Kia Sorento Complaints (2012)

880 consumer complaints on file.

#11546718September 26, 2023
SERVICE BRAKES, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
The abs brake light, traction control, and downhill assist lights all came on at the same time. This is being caused by a faulty speed sensor. This item was recalled on the two wheel drive kias, but not the all wheel drive models... hiwever.. looking for answers in the forums show that there is a systemic problem in the kia system, just Google search it and watch all the other car owners stories pop up.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11541224August 28, 2023
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, SUSPENSION, ENGINE
Transmission / or gear shifting
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11541039August 27, 2023
STRUCTURE:BODY
The paint on the body between the windscreen and sunroof is rapidly delaminating, literally overnight. The vehicle color is Pearl White. I wish to add my case to what I understand is an ongoing effort by other Kia owners with similar delaminating paint issues for the NHTSA to get Kia to act on this and issue a recall.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11539207August 17, 2023
TRAILER HITCHES
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while parking the vehicle and shifting into reverse, the back over prevention camera displayed a black screen. The contact discovered that the failure was like NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V703000 (Trailer Hitches). The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown. The VIN was unavailable
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11537032August 7, 2023
ENGINE
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH, the vehicle failed to properly accelerate with the check engine warning light and the temperature gauge warning light illuminated. The contact was able to pull over on the side of the road and had the vehicle towed. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who stated that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 165,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11532781July 17, 2023
ENGINE
After about 30 minutes of driving the vehicle through the city and letting and sit in the parking lot, oil started leaking heavily. Eventually, the engine became completely seized and the starter began to release smoke nearly starting a fire. I looked inside the engine compartment and saw that the bearing had come loose and made a hole through the block. Before purchasing the vehicle, I used my scan tool to check for codes. No codes came up. No lights were on the dash. Luckily, the engine seized on the parking lot and not in the middle of the highway. The engine and vehicle are available for inspection upon request. I checked to see if the vehicle had any recalls and sure enough, this exact problem showed up as an open recall. The Kia dealership has denied repairing the problem. They said that its not eligible for repair because the "KSDS software" update was not completed. However, the notice was not sent to me as I am not the first owner. Upon speaking with the Kia manufacturer, I was advised that the vehicle is in fact eligible for repair and engine replacement. The dealership obviously will not take my word for it and I'm having trouble getting the manufacturer to contact the dealership and have them replace it.
Crash:
No
Fire:
Yes
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11531963July 13, 2023
ENGINE
I was driving on highway when without warning it just died and I was almost rearended. I noticed that the Ecoboost wasn't working anymore so I was just in shock.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11531669July 11, 2023
ENGINE
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that coolant was leaking onto the ground of the garage. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the contact was informed that while attempting to replace the head gasket, the thread had pulled out from the block. The contact was informed that the engine short block and additional parts needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that the engine was not the engine included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V750000 (Engine). The failure mileage was 118,871.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11530983July 7, 2023
ENGINE, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
The vehicle slows unexpectedly while driving and will not go above 2 RPM causing me to slow to below 40 mph on the highway without any warning. I took the vehicle to Kia for an airbag recall and suddenly I started to have these engine problems. They never informed me there was a recall on my vehicle or that this issue could occur. I am not the original owner and acquired the vehicle from my dad, which he purchased from someone else. I had the vehicle checked out by AAA and the knock sensor was replaced, yet the issue continued to happen. I took the vehicle back to Kia because AAA could not figure out why the car continues to have this engine issue. Kia cannot seem to figure out the issue as well but stated the engine needs to be replaced. We asked them about the recall because I suddenly received notice about the class action lawsuit, but the vehicle has 185,472 miles on it and they refused to correct the issue and said the new engine will cost $7200. The issue has almost placed me in several accidents because the vehicle abruptly slows down and I have to pull to the side of the road use a code reader to clear the code in order to drive again but it continues to happen multiple times while driving and I need to get to work. The problem has been confirmed by Kia, but they won't replace it. We were encouraged to file a complaint and see if Kia will take responsibility for their engine since it has been recalled for this issue and a lawsuit ensued. The engine light appears when the car fails to drive properly.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11530676July 6, 2023
