Kia Sorento strange behaviour

[Parksy]

Thanks for the helpful and encouraging replies.
Don't worry Hutch, we're off to St Ives in just under two weeks time, then we'll go somewhere yet to be decided in July, August is Twinwood in your neck of the woods Hutch so by the time that September comes round we'll be well sorted for the Woosiefest.
I'd heard about the immobiliser issue and that may be it, but I still think that there's a problem between the battery and starter motor which I'm about to have checked. I had occasion to travel from the West Midlands to Nottingham and back the other day and the Kia was back to normal and runs well, but was again reluctant to start with no engine turnover when I stopped at Nottingham until I left the car alone for a few minutes when it started again for the return trip. It's started every time since.
As for Kia reliability, I've owned two Pajero's which were practically bomb proof and excellent tow vehicles, I reluctantly sold my last old faithful after I bought the Sorento.
In terms of ride, interior comfort, fuel efficiency and emission control however, the Sorento is light years ahead of the old series 2 Pajero's.
I was very tempted to go for a 3.2 D-i-D Shogun this time but the look of the new model didn't appeal, and a huge 3.2 litre gas guzzler seemed a bit like overkill so I chose the more eco friendly Kia and haven't regretted it.
My solar panel is always connected, I think that I've blown something on the fridge but will try the battery disconnect method before the caravan goes in for a service in July.

 

[Martin24]

Sadly not the most reliable of fridges, had one in the 2010 Coachman, repaired 4 times under warranty and then replaced. All sorts of error codes.

We've heard a cracking bit of mis behaviour with J's mums Smart. Open the boot and the engine starts close it again and it turns off. No wonder she's decided to stop driving.

 

[Parksy]

Resurrecting my old topic to let anyone who may be interested know what the problems were.

I took the caravan to Premier Towing Centre which is about a quarter of a mile from where I live after being repeatedly let down by a local mobile caravan engineer.
Premier Towing (who I can recommend) diagnosed a blown printed circuit board for the fridge, which they promptly replaced, they also checked all of my gas and electrical systems and the fridge is fine again now. Premier Towing told me that the PCB issue with these fridges is not uncommon.
The Kia mystery was resolved earlier this week, the car refused to start and I'd fitted a brand new battery which is suitable for the car so I called out the RAC because I've got home start.
At first the RAC man thought that there was a problem with the immobiliser, but a good bash on the starter motor body with the mechanics socket extension bar soon confirmed that in spite of the main Kia dealer supposedly testing the starter motor when the car was serviced in March and telling me that it was ok, the problem was indeed the starter motor.
Out of interest I phoned the main dealer to price check a replacement, £530+VAT+£90 per hour fitting determined that I would get a new starter motor elsewhere.
I paid £190 inc Vat at a local parts supplier, the starter has a 2 year guarantee so I was happy to purchase from them. £80 fitting at a local garage and everything is as good as new again, I take back all of the evil things I said about the Kia and apart from a slightly depleted bank balance I'm a happy chappie :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Percy1]

We had an intermittent fault like yours ,(we’ve had our sori since new it’s now 14 years old) , it sounds like the immobiliser is kicking in, it won’t register when the car is checked via the computer at a garage , it’s a ring which sits on the barrel of the ignition, it’s an easy fix, we had the fault on and off for 10yrs, no garage could diagnose it , the Sorento forum diagnosed it , we haven’t had an issue since ,

 

[Hutch]

We had an intermittent fault like yours ,(we’ve had our sori since new it’s now 14 years old) , it sounds like the immobiliser is kicking in, it won’t register when the car is checked via the computer at a garage , it’s a ring which sits on the barrel of the ignition, it’s an easy fix, we had the fault on and off for 10yrs, no garage could diagnose it , the Sorento forum diagnosed it , we haven’t had an issue since ,

Thanks Percy, always good to get a feed back, .
Hutch.

 

[Parksy]

We had an intermittent fault like yours ,(we’ve had our sori since new it’s now 14 years old) , it sounds like the immobiliser is kicking in, it won’t register when the car is checked via the computer at a garage , it’s a ring which sits on the barrel of the ignition, it’s an easy fix, we had the fault on and off for 10yrs, no garage could diagnose it , the Sorento forum diagnosed it , we haven’t had an issue since ,

I thought that the immobiliser on mine was causing the problems, but a new starter motor has completely cured it and the Sorri is as good as new now thanks