10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 1 / 0
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 0 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 2,209 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.
While in the process of pulling into marked stall in parking lot car accelerated unexpectedly jumping over a concrete stop and crashing into the wall of a building. Car sustained eleven thousand dollars worth of damage and the wall that was hit was caved in. Cost of wall repair is unknown at this time. After the collision an attempt to dislodge the car was attempted by putting the car in reverse. The engine RPM was still racing and the car jerked backwards uncontrollably requiring the engine to be shut off to stop the car. Nobody was injured only property damage.
- Massapequa Pk, NY, USA
Sometimes the vehicle will stall and not want to move. I have to try and coast off the road to kill the car and restart it. Also sometimes the radio goes completely black and doesnt come back on even if you kill the car.
- Coushatta, LA, USA
My 2021 KIA Sorento, has literally cut off on me several times in the last 3 three months, when I am at a stop ight/sign the vehicle will just shut off, it will not turn back on, after 3-4 attempts of trying to get the vehicle to start it would, but later on the same day it would do the same thing. On the third incident I took the vehicle to the Kia dealership in Victorville, Ca. After keeping the vehicle for several days, they said they could not find anything wrong and that i should replace the battery because it had a low cell. So I bought the battery and paid for the diagnostic. the same day I picked of the vehicle drove to Las Vegas, Nevada, the vehicle did the same thing it would not start, we had to get a jump to get it started, was terrified to drive the vehicle back to California. Call the dealership about the issue but never received a call back. Now here it [XXX], the vehicle cuts off at a 4 way stop light, we were in the turning lane!!!! the vehicle would not start, there virtually no power, had to move the vehicle to a parking lot around the corner, called a tow truck and had the vehicle towed to the Kia dealership. They are saying it will take 3-5 days before they can get a diagnosis done. There is something going on with this vehicle, and I do not feel safe driving it even a short distance. This problem needs to be investigated before some get hurt/accident. I have not a seen a recall on my VIN number but there is something on wrong very similar to the transmission problems the Kia is having. I would like to have this issued looked at immediately to find out the root cause of this problem with a resolution. Will be awaiting a response, my vehicle is still at Valley Hi Kia, Victorville, Ca INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
- Adelanto, CA, USA
Today, our vehicle began making a chiming noise and displaying the words "Stop Safely Immediately." We were nearly in a car accident as our car stopped working in the middle of the road. We had to abandon the vehicle because it would not move. Upon coming home, we searched our VIN and found that there was a recall on the vehicle that Kia had never informed us of: SC250. Kia is mandated to inform clients of recalls that may endanger them, yet Kia chose not to do so.
- Chatsworth, CA, USA
My 2021 Sorento randomly gets stuck in between gears, slipping into neutral and rev'ing up to 4000-5000 rpms. This is at lower speed usually within a mile or so of leaving my house. It's very frightening and has happened to me dozens of times, but I live in a rural area over an hour from a Kia dealership, and they do not offer loaners. This issue first arose for me after the transmission oil pump recall was already addressed. I am the 2d owner, and suspect this could be why the previous owners sold the car, which I bought through Autotrader from the Heiser dealership in Wisconsin. After the latest episode, I finally arranged alternate transportation and took it in to the Serra Kia dealership in Jackson, TN. They have had it over a week and not been able to replicate the issue so far. No computer codes show up on it either. They say there's no technical advisory on the issue, and have no idea what's going on with the transmission. Serra Kia is saying that Kia corporate will not approve replacing the transmission without an error code. From reviewing other owner reviews in Kia forums, the Kia 2021 Sorento slipping into neutral while driving appears to be an issue for others as well. It is dangerous, as I could be rear-ended. Quite honestly, it-??s terrifying, and I am afraid to drive the car again without this issue being addressed.
- Dresden, TN, USA
The contact owns a 2021 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at unknown speeds, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who mentioned a recall on the transmission. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, who informed the contact there was no recall coverage on the VIN. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, and the contact was informed there was no recall or warranty coverage on the VIN. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V760000 (Power Train). The failure mileage was approximately 66,550.
