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Kia Sorento Rear Brake Pads Replacement Guide
How to change the rear disc brake pads on a 3rd generation 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 Kia Sorento.

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2019 Sorento Rear Wheel
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Slightly Loosen Lug Nuts
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Raise Rear of SUV

This automotive maintenance tutorial was specifically written to assist owners of the third generation (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020) Kia Sorento SUV equipped with a manual cable operated "drum in hat" type emergency / parking brake in changing the rear disc brake pads, lubricating the caliper slider pins and replacing the rotors.

Owners of other Kia, Hyundai and Genesis vehicles such as the Soul, Seltos, Sportage, Niro, Telluride, Forte, Rio, Optima, Stinger, Cadenza, K900, Sedona, Kona, Venue, Santa Fe, Elantra, Sonata, Accent, Veloster, Ioniq, Nexo, G70, G80 and G90 may also find these instructions to be helpful.

A few compatible replacement sets of rear brake pads with their part numbers include the following: ACDelco 14D1916CH, Power Stop 17-1284, Raybestos EHT1916H and Beck Arnley 085-7055.

The tools needed to complete this procedure include a lug nut wrench, a floor jack, two jack stands, a 14mm socket with a 3/8" drive ratchet, an "F" clamp and a tube of brake caliper grease.


Attention: If your Sorento is equipped with an Electronic Parking Brake or "EPB", you must either use the Kia / Hyundai GDS (Global Diagnostic System) software or an OBDII Scan Tool (also known as an OBD2 scanner) to retract the electronic parking brake before replacing the rear brake pads.

Failure to do so may cause damage to the electric parking brake motors.

Please verify with the diagnostic scanner manufacturer that the tool specifically has the ability to place the Hyundai and Kia electronic parking brake system into "service mode" or "maintenance mode" by retracting the rear caliper pistons.

Some Kia and Hyundai forum members have had success disconnecting the power plug for the EPB motor, detaching the motor from the caliper, and manually retracting the piston with an Allen key or hex head socket.

I believe that you'll need a 5mm hex head socket to remove the two bolts for the EPB motor housing and also the same 5mm Allen key or hex head socket to wind back the caliper piston. I've read that you insert the 5mm hex head socket into the opening in the rear of the piston after the EPB motor has been detached from the caliper and then rotate it in the clockwise direction to retract back the piston.

Warning: If you choose to attempt the procedure detailed above to detach the EPB motors and manually retract the caliper pistons, proceed with caution and at your own risk!


The first few steps are to drive the SUV on to a level surface, shift the transmission into "Park" and turn off the ignition.

If your Sorento is equipped with the manual cable operated emergency / parking brake, make sure that it has been released.

If the manual parking brake hasn't been released, you won't be able to pull the rear caliper off the old brake pads.

(If your Sorento has the electronic parking brake or "EPB" please read the section above.)

This 2019 Sorento AWD has the manual cable operated "drum in hat" type parking brake, so these instructions are specific to those vehicles.

Place wheel chocks on both sides of the front tires to prevent the SUV from moving.

Slightly loosen the five lug nuts on the rear wheel by turning them 1/4 to 1/2 turn in the counterclockwise direction.

Carefully raise the rear of the vehicle with the floor jack and securely support it with at least two jack stands.

Please do not solely rely on the floor jack to support the car!



 

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Spin Off Five Lug Nuts
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5 Lug Nuts Removed
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Caliper, Bracket, Rotor
I prefer to work on one side of the vehicle at a time to keep three tires on the ground for extra safety.

Spin off the five lug nuts and set them aside in a safe place.

Carefully remove the rear wheel and tire.

Some home mechanics choose to place the wheel and tire below the frame rail of the vehicle as a backup support device just in case the floor jack and jack stands fail.

Once the wheel has been removed, you'll be able to see the caliper, bracket, rotor and suspension.

