10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 1 / 9
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 1 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 9,779 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.
« Read the previous 20 complaints
8/19/19 I had a scheduled oil / filter change at dealership, mileage 50280. 10/11/19 I checked my oil and there was no oil on the oil dipstick. There were no leaks, no oil on garage floor, no oil warning light. I brought it to the dealership same day, 10/11/19, I thought maybe the tech did not put correct amount of oil, I only had an addtl. 2700 miles and was not scheduled for an oil change yet. One of the techs put about 1 1/2 - 2 quarts of oil in it and told me to keep an eye on it. Saturday, 12/07/19, it happened again, no oil was showing on the dipstick. I was going to have dealership do the oil change, I was close to the mileage to get one, but not quite, but instead of dealership doing oil change, he said to bring it back Monday 12/09/19 to have a 'tech line' opened. I am the original owner of this 2017 Kia Sorento and it is still under warranty.
- Dahlonega, GA, USA
My high beams don't want to turn on and when they do the only way to get them off is to turn my lights all the way off and back on. If you pull the bar towards you to briefly look at something, the high beams will not come on. Also my car is in the shop, it keeps kicking back when I go to stop. They say nothing is wrong with my high beams or my brakes, they say everything is fine.
- Waxhaw, NC, USA
Bought the car in 2018 March I have a 2017 Sorento. Have done regular 5000 oil changes. Kia said it was sludge in engine, however there are metal shaving inside the the oil and sludge caused by crank shaft. As of now no recall. Out of warranty by 5000 miles. Current situation waiting for "good faith" help appeal. Was denied stating not maintaining oil changes. Got proof provided to service dept and waiting for decision. This could have gone real wrong. No engine warning light no oil lights ever came on. Thankful I was not driving on highway( with baby )and engine could have shut down. I heard knocking and took it directly to Kia.they Kia service dept advised not to drive so I left it there. I have a rental and its been a week today. Still waiting for answer. The whole reason buying this Kia was for a reliable car for my family. It is 2 yrs old no reason engine failure. My problems are similiar to other reports I have read so there is a major issue with Kia motors.
- Garland, TX, USA
July 20, 2019: Car fire: Driving back from New Jersey shore (65 mph), 11:00 am, 96 degrees, Sorento engine made a noise, and I could smell smoke and saw warning lights came on. I grabbed my daughters and exited the vehicle watching the entire SUV, and all the contents from our trip go up in flames in less than 12 minutes. Very traumatic for the girls and me.
- Chester Springs, PA, USA
Michelin premier tires have been shredding on each tire, at every tread. Tires also make humming noise and you can feel a roughness in the ride. Tires have been doing this since car purchase. Dealer contacted Michelin but they said no recall and only offered prorated discount on new tire purchase.
- Villa Hills, KY, USA
The door would not close. The lock was triggered somehow only the back passenger door. I could not unlock or close the door. It has happened at least 3 times. My son was sitting in the back seat and the door would not close after he got in.
- Sacramento, CA, USA
My car stalled in the middle of the road. Everything happened so fast, one second the car broke down, next second cars behind me are slamming the brakes and screaming at me. Going to take my car in for maintenance less then one month of purchasing it.
- Brooklyn,, NY, USA
Lost power, unable to accelerate.engine labored forced to drive at slow speed to dealer shop.car at dealers shop for 7 days.unable to get a pick up date.car has 16500 miles was in shop for factory recall prior to this problem.
- Timonium, MD, USA
I was driving down the highway, sunny day today. I had my 6 month old baby in his car seat, when I heard a huge explosion. At first I didn't know what happened. I looked up and the sunroof had exploded. It sounded like when glass is put into a fire then explodes. My son was covered in tiny pieces of glass. I looked online and discovered this has happen to around 150 other drivers since 2012, but Kia has issued no recall or warned its drivers. The explosion alone was enough to cause an accident, and my son could have been seriously injured. I hope Kia will take responsibility so nothing like this happens to anyone else.
