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At 70,000 miles Kia replaced the crankshaft pulley bolt on my 2003 Sorento due to a recall. The next month they replaced my Timing belt. At 110,000 miles the crankshaft pulley bolt sheared off and ruined my entire engine. KIA is saying that it was a one time use bolt and I could not prove they replaced the timing belt therefore they would not fix my engine. Although Kia replaced the bolt in both instances they said it could not be proven that they did it the second time and therefore not their problem.

My opinion is that they should fix my engine as it was their bolt that sheared off - it is clearly evident from the original receipt that they replaced it for the recall - the bolt itself is very distintive in design and color and is easily recognized as the same type that KIA used fo the recall - the dealership installed the timing belt and I assume they installed a new bolt as well - yes I was at fault in not keeping track of every piece of documentation concerning my vehicle - however that does not negate their responsibility in standing by their product.

It may cost me a few thousand today but I will assure you that it will cost KIA much more in consumers relation.

Monetary Loss: $5000.

Location: Washington, District Of Columbia

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Guest

Purchasers of the 2003-**** Kia Sorento automobile now have the opportunity to be reimbursed for their expenses if their crank shaft bolt snapped and caused additional engine damage. A law suit filed in the United States District Court of New Jersey as a nationwide class action was tentatively settled.

Part of the settlement includes the opportunity for new and used car purchasers of the 2003-**** Kia Sorento to submit a claim for reimbursement up to $4,900.00. The law firm representing the car purchasers is the Law office of Shmuel Klein, PA. The settlement website established as part of the settlement of the law suit is http://www.crankshaftboltclassaction.com.

The website includes a link to filing a claim for reimbursement and all of the court documents regarding the litigation and the settlement agreement. Kia Motors Company produced over 200,000 Kia Sorentos and purchasers of those vehicles may be reimbursed for the costs of the repairs by filing a claim form.

Guest

Hi, I've had the same problem with my 2006 Kia Sorento. It is important that you file a complaint with the NHTSB(national highway transportation safety board) if you live in the United States.

They are the governmental body that issues recalls.

PLEASE issue your complaints to them......and maybe we can prevent others from buying from KIA. Hit them where it hurts financially and bad publicity.....

Guest

we are prosecuting a class action law suit against kia for this serious problem. contact us at 845-425-**** Law office of Shmuel Klein PA

Leotis Ndo
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-913338

Is it too late to file a complaint?

Guest

The bolt broke off twice in 3 years on my 2005 Kia Sorento

Class Action Lawsuit:

Bleichman & Klein

Attorneys & Counselors at Law

268 Rt 59

Spring Valley, NY 10977 8**-**4-0004

Guest

have a 2005 kia sorento pulley just sheared off now at 94000 did not talk to mechanic at shop yet bought car new from kia in orland park Illinois I never received a recall for this bolt wtf!!!!!!!!!

Guest

i am from AK and got a 2003 sorento and looks like to me the crankshaft bolt busted in my car not sure if it been replaced or what.. im at 125,000 miles i will keep u all updated calling dealer tomorrow but i will be out of luck to i still owe money on this car and i only had it for 6 months

Guest

I have a 2004 Kia Sorento. I have changed the Crank Pulley Twice already.

I have had a complete Engine Over Haul and have spent right at $3000 trying to fix the problem. I recently found this to be a problem on many Kia Sorento's and Kia will not tell you about it or fix the problem .

What a *** way to treat a customer. I will not purchase another product from Kia or Hundai again unless you make some sort of acceptable offer to fix or replace my auto.

Guest

I have a 2006 Sorrento. My car began cutting off (steering locked, all notification lights come on) in 2011.

Kia said it was my crankshaft and replaced it, under warranty. Several months later my car was still exhibiting the same issues. Took it back to the same Kia dealer (no warranty this time), I spent more than $1500 for them to replace gaskets, timing belt, spark plugs and the lower intake plate shaft. A week after I got it back it was STILL shutting down while driving.

I called the same dealer (the only dealer who has ever done work on this car since I have owned it since 09). So NOW the problem is that I need to replace 3 engine coils and that's going to be another $1100! When I told them that this same issue cannot be caused by different issues every time!!! So I took the car to Tire Kingdom to get another diagnostic...they said that the issue is most definitely NOT the coils.

I never took it back to the Kia dealer and Tire Kingdom never fixed it because I don't have another thousand dollars to spend fixing a car that isn't even worth $5,000 resale.

I'm fckd but I know this will be the LAST KIA I EVER BUY! The worst car experience of my life.

