2004 Kia Sorento - corrossion?

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   Hi all - newbie here about to buy a 54 plate Sorento. :D

Car seems spotless, mileage is average but I had an independant mobile mechanic look at it who noticed significant corrosion around what he claimed was the rear cross member and said to walk away from the car as the only way to fix it would be to cut it out and replace it which would be expensive.

The dealer I'm buying from (a friend of a friend) was very surprised by this and arranged for his local garage which he regularly uses to look it over.

They confirmed that yes there was some corrosion but it was not the cross member but an additional support bar at the rear of the car that was rusted - this is apparently a hollow bar that just gives a little extra support but is not part of the chassis or the integral structure.

I spoke to the mobile mechanic who started to back track slightly claiming that it wasn't the cross member but that this bar did a similar job but was still part of the chassis however he was happy that if replaced properly the car would be fine.

I then spoke to my regular mechanic (who unfortunately couldn't travel the distance to check the car) and he agreed that a lot of SUV's have this additional bit of strapping at the back but due to these cars not being undersealed properly it does get filled with water and start to rust and he agreed that if a new bar was correctly welded into place it would be fine.

So, the garage is going to replace this part before selling me the car - it is a big job which is being done at their expense but I wanted to check if anyone has had or heard of similar issues?

My mechanic seems certain that the chassis on these cars are very thick and not likely to rust at such a young age but I'd like some further reassurance if possible as this car will be used to regularly tow a horsebox.

My plan is to get the car tomorrow, take it to my mechanic next week and get him to check the quality of the welding and then underseal the car for me!

Fingers crossed that fixes things!

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kixx Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 30 Jul 2010 Status: Offline Points: 1	Post Options Post Reply Quote kixx Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: 2004 Kia Sorento - corrossion? Posted: 30 Jul 2010 at 12:52pm
	Hi all - newbie here about to buy a 54 plate Sorento. :D Car seems spotless, mileage is average but I had an independant mobile mechanic look at it who noticed significant corrosion around what he claimed was the rear cross member and said to walk away from the car as the only way to fix it would be to cut it out and replace it which would be expensive. The dealer I'm buying from (a friend of a friend) was very surprised by this and arranged for his local garage which he regularly uses to look it over. They confirmed that yes there was some corrosion but it was not the cross member but an additional support bar at the rear of the car that was rusted - this is apparently a hollow bar that just gives a little extra support but is not part of the chassis or the integral structure. I spoke to the mobile mechanic who started to back track slightly claiming that it wasn't the cross member but that this bar did a similar job but was still part of the chassis however he was happy that if replaced properly the car would be fine. I then spoke to my regular mechanic (who unfortunately couldn't travel the distance to check the car) and he agreed that a lot of SUV's have this additional bit of strapping at the back but due to these cars not being undersealed properly it does get filled with water and start to rust and he agreed that if a new bar was correctly welded into place it would be fine. So, the garage is going to replace this part before selling me the car - it is a big job which is being done at their expense but I wanted to check if anyone has had or heard of similar issues? My mechanic seems certain that the chassis on these cars are very thick and not likely to rust at such a young age but I'd like some further reassurance if possible as this car will be used to regularly tow a horsebox. My plan is to get the car tomorrow, take it to my mechanic next week and get him to check the quality of the welding and then underseal the car for me! Fingers crossed that fixes things!

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murphwiz Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 16 Dec 2008 Status: Offline Points: 792	Post Options Post Reply Quote murphwiz Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 30 Jul 2010 at 7:44pm
	Never seen any significant chassis corrosion on a Sorento.

WILKS Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 01 Jun 2010 Location: CUMBRIA UK Status: Offline Points: 7	Post Options Post Reply Quote WILKS Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 30 Jul 2010 at 11:22pm
	hi I agree with murphwiz Sometimes think the people doing these inspections tend to be a little over cautious ,just to cover themselves but always a good idea to have the vehicle checked if your not too sure yourself I don't think you will have no major problems with it

04Sorento_owner Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 04 May 2011 Location: New England Status: Offline Points: 2	Post Options Post Reply Quote 04Sorento_owner Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 04 May 2011 at 3:05pm
	The crossmember problem described here is a very real issue with the Sorento. Driving through a neighboring town last week we saw a Sorento on a front lawn and written on it's windows was talk of rotted frame, car unusable. We stopped and spoke to the owners and sure enough the tubular crossmember in front of the rear differential had rotted from the inside out and failed without warning. This very important member is directly linked to the diff, when it failed the diff swung up and punched a hole in the gas tank. Their's is an 04 with less than 70K miles on it. They're fighting with KIA over the problem but haven't had much success. The vehicle is unusable. So, when we got home we looked at ours, we have just over 100K on our '04. We were shocked to find that on inspection in the open ends of the member ours is highly compromised too and will fail. We blew the member out with a shop vac and got a dustpan full of hunks of rusted metal out the other end. The vehicle has serviced us well and other than this under designed major component looks to be solidly built. But I don't think I'd want this to unexpectedly fail while cruising the highway at 70MPH, the rear diff is no longer stabilized and moves out of position. I actually have an appointment today with a restoration / fabrication shop to find out what it'll take to replace the crossmember before it fails, I can't wait to fight with KIA who like I said hasn't been all that interested in helping the other family I spoke about above that already have a dead Sorento.

leeds Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 06 Oct 2010 Location: WREXHAM Status: Offline Points: 27	Post Options Post Reply Quote leeds Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 05 May 2011 at 1:31am
	Look for Brake pipes corrosion as well.

Viking Paul Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List Senior Member Official Club Sponsor Joined: 20 Aug 2009 Location: southampton Status: Offline Points: 732	Post Options Post Reply Quote Viking Paul Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 05 May 2011 at 9:40am
	brake pipes yes they do rust but never seen a chassis are you sure its not the rear bumper strenthener they are not electrocoated and do rust
	http://viking-kia.blogspot...

04Sorento_owner Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 04 May 2011 Location: New England Status: Offline Points: 2	Post Options Post Reply Quote 04Sorento_owner Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 05 May 2011 at 7:38pm
	Viking Paul, If you're referring to my post about the failed crossmember, I was personally under this Sorento and saw the failed cross member. And again, I have my own that is on it's way to failing the same way. I have some pics if you'd like. They're chilling.

Viking Paul Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List Senior Member Official Club Sponsor Joined: 20 Aug 2009 Location: southampton Status: Offline Points: 732	Post Options Post Reply Quote Viking Paul Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 06 May 2011 at 9:35am
	04Sorento-owner would love to see the pictures you can e mail them to me at paul.somerville@viking-garages.ltd.uk your cars in the US may be diffrent as all european Sorentos were made in Korea whilst the US had its own plant typicaly manafactures make changes for diffrent markets and their driving conditions i also believe the US chassis were diffrent in design because of the large petrol engine versions cheers or should it be Have a nice day
	http://viking-kia.blogspot...

bitman Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List Groupie Joined: 14 Aug 2011 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 83	Post Options Post Reply Quote bitman Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 15 Aug 2011 at 7:40pm
	well these are pictures of our 2005 rear diff... to be honest shocking and wondering what (cheap) steel kia is using!!! btw; the oil traces on the diff are because i changed the diff oil yesterday.
	2005 XS Auto 2.5 Diesel Black West Sussex, UK

2004 Kia Sorento - corrossion?

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