Kia Sorento Complaints

10,397 consumer complaints on file.

#11695211October 23, 2025
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Automatic lift gate closed and injured child. Was placing groceries in vehicle. Closed lift gate with button on lift gate, child was next to me, but hand was behind him. Liftgate closed and would not reopen. Child was injured.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
1
Deaths:
0
#11694930October 22, 2025
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
When turning left, after the turn is complete and the multi function switch returns to home position, the right turn signal activates. This could lead to confusion by surrounding drivers resulting in safety concerns. At night, the headlights will randomly turn off while in auto mode while driving. Numerous times this happens and seems to be increasing in frequency. This is a serious safety concern as the visibility is limited to the driver and others on the road. Potential for a serious accident. After the vehicle is parked at the night, the exterior lights remain on all night if the headlight setting is in “auto”.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11694941October 22, 2025
STRUCTURE:INTERIOR PANELS:DASHBOARD
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that the dashboard was cracked in the shape of an air bag on both the left and right sides, causing concerns about a potential inadvertent air bag deployment. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, who confirmed that the crack was cosmetic and advised the contact to reach out again if the air bag started to protrude through the crack. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact reached out to the manufacturer and provided photos, but received no assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 86,711.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11694961October 22, 2025
ENGINE
Car started shaking, white smoke out of tail pipe, ABS/TCS lights went on. Oil on spark plugs My wife was stuck on side of interstate.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11694944October 22, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
I've had a couple of issues with the electrical components. One time the drivers side door controls wouldn't roll down any of the windows or lock/unlock the doors. This is a safety issue if you needed to roll the windows down/up or lock the doors for the security of your vehicle. I've also had it where the infotainment system has cut out while driving. As far as I can tell, the vehicle could still drive but I was unsure for a minute because the engine kind of revved at the same time. There were no warning lights when the windows and locks didn't work.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11694686October 21, 2025
VISIBILITY/WIPER
My backup camera had a safety recall issued previously. In March of 2024 I received a letter from Kia notifying me of the recall related to this issue, and offered a remedy. I took the car in for inspection, but it was working at the time. Now in Oct of 2025 the backup camera starting getting moisture inside, and has completely failed. I contacted the Kia dealership that I purchased it from, and they told me to bring it in. When I did, the technician told me that it had been a bracket that was the recall issue, and it was repaired, in direct conflict with what my paperwork said. They refused to repair the backup camera for free. Please inform me of my recourse, as my backup camera does not work at all, and it is expensive to repair/
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11694849October 21, 2025
POWER TRAIN
The contact owns a 2015 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked and shifted into park(P), the gear shifter failed to shift into the intended gear. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that the gear shifter had seized in park(P). In addition, the contact stated that the failure had occurred while at the drive-thru picking up lunch. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The dealer was made aware of the failure. The contact was advised to tow the vehicle to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The contact referenced an unknown recall with a similar failure description; however, the VIN was not included. The failure mileage was approximately 109,200.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11694495October 20, 2025
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V652000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact had not experienced a failure.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11694509October 20, 2025
ENGINE
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that, while driving at 60 MPH, she observed smoke emanating from the engine compartment, prompting her to attempt to pull to the shoulder of the roadway. During the attempt, the contact stated that she then heard an abnormal pop, after which the vehicle lost motive power, and within a moment, the entire front end of the vehicle was engulfed in flames. Upon exiting the vehicle and being assisted by bystanders, the contact was informed that the bystanders had attempted to alert her on the road as they had observed flames emanating from underneath the vehicle. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a storage facility but had yet to be deemed a total loss by the contact's insurance provider. A fire report was filed. A police report was not filed, and injuries were not reported. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 106,334.
