I have an 05’ Kia Sorento. It is both All-Wheel drive(normal) and Four-Wheel Drive. After about 9 mos.& 6,000 mi. it developed a front end wheel stutter when first moving car and making either right or left turn. Tires also started to wear only on outer edges at same time. Went to dealer who checked alignment several times and never found a problem. Dealer changed rear pumpkin internals but didn’t help. Tires have been rotated by dealer every 6,000 mi. Any ideas anyone…they now say its normal. I had a 98’ Honda CRV All-wheel drive (leased new) that never had this problem and the tires were like new after 32,000 and never rotated. I’d like to keep car, but not happy about this.
When a dealer doesn’t know what to tell you, they tell you its normal. They hope you go away and live with the problem. If this is normal, then there is a poor design somewhere. Your experience with your Honda is normal, though I expect the tires were worn after 32K miles. If this the best answer Kia has then it may not be that good a car.
Get a second opinion from an independent alignment specialist. Not every garage/dealership has a good alignment specialist.
Anyone considering AWD should read these threads. Is this “feature” really worth the endless litany of problems detailed on this board??
Interesting in 20 years of owning an AWD vehicle (AMC eagle, Audi Quattro, Subaru) never issue related to the AWD for me my wife and 8 family members(mostly Subaru).
I am in agreement with andrewj.
With 2 Subarus over a period of 12.5 years, with a total of well over 250,000 miles, I have had ZERO problems related to the AWD system. As we all know, those who don’t read their Owner’s Manual, and those who run different diameter tires on their AWD vehicles, are subject to problems. However, for those of us who read the manuals and who maintain our vehicles properly, the problems are either minimal or–in my case and in andrew’s case–non-existent.
Those people who don’t want to read their Owner’s Manuals or their maintenance schedules, and those who don’t want to maintain their cars properly, should probably just buy old RWD cars that need no extra attention to details. Then they can beat the car to death and junk it after a few years.
Is it AWD or 4WD? I don’t think it can be both.