Kia Sorento Complaints
10,397 consumer complaints on file.
- #11475795July 25, 2022ENGINE
The contact owns a 2014 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the oil warning light illuminated. Additionally, the vehicle consumed an excessive amount of engine oil. The contact stated that 3 quarts of oil needed to be added every 500 miles. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the dealer could not duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 51,000.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11475561July 24, 2022ENGINE
The engine on my well-maintained 2015 Kia Sorento went into limp mode a few weeks ago in the desert of SW Utah. I was fortunately near a small town with a gas station, where I limped in and checked the oil. I had recently been in for routine oil change so I was surprised to find it was completely out of oil. I added oil and it seemed to operate normal again, and I made it back home to Des Moines where a week later the engine began knocking upon startup and acceleration. I didn’t even have the opportunity to bring it in to a mechanic because it died on the road (no injuries or traffic incidents, fortunately). I made some calls and learned that this was an issue for many Sorento models. My Sorento didn’t qualify for the new engine, but the local Kia dealership did offer me $200 for a trade-in.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11475594July 24, 2022ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, SERVICE BRAKES
Multiple electrical issues throughout the car that come and go. The door locks will stop operating when using the key FOB and lock/unlock switch on the driver and passenger doors, the only way to unlock them is manually. Window operating switch at all four doors stops working. The control buttons on the steering wheel are malfunctioning (volume up button decreases volume, volume down button activates voice control). Car stereo will call phone contacts via bluetooth without prompting. Had front and rear brakes replaced in April. There was shaking from the passenger side when brakes were depressed. Had brakes rechecked and it was determined the rotors need to be turned. Had the mechanic complete the repair. Now, in July, the brakes sound as though they need to be replaced (again) and the shaking has gotten worse. Will be taking to another mechanic. I have not had the electrical problems reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or service center yet. Vehicle and components have not been inspected. There have been no warning indications prior to or during electrical problems.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11475620July 24, 2022UNKNOWN OR OTHER
On July 21 year 2022 my Kia Sorento was stolen. I am Under the impression that Kia did not fix the problem of the ease of getting into a locked car as well as fixing the problem of how easy it is to start the engine and drive off. I am very disappointed and will never buy a Kia product again. This was my second and final Kia. I feel Kia is responsible for my car being stolen because the problem Of accessibility was not fixed even though Kia was aware of the problem. I would like some kind of reimbursement for the anguish and trouble this has caused. A police report has been filed on this incident.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11475497July 23, 2022STRUCTURE:BODY
My white snow Kia Sorento paint is peeling and has really bad Delamination. It’s been peeling little by little over the last 4 years. It is awful.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11475221July 22, 2022BACK OVER PREVENTION: WARNINGS, ENGINE, POWER TRAIN
I was driving on the highway going 70 mph when my 2016 Kia Sorento 3.3L lost power and could not accelerate. I had to navigate to the side of the highway carefully and got my car towed to the closest Kia Dealership. Upon their investigation, it was a blown head gasket that required the whole engine to be replaced. I am the 2nd owner of the car and bought the car in late 2019 with 45, XXX miles on it and it currently only has 66, XXX miles. I was not covered under warranty as it expires once you pass 60,000k miles. Estimation from Kia would cost close to $10K with a new engine/labor. Contacted Kia Consumer to see if they can help and was denied. Now stuck with a dead car trying to figure out what I can do.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11475273July 22, 2022ENGINE
Total engine failed at 105000 miles. Rod Bearing Failure is what was the diagnosis. We were complaining since 38000 miles of the engine not sounding right and each time a technician certified by Kia told us that nothing was wrong. It seized up while after a brief stop on the side of a road. Kid and wife were in the car and were able to coast it back to the side of the road out of traffic. Total engine replacement is required and this same type of issue is on the 4 cylinder model of this engine that has been recalled, but not 6 cylinder model.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11475145July 21, 2022ENGINE
My car began knocking and then it slowed down. It stalled as I pulled off the road and won't start. I had it towed and the mechanic said there was "glitter in the oil". He called our local Kia dealership, gave them the VIN number and was told there was a recall on my engine. I researched your website and it does not show a recall. I found two other individuals who wrote owner reviews in May and June 2022 who had the same problem.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11474851July 20, 2022ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, EXTERIOR LIGHTING
When driving down the the interstate at night, my headlights just turn off while driving. They are on Auto. This has happened multiple times while driving. I have not took it to be looked at yet. There is no warning light or anything else that lets you know that there is a malfunction. The lights just go off. For them to come back on, I have to manually turn it off and back on again, and they will come back on.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11474853July 20, 2022STRUCTURE:BODY
Delamination of SWP paint. Paint all over the front of the vehicle is peeling off.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11475033July 20, 2022UNKNOWN OR OTHER
2021 on my passenger side paint literally peeled off. I’ve had a small small chip on my roof and this was few years back. Though was just a chip. Now about last week literally my roof is peeling demalation. I see online many many recalls and issues with this type of pain and I have the Snow White paint
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11475036July 20, 2022UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Refill inverter coolant warning on dashboard. Took it onto local dealer, no problems located. May be a sensor issue.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11474427July 18, 2022ENGINE
