Kia Sorento Complaints

10,397 consumer complaints on file.

#11537864August 11, 2023
ENGINE
The engine on our 2016 Kia Sorento blew in February (2023) with 120k miles on it. When this happened, it blew a fist sized hole on each side of the engine. A brief fire was seen under the car but quickly went out. Since it was over the MFG warranty, we had to buy a used engine for $7k. Labor was $3k. There were absolutely no warning lights on the dash. Fast forward 6 months, the replacement engine now just seized. You just can't make this up. Kia should not be allowed to make cars. The car broke down in a small town 3 hours from home. With $11k still owed on the vehicle, I just can't justify spending another $10k to replace the motor again. There were no warning signs this time either. Our engine is the 3.3L which Kia is not offering lifetime warranty on and out of pocket expenses like the 2.0L and 2.2L engine which lawsuit was just won.
Crash:
No
Fire:
Yes
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11537902August 11, 2023
ENGINE
The contact's wife owns a 2017 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled while attempting to coast to the side of the roadway. The contact was able to restart the vehicle after several attempts; however, the vehicle made abnormal knocking sounds. The vehicle was coasted to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The vehicle was then towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the piston ring and valves had failed, and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 102,702.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11537913August 11, 2023
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I was driving, pulled over to the side of the street, put the car on park. When I was getting ready to leave, my car would not shift back from park to drive. Shift linkage was detached and was stuck in park.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11537827August 11, 2023
ENGINE
High oil consumption for several months. Using 3-5 qts of oil every other week. Oil is burnt and black. Engine noise. Engine failed while driving.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11537692August 10, 2023
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Kia America sent me a letter on June 30, 2023, which alerted owners of 2018-2019 Kia vehicles of a possible low-pressure fuel pump leak and explaining a warranty extension. I am distressed and disgruntled, frankly, by this strategy to wait until there is a fuel leak before repairing the problem. My wife and I are in our 70s and travel in the car often on overnight and even two-month trips. We now have to worry that we’ll start to smell fumes while far away from home. This is unacceptable. Why is Kia waiting until owners experience problems before fixing it? I asked our Kia dealer how much it would cost me out of pocket to get the fuel pump replaced now before we are stranded on the road. The dealer would not give an estimate. In addition, I wrote to Kia America and their Customer Care Center about this problem and after a month they have not responded. Finally, I called the Care Center hotline and waited for an hour and finally someone answered, but the connection was lost or the person hung up on me before I could even explain the problem.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11537349August 9, 2023
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
"Auto" mode on headlights sometimes causes the headlights to turn off while in use in dark conditions. Auto mode also sometimes causes the lights not to turn on automatically or turn on randomly, even when the car is not in use and key is not in the ignition. Lights can turn on randomly when not occupied or being driven.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11537126August 8, 2023
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Primary Emission test Performed:OBD - Fail OBD SYSTEM - READYNESS STATUS Fuel System not ready My 2016 Kia Sorento repeatedly fails for above cause. Kia dealer proposed driving the car varying speed (Highway, City etc.) Their first recommendation was to drive car for 100 miles and problem will clear. Then they recommended 300 miles, then 600 miles and they continued to escalate the mileage. I have driven the car 1200 miles and the problem persists. I contacted Kia corporate and the customer rep said that she knew nothing about the problem and she said that I should just tell the dealer to fix the car. I told the rep that I already had several interactions with the dealer without any luck. I told her to contact the dealer, which she would not commit to doing. I am driving the car that has inspection sticker which is two months past due. This is the only car that I have and my wife and I require the car for necessities and doctor appointments and medical procedures. Please help!
