Vehicle engine seized while actively driving nearly causing am accident.

- Albuquerque, NM, USA

While driving the vehicle under normal operating conditions the tachometer will drop to zero and the car will start to sputter and stall. This occurs intermittently sometimes while on the highway sometimes at stop lights or stop signs. This vehicle only has 142K miles and has had the cam sensors replaced by the dealership but is still having issues that they don't want to track down.

- Clayton, OH, USA

Car never has had engine issues and gets regular, routine maintenance. I had my oil changed three weeks ago as I do every few thousand miles. I was driving the other day and the engine started to sieze. The oil pressure light came on while driving. There was no oil in the car. Car was towed to mechanic and no cracks/leaks were found. There is a safety recall currently for the engine bearings being prematurely worn causing engine to malfunction and sieze. My VIN was not listed under this recall, however, the mechanic suggested it is an internal/engine problem, thus quite likely due to these worn bearings in the engine.

- Santa Fe, NM, USA

The contact owns a 2012 Kia sorrento. The contact stated that his wife was driving through a snow storm and the vehicle stalled several times. The wife pulled the vehicle over and called for a tow and a new battery was bought and the old one was replaced. The failure recurred on the same day. The vehicle was taken to an independnent mechanic who observed the vehicle shutting on and off and referred the contact to danbury Kia (100A federal road, danbury, ct 06810, (203) 730-5737). The dealer recommended the starter be replaced. The repairs were completed but the vehicle loss acceleration the same day after it was picked up and shut off when it was pulled over. The vehicle was towed back to the dealer and diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had not been contacted. The failure mileage was 158,000.

- Bridgeport, CT, USA

Hi I am writing you on behalf of my Kia sorrento 2012 I've been having problems the last past nine months after my car wouldn't start I supposedly assumed it was the battery so I had the battery changed in the lock at the battery is about 78 years old so I changed it after change that still drain after every month my car would just turn off in the middle of me driving or stopping at a stop sign when I put my ac or my heater on it drops idle and it makes the car really heavy to the point where it feels like it's holding back my car has been doing this occasionally often on where I'll be driving a long distance or a short distance with the ac on and as I'm parking turn off the ac in the car while I go up and down and will drop idol and just turn off the vehicle without any spiders I do not know what's going on with the vehicle I've had it checked out every month for the last past nine months and paid for the diagnosis which they always keep on telling me there's nothing wrong with the vehicle I have looked up my vehicle VIN number and have put in the nhtse number and I have a form you recalls and they look like engine cesar an engine fire

- Princeville, HI, USA

I was driving and suddenly heard a knocking noise under the hood and then all of the lights came on and it broke down and I had to pull over on the side of the road then it started smoking and then it caught fire. This all happened within 20 minutes on 12/10/2020. It was in cobb county ga off of ew connector and in between fontaine rd and floyd rd.

- Dallas, GA, USA

The contact own a 2012 Kia Sorento sx. While driving at 65 mph, the vehicle began to decrease in speed. The contact pulled over to the side the road. As the vehicle stalled she notice black smoke coming from underneath the hood. The check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle failed to restart and was towed to the contacts residence. The vehicle was not towed to independent mechanic or dealer for diagnostic or repairs. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage 150,000.

- Miland, GA, USA

At approximately 120K miles, we randomly checked the oil prior to taking a road trip and noted the dip stick was dry. The car was down several quarts of oil. No oil light ever came on. Since then the car has been evaluated by more than one mechanic with no leaks found. The car has had routine maintenance as recommended since it was purchased. It requires a quart of oil about every 500-700 miles.

- Durham, NC, USA

I was driving on the highway going from Arizona to Utah, suddenly I hear a loud knocking noise coming from the engine. The car starts losing power and then completely seized up, luckily we were able to pull over. We turned off the car and tried to turn it on again but it wasn't turning on.

- Ogden, UT, USA

I was driving and heard a knocking sound. I came to a stop sign and the car stalled. It restarted but had no power. I turned and tried to go a little further had no power. I managed to get the car off road and into the bypass lane. Car would not start again. I had to call for tow truck.