Driving the vehicle on a two lane road at approximately 50 mph (steady cruise state), the vehicle experienced bump or jump in the powertrain (shutter). I immediately lost power to continue at the desired speed (engine missing or lack of power). I slowly tipped into the throttle, but the vehicle was not responding as expected. I put the vehicle in neutral and slightly revved the engine to see if the engine would run normal without load, and it would increase in RPM, but not smoothly. I let the engine return to idle and the engine stalled. I lost my power steering and power brakes and had to muscle the vehicle into a parking lot where I was able to bring the vehicle to a stop and put it into Park. While this event took place the engine or vehicle warning lamp was on the instrument cluster. I got out of the vehicle and looked under hood to see if I could see any obvious signs of an issue and found nothing. I then restarted the vehicle after having the key in the off position. It started and seems to rev up normal. I put the vehicle in drive and cautiously drove the vehicle to my home (about 3 miles). There is no sign of the issue and no lights on the dash. This is not a condition I would want my wife or daughters to encounter, as it produced no warning leading up to the event. The loss of power steering and brakes makes the vehicle difficult to maneuver in a safe manner. It's difficult to trust this vehicle now. The mileage is 92K.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11474470July 18, 2022ENGINE
wasnt notified about recall of hecu til 3 days ago.had Engine replaced due to recall.now my catalytic converters are shot and they want me to pay for them .with all the recalls on parts it was there stuff that caused problems
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11474497July 18, 2022UNKNOWN OR OTHER
PAINT CHIPPING IN MULTIPLE SPOTS
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11474326July 17, 2022ENGINE
I was driving 75MPH on I85 in charlotte, NC, middle lane and my car went dead, all warning lights came on but I lost all function of vehicle, no ability to accelerate power steering went. I was rapidly decelerating and boxed in my semi trucks. I eventually get off the road but almost hit back end of trucker to be able to get between vehicles and to the side. I turned off the car. Then turned car back on. I was a 2 miles from my destination and my exit was in sight. I decided to continue to destination to get off dangerous road. I made it to destination , then went to an autozone (after finding the mechanic was closed) to check battery/alternator. The battery was dead and so I replaced it. I got back on the road. Drove 5 miles and started to hear a flapping type noise (like a playing card in a bike spoke) I thought maybe something wasn't tightened after battery change or something fell into engine area. I pulled off at next exit to a gas station. I was apparently in a really bad part of town so 2 men in utility work trucks stopped to help me. Nothing was loose or in visually in the engine, the visible belts seemed fine, oil level good, but the engine was shaking pretty good and when I reeved the engine there was a bad rattling sound. But it was not a safe location for me to stay so they suggested I go up a couple exits. I did get back on the highway went about 40MPH and the noises continued and increased in intensity , it sounded like something was coming loose and about to fall off and then a noise that sounds like metal scraping started. I was about to pull off to side of road but before I could the same thing happened from before. Vehicle stopped running, all indicator lights turned on but everything else turned off, no power to vehicle little control. I pulled off and car would not restart this time. Mechanic diagnosed next morning and said complete engine failure and metal shavings in the oil. I had an oil change 5 days prior synthetic high mileag. (123,000m)
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11474353July 17, 2022ENGINE
The check engine light came on in our Sorento so we took it to a local mechanic. They changed the oil and said the car was good to go on May 13. Less than a mile from the mechanic, on a busy street the car became unresponsive. Suddenly there was no way to accelerate or slow down and steering was incredibly difficult. Managed to coast to the middle of a busy parking lot but the car shut down completely before I could park in a space and I ended up partially blocking the lot entrance and several parked cars before we could get the car towed back to our mechanic. The mechanic reported to us that other Kias had experienced similar issues and we should check with the dealership for recalls. The car was towed to Oakes Kia Dealership on June 3 and they said the car needed a new engine. Having an engine with only 90,000 miles on it shut down without warning is an obvious and incredibly serious safety risk to drivers and others on the road. In a highway situation, this would have likely caused a serious accident.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11474385July 17, 2022ENGINE
Was driving down the highway and went accelerate and seem my RPMS reach the top, then noticed vehicle was ‘off’ . Seemed to have no brakes or steering. It was dark and wintertime and my car died in the middle of the highway. Feel lucky to be alive with all the vehicles that nearly missed me.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11474272July 16, 2022POWER TRAIN
Transmission failure—car stopped driving mid-drive. Thankfully I was driving on a suburban street at low speeds, but it could have been dangerous in another circumstance. The car was towed to a Kia dealership and they claimed it was fixed after a week, however they could not successfully start the car when I went to pick it up and I had to leave it at the dealership. Additionally, the paperwork I was given that detailed the service did not match the records the service department had. After several weeks and despite attempts to contact them, I have received no updates. The check engine light came on after the initial failure.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11474056July 15, 2022AIR BAGS
In October, 2020, the air bag light came on at approximately 90,000 miles. On 10/21/20, I called Kia customer service and they dated it was not covered under any warranty. As of 07/15/22, the airbag light is still on with about 100,000 miles. The airbag light came on and remains on with no incident or accident or repair having occurred. The vehicle is very well maintained and in excellent condition. I called my local Kia dealership on 07/11/2022. They stated the airbag light on my 2011 Kia Sorento is covered under a recall, due to faulty clock spring, but the 2016 Kia Sorento airbag light is not covered. I make this complaint to request NHTSA investigate the same or similar air bag problems occurring on the 2016 Kia Sorento as has occurred with the 2011-2015 Kia Sorento ODS recall. Thank you.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0