10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
7 / 29
Injuries / Deaths:
9 / 0
Average Mileage:
68,750 miles

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« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #78

Jan 312018

Sorento

  • 115,000 miles
While driving about 40mph on a highway with a speed limit of 55 mph, the engine sized without any warning. The car would not accelerate and went about 1 mile and started making a clunking sound. Car was pulled over immediately and the all the warning lights came on and the car was inoperable. Cooper Kia (5056 commercial dr., yorkville NY) was contacted but the vehicle was not diagnosed. Referenced NHTSA campaign # 17V224000 (engine and cooling) as a possible solution. Advised that this engine was not in a recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure was about 115,000 miles.

- Westmoreland, NY, USA

problem #77

Feb 172018

Sorento

  • 108,000 miles
Sudden failure of the crank shaft, rod, and rod bearing. Failure resulted in a rod bearing blowing a hole through the motor block and oil pain resulting in oil drainage and subsequent catastrophic failure of the entire motor. In the days leading up to this event I didn't notice any noises or change in vehicle behavior. All functioned as normal. I merged onto a highway and reached a speed of approx 65 mph for approx 2 miles all was normal and fine. I then heard a loud bang and noticed vehicle losing power. I pulled vehicle off the road to a safe area and had the vehicle towed approx 1 mile to a local service station. The information I related in the beginning is the official diagnosis from the mechanic. I have an after market warranty unfortunately due to the high cost of repairs they are fighting paying for needed repairs, which is causing me to incur a very large financial loss. My vehicle was very well kept, and only had a little over 108,000 original miles. All service records are kept. Religiously kept up with typical pm such as tires, oil change, brakes, rotors, ect. All non-typical pm repairs were always done at a Kia dealership by a certified Kia technician, and always requested to check VIN for any recalls and when found had recall repairs made. As I stated there was nothing in the behavior of the vehicle in the years, months, weeks, or days leading up to this incident that would indicate a catastrophic failure of this nature was impending.

- Brackenridge, PA, USA

problem #76

Aug 032017

Sorento

  • 85,000 miles
Car stalls in traffic without warning. Rpms diminish and power is lost. We have been able to pull to the side of the road, turn off engine, wait for a short time, and restart it. There are two lights that come on in the panel. One is a check engine light, the other is lit up next to the 4WD indicator. In requesting service from one local dealership, we were told they couldn't make the car act in this way. Finally, after several returns to the dealer, we were told the computer (PCM) was bad and it would be $1500 to replace it they told us some day the engine would stop in this manner and we would not be able to restart it. After calling Kia corporate about recalls, we were told the recall for this problem did not include our manufacturing date. This defect recall began with cars manufactured starting July, 2010, ours was manufactured in may, 2010. It was suggested we request a second opinion from the other dealership in town. And were told that any problem would show up with a code on the computer, they did diagnostics and reported there was no code on the computer that would indicate this problem. We pay close attention to the rpms and do not trust this car to take it out of town. This situation has occurred at least 8-10 times, fortunately not at highway speeds.

- Colorado Springs, CO, USA

problem #75

Mar 252018

Sorento

  • 126,000 miles
Car has been burning oil for awhile, so we are constantly topping it off. We are diligent about routine oil changes. There has also been a clicking on hard acceleration that has no known cause, even after being investigated on 2 occasions. Yesterday, while on the highway, the car lost power. Got to an exit and had car towed to shop. Got the call today that there is a hole in one of the pistons and entire engine needs to be replaced. Contacted Kia and this year is not included in the multiple engine recall list. Car has approximately 126,000 miles with a repair estimate of $7000.

