Kia Sorento Complaints (2023)

167 consumer complaints on file.

#11578170March 18, 2024
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Battery draining on new car after new battery replacement.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11576334March 9, 2024
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, SERVICE BRAKES
I was driving down the highway when my vehicle shut off with no warning and the parking break engaged. I was stuck in the travel lane with cars flying by me going 50 plus MPH. My vehicle has 7000 miles on it. According to KIA the hybrid battery failed and they don’t know why. KIA has been no help and as far as I know they are not looking into this issue. Upon further research there has been multiple instances where this hybrid model has just shut down while the vehicle is moving and KIA has been unable to resolve the issue. Myself and my children could have been severely injured or killed. They need to get to the bottom of what is causing these hybrid batteries to fail on brand new vehicles.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11576153March 8, 2024
SERVICE BRAKES
On 3 different occasion when parking in my driveway (on a hill) my car rolled while in park. On the first occasion I almost ran over my wife who was taking our young daughter out of her car seat. Fortunately I was still in the drivers seat and able to press my foot on the brake. On the next two occasions there was nobody around and the car rolled into the street. I have contacted Kia repeatedly to fix this issue and they have done nothing. The dealership says there is nothing wrong and is now refusing to answer calls from myself and Kia. Kia is saying it's up to the dealership to fix. This is incredibly dangerous for people who are not aware there is an issue. The dealer accused me of not activating the parking brake. As I explained to them the car would have rolled me over before I could walk away - so that is impossible. I can't replicate this every time. I have been able to replicate it one other time but did not get it on video. This makes the situation that much more dangerous especially with little kids. I now park every time with my emergency brake engaged.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11572884February 20, 2024
ENGINE, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Purchased brand new 2023 Sorento on 12/30/23. On Jan 14th, with less than 300 miles on it, had 1st incident. All lights on dash came on said Engine control system, lost all ability to accelerate. Had to get out of traffic, as safely as I could. Turned car off and waited 5 min. Turn car back on, check engine light stayed on but could give gas. Took to dealership and a code was stored in history, engine control module. 3 days later took it back to get fixed and they could reproduce problem or get any code. Put flight recorder on, drove it for 11 miles, nothing. Said they can't fix without a code. On Feb 17th, with 1500 miles, same situation. All lights on dash, cannot give any gas. Extremely dangerous in traffic. Got off road and on display it said it performed 7 checks. All showing good except Engine Management System. Shows condition with engine control system and take to dealership immediately. It was a Saturday, service was closed. Check engine light stayed on Saturday and all day Sunday. Monday, check engine off. Took to dealership, no code found. This is a brand new car and has has same problem twice now. They are saying they need a code to fix. So now I'm driving a ticking time bomb, a death trap. Scared to drive on interstate or anywhere with heavy traffic. When you loose ability to control cars speed, that's EXTREMELY dangerous. I dropped car off at KIA and will NOT pickup until they can tell me what's going on with my brand new car. Why KIA put a safety feature that "limp mode" stops the car from accelerating is beyond me. This is so scary and disappointing.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11572301February 16, 2024
STEERING
The contact owns a 2023 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, there was an abnormal squeaking sound coming from the steering column. Additionally, the steering wheel felt tight while turning in either direction. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 50,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11570827February 8, 2024
POWER TRAIN, SERVICE BRAKES, ENGINE
On [XXX] while driving and in the process of changing lanes, as I accelerated on the brakes, my Vehicle gave a sudden jerk, at first I figured it was due to the road being wet, but on [XXX] while driving to NYC on [XXX] as we all know we all have to keep up the speed, once again during accelerating my vehicle repeated the same sudden jerk and continue for most of my ride, I brought into KIA on [XXX] with the end result being they did not find this issue, as well as my ongoing issue of my engine light that has been coming on and off for about 5 months now. I do believe my vehicle is having some kind of issue with the transmission and gears are not kicking in during the acceleration process may I add this is on the highway. My vehicle is a 2023 which I purchased in Aug of 2023 and have been in the dealership for shaking during braking engine light on and now gear delay with no resolution to all issues, I will be contacting the Manufactured as my next step in the horrible processes. 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
#11570005February 5, 2024
ENGINE
See attached document for complaint
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11567428January 24, 2024
ENGINE
2023 Kia Sorrento - The engine turned off while driving, leaving me stranded in the middle of a busy road in the first six months of ownership. The vehicle was towed, and the dealer was unable to reproduce it. On 01/12/24, the car leaked all the contents of the coolant system onto my driveway. The vehicle was towed, and the dealer later stated the radiator adapter had a small pebble that appeared to have bent some of the fins. The dealer said it was "external forces," and they are not assuming liability. I firmly believe it was a failure of the radiator adapter and not a tiny pebble that caused the entire system to fail. I write this hoping that if other issues are reported with this vehicle's radiator, it will become a known issue to assist other customers and potentially keep people safe on the roadways. I complained to Kia America, who assumed no liability and stated it was not their problem, although they never requested photographs or the affected part. I am very saddened by the response from the dealer and Kia America during this incident.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11567472January 24, 2024
VISIBILITY/WIPER, STRUCTURE:BODY
Issue occurred and came to like during the past winter snow storm. The hood of the SUV does not allow and blocks the wiper blade arm from being lifted in order to clean ice off the wiper blade nor can the wiper arm be lifted to clear ice and snow under the wiper arm to allow proper operation. This design flaw does not allow safe and clear sight function of the windshield wipers.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11566663January 20, 2024
ENGINE, POWER TRAIN, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
At times vehicle hesitates or doesn't responses when accelerator is pushed. Has occurred several times when moving into traffic from a yield lane or stop. Fortunately it hasn't lead to an accident but was very scary. Researching this problem on-line, this has been reported by many Sorento owners. This is an intermittent problem and when vehicle is taken to the dealer they report they can not duplicate problem so nothing is done. By the shear numbers of owners reporting the same issue, something needs to be corrected.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11566141January 17, 2024
