| Issue ID | 1131697 |
| Internal NHTSA # | 10655071 |
| Manufacurer | Kia Motors America |
| Brand | KIA |
| Model | SORENTO |
| Model Year | 2005 |
| File date | 23/08/14 |
| Component | SERVICE BRAKES |
| Product type code | VEHICLE |
| Description of the problem | 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. |
| Vehicle Mileage at Failure | 110000 |
| Number of Occurences | 1 |
| Source of the issue | NHTSA WEB SITE |
| City and State | RICHMOND, VA |
| VIN pattern | KNDJC733355XXXXXX |
| Was vehicle invloved in a crash? | N |
| Was vehicle involved in a fire? | N |
| Was incedent reported to police? | N |
| Was medical attention required? | N |
| Was part original equipment? | |
| No. of injured persons | 0 |
| No. of fatalities | 0 |
| Date of purchase | 07/08/26 |
| Was original owner? | N |
| Anti-lock brakes | N |
| Cruise control | N |
| Number of cylinders | 6 |
| Drive train type | 4WD |
| Transmission type | |
| Vehicle speed | 35 |
| DoT tire identifier | |
| Tire size | |
| Location of tire code | |
| Type of tire failure code | |
| Was defective tire repaired? | |
| Date of manufacture | |
| Type of child seat code | |
| Type of restraint | |
| Dealer's name | |
| Dealer's telephone number | |
| Dealer's city | |
| Dealer's state code | |
| Dealer's ZIP code |