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Two Rotor Set Screws
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Loosen Top Caliper Bolt
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Loosen Bottom Bolt
If you plan on also replacing the rotors, take note that there are two Phillips head set screws on the outer face of the rotor.

Loosen the top caliper bolt by turning it in the clockwise direction (when viewed from the outside of the SUV) with the 14mm socket and a 3/8" drive ratchet.

Then loosen the bottom caliper bolt by also turning it in the clockwise direction (as seen from the outside of the vehicle) with the 14mm socket and 3/8" drive ratchet.

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Spin Out Lower Bolt
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Remove Upper Bolt
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Lift Off Brake Caliper
Spin out the two caliper bolts and set them aside in a safe place.

Carefully lift the caliper off the old brake pads and out of the bracket.

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Rest Caliper On Rotor
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Two "V" Spring Clips
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Remove Spring Clips
Rest the caliper on the rotor or suspend it from the spring with a bungee cord or some twine.

Try to avoid bending, kinking, pulling or stressing the rubber brake fluid hose.

You'll notice that the old brake pads are equipped with two "V" or "U" shaped metal spring clips.

These are brake pad drag reduction clips (also known as pad spreading springs or friction reduction clips that help improve fuel economy by preventing the pads from dragging on the rotors when you are not actively braking.

Pull the old "V" shaped spring clips off the outer edge of the old brake pads and set them aside in a safe place.

Your new set of rear brake pads might include a bag of replacement hardware with new spring clips.

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Drag Reduction Clips
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Wear Bar - Bottom Inner
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Remove Old Outer Pad
Remove the old inner and outer brake pads from the bracket.

Make a mental note of where the wear indicator bar or "squeal" bar is situated on the old brake pads.

On this 2019 Sorento AWD, the wear indicator bar is located on the bottom of the old inner brake pad.

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Pad Abutment Clips
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Replace Abutment Clips
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Remove Slider Pins
If your new set of rear pads includes replacement brake hardware, pull the old pad abutment clips or "anti-rattle" clips out of the top and bottom of the bracket.

Clean off the bracket, caliper, rotor and lug studs with brake parts cleaner spray.

If your Sorento has been exhibiting shuddering, vibrations or shaking in the rear end while braking, the OEM rotors might be warped and should be replaced.

To replace the rotors, remove the two 14mm bolts on the back side of the bracket and remove it, remove the two Phillips head set screws on the outer face of the rotor. Slide the old rotor off the lug studs and wheel hub. If you have trouble removing an old stubborn rusted on rotor, hit it with a rubber mallet to loosen the rust or debris. Slide the new rotor into place and replace the two set screws. Replace the bracket and tighten the two 14mm bolts to the service manual torque specification of 47.0 to 54.2 lb-ft of torque.

A few compatible replacement "drum in hat" or "DIH" type rear disc brake rotors with their part numbers are as follows: ACDelco 18A2944A, DuraGo BR900894-02 and Raybestos 980783FZN.

In order for the caliper to operate smoothly, the two caliper slider pins or "guide bolts" must be well lubricated.

Do NOT mix up the two pins since the top and bottom pins may be slightly different.

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Lubricate & Replace Pins
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Attach "F" Clamp
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Remove Reservoir Cap
Pull out one caliper slider pin at a time, apply a thin layer of brake parts lubricant grease to the smooth part of the pin and then push it back into the rubber dust boot attached to the bracket.

In order for the caliper to fit over the thicker new brake pads, the caliper piston needs to be compressed back.

Attach the "F" clamp to the caliper and use the back of an old brake pad to evenly distribute the pressure across the piston.

Move to the right area of the engine bay and twist off the round black plastic brake fluid reservoir cap in the counterclockwise direction.

Removing the cap will allow the brake fluid to more easily travel back through the lines when you compress the piston.

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Compress Caliper Piston
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Replace Brake Fluid Cap
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Install New Outer Pad
Slowly turn the "F" clamp handle in the clockwise direction to compress the piston back into the caliper.

