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Kia Sorento

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#1412 of 4012 Seat Belt Light & Gas Mileage by schip1 Dec 16, 2002 (2:03 pm)
Had a chance to check out my seatbelt light during lunch: if I do NOT buckle in before starting the car, the light comes on and the chimes go 'ding-ding-ding' for approx 5 seconds. If I buckle up first, the light STILL comes on, but the chimes do NOT chime. The light turns off after 5 seconds. If I then UNBUCKLE, nothing happens.   Mileage: I'm at about 2,500 miles now and I've checked mileage 4 or 5 times. From memory, these are approximate figures - first one and lowest one was 17.7 mpg; highest was 19.9, and twice at 18.8. I have a 2x4, commute driving only thus far.
#1413 of 4012 abc, moose, prince, TOD by surfmaster Dec 16, 2002 (2:03 pm)
Yes, the seatbelt on mine does NOT light if you unbuckle - only seems to light on start up. I suspect it lights when there is a malfunction?   abc246: I feel the same way about the engine and transmission. My trans. hangs on for a long time between 2 and 3rd and somewhat between 3rd and OT. It is starting to annoy me somewhat (the 2-3 shift) especially when accelerating. The engine is smooth, but definitely could have used some more HP's and tourque for the poundage of the vehicle. Mind you, I liked it alot better than some others I test drove (try the Santa Fe!!), but for this weight of vehicle and the 3.5l size, I think KIA has room to improve...   Mileage - I'm at about 1500 kms (940 miles?) and it still loves the gas...I believe it was about 420km per 80 litre tank = 19 l per 100km!!!= 12.5 mpg US (your numbers may vary). Actually I forget what mileage the sticker listed (mike help?) but I think it was only marginally better. It may improve, but I knew that was the downside when I bought it, so I'm not complaining.   Plastic wood trim: you know, I HATED the stuff on my first test drive, tolerated it on my second, kinda liked it on my third, thought it looked good on my final drive before buying. It really does grow on you if you see it in perspective with the rest of the finishing touces.   SNOW and TOD: see next post
#1414 of 4012 Snow and TOD and ABS by surfmaster Dec 16, 2002 (2:33 pm)
Last night (Sunday) we had 4 ?? inches nice wet snow. Took her for some tests, TOD in auto. Also drove today to work (50 miles) on less then well plowed roads (hard pack, ice sections, slush sections). Glad I did -it reminded me that TOD is not "auto traction control" but rather "auto 4 wheel torque distribution". A point worth remembering.   First, the TOD seems to work best in keeping you from getting stuck. On a road, normal straights and curves, you can hit snow or slush etc and you won't get pulled into the ditch or centre lane slush/snow pile. i.e. it keeps wheel from slipping or losing power. Additionally, the weight of the vehicle holds you to the road well. However, in town, when turning some corners, I was quickly reminded of the "truck" nature of the Sorento - major fishtailing!!!. A couple other sharp curves in slush and snow and I felt as if the truck wanted to slide in the rear. This should be expected because it is a truck (high CG, short wheel base, frame based, light rear end, etc), and it does not have traction control. And furthermore, I believe everyone has to be aware that the TOD system isn't going to prevent the rear from sliding out either. I guess that's I want to say - when you get into snow and slush, you may not get stuck thanks to the TOD (and of course, where need, the 4XLOW), but TOD isn't designed to answer all of winter's road conditions. And furthermore, the Sorento, because of its short wheeled, truck-SUV design, definitely seemed to want to slide more than I expected, TOD or not. I know paisan knows lots of info on TOD, so I'll defer any errors in my assessment to his expertise.   My other observation (that is all any of this is so don't bother flaming me, eh?) is that on these snowy and slushy roads, the ABS sure seemed overly sensitive. I would hardly brake and it would start pulsating. On one stretch of snowy road (no one around) I braked hard (e.g. a "panic" many do) Again, major pulsating, a rather long brake distance I thought, and, lo an behold, more sideways slippage, with the drivers side rear heading out into the oncoming lane. Is this to be expected? Any one with similar tests or experiences? What I found last night is the best braking seemed to be if you pushed with your foot just until you felt the pulsing ABS kick in, and no further. Pushing harder seemed to increase the distance and start the slide. Could be a Sorento "sensitivity" or perhaps others with more experience can confirm it is "normal"...   Of course, maybe this all is just because I'm a bad driver......
#1415 of 4012 lok888 by moonkat Dec 16, 2002 (5:17 pm)
Pilot gets 17/22 EPA mpg city/highway not 15/20. My first tank was 17 mpg mostly city/rural. I expect 20 mpg after break in of 5k miles just like my Odyssey.
#1416 of 4012 Snow and TOD and ABS by abc246 Dec 17, 2002 (4:59 am)
This is not normal for ABS. You should be able to "stomp and steer". I use my ABS all the time on snow and ice and have come to depend on it, so your information is not good for me. One time I had to use it down a icy mountain off road trail for about 1 mile with no guard rails.   The ABS system ran the entire time. I was not able to use engine braking because the engine would not "speed up" during the steeper grades, because there was not enough traction on ice to overcome the engine so the SUV would slide.   I found that if I put the SUV in neutral and let the ABS system control the speed there was no sliding. On the steeper grades the SUV would actually gain speed on the ice, but there was no sliding, the ABS computer modulated the brakes accordingly.   Unfortunately, the problem you have will not be easy to fix. The dealer/KIA will say that is normal on snow or ice, but it is not. Most people will not test the system like you did and even if they did most would not know what to expect.
#1417 of 4012 abc246 by anonymous02 Dec 17, 2002 (7:08 am)
What gear were you in when you tried engine braking coming down a mountain trail? I am assuming you were in 4-low. This still wasn't enough? Just trying to get a feel for the capabilities here, especially as I would like to use this for ski trips (which usually occur during a blizzard).
#1418 of 4012 Gas consumption and replies by lok888 Dec 17, 2002 (7:30 am)
moonkat - You are right. Maybe I didn't double check my message before posting. I did wrote 17/23 mpg for Honda Pilot on a piece of paper. In addition, RX300 and MDX also get 17 to 18 in the city and 22 to 23 in highway. The first week my Sorento didn't do well on gas (a lot of idling, engine warm up and stop & go traffic). surfmaster, schip1 and hicaffa - I did went to my dealer and tried one of their Sorento. It has the same thing. I can see all the warning lights came on and chime sound for few seconds when I turned the key. Then I started the car and not wearing a seatbelt. The seatbelt warning light didn't come on to remind me to wear a seatbelt. The manager said this is also normal as some Ford and GM cars. Isn't it something?
#1419 of 4012 seatbelt light by anonymous02 Dec 17, 2002 (7:35 am)
I remember I used to disable the chimes on my old 78 Dodge Magnum and 92 Civic.   Now people want them. I guess things change.
#1420 of 4012 When to Use Overdrive? by jmpats2000 Dec 17, 2002 (8:00 am)
I looked through the owner's manual on this topic and I'm not sure.   Do you use the overdrive when driving under 50 MPH? Or just when you are driving over 50 MPH?   Please let me know.   Fuel economy has been very poor. They definitely have to improve that in the 2004 Sorento.
#1421 of 4012 Spoke with Service Department by jmpats2000 Dec 17, 2002 (8:07 am)
and they told me that as I suspected, Overdrive should only be used for highway driving...   I don't like how every time you start up the Sorento and overdrive is automatically on.   Is this the case in your Sorentos as well?   I would think that they would have engineered it so it was off by default until you want to turn it on ie when you are getting on the highway.   Let me know what you think..

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