- Livingston, TX, USA
I had reported a momentary loss of power when driving the first time I took my vehicle for an oil change. Dealer said the car was just getting accustomed to my driving habits. I said I was in an intersection and the car lost power for a moment and I was almost rear-ended. It has happened many more times and it seemed as though it usually happened between 25-30 mph. Recently it has become more frequent. It-??s happening at all speeds. Yesterday it seemed like it was choking like when you-??re out of gas (it had 3/4 tank of gas). Today I was making a turn at a heavily traveled intersection, when rounding the corner vehicle lost power then banged into gear. I-??ve never heard it bang like that before. Seems to be getting progressively worse and I-??m now concerned for myself and others safety. I work 45 miles from home and depend on this vehicle. This is my 3rd Sorento and have always liked and recommended them. I-??m making an appointment for a diagnostic service soon but can-??t afford to be without my car. I saw there was a recall for -??loss of power-?? but my VIN isn-??t included. Please help.
- Reading, PA, USA
Engine has turned off on road at stop and not started up again. Starts to shake then powers off. I have had to push break shut off engine completely and turn on again in middle of road. Carson of Kia states there is nothing wrong with it but this is a HUGE safety concern.
- Long Beach , CA, USA
My 2021 Kia Sorrento has shut down and died while on a Highway drive 2 days in a row. The engine light comes on, the oil light comes on, and and the phrase -??Engine Off. Shift to N then start engine-?? comes on. Prior to this, other issues were happening. Originally, my automatic start wasn-??t working properly, and a Kia service advisor told me to -??turn that feature off-??. After that, while driving down the road last month, all symbols on my dash began flashing and the phrase -??Check forward safety system-?? appeared.
- Mckinney, TX, USA
This is 2nd time that my Kia Sorento shuts off while we-??re stopped at a red light. When we release the brake the engine didn-??t start.
- Cumming, GA, USA
The contact owns a 2021 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled. The RPM was fluctuating, with several unknown warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown. The VIN was not available.
- Charlotte, NC, USA
My 2021 Kia Sorento is waiting on a new transmission with no ETA. Thank goodness after it started driving rough and rocking back and forth while in park we took it to a Kia dealership. Dealership said we. needed a new transmission. I-??m just glad we caught it before we had total engine failure going down the road like the recall states.
- Shawnee, OK, USA
On Oct 5th, 2022, I was driving home from work on Interstate 75, when I heard a chime from my dashboard. When I looked at the dashboard there was a message to -??stop safely immediately, -?? and the check engine light came on. I happened to be at my exit and took the next exit off the highway. Whiling getting to the off ramp the vehicle randomly shut off. I stopped the suv with the brake with no incident. Thankfully no one was behind me. However, the car wouldn't turn on. After several tries the car turned on again. I immediately drove it to kia which was about 2 miles away for immediate service. They did a multi-point inspection, checked fluids. The tech came back saying the vehicle need a software update. They did a software update and returned the suv. I was told everything should be fine. Within a day of the update the check engine light came back on. This time when I accelerate the RPMs are going up but the speed is not increasing. The Sorento hesitates to accelerate from a stop. The vehicle has issues shifting in the lower gears until it JOLTS forward. I returned the Suv to Kia where now I am told it needs a new transmission. I was given no indication as to when this fix would happen. I ask for a rental car they have none. Tech at Kia says its okay to keep driving this suv. Did I miss something? As of Oct 22, they want to recheck transmission fluid which they have already checked. I have been given the run around with no fix for the problem insight.
