Kia Sorento recall

[Gagakev]

Kia goes in tomorrow for a manufactures recall.
Just letting other Kia owners know if they dont already.
Its for a PCT heater (Positive Temperature Coefficient) what ever that does!!!

Copied from my letter.

Malfunction of the PTC heater may occur to damage the wiring connector terminal, causing potential overheating and damage. In extreme cases the connector can melt , with a possible risk of fire.
We recommend you do not leave your car unattended whilst the engine is running or with the ignition switched on, near or inside properties until the remedial work is completed.

At least they are taking action I suppose.

 

[RogerL]

Kia goes in tomorrow for a manufactures recall.
Just letting other Kia owners know if they dont already.
Its for a PCT heater (Positive Temperature Coefficient) what ever that does!!!

Copied from my letter.

Malfunction of the PTC heater may occur to damage the wiring connector terminal, causing potential overheating and damage. In extreme cases the connector can melt , with a possible risk of fire.
We recommend you do not leave your car unattended whilst the engine is running or with the ignition switched on, near or inside properties until the remedial work is completed.

At least they are taking action I suppose.

The heating system of Hyundai Santa Fe and Kia Sorento, like many others, have a 12v electric heater as well as the coolant heater - the PTC heater means that it functions more at lower temperatures and less at warmer ones - the whole point is to speed up demisting in cool, damp weather.

Hyundai Santa Fe owners should also check with their dealer as the two models share most things under the outer skin.

 

[Gagakev]

The heating system of Hyundai Santa Fe and Kia Sorento, like many others, have a 12v electric heater as well as the coolant heater - the PTC heater means that it functions more at lower temperatures and less at warmer ones - the whole point is to speed up demisting in cool, damp weather.

Hyundai Santa Fe owners should also check with their dealer as the two models share most things under the outer skin.

Thanks for the explanation RogerL.

 

[Woodentop]

Positive Temperature Coefficient means that its resistance will rise with temperature which should cause the heating effect to reduce as it gets hotter.
The oil temp sensor for example is a NTC or Negative Temperature Coefficient sensor which means that its resistance falls as it gets hotter. In the olden days of an oil temp gauge, the fall in resistance would cause more current to flow through the gauge giving a higher reading. They are still widely used today to show the ECU the oil/water/fuel temps so that the ECU can, for instance, adjust the mapping to maintain good fuel economy and reduce emissions.

 

[Gagakev]

Positive Temperature Coefficient means that its resistance will rise with temperature which should cause the heating effect to reduce as it gets hotter.
The oil temp sensor for example is a NTC or Negative Temperature Coefficient sensor which means that its resistance falls as it gets hotter. In the olden days of an oil temp gauge, the fall in resistance would cause more current to flow through the gauge giving a higher reading. They are still widely used today to show the ECU the oil/water/fuel temps so that the ECU can, for instance, adjust the mapping to maintain good fuel economy and reduce emissions.

Woodentop, this is a long shot, would an NTC fail to such that the car will only do 30 to 40 mph? (limp mode)
it has happened twice (not towing)and about 4 months part.
Stop the car, leave for 30 seconds or so, restart, then back to normal.

 

[Hutch]

You can check for recalls on the Government's website.
Recall
After inserting your registration at the bottom of the next page you can check for recalls.
Here is another way by vehicle type.
Make recall

 

[RogerL]

You can check for recalls on the Government's website.
Recall
After inserting your registration at the bottom of the next page you can check for recalls.
Here is another way by vehicle type.
Make recall

DVSA Recalls are only for the most serious safety related issues - most recalls don't involve DVSA, simply the manufacturer and registered owners - sadly the latter aren't listed anywhere publicly available.

 

[Hutch]

The screen shot below is from the Government's website.

 

[Steve1962]

Thanks very much for pointing this out.
We are currently on a site and the chap on the pitch next to us has a 71 plate Sorento so I have let him know.
More proof that this site is very good.
Steve (no knuckles were walloped tapping in pegs into hard standing for our Sunn Camp 390 awning….)

 

[ProfJohnL]

Woodentop, this is a long shot, would an NTC fail to such that the car will only do 30 to 40 mph? (limp mode)
it has happened twice (not towing)and about 4 months part.
Stop the car, leave for 30 seconds or so, restart, then back to normal.