- Brookville, OH, USA

problem #74

Sep 042017

Sorento

  • 100,000 miles
2011 Kia Sorento 116,000. Regularly maintained.the first problem was the driver side back door will not open from the outside, that happened about 6 months ago. Now, my driver side door won't open from the outside. In addition, recently my car has just shut off while driving; foot on the gas at it is not doing anything (no engine light). We park it, shut it off and restart and it will work fine for a while. There is some sort of acceleration problem. I can stop at stop sign and lightly increase my speed and it will tug like engine. No accidents. This is a huge safety concern with having 2 small children in the back seat. If I were in an accident, I would not be able to get my child out of the back. If I was in accident, someone couldn't help me or my children. This to me is very serious! Sept 2017 date of back door issue not opening from outside. 3/22/18 drivers door not opening from outside. Car shutting off and not working properly as been since about Jan/2018. There is something wrong with headlights too. Since 1/2017, bulbs are good but they just work for a while and then one or the other stops working out of nowhere.

- Mesquite, TX, USA

problem #73

Mar 102018

Sorento

  • 85,000 miles
As my husband and I were driving on the highway my car started to make a knocking sound, with no warning, no engine light, no oil light, absolutely no indicators something was wrong and then stalled.

- Fairhaven, MA, USA

problem #72

Jan 102018

Sorento

  • 100,000 miles
Door handles not opening brakes not wanting to stop or grabing ESC ABS downhill on and passger air bag

- Delta, AL, USA

problem #71

Mar 132015

Sorento 6-cyl

  • miles
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. While driving 30 mph, the vehicle lost power steering ability and stalled. The vehicle was not able to restart after numerous attempts. The contact was able to pull the vehicle over to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to valley hi Kia (14644 valley center dr, victorville, ca 92395, (760) 955-0046). The vehicle was diagnosed, but not repaired. The results of the diagnosis was not known. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was no longer in the contact's possession. The failure mileage was unknown.

- Victorville, CA, USA

problem #70

Mar 052018

Sorento

  • 107,000 miles
While driving my 2011 Kia Sorento for about a half mile from my home, driving approximately 30 mph I approached a busy intersection during morning traffic and with no sign anything was wrong my car stalled out. I lost all power steering but was able to turn wheel and turn right onto side street to get out of the intersection. Car rolled off to the side of the road. I attempted to restart and car seemed to have restarted just fine. I turned around and decided to head back home instead of drive the highway to work. Literally a minute after I turned my car around and entered the intersection my Sorento stalled out again. I once again turned my steering wheel to the right to get out of the way of traffic this time in the busy intersection. This time oil light, and engine light turned on on the dashboard. Waited almost 2 hours to get my car towed 1 1/2 miles down the road to find out that my engine seized up. The mechanic who gave me the bad news stated the oil was down about half a quart not enough to seize the engine. Stated his opinion without further teardown was that something let loose inside of engine causing it to jam up.

- Clifton Park, NY, USA

problem #69

Feb 172018

Sorento

  • 1 miles
My Kia was being details, the person detailing the vehicle got into the vehicle. He pushed the start button didn't start the vehicle. He started it by inserting the fob in the console. The vehicle started at high rpms, driver had his foot on the brake, placed the car into reverse and the car exited the garage at a high rate of speed, driver applied both feet on the brakes the brakes did not work he tried to steer the vehicle away from the creek the steering did not work.. the vehicle did stop after it crashed into the creek that was near the business. The driver sustained injury to his head when he tried to exit the vehicle after it entered the creek. Vehicle was pulled from the creek. Driver did seek medical attention at a local hospital.

- Connellsville, PA, USA

problem #68

Jan 082018

Sorento

  • 130,000 miles
While returning from my aunts funeral in Kansas, making my way to Georgia. The car began to slow down and stop, on the highway. Then it cut off, wouldn't start or move. There was this whining and clanking sound, white smoke and fire shot out from under the car, as I was told by a person that was passing by, he stopped to make sure that I got out of the car. It just got to 130,000 miles. Had it towed to a shop and was told that the engine was gone.

