Kia Sorento FAQs

Check out real-world situations relating to the Kia Sorento here, particularly what our experts have to say about them.

• Why does my 2009 Kia Sorento Intermittently go into limp home mode?

  Before you do anything, take the car to a workshop with the correct diagnostic gear and have it scanned. This process will see the workshop’s computer have a deep and meaningful conversation with the computer in your car, and the result will probably be a fault code(s) that will tell the mechanic exactly what’s going wrong.

  Beyond that, you’re merely stabbing in the dark, as limp-home mode can be triggered for all sorts of reasons including dud sensors, poor wiring, a computer glitch, you name it. The fact that it’s an intermittent limp-home situation makes it even harder to diagnose without a computer scan. You cans start to replace components at random to see if they fix the problem, but you’ll probably wind up replacing a whole heap of perfectly working ones before you stumble on to the one that’s playing up. In the meantime, you’ll have spent heaps and wasted weeks.

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• How do you remove a rear door panel on a 2016 Kia Sorento?

  The first piece of advice would be to obtain a workshop manual for your car. Within those pages, you’ll find all sorts of valuable information and tips on performing home maintenance. Compared with even the briefest trip to a professional workshop, a good workshop manual will pay for itself over and over again.

  As for the rear door panel on your Sorento, the tricky part is finding all the hidden screws and fasteners that locate things like the armrest. Sometimes the attaching screws are hidden in tiny pop-out panels under the armrest, some times the screw will be hiding under a rubber insert in the door handle’s recess. These will usually be Philips-head screws.

  Once you’ve removed those screws, it comes down to a gentle game of popping each of the clips that secure the perimeter of the door panel to the actual door. You’ll gain a feel for this job, but be careful; if you’re too aggressive, you might break or snap the little plastic clips which would then need to be replaced before you could re-fit the door panel. A steady but firm force on the door panel, rather than a sudden shock is the best way to achieve this without damaging anything. Once all those clips have been freed, you should find that the whole door panel will be resting on a groove at the bottom of the window. Lift the panel clear of this and you’re done, although watch out for electrical wires that could still be attached to the power windows and courtesy lights.

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• What is the longevity of diesel-powered SUV and Passenger vehicles in Australia?

  Of all the technology you’re considering right now, the only one that sounds any real alarm bells is that of the double-clutch transmission. It’s not that Kia’s version of the DCT is worse than many others – nor is it the worst of the lot – but there have been complaints over the operation and lifespan of these units generally. Sometimes the fault is a software glitch, but in other DCTs – particularly the dry-clutch variety – the problems are mechanical and can lead to catastrophic failures.

  With that said, it’s also true that Kia in Australia offers a fantastic factory warranty, so you should have no worries for at least the first seven years. It’s also the case that Kia Australia takes its reputation very seriously and is one of the better companies when it comes to sorting out faults and problems with its products. We’re pretty big fans here at Carsguide of the current Toyota hybrid technology, and it’s looking like the new Kluger Hybrid will be just as popular as Toyota’s other hybrid offerings. Perhaps more so as the non-hybrid Kluger can be thirsty.

  As for the requirement for premium ULP, when you consider that the Kluger Hybrid will, around the city and suburbs where most of them will spend the vast majority of their lives, use about two thirds of the fuel of the V6 Kluger (maybe even a bit less than that) then the extra cost per litre is more than compensated for by the reduced cost per kilometre. And in case you were worried about Toyota’s hybrid tech, the new Kluger Hybrid comes with up to 10 years of warranty on the battery-pack provided the vehicle is serviced correctly and inspected once a year.

  The other thing you might consider is the next-size-down Toyota hybrid, the RAV4. This is quite a spacious vehicle these days and offers excellent fuel efficiency and driveability. It’s cheaper than the Kluger, too. Definitely worth a look. Overall, the broader view is that a petrol hybrid vehicle is more future-proof than a conventional turbo-diesel.

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