Towing with 4cyl Sorento?

My 1.9 TDI and 1.6 EcoTec both had automatics and have no problem towing 1500 lbs. At the 2000 limit, I avoid mountain passes. Conservative driving will get you there and back multiple times safely. Try driving the car like it is empty and you will wear it out or break something quickly.

Just FYI here. My Sorento has a great trans in it with a factory external cooler. Has a Asin Trans. Same company that Rams use.
235K on it and runs great.

I bet it pulls, handles and stops better than my 1985 S10 V6 with a slightly higher rating.

midnightsadie wrote:
just my .02cts, no 4 bang auto was made to be a tow truck. but thats just me. the engines not made for towing,, brakes not made for towing,,tranny not made for towing. ok I,m done.I feel much better

So according to you all Subarus (4cyl) can't tow. Interesting. I wonder why I can?

Look up the price of the front bumper for the Sorento. Bet it cost more than the axle. And than bumper would not always be the only cost if did not get stopped in time. What is that kid on a bicycle worth?

Why would i do that? I said they would be close to capacity already. I stated the fact that it wasn't built with breaks, listed the brochure showing the weight under 900 lbs and said it wasnt break ready. I never said breaks are not safer, or will help you stop better. Only that it didnt have them, and wouldn't be required.

travisc wrote:
Take it to a scale see what it weights so you no, do a couple of panic stops with it in a controlled area, see if you comfortable with it. The decision is really yours. Good luck and enjoy it,

This is exactly the plan before our first trip. Thank you!

^ what kind of bike is he riding?


joking joking.
the sorento actually makes a nice tow vehicle for small trailers when properly eqiuipped. i almsot bought one before we settled on our explorer (direct competators) and a good frined has one (though he went v6). i suspect it has pleanty of stopping power. we used a gen 2 explorer to pull a 2500 lbs pop up all over the place and it was never an issue. i would be more worried about cooking the trans and even then if he keeps OD off i dont see it being a problem short term. Thats a starter trailer if ive ever seen one. When its time to upgrade after a season or few, plan to upgrade the tow vehicle as well.

rexlion wrote:
You can do it, but if you have never towed before, be aware of a couple of things.

If the Sedona has an automatic with overdrive, you should lock out the overdrive. An auto that has to hunt back and forth for the right gear all the time will cause the converter in the transmission to unlock and allow slippage, which creates heat, and heat kills trannys.

Going down a mountain grade, you must go as slowly as you went up the other side. Shift down to hold the rig back, using brakes sparingly for brief bursts. If you ride your brakes too much they'll overheat and give out, and you'll be a runaway rig.

If you decide you want to upgrade to trailer brakes, look under the trailer behind the wheel. If you see a square metal plate with probably 4 holes at the corners, that's a mounting plate for brakes; add the brake kit, wiring on tug and trailer, and you're set. If there's no backer plate for the brakes to mount, you'd need a new axle with the plates and brakes.

I once long ago towed a U-Haul 'egg' camper trailer with a 4 cyl Dodge Omni on a 2000 mile vacation from MI to CO and back. 90 HP didn't do so well, and I only drove 50 mph or less most of the time. But we had a nice vacation (other than some issues with the trailer's furnace and leaking front window). Not saying I'd do it that way again; now I'd want a few more horses (which you have double) and trailer brakes.

REALLY appreciate all of the tips and information.

Las Vegas Proud wrote:


He should be fine, if he’s only towing a little over 1200lbs as long as he downshifts on hills. The car is rated for 2k they should have taken pulling and stopping into that equation. OP take it easy and you should be fine.

I don't know anything about the OP's cage, and how it is rated. But my full size pickup has a tow rating well over 2000 lbs. BUT the manual clearly states any trailer over 1000 lbs needs brakes. And that 1000 lbs would put the GCVW right at the GVWR of the pickup. The brakes are designed to stop GVWR, with some margin for safety. Pulling 1200 lb trailer, I know I would be in that margin. Is the Sorento designed to haul 1200 lbs?

Sjm9911 wrote:
It didnt have brakes when it was built, and i dont think you could put them on if you wanted to without a whole new axle.

Look up the price of the front bumper for the Sorento. Bet it cost more than the axle. And than bumper would not always be the only cost if did not get stopped in time. What is that kid on a bicycle worth?

Something to keep in mind is your tongue weight will take away from your overall vehicle carrying capacity https://www.autoblog.com/buy/2019-Kia-Sorento-2.4L_L__4dr_Front_wheel_Drive/specs/

You and your passengers plus your gear. And trailer tongue should add up to less than gross vehicle weight to fall within manufacturer specs, if you camp like you say you do, it’s looks good, take the down hills slow leave lots of space for breaking you should be good