This 2011 Kia Sorento has been in to the service department many times for the transmission having shifting problems even when it was under warranty. It will make a jerking motion similar to what would happen if a gear had half the teeth missing and then caught the existing teeth. The dealer has been unable to find the problem. I noticed it is worse when going uphill about 70-75 mph. I have an appointment soon for the car to be checked out again. Problems like this make a buyer think twice about a car after doing this.

My husband bought this car for me 1 year ago because he know that I loved the one I had before (Life happens and we had to get rid of it). A few months after our purchase I noticed this jerk when getting to 45-50mph. It felt as if I hit something like another car or the curb, only it was happening with no other cars in sight. I told my husband it felt like my transmission was going to fall right out of the car when this happens, because the jerk felt so intense. He laughed as if I was being so dramatic and had no clue what I was talking about.

We called the dealership we got it from, and was told we had to take it to someone authorized to work on the KIA engines. We took it to PEPBOYS, and was told nothing was wrong with the car. I waved it off, thinking maybe I don't know what I'm talking about, if he doesn't seem worried then I guess it's nothing.

WRONG.

After another issue, which I will place another complaint about, I took it to a KIA dealership. They informed me the system values were off and needed to be reset in order to run an accurate diagnostic test. They did all that only for me to hear the worse thing EVER - 'Your transmission is going out.'

I WAS RIGHT.

UGH, they are contacting my service plan representative to see if this type of repair is covered if not, then I am screwed. I will update this when I know more. I just had to get this out because it really is a pain.

Update from Feb 1, 2019: The other issue I was referring to actually relates to this complaint so I am doing an update.

After my car, while in park, slid down my driveway and crashed into the garage (while my 2 small children were still in the car) we took it to a Kia Dealership.

I was told I was going to face a bill totaling up to $15,000 (may be more, may be less) just to get the transmission fixed. I was so upset. Luckily, my husband purchased a service plan when he bought the car, and the company the plan was through paid for the repair. Now I have a refurbished transmission. However, I did have to pay a $100 fee to the dealership to cover diagnostic costs which I think is a load of bs. Why pay so much for a computer to tell the mechanic what is wrong with the car?

I bought the 2011 KIA Sorento 2.4L, SUV pre-owned with 95k miles, and no disclosure of problem. I have had this hard jerk, like hitting a curb at 50mph, and not going into overdrive, as the RPM's climb, and you can hear a winding noise. This has happened about 10 times, and the dealership does not know or understand what I am saying, and unable to diagnose. I slowing bring the vehicle to a stop, turn it off, and pull key, to allow any kind of possible software reset, which seems to help, as it does not occur as I carry on my driving, until next month.

I have come across some possible solutions on various forums, such as a sensor, or a software update, but I'm not sure what i can do now as my vehicle now has 153k miles. a friend has suggested Lucas Transmission to add for slippage, however I am still exploring what the problem is. Any recommendations, would be appreciated, as I'm running out of time, before something major occurs. Is there a recall that would still be in place with this kind of mileage?

HAVE A 2011 KIA SORENTO (PURCHASED NEW). I STARTED HEARING ENGINE NOISE , CAR NOT WANTING TO ACCELERATE. TOOK IT TO KIA SERVICE DEPT, WAS TOLD IT NEEDED A NEW TRANSMISSION. THEY ARE FINDING METAL PIECES IN THE OIL. I THEN ASKED WHY THIS PARTICULAR MODEL WASN'T A PART OF THE RECALL THEY POSTED EARLIER ON THIS YEAR MODEL SORENTO. I WAS TOLD THAT MY CAR WAS MANUFACTURED IN A DIFFERENT PLACE. I THEN SAID WHY DOES THAT MAKE A DIFFERENCE IF I'M HAVING THE SAME ISSUE AS THE RECALL HAD DESCRIBED. THEY ARE NOW TRYING TO HIT ME WITH $2900 REPAIR BILL BUT I AM GOING TO FIGHT IT.

Bought this car new in 2011. Have had the jerking when shifting since then intermittently. Took it in to the dealership but they can never find out what's causing the problem because the car doesn't jerk when it's in their possession or have the check engine light come on. Driving on the highway the car would have an enormous jerk making me think that I went over something, but nothing was there. The car would not go when in Drive without putting emphasis on the excelerator when stopping at red lights or in traffic. You can take your foot of the brake and the car would just sit there. The jerking has now continued to all shifting gears, from Drive to reverse or even in neutral.

Kia is not very good at finding these problems until the car goes out of warranty then it becomes the buyers problems......how convenient!!!!

I'm not certain if they purposely do this or if they have inexperienced mechanics!!! Can someone please apply a fix to these issues!!!

As with some of the others on here......I have owned my FIRST and LAST Kia!!!!! I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THIS CAR TO ANYONE!!!

The car was jerking between 1st and 2nd gear. Mentioned it to the dealer a few months ago and they said there was nothing wrong. It was getting worse and doing it several times a week. It is annoying and scary. I was driving carefully as braking suddenly made it worse. Brought it to the dealer again but this time i went to carcomplaints.com to see if others were having a similar issue. YES. I brought up this fact to the services manager. They changed out the transmission sensor. You have to take out the transmission to do that. Not something they enjoy doing I'm sure. No charge. Warranty. It was done yesterday. I will report back in two weeks as to whether or not solved. Fingers crossed.