- Garrison, MN, USA

Vehicle was being driven and completely shut off, came to a stop and started to smoke, a fire ignited and consumed the front end

- Bedford, PA, USA

The contact owns a 2012 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 mph, the vehicle stalled with the check engine and oil level warning lights illuminated. The contact shifted the vehicle into neutral and the vehicle was pushed to the nearest parking lot. The contact had the vehicle towed to her residence. The contact stated an independent mechanic came to her residence and diagnosed the vehicle with an engine rod bearing failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 170,000.

- Valrico, FL, USA

Engine seized while rolling to a red light.

- Methuen, MA, USA

The motor seized causing the vehicle to stall. I was driving winding mountain roads at a consistent 40-45 mph and when I took one of the curves, the motor seized causing the power steering to also fail. Which made it very difficult to steer away from the cliff adjacent to the road. My mechanics replaced my motor but said the original motor was completely seized to the point that he couldn't work on it.

- Mechanicsville, VA, USA

The contact owns a 2012 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that when the vehicle was started, there was smoke coming from the rear of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to greenway Kia of rivergate, 1536 gallatin pike N, madison, tn 37115, but was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact mentioned the dealer only completed an oil change. The contact also stated that while driving, a very bad knocking noise occurred that was coming from the engine. The vehicle was towed back to the same dealer and was diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired due to the repair fees. The contact mentioned that the vehicle was just purchased sometime in February from the same dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

- Madison, TN, USA

Vehicle was in motion when the engine failed on a major highway. Replaced engine 2-3 years ago for the same reason, turned into local Kia dealership and they refuse to replace the engine saying its not covered under warranty. The dealership is refusing to do a full inspection of the engine. Contacted Kia Consumer Affairs and they're also refusing to let dealership perform a full inspection of the engine to determine cause of failure. Vehicle has been at monroeville Kia since 06/12/2020 and they have been extremely poor in keeping us updated of progress or not. Kia recall number SC147 NHTSA number 17V224000

- Greensburg, PA, USA

When me and my husband purchased the SUV used in 2016 from a huyndai dealer that is local, there has always been a sensor lit that we had no clue what it was. We were never told anything about it, they told us the vehicle was in good condition that it was inspected and everything. We took the SUV to Kia in 2019 to have the oil changed, and had them check the motor to see if they could explain why we were going thru oil weekly. While we were there the service person told us that the OCS mat does not function that it needs replaced and that is what that sensor is for which we would have not known and the dealer that sold it to us never told us anything. I figured it was a weight sensor for a child as I am not an expert on the safety of vehicles.... also, we were told that when the dealer sold us the vehicle as is that they never had a safety inspection done prior to put it on the lot. The last documented safety inspection on the vehicle was done when it was sold brand new when the first original owner bought it from the Kia lot I believe in another state. Kia told me that they have to do the safety inspection before selling it on the lot because a non Kia dealer sold us the vehicle. I did contact California state about my complaints and was told there was nothing that I can do to prove I didn't cause it but I have never been in any accident in the SUV that would cause the airbags to go off..... I am driving daily with my children in the car without working airbags. I cannot afford to replace the OCS mat and I believe I shouldn't have to. Also, we have had issues with our gasket that we had to get fixed, we are constantly going thru oil and we only drive it around town. We are having to add oil in it every week so the engine does not blow. We now have a vacuum leak in the gasket.

- Bakersfield, CA, USA

I own a 2012 Kia Sorento. While driving at various speeds, the vehicle loss motive power and stalled without warning. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The vehicle has not been repaired. The failure mileage was 150000.

- Baltimore, MD, USA

The contact owns a 2012 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving 45 mph, there was an abnormal sound coming from the engine. The vehicle stalled and shutoff with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated that there were children in the vehicle. The vehicle was pulled to the side of the roadway and was towed to the manahawkin Kia dealer, located at: 270 NJ-72, manahawkin, NJ 08050, where it was diagnosed that the engine seized and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated that there was no recall on the VIN. The contact was referred to the NHTSA. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 93,000.

- Nanuet, NY, USA

My Kia Sorento 2012 engine suddenly caught fire while driving on a major desert highway which my insurance upon inspection determined it was caused by a piston rod piercing the engine which although other Kia models are part of a recall and class action lawsuit, my VIN was not included.

- Phoenix, AZ, USA