There are many different sensors on modern cars, and if any particular sensor fails or detects a problem condition, it will depend on what it its connected to and how its been programmed to determine how it might affect a car.

Just because a particular sensor in one make and model of car might set the car into limp home, does not necessarily mean the equivalent sensor in a different make or model, that the car will react in the same way.

 

[Gagakev]

There are many different sensors on modern cars, and if any particular sensor fails or detects a problem condition, it will depend on what it its connected to and how its been programmed to determine how it might affect a car.

Just because a particular sensor in one make and model of car might set the car into limp home, does not necessarily mean the equivalent sensor in a different make or model, that the car will react in the same way.

I did say it was a long shot Prof, but the annoying thing was there weren't any warning lights on the dash either time.
Booked in for MOT next month so will ask them to plug it in and see if they get any indications.

 

[otherclive]

I’ve had two cars develop limp mode and neither showed any indication via the warning lights. In both cases it was caused by a fault in emissions sensing.

 

[Buckman]

On our 2005 Jeep a sensor failed putting the Jeep into limp mode. Annoying it was a "non essential" sensor and the Jeep would have been safe to drive without the sensor in place and nothing major would have happened. There was no issue with any component, it was a faulty sensor!

 

[Hutch]

I have also had my car, go into "limp home " mode. A Vectra 3.0 diesel, that turned out to be a split turbo air hose, then an air sensor, and finally a filter blockage in the fuel delivery unit, sold it and bought a Santa Fe.

 

[Beachball]

I think on our last car we had a problem with the glow plugs and a sensor but it had now six recalls since

 

[Buckman]

One thing I fail to understand is that in another country the vehicle could have a recall by the manufacturer for a mechanical issue that could be dangerous, but in another country there is no recall. The only difference is that the one vehicle is right hand drive and the othr4 left hand drive.

We found this out recently with our previous Jeep. The issue was the diodes in the alternator needed to be replaced as they were failing after a few years causing the vehicle to come to a total dead stop. Not even the hazard lights would work!

 

[RogerL]

One thing I fail to understand is that in another country the vehicle could have a recall by the manufacturer for a mechanical issue that could be dangerous, but in another country there is no recall. The only difference is that the one vehicle is right hand drive and the othr4 left hand drive.

We found this out recently with our previous Jeep. The issue was the diodes in the alternator needed to be replaced as they were failing after a few years causing the vehicle to come to a total dead stop. Not even the hazard lights would work!

Government recall systems are only effective in their own country - in addition, the country importer for each car maker is independent.

During dieselgate, it was frustrating that German-market versions of my VW Touareg were getting emission updates but UK-market versions weren't - despite both being EU members at the time.

 

[ProfJohnL]

No business ever wants to have to issue a recall, they tend to cost a lot of money, and invariably a lot of work, and embassment. Another factor is that depending on the country there are different laws and penalties in place which might change a businesses risk or exposure to either civil or criminal charges if certain types of product failure are not recalled. Fundamentally it's all about limiting the risk to profit.

 

[Buckman]

Government recall systems are only effective in their own country - in addition, the country importer for each car maker is independent.

During dieselgate, it was frustrating that German-market versions of my VW Touareg were getting emission updates but UK-market versions weren't - despite both being EU members at the time.

This was not a government recall. It was from the manufacturer and the alternator was built at the same factory for the 3L diesel engine. A recall was issued in the US, but not in UK or possibly the EU. In our case the Jeep we were on an A road when everything failed. We were lucky it did not fail on a motorway while towing the caravan as we were away with the caravan at the time, but not towing.

 

[RogerL]

This was not a government recall. It was from the manufacturer and the alternator was built at the same factory for the 3L diesel engine. A recall was issued in the US, but not in UK or possibly the EU. In our case the Jeep we were on an A road when everything failed. We were lucky it did not fail on a motorway while towing the caravan as we were away with the caravan at the time, but not towing.

As I posted, each country's importer is independent - so eg Jeep UK Ltd, Jeep GmbH and Jeep Inc have no connection to each other.