- North Port, FL, USA
As I was taking off from stop sign car dropped into lower gear jerking car and lowered speed. Did this twice almost causing an accident. Knowing something was very wrong we proceed to Dealership. SUV stalled out 3 times on the way. Third time it stalled out was in front of service writer in front of dealership.This car has been very dangerous to drive from the delivery to now. It hesitates when you give it gas at stop and vibrates as you pic k up speed. This car is very dangerous to drive. Has been in shop for a week tring to figure out the problem. I have complained to service department about this ever since I have owned the car. Thanks for any help. I know I, m not the only one with this problem. Pat McGrath.
- Port Charlotte, FL, USA
As my vehicle was in drive and I was actively driving, an error displayed on the dash stating to "stop safely immediately." The vehicle would neither accelerate nor decelerate and would not generate any RPMs. The check engine light came on, went off hours lately and the vehicle appeared to perform normally thereafter. Nonetheless I had the vehicle towed to the dealership and was told they were unable to duplicate the error although. I was told that although they could download the code for the error, it was unlikely that Kia would replace the faulty sensor that needed replacing as it was located on the side of the transmission. I was told to video the issue if it ever happened again. 7 days later, the exact same thing happened while I was in the middle of an intersection with my children. I leased this vehicle in May of 2021 and this issue occurred in July 2022 with 7800 miles on the odometer. There were zero issues with this vehicle prior to this and I have all service records and video footage of the incident.
- Oceanside, CA, USA
i have 2021 Kia Sorento Hybrid, which a regular message stating that it needs to refill inverter coolant fluid keeps coming up, even though the car coolants level is full. This is not a new problem for the all the Kia users that have this model. Also, Kia and their network of dealerships have known of this problem for over 1 yr and their standard answer is" we know its a software program, and will get back to you once the software code is fixed". Basically, they are dismissing the complaints and issues from the car owners. Also, this is poses a security and safety concern, since the warning light/message takes over the entire center console/display. Other relevant safety and security warnings/functionality is obstructed by it. Please force Kia to make this a mandatory recall for all Hybrid owners. There are thousands of customers impacted.
- Santa Clarita, CA, USA
Vehicle is not shifting properly. The vehicle is hesitating on shifting up and have a very hard down shift. When vehicle was brand new this was mentioned to the dealer and they said it was "normal" for these "new" transmissions. This issue has now since gotten way worse. When sitting at a stop sign and needing to accelerate to get out onto the roadway and wheel is slightly turned on "dry" roads the traction control light will come on and vehicle will not accelerate. This is a very BIG safety concern as myself and my kids use this car daily! This problem has been made aware to dealer but only to be told its "NORMAL" this is not normal its a big risk of possibly getting myself or others into an accident. The vehicle is going to be relooked at with another dealer 8/30/22 as it has gotten worse and im concerned of the safety of myself that this vehicle may malfunction causing as accident. I have also looked at other reports of these 2021 Sorentos and seeing a pattern with the transmission issues of them.
- Leola, PA, USA
I have owned this vehicle for about 1 yr & 7 months now. it's been great but all of a sudden last Friday, the dashboard started producing an engine overheat warning with an alarm sound when I was driving under normal conditions. So then I pulled out of the highway and went to the nearest parking lot, and checked the engine. The coolant color was normal & max level. no sign of leaking. Then we resumed driving and nothing happened. later on the way back home... the same thing happened. The alarm sounded for a while and the temperature indicator reached red at the max level then it went away. it was already too late for us to reach out to either dealership or KIA, so I was going to get in touch later. The next day afternoon, I got a diagnostic appointment for the coming Wednesday with the nearest KIA dealership and went out to take care of a few other stuff. The alarm sound with the temperature gauge reaching the red max level happened again after merging into the highway, and it went off after a while. This occurrence has happened 3 times already and I'm a bit worried that it may happen again and something else may happen even though the engine and other fluid levels were fine based on the visual inspection. Not sure if this is fixable...
- Mckinney, TX, USA
Vehicle stuck in high RPM until I parked and restarted vehicle. Additionally continues to rock back and forth while parked and jumps forward significantly upon braking and acceleration.
- Irmo, SC, USA
- Lawrenceville, GA, USA