Kia Sorento Complaints

654 consumer complaints on file.

#11700948November 22, 2025
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Driving down the freeway and heard a loud explosion and sunroof shattered with glass falling into the car. It was very discontenting and if there were more cars on the freeway overpass at the time it could have caused an accident as I was stunned by what had happened and lowered my speed. This could have easily led to a collision Went to Kia and mechanic inspected roof and said it appeared to have blown outward and was not struck by an object. He further said it was not safe to drive as the small glass pieces could get imbedded in the frame and come loose at a later date and cause harm.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11700466November 19, 2025
POWER TRAIN
After driving the Kia sorento and parking it for a little bit then restarting it again the transmission jerks very hard at times and sometimes it’s moderate. Its an on going issue. It starts happening after the car is being driven but on a cold start like overnight while its parked and the next day you turn the car on you dont feel anything until you start driving it then parking it and turn it off to go inside the store or something and once you come back out to start it you will feel it. My car only has 45K miles on it.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11700393November 19, 2025
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The Panoramic roof glass shattered. It was not hit by any external debris. It just exploded scaring the driver almost losing vehicle control. The dealer inspected it and confirmed nothing external caused it, however KIA will not warrant it. Our insurance company has not inspected it yet. It is available for inspection.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11700326November 19, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
On 8 occasions, while driving on a highway, the emergency lights started to flash out of no where and the driver could not accelerate. The driver had to find a way to pull over and turn the car off and then restart the car. The car was taken in 3 times and checks were run but no codes showed up. The third time the car was brought in, the mechanic agreed to drive it until the problem could be reproduced. The car was driven for 70 miles but it could not be reproduced. The mechanics were informed that it happened every 300-500 miles and the car had not been driven enough. The mechanics said it was running as designed. Our safety and everyone on the road was put at risk if we could not get over to a shoulder.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11699870November 17, 2025
VISIBILITY/WIPER, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
the rear backup camera brackets inside are broken, causing the camera to dangle down. There was a recall on 2022 kia sorentos for this, but my VIN number is not coming up as part of the recall when it should be. This causes me to not be able to visibly see the things in the rear when the car is in reverse. There are no warning lights, lamps or messages to notify of thus.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11699126November 13, 2025
POWER TRAIN
The contact owns a 2023 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the gear shifter was shifted into drive, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to move forward. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that the failure had occurred more than five times within a month. The failure occurred after a previous repair was performed by the dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The contact stated that previously, while the vehicle was parked on a hill, the gear shifter was shifted into reverse, and the vehicle rolled forward and crashed into a curb. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and was repaired. The contact was informed that the failures were not failures but instead the normal function of the vehicle. The contact submitted a Lemon Law claim and was advised to contact the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 21,700.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11698885November 12, 2025
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
headlights and taillights went out while driving and a few seconds and then came back on and everything on the dash also went out and came back on. i was driving at night time when this happened it put me and my child at risk. i called the dealership and they refused to fix saying that my kia is not impacted by this recall. But that i could schedule an appointment to have my headlights checked, i explained to them there is nothing wrong with my headlights this is clearly a software issue, Tonya at Kia Louisville east is still saying its not related to the recall, and is scheduling appt to have my headlights checked. no warning lamps messages or any other symptoms before this happened and has only happened the one time.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11698884November 12, 2025
SEAT BELTS, AIR BAGS, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I was involved in an automobile collision. It was a T- Bone collision on the driver side. My vehicle flipped on it's side, the moon roof completely shattered, my seatbelt released me and I was ejected through the moon roof. The vehicle landed on top of me. All of my air bags did not deploy even though my vehicle rolled over twice.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
1
Deaths:
0
#11698700November 11, 2025
SERVICE BRAKES
Brakes and rotors needed changed at 23930, not normal
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11698449November 9, 2025
ENGINE, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Fourth time we've had the car go into limp mode. Now at the dealer for third time. Driver was driving and the car went into limp mode after activating the cruise control follow function. Husband was behind in our Toyota Tacoma truck and was able to pick her up with California Highway Patrol to get off the highway into a parking lot to tow her. No warnings, no messages on the dash. She was unable to accelerate to highway speeds and was capped, and felt that there was very little to no predictable responsiveness in the car's acceleration. Car now at dealership.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11698228November 7, 2025
