2021 Kia Sorento

[WFarm]

My father-in-law recently passed and bequeathed his 2021 Kia Sorento with the turbocharged 4 cyl to the wife. Has about 31k miles on it. Anybody out there have any feedback on this car from owning one? Personally I can’t stand the thing as it’s like a smartphone on wheels. Must have dozens of cameras and no real gauges, only computer generated images. With all the superfluous crap it would seem reliability would suffer.

 

[fast 99]

My 2 cents from working on them for 20 years. Generally speaking, properly maintained Kia and Hyundai vehicles are decent and reliable until about 100k. After that they are a grenade with the pin pulled. Everything and anything breaks. If I got one cheap enough would drive it for a while then move on to a Honda, Nissan or Toyota.

New cars today are mobile computers. Going to be hard to get away from that smartphone description. With new government mandates on the horizon, cars will become more intrusive.

 

[sidschev]

engine are bad in those. mine ate three quart oil at 58765 miles on it 2016 and up have those bad engines... mine was still under warranty too. 2017 model year..... traded it off for 2020 Tacoma . ill never buy anutter one.....i was expecting 300000 mile out of that thing when i bought it brand new in 2017 it had 20 miles on it..........changed oil like clock work.....wife came home from work i went to check the oil and no oil on dip stick ,,,,im like WTF looked at the exhaust and they were flooded with oil... so did some research and sure enough all them dang kia have bad engines........59000 mile they dump the oil.......

 

[Soundmound]

One of the most easily and often stolen vehicles brands currently. Some cities are suing the manufacturer’s now...

 

[WFarm]

Appreciate the feedback. I will never buy a new car; fortunately the wife goes along with me in this regard but the fact this car was her fathers is causing some hesitation to dump it as quick as we can.

Maybe input from the worlds greatest engineer will help:

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[bucket]

Couple years ago I was visiting someone that works at a Hyundai/Kia dealer. There were literal rows of cars awaiting new replacement engines. Inside the service area, probably 3/4 of the bays were occupied with cars receiving new engines. There were engine crates scattered all about the shop floor.

It blew my mind how big of an issue it is.

 

[45tt]

I have an employee of mine that just got a new engine in his Sorento under warranty and under 50k miles. I told him that when it’s done and he gets it back, to go trade it off on a Toyota or Honda. He said he’s going to drive it because he doesn’t want a car payment. I’ll never own a Kia or Hyundai, I don’t care what kind of warranty they throw at them.

 

[sidschev]

one thing is for sure you will be replacing that engine no if's and's or butts....either warranty or your wallet........

 

[TotalyHucked]

Dump it. A buddy of mine works on Kias for a living. He tells everyone that’ll listen to not buy them. Both my GF’s mom’s Sorento and a neighbors have had engines replaced

 

[Grit dog]

One of the most easily and often stolen vehicles brands currently. Some cities are suing the manufacturer’s now...

Yes but that one’s new enough to not be part of that problem. Pretty sure. But make sure.
Son’s gf just bought a Hyundai something or other hybrid and at first the ins company wouldn’t insure it. Then they dug deeper and it has a chip key/immobilizer so it’s ok. 2017 model iirc
Funny, I’ve seen one stolen personally. And so has my MIL. Both here in Seattle area.

 

[Grit dog]

Appreciate the feedback. I will never buy a new car; fortunately the wife goes along with me in this regard but the fact this car was her fathers is causing some hesitation to dump it as quick as we can.

Maybe input from the worlds greatest engineer will help:

You must be registered for see images attach

Well, can’t comment on the Kia. But it’s really a commercial decision at this point. A 2 year old chit box can’t possibly hold a lot of sentimental value, even given the situation (which I’m sorry to hear).
The statement about NEVER owning a “new” car, which I presume you to mean anything new enough to have bunch of computer controls, is pretty bold. Or you have an abundance of time, means and desire to find and keep older cars running.

 

[WFarm]

So almost as a joke I showed the wife a local ad for a 07 Hummer H2. In one of those “Who are you and what did you do with my wife” moments, she wanted to go check it out. It was an extremely clean and well maintained 1 owner truck and now its ours. It’s a newer vehicle than what I would have wanted but 1) Its not a KIA and 2) The drivetrain seems reliable, with a 6 liter Gen III GM small block with what seems to be an updated TH700 (4165e) transmission. Drives great, feels solid. Wife is the envy of her horsey friends.

Bye Bye KIA.

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[bucket]

So almost as a joke I showed the wife a local ad for a 07 Hummer H2. In one of those “Who are you and what did you do with my wife” moments, she wanted to go check it out. It was an extremely clean and well maintained 1 owner truck and now its ours. It’s a newer vehicle than what I would have wanted but 1) Its not a KIA and 2) The drivetrain seems reliable, with a 6 liter Gen III GM small block with what seems to be an updated TH700 (4165e) transmission. Drives great, feels solid. Wife is the envy of her horsey friends.

Bye Bye KIA.

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Pretty sure that would be a 4L80e variant?

 

[Average Joe]

All I can tell you is this.
In my area all Kia's get stolen constantly. So much so that some local Police Departments were giving out free Club steering wheel locks to Kia owners in their area. I was told that there was a Tik Toc video that went viral showing how easy it is to steal these Kia's.
As for the actual vehicle. If you can use it, drive the tires off it. If not, sell it for something you will enjoy more.

 

[Midnightmoon]

Seeing that it was left to your wife, you are in a no lose situation. Drive it till it dies and you aren't out anything. Or, as mentioned above, if you don't want it or need it, sell it off or trade it.