autoevolution
 

Kia Driver Gets the Most Out of Warranty, Drives 608,000 Miles and Swaps 9 Engines

Usually, vehicles that have driven a large number of miles tend to be older, but there are exceptions. This time, the vehicle in question is a 2012 Kia Sorento, which has driven 608,061 miles (about 978,579 km). That is not world-record material, but it did go through nine engines and four transmissions, and all were changed under warranty. Now that is interesting, indeed!
2012 Kia Sorento 2.4 odometer 91 photos
Photo: Reddit user "600-shot-of-autism" on Reddit
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As it turns out, the vehicle in question is a one-owner car, and the person who acquired it benefitted from a 10-year, unlimited-mile warranty and service agreement. Since the latter was in place, the owner seemed to want to get the most out of the vehicle, which meant driving it about 60,800 miles (about 97,848 km) per year, on average.

As per the person who posted the image of the odometer on Reddit, along with the vehicle's story, it appears that the owner made repeated drives between California and Minneapolis, where the dealership is located. It is unclear whether the owner got a great deal on the car in Minneapolis and then moved on to California or if they had business in one of the states and lived in the other.

During its time with its first owner, the vehicle had received 203 oil changes and 20 transmission oil flushes, just to name a few key figures. The oil changes were made at just under 3,000 miles (about 4,828 km) between them if you do a bit of math.

In case you are wondering why the oil changes were so frequent, the explanation might be linked to the manufacturer's service recommendations. Since the vehicle came with an unlimited service agreement, those oil changes were "on the house" from the owner's perspective.

2009\-2014 Kia Sorento
Photo: Kia
The 2012 Kia Sorento in question was fitted with the Theta II engine family, which is a part of a class-action lawsuit in the U.S. regarding oil consumption, as The Drive noted. We must point out that Nu, Gamma, Theta, Lambda, and Kappa engine families also have members that are affected.

Sadly, for the sake of our curiosity, the dealership technician does not mention what led to nine engine replacements. According to what the employee claims to have heard others say about the owner, the vehicle was driven hard. In contrast, the same owner kept a detailed log of the vehicle that included every gas receipt and even logs of when they put air in the tires.

The vehicle was traded into the dealership right after the warranty expired, and it was valued at $1,425, which was used as credit for the acquisition of a used vehicle. After driving a Kia for ten years, the owner appears to have wanted a change. Therefore, a Saturn Vue Red Line edition was selected as a trade-in, for which the customer paid an extra $18,000.

One could say that they got their money's worth out of the Sorento's warranty and the car itself, but only the owner could call that one. It would be fantastic if someone could add up the fuel costs, as well as the maintenance costs, so that a statistic of running costs could be made.

The service technician did not mention if the person who had owned the Kia had attempted to get a new warranty deal for their new purchase, but warranties for used vehicles do not go that far. As you can see, there is a reason why you cannot get such a lengthy warranty anymore.

If you thought that Doug Demuro's "extended, bumper-to-bumper, warranty" (read that in Doug's voice) paid for itself, this one probably brought nightmares to the dealership's accountants.
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Editor's note: For illustration purposes, the photo gallery shows press images of the 2012 Kia Sorento.

About the author: Sebastian Toma
Sebastian Toma profile photo

Sebastian's love for cars began at a young age. Little did he know that a career would emerge from this passion (and that it would not, sadly, involve being a professional racecar driver). In over fourteen years, he got behind the wheel of several hundred vehicles and in the offices of the most important car publications in his homeland.
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