POWER TRAIN
Our 2025 Kia Sorento has exhibited several issues with shifting into gears especially from 1-2 gear there is hesitation, hard shifting, where it has delayed engagement, rough or jerky shifts, and a feeling of power loss while driving. It has a hard time getting into 3rd gear and just stalls, dragging at 1st/2nd when attempting to accelerate and coming down from 4th gear back into 2nd and 3rd. A "check transmission' warning light has appeared on the dashboard. This is teh second time we have had this issue. The car only has 16K miles on it, we have had it for 12 months exactly now and only drive it locally.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11698072November 7, 2025
STEERING
My vehicle has issues with the power steering. At random times, day or night, the wheel steers to the right and I have to force my grip on the wheel to avoid crashing. It last between 3-5 seconds. No lights or alerts light up on the dashboard. Dealerships have been unable to assist me, I have gone to three different ones. They cannot identify the issue. Loss of power steering assist increases crash risk, since it’s harder to control the vehicle in tight maneuvers or emergencies. Car is available for inspection.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11697672November 5, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The contact owns a 2021 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked or while driving, there was an abnormal sound coming from the A/C when activated or turned off. The contact stated that after lowering the temperature, the air conditioning shut off independently. The contact stated that the alarm independently turned on at all hours of the night. The contact stated that the rear plug outlets in the vehicle failed to operate as intended, and the rear plugs turned on and off independently. The contact stated that while driving at undisclosed speeds, the Auto START/STOP system independently turned off the vehicle. Additionally, the rear-view camera was displaying a blank screen, with the Auto START/STOP warning lights were illuminated. A dealer was contacted. The vehicle was taken to a dealer to be diagnosed; however, the diagnosis was unknown. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the failure had occurred on several occasions. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the dealer was unable to determine the cause of the failure, so there would be no assistance provided. The failure mileage was approximately 108,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11697186November 3, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The drive mode selector in my Kia Sorento was found to be defective. The selector forces the vehicle into "Eco" mode on startup regardless of the previously selected mode. This creates unexpected throttle response at startup given the manual states leaving the vehicle in other modes (such as "Smart" or "Comfort") will be retained on key-cycle. The specific incident in question produced unexpected throttle response while backing into a highly-trafficked road and resulted in unexpected proximity to oncoming traffic. The selection module has a further failure state: the backlight lamp showing selected drive mode has gone out preventing ready identification of current drive mode.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11696881October 31, 2025
ENGINE
I would like to report that the 2021 Kia Sorento SX X-Line Prestige I own has a chronic oil leak from the oil pan. The dealer has attempted to reseal the pan two times and has replaced the pan and gasket once as well. The vehicle has leaked oil since it was practically new and poses an environmental hazard.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11696726October 31, 2025
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, ENGINE
The contact owns a 2025 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while driving on the highway at 60-65 MPH, the vehicle unexpectedly decelerated to 20 MPH and the vehicle went into LIMP Mode. The contact stated that the message “Vehicle Speed Restricted to 20 MPH” was displayed. The failure had occurred four times while driving. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who was unable to identify or duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and opened a case. The failure mileage was approximately 4,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11695354October 24, 2025
ENGINE
2022 Kia Sorento X-line SX Premier model (89435 miles) 2.5 l Turbo GDI is going into limp mode when trying to accelerate. The (A) Auto Stop indicator illuminates. Pulled car over, placed in park, turned off, restarted after waiting about a minute, no warning lights, car drives and acceleration is normal. About one year ago, car experienced the same problem, took to dealer for diagnostic troubleshooting, the battery was suspected and replaced, issue persisted, the codes indicated either low pressure or high pressure fuel pumps, the low pressure pump was replaced, after further drive testing by the dealer issue was still present, the high pressure pump was replaced and the issue was resolved. Fuel pumps were replaced under warranty. Kia dealer said that Kia engineering believes the issue is possibly heat related, I live in Phoenix, Az. Summertime temperatures exceed 100 degrees in summer some days exceeding 110 to120 degrees. A month ago September 2025, the car experienced limp mode again this time with check engine light, problem was identified with faulty low pressure fuel pumps gasket which was replaced. The limp mode has been experienced again 5 times in last month, twice today. Ambient Temperature in 80s. This is a significant problem that could lead to a possible accident if the car fails to accelerate properly. My wife is afraid to drive the car until the failure mechanism is identified and is properly repaired.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#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
#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
#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

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