- Union City, GA, USA

problem #67

Feb 012018

Sorento 6-cyl

  • 115,000 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. While driving approximately 40 mph, the engine seized without warning. Cooper Kia (5056 commercial dr, yorkville, NY) was contacted, but the vehicle was not diagnosed. The contact referenced NHTSA campaign number: 17V224000 (engine and engine cooling) as a possible solution. The contact was advised that the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 115,000.

- Westmoreland, NY, USA

problem #66

Jan 262018

Sorento

  • 61,000 miles
January 26, 2018 I was stopped at a stop sign and suddenly my vehicle made a thud sound, and it felt like a downward thrust as the vehicle completely shut down. I was able to restart it and drove home. We took it to our Kia dealership service dept this morning and asked for a diagnostic test. The technician said since there were no check engine lights on, the test wouldn't show anything unless we had the problem before. I was very concerned about his lack of concern. Especially after I researched Sorento engine failures and it is huge for so many models. The 2011 was about the only one not on the recalls.. my model was the first made in the us at the Georgia plant. My production date is 12/19/09. We bought our 2011 in February 2010. We were told since the body was being changed they made no 2010 Sorento's at the Georgia plant. Since I saw the stall problems on these 2009 models wouldn't that mean it would apply to my engine? very confusing. I hope you can check this out for me.

- N.R. Hills, TX, USA

problem #65

Jan 062018

Sorento

  • 130,000 miles
Check engine light on vehicle illuminated. While driving vehicle, the vehicle engine suddenly stopped and vehicle turned off while in motion. Driver pulled vehicle to side of road and had towed to auto shop. Auto shop said the engine seized but could not identify cause of seizure. Shop said oil was full and recently changed. Owner had vehicle towed to Kia dealer who also cited engine seizure. Kia dealer said owner would need to pay for diagnostic to determine exact cause. Engine seizure matched engine seizure issue in recalled 2012-2014 Sorento vehicles. Owner asked dealer about repairs under similar recall/issue and was told there was nothing dealer could do.

- Queensbury, NY, USA

problem #64

Dec 092017

Sorento

  • 108,000 miles
Vehicle was running fine, no noises, no unusual issues. Went to start in the morning and ran fine. Went to my destination. When I came out 2-hours later, vehicle would not start. Had it towed to a mechanic who said the engine needed to be replaced. 108,000 miles

- Porter Corners, NY, USA

problem #63

Sep 242017

Sorento

  • miles
I have a 2011 Kia sorrento and have been having trouble with it stalling when I stop at red lights. I start to take off and it didn't want to go I push on the gas and it jumps and finally goes. Updated 10/16/2017

- Washington, DC, USA

problem #62

Aug 012017

Sorento

  • 108,000 miles
When driving at stable speed the vehicle often "feels" as if the gas is not getting to the motor. The speed of the car varies, regardless of the amount of pressure on the gas pedal. The car also shows low tire light, along with all lights on the dashboard at random times. The lights will appear when you start the vehicle and the tire pressure light remains on at all times.

- Jessieville, AR, USA

problem #61

Nov 012016

Sorento

  • 82,000 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. While driving 45 mph, the vehicle lost power and the check engine indicator illuminated. The vehicle was taken to Kia of alliance (located at 2010 w state St alliance, oh 44601), but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified and opened case number: K3452308. No further assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 82,000.

- Louisville, OH, USA

problem #60

Mar 162016

Sorento

  • 38,000 miles
Beginning March of 2016, loud banging and clanking when starting engine. I took it to dealership where they diagnosed it with bearing problem which could potentially cause engine failure. Vehicle out of warranty so no coverage for an estimated $6,000 repair. When mention of recall came out I was relieved as I am still driving the vehicle. However, it seems that the recall only covers 2012 or newer models. The 2011's have major engine issues as well and need to be included in the recall

- Meadville, PA, USA

problem #59

Jun 232017

Sorento

  • 166,045 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. While driving 60 mph, the engine stalled and the check engine indicator illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an unknown location. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 166,045.

- Clover, SC, USA

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