Guest

So I was driving home the other day, all the sudden my brake light and battery light came on, lost my power steering on the highway @ 70 mph, lucky when all this happened I slowed down and got off the exit. Went to a garage and they told me what the problem was. Funny, my crankshaft bolt sheared off in my engine @ 110,000 miles also, just bought the car used from a private seller and am miserable, my mechanic is telling me I need to replace the engine? The bolt was replaced in. 07 from the recall, but I see people continue to have the same problem regardless, what my I have concluded from all the information, first - the pin with the crankshaft isn't strong enough and the weight of the crankshaft is too heavy for the current design. I agree we need to get together and go to Kia, I have seen a few class action law suits already, I'm in MD and need to get some info. Has anyone had the same problem I am and what was the solution??

Thanks

MTB

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-722983

yes happened to me twice already 1/14 and 5/14...fraid to drive car for long periods of road travel....

Guest

I Have had my KIA FOR 5 Years and the motor is blown customer service is real bad says is our fault

Guest

I have a 2005 Kia Sorento and my crankshaft also gave out, the warranty company I bought the vehicle with is refusing to pay for the cost because of "preexisting conditions" I am not sure what that mean. Anyway, the bill is $5000 and I am left without a car nor can I get a new car.

I would like to be included in this class action lawsuit. This is terrible :-(

Guest

My wife has a picante. She had crankshaft bolt pulley problems.

Took it to the original dealer and service center to have it fixed to have it fixed. The manager will take NO responsibility. I ended up paying the entire bill. Two weeks later the bolt sheared off again.

They refuse to fix their faulty repair work. Who ever heard of crankshaft bolt failure?

This car is nothing but a piece of junk and the dealers irresponsible. I hope All countries refuse to import this piece of junk which the dealers refuse to service.

Guest

Almost sounds like they are trying get out of their 100k warranty(as usual) although the bolt doesn't have 100k on it. Almost sounds like a local dealer franchise is trying to save money. Alot of franchise owners in any business frequently try to get out of corporate requirements.

How did you find out they replaced the timing belt as well? Reciept given to you? Dealer service doesn't have records?

Indeed it does sound like lawyer time.

Guest

Has anyone heard of a successful lawsuit regarding these faulty crankshaft bolts?

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-641206

law suit pending against Kia

contact lawyer shmuel.klein@***.net

845-425-****

Keana Uso

We are having the exact same problems with our 2004 sorento, with one exception-Kia is denying our vehicle even exists according to the vin numbers even though we still have$3000 to go to pay it off and it doesn't even run! I suppose if it doesn't exist then they don't have to fix it right? Well then we shouldn't have to pay for something that doesn't exist either but the loans thru the bank & not kia so where does one go from here??

Keeana Jcy

With all of the money spent to keep my 2003 Kia sorento running, i could have bought an island! From the timing belt to the crank shaft to the sensors to the radiator to the headlights to the breaklights to the sunroof to the muffler to the rust on the rear door to the tows off the road to the butterfly screw.

And now i'm losing power,,,AGAIN!!!! I say RECALL THE ENTIRE SUV!!

I WANT MY MONEY BACK!!! :( :cry :x

Guest

I may have the record on this issue. On Sept 28, 2004 I bought a 2005 KIA Sorento EX. Since that purchase I have had all suggested and required maintenance performed at the KIA dealer in Santa Fe, NM.

On July 16, 2009 the car lost power steering and made a loud squealing noise. I could not control the vehicle. It was towed to the KIA dealer where the problem was verified and traced to a sheared roll pin from the crankshaft sprocket. The sprocket was replaced for the first time. The mileage at that time was 93,560.

The problem happened again 65 days later on Sept 21, 2009 while I was driving in rush hour traffic, in the rain. The car was again towed to the KIA dealer in Santa Fe where the problem was confirmed. The roll pin from the crankshaft sprocket was sheared for a second time and had to be replaced. The mileage at that time was 96,852. The technical service bulletin issued by KIA for this problem had been missed previously.

Twenty months later, on April 19, 2011, I again lost the ability to steer the car while in the middle of a busy intersection just prior to driving down the side of a mountain on a very winding road from Los Alamos to Santa Fe. Again the car was towed to the KIA dealer and again the crankshaft pulley bolt was broken. The roll pin from the crankshaft sprocket was sheared for the third time and had to be replaced. The mileage on this date was 120,012. At that time, the KIA District manager refused to pay for the repairs because the warranty had expired. We eventually agreed to split the cost three ways among the local dealer, the district office and me.

Thirteen months later, on May 29, 2012 the problem happened again, and the car was towed to the KIA dealer. This time I was informed that the bolt had been replaced so many times that the threads were worn down. The crankshaft pulley bolt was dislodged due to thread wear in the front crankshaft end and would require replacement of the entire engine assembly. The mileage at this point was 131,595.

I opted to have the engine replaced.

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