On the 23rd of August, less than 6 months after my purchase of the 2013 Sorento I bought from Gateway Kia of Warrington, the car started experiencing instrument cluster issues. Every light on the cluster came on, the tachometer and speedometer would bounce up and down and the transmission would go into low gear and you can hear/feel the engine struggle. I turned the car off and turned it back on hoping something would change and it did. I was now stuck in park. The car wouldn't allow me to change gears unless I popped off the cover and used the shift lock release. The doors would automatically start locking and unlocking, as if I were putting it into gear and then back into park repeatedly.

I was able to drive the car back home and popped the hood. Everything seemed fine. I checked the battery terminals (I upgraded to an AGM battery) and AT MOST, the ground was SLIGHTLY loose. So I disconnected it, added a small piece of aluminum to bridge the gap, connected it again and cranked the hell out of it. You weren't getting this ground loose by hand or vibration. Nothing changed on the cluster. I took it to the dealer on August 25th and after an hour of arguing with them about the car, they told me they would look at it. I added a stereo system to the car and they saw all of the wires and of course tried to blame me for the issue. I touched NOTHING aside from the starter battery positive and negative. I've done the exact thing to my 2012 Kia Forte EX without any issues. I've been doing this stuff for years so I know what I'm doing.

So I had to disconnect my wires before they touched the car. I went home, did it (nothing changed) and went back to the dealer on the 28th. They told me to come back the following Tuesday September 2nd so they could look at it. During the time that I had disconnected all of my wires, the car was in the exact electrical status as when I bought it, the issue still happened. I checked every fuse under the dash and under the hood and they all read good except for one fuse under the dash. The fuse itself was good, however when I ran a continuity test on it, it came up positive. The fuse is a 10a "ROOM LP" fuse. It says in the manual it is responsible for protecting "INSTRUMENT CLUSTER (IND.), Digital Clock, Front A/C Control Module Data Link Connector, Door Warning Switch, Personal Room Lamp Room Lamp Auto Cut Relay, Overhead Console (MAP) Lamp Room Lamp, Cargo Lamp, Driver/Passenger Vanity Lamp Electro Chromic Mirror." I dropped it off at the dealer on the 2nd and explained to them what I had found with my test. Two days later they call me and say it brought back no codes and they got the lights to go away. They said my negative on my battery was loose, causing the issues, even though the service tech asked me about that specifically, and noticed it was on there tight. I asked if they had looked into the fuse connection issue I had mentioned and they said they did not. I asked what do I do when it happens again because you fixed nothing and they didn't have a response.

I picked up my car on the 4th and the lights were gone. I've been driving it since then, probably several hundred miles, and today, September 10th, the same issue occurred. I have yet to contact the dealer again about this. This is very dangerous and VERY annoying. I can't keep driving a car that downshifts, especially since I take a major highway to work everyday. The car is covered under warranty for balance of factory. If anyone has any recommendations, please fire away.