totaled.I contacted Kia's office and they had the SUV towed to a lot for investigation.as of this date I haven't heard form Kia as to what they found out.this was the second time the Kia took off on it's own with me.I would like this accident off my record and info as to what went wrong with the Kia.

- Silver Creek, MS, USA

The contact owns a 2005 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving 30 mph, an abnormal noise emitted from under the hood and the power steering seized. The contact discovered that none of the belts in the vehicle were moving. The failure recurred several times. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the technician diagnosed that the crank shaft damper, harmonic balancer and the gear needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 40,000.

- Aldi, VA, USA

First incident-on August 16, 2014 while on vacation and driving from Virginia to Chicago ill, the vehicle start making a rattling noise coming from the front of the vehicle and warning lights came on the dash (battery, brake) and the power steering went out making the vehicle very hard to maneuver, I immediately pulled over into a fast food parking lot to check the noise and found that the harmonic balancer was loose and belts were not turning, I had the vehicle towed to a mechanic after inspection I was informed that the crank shaft gear pin had broke off to the harmonic balancer. I purchase the parts (harmonic balancer, bolt and crank shaft gear) and had the mechanic repair the vehicle and drove back to Virginia. Second incident-October 2014 while my wife was driving the vehicle, she encountered the same problems the warning lights, rattling in the front of vehicle, power steering locked unable to turn vehicle, I inspected the vehicle and saw that the harmonic balancer was loose and belts were not turning, the pin in the crank shaft gear has broken again, I had the vehicle towed to the Kia dealership in richmond, and they stated that I needed a new motor. After investigating complaints about this vehicle on line I found out that this problem is well documented with this make and year vehicle. If I or my wife had been on the highway at the time of this fault it could have been catastrophic. I also found that their is a class action suit against Kia motors addressing the exact same fault.(civil action no. 13-006 United States district court, district of New Jersey) essentially, plaintiffs claimed their vehicles were designed with a "defective crankshaft pulley bold and balancer, ? which could result in ?breaking off the spring guide pin, ? causing ?catastrophic engine failure." This vehicle is unsafe, a recall is warranted and Kia motors needs to correct the defect.

- Richmond, VA, USA

While leaving our home to run errands, I lost power steering and several dashboard lights came on. We purchased the Kia Sorento in 2005 new and have had very few problems with it until now. It has less than 70K miles and has been serviced by the dealer every 3K miles. I had the vehicle towed to the dealer, who rather quickly diagnosed the problem as a broken crank bolt and estimated repairs would cost about $1300. The dealer checked with Kia on whether our 100K warranty would cover the repairs. Kia said this problem was not covered. At the time I didn't realize this is a fairly common problem with the Kia Sorento's. checking the comments from other Sorento owners, I have concluded this certainly appears to be a design defect. Our concern is that this could have happened in traffic at 70 mph and the loss of the ability to steer could certainly become a very serious problem, with potential fatal consequences. I am especially concerned about the number of situations that the bolt failed a second and sometimes a third time after the initial repair was made. Request serious consideration of Kia issuing a recall to remedy this design defect. Updated 01/14/15

- Davenport, IA, USA