- Ridgefield, WA, USA
I cranked my car, put it in drive, and started to pull out of my driveway when my car shook and stalled. All of my lights came on. I then tried to restart my car but it continued to crank over without starting. I gave it a minute and tried it again. The car started, I drove away, stopped at the stop sign, and the car stalled again. I cranked the car again, put it in reverse, it chugged backwards, and then stalled once I got back into my driveway. I let it sit for 5 minutes, cranked it again, then it was fine.
- Portland, ME, USA
While driving(60mph) on I10 West bound in new orleans, la at around 7:45pm on April 18th, 2018 the sunroof of my 2017 Kia Sorento exploded. It was a clear evening and only a few cars around me on the highway. Took car to dealership and was told by the services parts associate "it was rock" as if he was trained to automatically say that without even looking at the vehicle.
- Atlanta, GA, USA
Vehicles randomly does not want accelerate. Seem most often on turns in to on coming traffic but not always. Some time's it it will do it just going forward. I have almost be creamed twice because of this. Took it to dealer. The said they could not find anything wrong. This has also happen to fiancee. This dangerous and unacceptable.and so where do I go from here?
- Toledo, OH, USA
I'm reporting on a sunroof that exploded without any apparent reason. On December 29, 2017, my wife and I were returning home from a trip in our 2017 Kia Sorento. (mileage at time of incident was about 16,080) it was purchased new in December 2016. The time was around 10 am, it was raining and about 37. The highway was bare and wet and in good condition ' no potholes or anything of that nature. We were traveling North on highway 95 just North of lewiston, id. The posted speed is 65 mph and that was the speed I was traveling. There were no cars within at least a half mile in front of us. There were no cars in the opposite lanes. The uphill lane we were traveling in is across from the hillside which is across the highway to the West. The highway is four lanes with a median and jersey barrier. To the East of the lane we were traveling in, the terrain is hilly but not steep and does not hang above the road. (this is to establish that there were no areas where a rock could randomly fall off a hillside, bounce up and fall onto the sunroof panel.) at about 10:05, there was a tremendous noise and instantly there was an initial rush of air out of the car after which some bits of glass shards came down on us. I could hear large chunks of glass moving along the roof top to the rear of the vehicle and the noise of a suddenly open top. The liner was open so there was no protection from the glass or the elements. I pulled over as soon as I safely could to inspect the damage. I closed the liner to keep the rain out, got out of the car and stood on the door jamb to get a closer look. The glass was pooched up around the hole which was about 2 feet in diameter in the center of the pane. (the pane that shattered was the one that retracts and is right above the driver and passenger seats.) we looked around for glass and there were just tiny bits in the front area.
- Lake Tapps, WA, USA
Assist emergency braking/forward collision system does not work to identify, warn of potential impact, and does not apply emergency braking for another vehicle or pedestrian at any speed as described in 2017 Kia Sorento manual. The vehicle does not display any warning that the system is not in operation.
- Gorham, ME, USA
Our sunroof exploded while driving South on us I-5 just North of everett, wa. The glass blew upward out of the car & glass shards flew on us and our dog. We closed the fabric roof cover so the glass wouldn't fall on us. Kia Tacoma said it was not covered by warrentee. They replaced the sunroof so we could continue our trip to Arizona. The cost was $944 us. We contacted Kia Canada who have opened a claim but we don't know if we will be reimbursed. This problem has existed for several years. I hope people will report it to you so that you can insist on a better quality for safe sunroofs.
- El Mirage, AZ, USA
My VIN is coming up as invalid when I search for recalls. [xxx] is what is on my registration and on the dash. Attached is a picture of the dash VIN. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
- Lodi, CA, USA
Difficulty accelerating in congested stop-and-go traffic and/or when pulling out from a stop sign or traffic light. It's as if the car does not get any gas, and then it lunges forward. We were on a four-week cross-country trip and felt very unsafe. Four dealerships have not been able to duplicate the problem or diagnose or repair it.
- Catlett, VA, USA
The ac leaks onto the floor after an hour of highway driving. I would not notice if I did not have rubber floormats.
- Grafton, OH, USA
Side lane warning system detects a vehicle when there is no vehicle there. Apple carplay system causes an extreme echo on remote phone, therefore hands free car phone is not possible. It is dangerous to have to disconnect the phone from the usb cord and call people manually.
- Wheatley Heights, NY, USA
- Rochester, MN, USA