International car forums are useful in alerting owners in different parts of the world when a problem/solution arises in one country but not yet available in others - although some issues are genuinely restricted to one country due to external influences - eg, the lower quality of US diesel, compared to EU/UK diesel does cause some components to fail on US-market vehicles which don't fail here.

 

[Gagakev]

Quick update:
Passed MOT with one advisory, booked back in for serviced and advisory.
Garage plugged the Sorento in, Nothing showed up.
Happened again yesterday and drove it for over 5 miles along coast road max 40mph on flat and down hill 20mph max uphill big queue building!!! Still no management lights coming on.
Booked into main KIA dealer next week at £120.00 per hour!! They say there might be a possible entry on the memory,
Umm not sure me!!!

Last chance saloon I suppose.

Next posting will be a for sale post advertising the worst car I have ever owned!!!

 

[Steve1962]

Quick update:
Passed MOT with one advisory, booked back in for serviced and advisory.
Garage plugged the Sorento in, Nothing showed up.
Happened again yesterday and drove it for over 5 miles along coast road max 40mph on flat and down hill 20mph max uphill big queue building!!! Still no management lights coming on.
Booked into main KIA dealer next week at £120.00 per hour!! They say there might be a possible entry on the memory,
Umm not sure me!!!

Last chance saloon I suppose.

Next posting will be a for sale post advertising the worst car I have ever owned!!!

That is a mystery for sure but more to the point it’s both disappointing and I think a bit surprising as Kia have a good reputation for reliability overall.
We are on our 3rd Kia, the first being a Sedona which we had for 12 years- only thing that failed on it was the alternator and a wheel bearing- it had 190k miles on it when I got rid of it.
Not the most engaging thing to drive but it did the job while the kids were growing up including 5 yrs consecutive holidays to the south of France.
We then had a Carens - again reliable apart from one DPF clean.
With those two cars in mind I chose a Sportage to tow our caravan ( it’s a 2017 KX4) and since we’ve had it ( bought in Jan 21) it’s been utterly reliable.

Having had a bad experience with another car in the past I sympathise with your lack of trust in the brand and hope you can find something you’ll be happy with if this dilemma can’t be resolved.

My other car is a Suzuki Baleno 1.0 3 cyl turbo which has also been very reliable and is quite frugal giving 58 mpg.

Steve

 

[Gagakev]

That is a mystery for sure but more to the point it’s both disappointing and I think a bit surprising as Kia have a good reputation for reliability overall.
We are on our 3rd Kia, the first being a Sedona which we had for 12 years- only thing that failed on it was the alternator and a wheel bearing- it had 190k miles on it when I got rid of it.
Not the most engaging thing to drive but it did the job while the kids were growing up including 5 yrs consecutive holidays to the south of France.
We then had a Carens - again reliable apart from one DPF clean.
With those two cars in mind I chose a Sportage to tow our caravan ( it’s a 2017 KX4) and since we’ve had it ( bought in Jan 21) it’s been utterly reliable.

Having had a bad experience with another car in the past I sympathise with your lack of trust in the brand and hope you can find something you’ll be happy with if this dilemma can’t be resolved.

My other car is a Suzuki Baleno 1.0 3 cyl turbo which has also been very reliable and is quite frugal giving 58 mpg.

Steve

Hi Steve, we changed from a very reliable Shogun which I had for 10 years with no problems, only changed it for cheaper road tax .
What a BAD decision that was.
Went for the KIA as you said for reliability as they are a popular tow car, I got the bad one of the bunch, but lets wait and see what happens next week, will keep you up dated.

 

[Hutch]

That's a shame Kev, after a spate of Vauxhall Vectras , having fuel problems at 60k miles. Although different engine types we changed to Hyunda, Santa Fe's. Dare I say it the present one , had her since new, and only done 88,869 miles as of this evening. Just the right hand track rod replaced last year. MOT due 21st next month.

 

[Gagakev]

That's a shame Kev, after a spate of Vauxhall Vectras , having fuel problems at 60k miles. Although different engine types we changed to Hyunda, Santa Fe's. Dare I say it the present one , had her since new, and only done 88,869 miles as of this evening. Just the right hand track rod replaced last year. MOT due 21st next month.

Same with every thing Hutch, you get a good un or a bad un
I changed both car and caravan at the same time trying to save money, see me into retirement and improve things, had probs with both,!!!