EQUIPMENT:OTHER:LABELS
[XXX] was shopping for new vehicle and compared advertised window sticker safety rating to NHTSA rating. The rating on the window sticker was incorrect (stated 5 stars when NHTSA confirms 4 stars). Concerned that this is false advertising and misleading for consumers. 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
#11565469January 14, 2024
ENGINE, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
My vehicle died inThe middle of an extremely busy four lane road. A light came on That said to turn the car off immediately. The engine light and battery light flashed on. It sounds like the engine recall for the 22 and 21 hybrid sorento’s. I had to have the vehicle towed to the dealership, it is only 7 mos old.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11563662January 5, 2024
POWER TRAIN
Transmission Oil light came on and the vehicle lost power. It was determined that the Transmission was faulty with only 3800 miles.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11563111January 2, 2024
STEERING
The contact owns a 2023 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, there was squealing sounds coming from the steering wheel and the steering wheel was difficult to turn. The contact stated that several system warning lights illuminated and the check lane departure warning, check speed limit, check high beam assist, and check driver attention messages were displayed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed but was not repaired. The contact stated that the failure persisted. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 2,400.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11562990January 2, 2024
STEERING
The contact owns a 2023 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH, there was an abnormal squealing sound coming from the steering wheel and the steering wheel was difficult to turn. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact stated that the vehicle received an unstated repair; however, the failure persisted. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 1,328.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11560085December 14, 2023
STEERING
While driving there is a loud squeak that is coming from the steering column on the left side. The dealerships cannot reperform because it only happens about 60% of the time when driving. We have brought the vehicle in twice now and both times the dealership could not recreate the noise. Many people are having the same issue with the 2022 and 2023 Kia models. They have speculated on what is causing the sound. One individual that was able to get their dealership to work on it said their dealership had to replace the "power pack" which is a steering column control module. Another individual said that their dealership had to emergency order a new steering column to replace it. Each of these makes me believe that there is an issue that Kia is not addressing that is putting the lives of drivers at risk. If the steering control module goes out while driving it could cause the driver to be unable to turn normally and cause an accident, or if something breaks within the steering column that restricts the movement of the steering wheel an individual could go off the road or hit someone. Steering issues are extremely dangerous to the driver and the general public, so I am hopeful that this will help get the ball moving on finding out what is going on with these steering columns before a serious accident occurs. Thank you.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11559412December 11, 2023
STEERING, LANE DEPARTURE: ASSIST
There is a loud squeaking sound that sounds like a rodent or bird that occurs intermittently at cold temperatures from the steering column. It has been mentioned in several forums and Facebook communities. Some dealers are aware, others are not. The repair requires a steering column replacement according to those who have had service completed. Dealers are requiring they directly hear the issue despite recorded video proof. I have a copy of my issue in hand.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11556821November 26, 2023
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Headlights will often turn on when unnecessary in Auto mode, for example when the sun is shining but there is no sun directly on the sensor, the headlights will turn on, when driving for example in a shady area with trees, the headlights could end up turning off and on very quickly, making it look like your trying to get someone’s attention, also when driving on the highway and going under a overpass, they turn on for a brief second until you clear it, so it looks like you are flashing your headlights, I think it’s very unsafe
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11555941November 19, 2023
STEERING, LANE DEPARTURE: ASSIST
Made several attempts to fix squeaking and rattling in steering column when lane keep assist is engaged. Dealership vehicle was purchased from notified me " we cannot replicate the problem", after driving my vehicle 59 miles. I sent multiple of the issue via email and text message. Finally, the service manager agreed to let her shop foreman do a ride along. At this time, Demontrond Kia acknowledged there was an issue. Demontrond Kia diagnosis was " Found vapor lines vibrating on brake lines causing the noise from steering wheel." Kia technicians re-routed vapor lines from brake line and test drove the vehicle another 89 miles. Two days later the same exact issue was still present. At this time, the Service manager has yet to respond back to me. I sent a request for an appointment to take care of the reverse camera recall through the kia access app twice after emailing the Service manager. I still have not heard a response.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11553611November 4, 2023
ENGINE, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Vehicle loses power from combustion engine and drives only on electric battery. Hybrid system doesn’t engage correctly and vehicle will accelerate extremely slowly after a delay and will only achieve roughly 30 mph with accelerator fully pressed. This vehicle has been sent to the dealer multiple times and they have recreated the problem. However even after parts being replaced and connections being replaced the problem persists. Vehicle can be inspected anytime. My family has been in several near collisions with oncoming traffic due to the vehicle moving after a delay and then at a much slower than expected pace. Pulling out in to traffic is nearly impossible when the vehicle malfunctions. It has also depleted the entire battery and left us motionless on the side of the road multiple times. Due to the problem being intermittent and not reliably duplicated a service technician was given permission to use the vehicle to commute to and from work for a time. This allowed him to experience the issue in person. The vehicle has been inspected multiple times by the dealers service department and they have been working with engineers from the manufacturer. When this problem occurs there typically is not a warning light or a code stored. They believe it is a faulty connection. This issue will cause an accident in the future if not resolved. The manufacturer has not been able to determine what is causing the issue. They also have not been concerned with our safety and have released the vehicle back to us 3 times stating that it is fixed yet the problem persists.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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