How can I get Kia to help fix my rear lifting mechanism?

Hi, Ray. I own a 2-14 KIA Sorento SX FWD, purchased new. The 5 year bumper-to-bumper warranty expired recently. About one month after it expired, the rear lifting mechanism failed, specifically, the motor opens the rear gate completely, but the gas pistons will not keep the door fully open. It closes about 1/3 of the way. KIA says to replace both integrated lifting motors and pistons costs $1000. Any thoughts on how to encourage KIA to replace them, or at least share the costs? Thanks for your great work.

Since you are past the warranty, Kia doesn’t owe you anything. If you have a relationship with any dealer personnel, you could nicely lean on them to help you out in the interest of “customer satisfaction”. Good luck and welcome to the forum.

While I do not know specifics about your Kia, generally the gas struts are easy to replace. Might try that first and see if it corrects the problem. Struts should be around $20-30 each.

Replace the lift gate supports. This is a common problem, if the supports can’t hold the lift gate open the power door system senses that you are trying to close the door and reverses direction.