Kia Sorento Complaints

10,397 consumer complaints on file.

#11527607June 18, 2023
STEERING
I have a 2017 Kia Sorento in which the steering has been feeling sticky. It feels like the steering has been getting stuck and hard to turn at times. I’m scared that one day it will get stuck and I can’t undue the stickiness at all. It’s very scary and unsafe to drive. I had contacted a Kia dealership to get this problem looked at because I feel this vehicle is dangerous and I have a young child that I drive back and forth in this vehicle. I even contacted Kia consumer services on plenty of occasions and they were no help.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11527474June 17, 2023
ENGINE, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
First and foremost I am the 2 owner of this vehicle with only 38,000 miles, my 82 mother gave me the car with 22,000 miles on it b/c she barely drives anymore. The car is in excellent condition until I started noticing that the steering wheel was sticky and it is difficult to control the vehicle, the oil pressure and the traction control light would come on and off intermittently. In addition, while in park or driving the speedometer would display dashes and then display inaccurate speeds going up and down until reaching 95 miles on the display then, would go to dashes, and then everything would return to normal. I took the vehicle in the last months of 2022 to the dealership which they failed to acknowledge and display lights and any problems with the steering wheel. I took the vehicle home and the oil pressure light started displaying continuously along with all the other problems (I did not take it back to the dealership b/c they already had charged me a substantial amount of money for nothing). I took the vehicle to have the oil checked, oil levels were fine nothing could not figure out the leak location. Fast forward, the vehicle is sitting at an independent reputable mechanic who was able to find that the "Oil pressure sending unit" is responsible for the leak and the oil pressure light display. The Kia dealership neglects to honor any warranty, I am left paying thousands for this repair.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11527404June 16, 2023
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Power Latch Assy. The rear hatch does not open Problem was reproduced at Tameron Kia, 10611 Boney Avenue, D'Iberville, MS. 39540 (228)679-5200 Problem was diagnosed as internal open/short making rear power tail gate inoperable. No warning lamp or signal advised of the failure. Problem was first noted in January 2023 assy.The rear Hatch latch does not open.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11527309June 16, 2023
POWER TRAIN, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
Failures with power train around 12,000 miles. Code P1C2D03. Engine jumps gears and may require full transmission replacement. Upon research, there are at least nine other separate complaints of the same issue under 12,000 miles. Car was brought in a month earlier to have the front camera replaced due to a latent defect in the sensor causing forward assist to erroneously lock the brakes while driving. As an aerospace/automotive quality engineer, I am appalled that there isn't a major recall on this vehicle for powertrain failures under 12,000 miles. https://www.carcomplaints.com/Kia/Sorento/2022/transmission/transmission_failed.shtml 12/27/22 – At around 12,000 miles the SUV wouldn't accelerate while driving 20mph to 40mph. Also, it wouldn't get out of 1st gear off the line. On its 3rd transmission in 2 months. 8/4/22 - Kia Sorento is 5 months old, with 2017 miles locally driven, and this is the third time the transmission has failed me while driving. 2/21/22 - Transmission failed at 1561 miles. It would accelerate to 3000rpm, do the 1-2 shift then bang back to 1st gear. https://www.kia-forums.com/threads/transmission-recall-updated-information.360349/ 4/2/23 - Waiting to hear whether I’ll need a new transmission on my SX Prestige 2022 Sorento. 8000 miles on the clock and it started struggling to change out of first. 5/4/22 - same with my 2021 Sorento 11,582 miles, been at the dealers since last Thursday night (4/28/22). This is what’s on my Kia app…Code P1C2D03. (1) Powertrain 5/8/22 - Same milage basically here at 10,400mi for my failure. Transmission was not rebuilt for me FYI. It was a brand new transmission from factory shipped in. 5/10/22 - Check engine code was P1C2D03. I have had the car 15months, and not even 25k yet. Mine is 2021 SX 2.5Turbo AWD https://sorentoforums.com/threads/2021-kia-sorento-transmission-light-wont-move.149/ 5/10/22 - Mine is the same code P1C2D03 and they tell me they've never seen this code before. I have 8500 miles on it.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11527207June 15, 2023
ENGINE, ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
The contact owns a 2017 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while exiting the highway at 15 MPH, the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact was able to restart the vehicle and parked the vehicle in a parking lot. The next day, the contact's father towed the vehicle to her residence. The following day, the vehicle was towed to a dealer. After a week at the dealer, the contact was informed that the engine had seized and needed to be replaced. Upon investigation, the contact discovered NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V586000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 138,492.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11527235June 15, 2023