Crash:
No
Fire:
Yes
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11694546October 20, 2025
ENGINE
The contact owns a 2014 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving approximately 15 MPH with his son seated in the second-row middle seat, there was an abnormal sound coming from under the hood of the vehicle before the vehicle stalled. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a local storage facility. The vehicle was taken to a local independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed with seized bearings in the engine. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 11,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11694590October 20, 2025
ENGINE
The design of the grill on this vehicle is poorly constructed and leads to safety issues. I purchased the vehicle in October 2024 and early January 2025, my husband was driving on the highway when the vehicle stopped. No lights, no warnings, just stopped providing power-while driving at a high speed on the highway. He was able to make it to the side of the road and get home that evening only to find out the radiator was punctured and needing replacement. Just 4 months later the exact same thing happened. The grill has no protection for an essential part of the vehicle. Minor road debris can completely shut down the vehicle, without warning, leading me to believe it is not intended to be on the road with its current design. The dealership has replaced the radiator both times and I’ve reached out to Kia directly. This is not an uncommon issue for this model. Many accounts of this exact same problem on social media and other public forums. Kia is aware this design flaw puts their customers at risk and are doing nothing to prevent it.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11694558October 20, 2025
POWER TRAIN, ENGINE, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Sorento is not working properly due to transmission oil pump. This has been recalled by Kia but my car does not fall under the warranty.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11694539October 20, 2025
ENGINE, POWER TRAIN
While driving at speeds below 25 mph, my transmission seems to get caught between gears. When I press the accelerator, the engine revs, but the car doesn’t accelerate as it should. It feels like the power just drops out. There were no warning lights or indicators on the dashboard. The exact same thing happened again the very next day, at low speed, in the same general area. Both times, the car suddenly lost power in traffic, leaving me unable to move normally. This is extremely dangerous — other drivers have no idea that my vehicle isn’t responding, which puts me and everyone around me at risk. It’s clear there’s a serious issue with the transmission malfunctioning.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11694496October 20, 2025
ENGINE
The inverter radiator is punctured during typical road use by road debris. This results in a total loss of circulating coolant in the inverter/electric motor cooling system. This renders the car undrivable, with a concern for electric motor overheating, given that the hydrid mode and electric power can not be turned off. This is available for inspection. It is unclear whether the electric motor will shut down when overheated, but seizing of the motor or fire seems possible. Reproducibility: There are many examples online of this occurring during normal road use of Kia electric and hybrid vehicles. There is a warning 'Check drive motor cooling system' in this model. This appeared during driving and reamined on while the coolant was depleted. Refilling coolant turned the light off but with coolant being actively sprayed out of the pin hole in the radiator at all times (the pump does not turn off when the engine is cold) resulting in rapid coolant loss.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11694100October 17, 2025
ENGINE
Started with check engine light coming on then having problems with engine knocking last winter. During oil change and oil filter change there were gold "sparkles" throughout the old oil and the filter was completely covered. It appears some component of the engine is being "chewed" up and destroying our engine. It is now undrivable. I was told by our local mechanic shop to contact KIA or NHTSA regarding a special extended warranty from KIA specifically for engine issues. I am not finding anything specific online, so wanted to reach out. I am waiting to hear back from local KIA dealership service department as well.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11694133October 17, 2025
EXTERIOR LIGHTING, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
My headlights went out completely and without warning on a dark highway. No brights or even the orange running lights. Not even the front hazard lights would go on. There was no warning until after they went out. I pulled over as best I could but there was very little shoulder and semi trucks speeding past me at 70 mph about a foot away from my car. There was a ditch about a foot to the right. I stayed in my car and turned the interior lights on until after highway patrol officer escorted me to a safe turn off. Thankfully my rear hazard lights were working. My husband had to drive a hour to come pick me up. I got home 3 hours later than originally planned. I talked to a mechanic who said it was likely a fuse that went out. I asked him why there was no warning and he said the warning for the lights is likely on the same fuse as the lights! How is that helpful?! We weren’t able to find the right fuse late at night in the dark, so we had to leave it on the side of the road about 60 miles from home until we could go to an auto parts store and drive it home in the daylight. It was a very dangerous situation. I could have been killed.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11693934October 16, 2025
ENGINE, POWER TRAIN
The vehicle is shifting weird out of first, knocking sound. A code of p1326 skds is showing on diagnostic. This was supposedly repaired by kia a few months ago from a recall. I am questioning if they corrected and inspected the recall appropriately, due to this being the issue. The car is now unable to be driven because I do not want to do more damage.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11693783October 16, 2025
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I am unable to disable the "consider taking a break" warning, this is highly distracting and I don't understand why I can disable ever other warning on the vehicle. This warning goes off so easily even when I'm not distracted or tired and it's unsafe!
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11693520October 15, 2025
POWER TRAIN
My 2016 Kia Sorento SX AWD shows a noticeable delay in the powertrain when shifting from Park into first gear. The car hesitates before moving, which affects drivability and feels like a transmission lag. I consider this a safety issue because the delay could cause the car to stall unexpectedly. I’m especially worried about driving with my children or merging onto highways, where a stall or hesitation could lead to loss of control and increase the risk of an accident.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11693668October 15, 2025
UNKNOWN OR OTHER, LANE DEPARTURE: BLIND SPOT DETECTION, BACK OVER PREVENTION: WARNINGS
Backup camera doesn’t work properly it gives a blank screen
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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