Twice burned by KIA

[OCgrassgirl]

I am new to this site so allow me to explain my situation and maybe someone can give me some advise. I owned an '03 Sorento and drove it without problems until I took it for service at about 57,000 miles. We had oil, filters and transmission service done. When we picked it up we noticed that when we applied the brakes, the dashboard lights flashed on. We returned and they said that something must have been disconnected during service and it would be fixed. We returned to pick it up later and it was still happening. This time while following my husband home I notice that the brake lights stayed on all the time. We headed back to the dealer and on the trip back, the brake lights did not work at all. This time the dealer gave us a loaner and kept the car for a week. They were still unable to fix it. They left us in the loaner for almost a month and tried several other fixes to no avail. They finally decided to replace the entire wiring harness. They ripped out the dash and disconnected every wire in the car. When they tried to install the new one they found that the connectors were different. It was the only wiring harness listed in the parts manual for the car but it did not fit. They said they would have to have one made at the factory in Korea and shipped which would take another 4 to 6 weeks. They said that they were not sure that this would even fix the problem and at that point we began negotiating with them to buy the car back. They offered to put us in a brand new '05 model and pay the difference so there was no out of pocket expense to us and no change in our payment or finance rates. We agreed. We took the '05 in November of '04. We found immediatley that clock did not work. They replaced it and it still did not work. While on a trip 2 weeks after we picked it up we began having transmission problems (no 5th gear). We have taken it back to them twice and they have replaced parts of the transmission and returned it to us but we still have the same problem. Now they want to replace the transmission. Needless to say, we are fed up with KIA. OH! They have replaced the clock 3 times now and it still does not work. What now???

[cbeck]

what's wrong with the clock? First time I have heard of such a problem. Is there just no power too it?

You can see my complaints in the spectra section to see my opinion of kia's transmissions, though I thought they supposedly got better round 2004. I would deffinately let them replace the tranny.

[brsexton]

What a bad situation. Kia may have some issues, but do you think your dealer really knows what they are doing? It seems they are having issues fixing the smallest of things. I would try a different dealer.

[fastkia]

so far I havnt heard any complaints on Sorento transmission I personally own an 03 Sorento (among other kias since I work for kia) and I have never even had a check engine light come on on my truck. Anyways back to your subject the clock thing I was able to come up with a solution that I can't just type in here due to privacy issues. But yes there is problems with not only the clock but the power supply while the key is off. U really think the problem is with the techs at your local dealer ship you should try going to a different one or calling KMA's 800 number and a dpsm will advice you on which dealer to take it to with more expirience techs. If I may assist you with any other help feel free to pm me or reply

[sandynecker]

We had a similar tranny problem when our 03 was brand new. The truck would not go into overdrive. Problem turned out to be a bent pin on the Transmission Control Unit. When I say pin I mean the type of pin on a circuit board. So it was tiny. Apparently, dealerships had changed out whole trannys for this when all they had to do is bend a .5 mm pin back into place. Luckily the mechanics at this KIA dealer were keen enough to see the bent pin. Took a ball point pen and 5 seconds to fix the problem.

[FamilyManOfFive]

I'm sorry to hear about your ordeal with Kia, but as much as people rag on them, my family owns FIVE of them. You need to find the right dealership that knows KIAs very well. Our 1996 Sephia has 190k miles on it and still very strong. We even have a 1999 Sportage (Truck Chassis) that has over 120k city miles and runs great. Believe me, KIA has surpassed both Toyota and Honda in the amount of technology in the same amount of time. In other words Kia has only been in the U.S. market 10 years. At Toyota and Honda's 10 year mark, they were still selling trashy mini cars that didn't work very well. Look at the new Sportage, Spectra, Rio, and Amanti. I can't wait for the new 2006 Sedona! Anything technical on Kia's I could have helped you with. Just like that other guy (I think he was a tech) said. You need to find the high volume dealerships who have great technicians that read the service manuals.

JP