ENGINE, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Kia Corporate Complaint No. [XXX] We bought a used but Kia certified 2014 Kia Sorento with 29K mileage in Jul 2017. Ran great but check engine light came on 3 times. Well before 100K mileage, we took it to dealer service department and we’re advised it was an ‘electrical problem’ that reported a false code. Each time the check engine light was reset. Car ran great except for the false trouble lights. We were told that if the light did not blink, not really a problem. At 120K mileage, we got a code and took car to local garage. Mechanic changed 6 plugs but advised that No. 6 coil may need to be replaced. At 122K miles, 3 weeks ago, we got a solid check engine light but with a serious female voice and pop up screen advising we get to Kia dealer. This time code was run by our local mechanic for clogged catalytic converter. We drove to Kia dealer and they ran code for fouled fuel injector for cost of $1,000. We left car parked at dealer and called Kia USA Corporate in CA. We got a complaint number with assurance Kia would contact us. Nothing in 3 weeks. Local dealer says no recalls of V6 engine but we see reports on line of a known fire problem. We fear driving car should the catalytic converter catch fire. Help! [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11527264June 15, 2023
SERVICE BRAKES, STEERING, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
I was driving on a highway where maximum speed limit was 65miles. Suddenly my car stalled and restarted again and post that i had a warning for Check AEB, auto hold was disabled and Traction control was enabled. For a brief moment, i lost steering which may be a result of the stall but then i regained steering. This has happened 4 times in the last 6 months. I stopped the car by the road, turned off the engine and restarted the car. The dashboard still showed the same warnings. I again turned off the car, opened my drivers side door and closed it and then restarted the car. The warning signs went off and then there were no issues post that.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11526925June 14, 2023
ENGINE
Engine stopped working while I was driving due to a rod bearing issue with no warning. No engine lights, low oil lights, etc came on to warn me. Luckily I was able to get to the side of the road and wait for a tow truck. Kia dealer said it was unrepairable due to "rod bearing" failure, and I needed a new engine. Kia has recalled/updated software for their 4 cylinder GDI engines for a "rod bearing" engine failure issues but not the V6. Kia has also settled a class action lawsuit due to this failure - but only in the 4 cyl engines. The V6 is also having this problem. Dealer quoted nearly $10,000 for a new engine, I chose to sell the vehicle at a loss instead.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11526940June 14, 2023
ENGINE
Ive been experiencing engine failure with my vehicle since December of 2022. The car was assessed and repaired and less than a month later my engine has failed yet again while driving. My vehicle year is not listed in the kia settlement class action even though I have a Theta II engine 2.4 L GDI.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11526970June 14, 2023
ENGINE
Engine light came on flashing and vehicle losing power. Took to Kia Dealership and told there was a rod bearing malfunction.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11527005June 14, 2023
SERVICE BRAKES
There are times when I brake, my brakes will jump or skip before completely braking. My brakes have been checked and replaced. I have seen recalls on the Kia Sportage for the braking system and I believe that the Kia Sorento has the same issues.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11527046June 14, 2023
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM, UNKNOWN OR OTHER, ENGINE
i HAVE A 2017 KIA SORENTO i PURCHASED THIS VEHICLE SEPTEMBER 2021. SINCE PURCHASING THIS TRUCK i have had problems with oil consumption.the engine constantly burn oil. I have taken to king KIA in Gaithersburg md . where I'm now being told it keep failing the oil consumption test. and that a combustion cleaning need to perform. AS I RESEARCHED THIS ISSUED I WAS SHOCK TO SEE THAT THIS IS AN ON GOING PROBLEM AND THE NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS WITH KIA. kia need to be held responsible for these problems NOT THE CONSUMERS. THIS SHOULD BE A RECALL.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11526886June 13, 2023
ENGINE
This involves a 2017 Kia Sorento. 1.350 miles after a scheduled oil change I checked the oil and found it was 3 quarts of oil low. The color of the oil on dip stick was blackened. I have been topping off the oil every 400 miles with another quart of oil. I visited a local Kia dealership and talked to a maintenance person who told me to stop adding oil and it would eventually "freeze up" and they would replace the engine. They also told me that Kia had extended the warranty on this type of engine to 999,999 miles. This tells me that they expect to replace the engine eventually. Their advice above sounds stupid and extremely dangerous. If I hadn't checked the oil level after 1.350 miles it would have run out before the next scheduled oil change. This could have happened during rush hour traffic and would have possibly caused a very serious accident. If they plan on replacing it in the future I think they should do it now before any serious accidents happen. I hope you would agree. There has not been any warning lights to say it was low on oil. Again , the engine would have to freeze up before they would replace it. Thanks for your assistance.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11526836June 13, 2023