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11537279August 8, 2023
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: SENSING SYSTEM: RADAR
The contact owns a 2017 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the message "Assist Emergency Braking Disabled - Radar Blockage" was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but no failure was found. On one occasion while driving 65 MPH, the headlights shut off and an unknown warning illuminated. The contact stated that after several minutes the warning light disappeared, and the headlights returned to normal functionality. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the contact was informed that the cameras were updated; however, the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 65,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11537149August 8, 2023
SERVICE BRAKES
The brake rotors and pads have to be replaced every about 2,000 miles! its hard to break the steering wheel keeps pulling when you attempt to brake its like metal on metal and feels like your sliding on gravel, WE have been told its a known issue and there's no real fix they just keep having to replace them every time but im afraid one day its going to completely fail and crash and cause a fatality
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11537103August 8, 2023
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Driving my vehicle my sunroof glass shatter, now it has a big hole in the middle. The car is at kia in laurel Maryland.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11536952August 7, 2023
ENGINE, POWER TRAIN
Total engine failure on highway with no warning. Kia dealership says a piston broke and a valve is stuck open. Total engine replacement required with a cost of $12,000. Kia refused to help with cost due to car being at 101,000 miles. Only 1,000 miles over the powertrain warranty.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11537023August 7, 2023
ENGINE
The car stalls any where when the temp is over 108 degrees, i have to wait about two minutes and it will start, sometimes it cranks then it starts, no codes come on the code reader. It has never happen since i bought the car 5 years ago. The car is not over heating, it stays on the same temp and no antifreeze comes out.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11537032August 7, 2023
ENGINE
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH, the vehicle failed to properly accelerate with the check engine warning light and the temperature gauge warning light illuminated. The contact was able to pull over on the side of the road and had the vehicle towed. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who stated that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 165,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11537024August 7, 2023
ENGINE
I just purchased my car four days ago as I was driving on expressway. I got an error that there’s an issue with my engine and cooling system. And the engine light has came on. This car was purchased brand new from a Kia dealership in Dearborn Michigan.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11536843August 7, 2023
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, STEERING, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Warning lights go crazy. Power steering goes out for several seconds. Rpms and speedometer go nuts or lay on zero. Sometimes I can’t shift into drive for several minutes. sometimes it sounds and feels like (under the pedal, in acceleration) it’s losing power for a few seconds, almost like a slipping feeling but in power. The clock and profiles have reset overnight before where I had to reset clock and presets. Kia has had my car for many weeks already in January at just 2-3 thousand miles I’d say (I bought it brand new in October 2022). My dash cam was plugged in. They tried so many things…the “remedy” was to not use the dash cam a while to see if it happens again. After a few months, I plugged it back in. Issues returned. Took back to Kia who said they’ll need it to do it again without dash cam in so I unplugged it that night. Issue has returned at least three times since then. I’ve sent video to Kia and i guess I’m still waiting for them to get an extra loaner because they’ll need to keep it…when I went up there a couple weeks ago, I was told they didn’t have any loaners available so they would call me when they did.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11536733August 6, 2023
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, SEATS, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Well my boyfriend and I where getting the car straightened up swept out wiped down and cleaned up and drove it from one part of our yard to the other and we had to finish what we where doing before that so and hour or so later when my. Boy friend went to go finish the car he realized there was smoke coming from the driver's side and opened the front door and the whole front driver seat was on fire so we got it put out and then we realized we needed to get the car as far away from the house as we could as soon as we got the fire out so I found a lid to it on I had to push a release button under the shifter to move it outta park and stear it away from any other houses or objects so we did that and then the lights for the heated seats on the driver's side came on again without the key that I know of being in it or nothen and it just being on fire so we u plugged to battery and called kia and a town truck
Crash:
No
Fire:
Yes
Injuries:
1
Deaths:
0
#11536755August 6, 2023
STRUCTURE:BODY
Paint is peeling off of my Kia
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11536575August 4, 2023
ENGINE
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving at 70 MPH, the vehicle lost oil , the low oil and low fuel warning lights did not illuminate. The vehicle started to slow down and it made an abnormal noise and lost power. When she depressed the accelerator pedal, the vehicle would make a jerking motion. The contact was able to pull over to the shoulder and the vehicle was towed to a safe area. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11536599August 4, 2023
ENGINE, AIR BAGS, POWER TRAIN
When I started out with the car it drove alright then I had to take it back and forth for the wiring smelling like it was burning 🔥 but have never caught on fire thank goodness had to get a tuneup spark plugs 🔌 and it still doesn’t work right
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11536612August 4, 2023
STRUCTURE:BODY
right rear passenger door handle. It is made of plastic and crumbled in my hand as i attempted to open the door to remove my 3 yr old great grandson. I had the child safety lock engaged, so when I tried to crawl across back seat to open that door from the inside I was unable to. I undid car seat buckles and pulled him across back seat, out opposite door. This occurred Mid June 2023. I ordered new handle, had installed by neighbor end of June 2023 and the new one has now started to come apart August 2 2023. I didn't have inspected as a neighbor shared she's had to replace her handles 3 times, it seems to be a common issue. Concerned for safety, have to keep child safety lock on for great grandson and if he or anyone needing to make emergency/quick exit unable to so. I don't want anyone to get trapped in car in our extreme Phoenix heat. My opposite rear door is not fully functionable as the window requlator has broken and the window is inoperable and I don't want to disassemble till the new one is available/affordable so I wouldn't be without the airbag plug attached.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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