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:ENGINE CONTROL MODULE (ECU/ECM):SOFTWARE
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while at a stop light the vehicle stalled. The contact shifted the vehicle into park(P) and was able to restart the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who stated that the ECM needed to be updated and that the vehicle was experiencing the failure listed in TSB: SC106. The contact was advised to contact the manufacturer for assistance. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that the vehicle could not be repaired under TSB: SC106. The contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 203,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11530234July 3, 2023
EXTERIOR LIGHTING, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
My regular lights on pasenger side keeps going out. The harness keeps melting. And my sunroof rubber pieces keep coming undone hitting the glass of sunroof causing very loud noises while driving sounds like the glass is going to break.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11528477June 23, 2023
ENGINE
engine just stopped. will not turn over. call kia. not on list. repair yourself. they are not reparing any cars. said they were but denying everyone. check the records. all talk and no action. pleasing the judge.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11528385June 22, 2023
ENGINE
Engine locked while driving on the highway. Vehicle was in condition and recently had a vehicle oil change.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11524529May 30, 2023
ENGINE
Recall I purchased my vehicle in a private sale sometime around 2018, I believe. I can get more specific date if you need me to. I have reached out to the Kia dealership multiple times since regarding the recall on my vehicle due to engine issues which have been known to cause vehicle fires and/or failure. I have been told each time that I was ineligible for the recall due to some failure to act prior to my purchase of the vehicle. I received a letter in the mail today from the US District Court for the Central District of California saying that I should get the KSDS (Knock Sensor Detection System) update done to my vehicle which is covered by recall and that as part of a class action, the vehicle warranty will be extended. Can you please explain to me whether I qualify for the recalls listed for my vehicle and what I can do if the dealership denies my request again? I do not want my family driving in a vehicle that could potentially endanger them, and I also have concerns that my vehicle is beginning to experience the issues the recall was intended to mitigate. Then when I found this website, it said that if we experienced issues with the recall fulfillment to submit a complaint. Please help.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11524412May 30, 2023
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING, ENGINE
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while making a left turn at a slow speed, there was an abnormal grinding sound coming from the vehicle. The oil warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where oil was added; however, the failure returned after several weeks. The contact stated that while driving at a slow rate speed, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled with the oil warning light and check engine warning light illuminated. Due to the failure, the vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who diagnosed the vehicle with an internal oil leak. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was not under recall. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 101,541.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11523818May 25, 2023
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Having ignition problems. Ignition switch will not go to the Lock position and stays on ACC all the time. Always having to undo the negative battery cable from draining my battery. Warranty company refuses to fix it.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11522057May 15, 2023
AIR BAGS
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that the air bag warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer however, the vehicle had not yet been diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that the VIN was not included in a recall. The failure mileage was unavailable.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11520051May 2, 2023
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE
Unknown. Push start engine failed on first and second try. One minute later the engine is one fire.
Crash:
No
Fire:
Yes
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11519815May 1, 2023
POWER TRAIN
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that after shifting into reverse(R) and parking the vehicle, the vehicle was then shifted into neutral; however, the vehicle reversed instead. The driver quickly shifted the vehicle into a drive; however, the vehicle stalled. The contact then shifted the vehicle into the park(P) then turned off the vehicle. The contact was able to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was towed to the dealer to be diagnosed and the contact was informed that the transmission had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage 75,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11519895May 1, 2023
ENGINE
Car seized up while driving. No warning light or anything engine just seized. Leaving my six kids and I stranded. Car ha always been serviced with Kia of Chattanooga and at Firestone. No known issues reported. Have more proof but it happened today and have to get paper work from Kia of Chattanooga and Firestone on Knoxville Tn. More then welcome to speak with manager [XXX]. He is well informed and offered to help in this matter. 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

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