Repeatedly check the fluid level in the reservoir to make sure it doesn't overflow.

Continue compressing the piston until it is just about flush with the rubber dust boot that surrounds it.

Try to avoid pinching or damaging the rubber dust boot.

Once you are done compressing the piston, immediately replace the reservoir cap by twisting it on in the clockwise direction.

Since brake fluid is hygroscopic (absorbs moisture from the air), you shouldn't leave the cap off any longer than absolutely necessary.

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Wear Bar - Bottom Inner
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Install New Inner Pad
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Push Pads Against Rotor
Orientate the wear indicator bar at the bottom of the inner brake pad.

Install the two new pads into the bracket.

Push the two pads together until they are flush against the rotor.

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Install Spring Clips
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Pad Spreading Clips
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Spring Clips Attached
If your new pads are equipped with the small holes on the outer edge, install the "V" shaped drag reduction spring clips.
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Lower Caliper Over Pads
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Spin In Top Caliper Bolt
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Replace Bottom Bolt
Carefully lower the caliper over the new pads and into the bracket.

Line up the bolt holes in the caliper with their corresponding bolt holes in the slider pins within the bracket.

Spin in the two caliper bolts a few turns by hand in the counterclockwise direction (as seen from the outside of the car) to help prevent them from becoming cross threaded.

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Tighten Upper Bolt
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Tighten Lower Bolt
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Rubber Valve Cap
Tighten the two caliper bolts by turning them in the counterclockwise direction (when viewed from the outside of the car) with the 14mm socket and a 3/8" drive ratchet until they are snug.

If you have a torque wrench, the service manual specification for the caliper bolts is 15.9 to 23.1 lb-ft of torque.

Double check that the two caliper bolts are tight before moving on to the next steps.

If your brake pedal has been feeling very soft or spongy, you may need to bleed the brake lines in order to remove any air bubbles or moisture.

Check out my Acura MDX Brake Fluid Bleeding Guide for more information on this procedure.

In general, you will need to bleed the brake lines from the furthest wheel from the brake fluid reservoir to the closest one.

The brake fluid bleeder valve is located just below the top caliper bolt underneath a rubber cap.

You'll need a 10mm wrench to open and close the bleeder valve.

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Brake Fluid Bleeder Valve
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Push On Rear Wheel
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Slightly Tighten Lug Nuts
Carefully slide the rear wheel and tire back into place over the lug studs.

Spin on the 5 lug nuts a few turns by hand in the clockwise direction to prevent them from becoming cross threaded.

Slightly tighten the lug nuts in the clockwise direction with the tire iron in a criss-cross or a star pattern.

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Lower SUV From Stands
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Torque Lug Nuts
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Rear Brake Job Done!
Carefully lower the SUV from the jack stands by using the floor jack.

Continue progressively tightening the five lug nuts in the clockwise direction to about 1/8th of a turn past hand tight.

Please consult your owner's manual for the correct wheel lug nut torque specification!

It would be best to use a torque wrench to tighten the lug nuts to the 2019 Kia Sorento AWD owner's manual specification of 79 to 94 lb-ft of torque.

The 2017 Sorento owner's manual has a wheel nut tightening torque specification of 65 to 79 lb-ft of torque.

Please double check your owner's manual to verify the correct lug nut torque specification for your vehicle as it may vary by year, model or trim level.

Sit in the driver's seat and firmly press the brake pedal several times to restore the brake line pressure.

I would also recommend checking your driveway, parking spot or your garage floor for fresh drops of brake fluid which might indicate a leak from the bleeder valve or the reservoir bottle.

Check the fluid level in the reservoir and if necessary, add more DOT 3 or DOT 4 fluid until it reaches the "MAX" (maximum) level.

Be sure to write down the rear brake job in your SUV's service records.

Please take a look at all of my 2016-2020 Kia Sorento DIY Repair & Maintenance Guides.
 

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