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, EXTERIOR LIGHTING, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
My passenger interior dash and glove box trim are melted. I’ve had it checked out by Kia, however they do not see where an origin could have come from. The day i noticed it, my vehicle had been hit on the front right passenger fender. The melting looked to be electrical or caused by a combustion of sort but we also believe it could have been caused by reflection off of the interior of my vehicle to that spot. I live in Michigan, the temperature was above 80*.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11526739June 13, 2023
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
My 2021 Kia Sorrento has shut down and died while on a Highway drive 2 days in a row. The engine light comes on, the oil light comes on, and and the phrase “Engine Off. Shift to N then start engine” comes on. Prior to this, other issues were happening. Originally, my automatic start wasn’t working properly, and a Kia service advisor told me to “turn that feature off”. After that, while driving down the road last month, all symbols on my dash began flashing and the phrase “Check forward safety system” appeared.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11526501June 12, 2023
ENGINE, SERVICE BRAKES, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
I was traveling on the interstate, I heard a slight tapping noise, after about 5 miles, there was no warning light indicators, the car just died, I lost all power, there were no brakes, I was able to get pulled off the highway to the warning track that helped slow the vehicle down, smoke was coming from under the hood & into the cabin, then I saw flames, at about 20mph I knew I had to get out so I put it in park & it finally stopped. I had just enough time to grab my purse & suitcase out of the back & it was in engulfed in flames immediately. I had just had the car serviced 1 month prior for oil change & Anti theft recall but was advised that recall wasn't being done at this time. The engine light had came on the day before I took it in for the oil change, they reset it stating it was a CO2 sensor & if it came back on to let them know. It did not. It has been reported to my insurance& deemed total loss, I filed a claim with Kia & have not heard back, the Kia service dept. where it was taken said there was nothing they can do, that it will have to be investigated by insurance.
Crash:
No
Fire:
Yes
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11526563June 12, 2023
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
The vehicle turns the headlights on while the engine is off, parked, and no occupants in the car and no keys in the ignition. I have experienced this multiple times. There are many other reports of this on the Internet as well. The multi switch was in the Auto position. I started the car, then turned it off, removed the keys, locked the doors and the lights went off. I checked on it later and the headlights had come back on (with the tail lights) while parked in my driveway. I then searched on the Web for others having this issue and there are many with this same year and model. This could run down the battery repeatedly, and also it is unknown if it is an electrical/fire hazard because something is clearly still activated after the car has been turned off.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11526474June 11, 2023
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM, EXTERIOR LIGHTING, SERVICE BRAKES
The shift release has been replaced for 2017 kia sorento but now it is traffic light switch causing one of my car problems. In gas I spend 40 dollars a day for less than 110 miles of driving even with an full synthetic oil change just done is problem two. The speedometer is off by 3 to 5 I have had bmv and officers do their test on vehicle along with the head and tail lights being replaced every 6 to 8 weeks what am I to so with a vehicle that I am still paying on.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11526166June 9, 2023
EXTERIOR LIGHTING, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
When I am driving the lights will shut off even when they are on auto. I have to pull over and turn the knob back and forth till they come back on. Sometimes they turn off when I use my blinker. The lights will also stay turned on even when the car is turned off and doors are locked.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11526300June 9, 2023
POWER TRAIN
INTERMEDIATE SHAFT MAY SUFFER FROM NOISE AND EXCESSIVE WEAR DUE TO A MISALIGNMENT OF THE INTERMEDIATE SHAFT WITH THE RIGHT SIDE OUTPUT GEAR. CONTINUING TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE IN THIS CONDITION LEADS TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF A WHIRRING/WHINING NOISE I Have been having this issue with my car and its getting worse and i just bought this car and i need it to be recalled due to high risk of an accident
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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