This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
I was readind down bearess ave in tampa fla ias I was riding my truck went into flames as soon as I left my home at the time not even a half miles the hilss county sheriff did let the hood up attempted to put the fire out the fire department my insurance did cover cause I ihad pip the tow truck came and put. Thefire out the cause was elactric battery burned up cables etc
I was in an auto accident 8/18/17 tossed back and forth like a rag doll my air bag didn't deploy on impact until the 4th time and I was knock out unconscious. Don't recall my seat belt worked I recall being tossed back and forth back and forth and took my last breath. This is my 3 time doing this. It was moving I was hit in an accident.
All door handles have fallen off it's going to be $250 to have one fixed. I am not able at this time to have a malfunction fixed! it is not vandalism of any kind! it's a defective part! the auto repair place said to look into recalls! I need this problem fixed! no car I have owned has ever had this problem but this one!
The electronical parts of the ignition switch went out at the same time the battery and the starter did. Then on top of my ESC randomly coming on and every time this has happened it made it to where I couldn't go above 5 miles have to turn the car off and then restart it multiple times just so I can dive home this has been happening since I have had he vehicle November 2016
I started my 2008 Kia Sorento ex when I put it in reverse all of a sudden it makes a loud bump noise and with pressure on the brakes it jumps hard in reverse I look and see my ESC light came on and I could not accelerate, my vehicle in fact slowed down terribly. I have noticed that if I shut my car off then turn it back on sometimes this will take care of the problem for a short time. It looks like this has happened 3 times during hot days. This is very dangerous when driving with my kids in the backseat. If my car slows while on the highway I could end up causing quite an accident not to mention hurting myself or my family that is in the vehicle. Mileage on my vehicle at the time was approximately 88000 miles.
- Burke, VA, USA
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ESC off light comes on and sends the transmission into a "limp" mode. This causes extreme loss of acceleration. Dealership replaced the ABS control module, but it did not fix the problem. Dealership can not figure out why the vehicle is doing this.
Exiting a strip center to cross 2 lanes of traffic and make a left to merge into traffic, I accelerated in a safe gap only to find my vehicle had almost no acceleration. I was nearly in a side impact collision if not for the excellent awareness and reaction of the others on the road. I pulled immediately into a parking lot to try to find out what had happen. At this time my check engine light and the ESC off light were on. They were not went I started the trip from my house about 1 mile away. I shut the car off and restarted and the ESC off light was no longer there, but the check engine was. The normal power had been restored back to my car. I drove to an auto parts shop and had them pull codes on the vehicle. It returned 2 codes: 1. P2138 (throttle/pedal position sensor/switch "D"/"E" voltage correlation, 2. P2106 (throttle actuator control system - forced limited power). I asked them to clear the codes and they did. My drive home triggered no lights. After a month the same issue happened and I cleared the codes once again. It now happens 6 months to year mostly when the temperature get really war (usually July). I got on the internet to research the issue and was amazed to find how many people were having the exact same issue. All were the same story of sudden and unexpected loss of power, both lights on, near accidents, fear for one's safety. Literally hundreds and hundreds. There were many posts of those that went to dealer or called Kia with either exorbitant repair costs, lack of concern, and no knowledge of the issue. For most, the problem was never completely solved with dealer repairs and intermittently happens. This is a dangerous problem and people will die, or most likely already have. Too many people with the same problem not to have a recall for Kia owners and their children's safety. Please help.
On two seperate occasions approximately 2 months apart on start up and initial drive the engine suddenly lost all power, the check engine light came on and the ESC off light came on. Pulled vehicle to curb, shut off engine, waited several minutes to one hour, restarted engine and had full power.. check engine light remains on for several start ups then resets itself. This sudden loss of power at highway speeds could be devastating and potentially lead to fatalities.
For the 3rd time in as many years, the check engine light and ESC light come on at the same time causing the car to go into limp mode. Sometimes it will reset if you turn the car off and restart. Have replace catalytic converter. See this is a common theme with this car. I have no idea why it has not become a recall. When losing all power on hwy in traffic this is sure to become a fatality issue before long. I would think the company would rather recall before it becomes a lawsuit..
Approximately 2 years ago, the ESC light would come on and the vehicle had no acceleration and pulling out into oncoming traffic would be very scary to say the least. It would be very sluggish and no acceleration and oncoming traffic would come up on you before you could get it going. I carried it to the Kia dealership where it was purchased and they said it was a faulty accelerator and replaced it at a cost of 350 dollars. It has started doing it again. This is very dangerous and I am afraid to drive it and don't have 350 dollars to try and fix it again. This is a serious problem that I have found tons of complaints with this. Something needs to be done and it should not be at the cost of the consumer for a faulty product.
The ESC light has been coming on since the beginning of 2014. When this happens there is very little acceleration and it is difficult to get to the speed limit. The dealership said it is a chip that needs to be replaced and it would cost about $3,000. We were also told it was not a guarantee it would still fix the issue. We were also told that this issue could cause the car to go from drive from drive to park while driving. This alone is a danger in itself causing harm to us and to others in traffic. When the light is on the car does not accelerate and trying to merge into traffic is difficult especially up hill. I talked to Kia customer care and they said they would talk to the dealership. The person I talked to was not very helpful. If this a chip issue then it should be a recall or at least something that Kia should fix. It is something that is out of control of the owner. There are times when the light is off and the vehicle runs ok. I think this should be a situation that should be handled with great urgency before there is a serious accident.
Two days ago the check engine light illuminated (and stayed on) with intermittent electronic stability control off light illuminated; vehicle acceleration became sluggish and sometimes unresponsive. Vehicle codes using obdii pocketscan showed active and stored codes of P2138 (accelerator), P2127 (accelerator) and P2106 (limp mode). I made an appointment to take it to the dealership on 09/25/13. On the day of appointment the check engine light was not illuminated, but the dealership found stored codes in the computer of P2138, P2127 and P2106. The dealership refused to fix the vehicle even though it was still under warranty because there was not an active code (check engine light) on at the time of the appointment and the part was functioning properly for the time being. When asked if it was their policy or Kia motors policy not to replace components that were failing, they stated it was Kia motors policy. This is the second time the accelerator assembly has failed in this vehicle. The last failure was 08/23/12 at 27,545 miles. A vast majority of the complaints with NHTSA for this make, model and year vehicle involve these codes and this component. A serious accident, or loss of life should never be the determining factor when making a decision that a manufacturer should take action to correct a faulty component; by then it is much too late.
I almost killed everyone in my car, along with others on the highway. I pulled out onto the highway and had no power to my vehicle. I could not accelerate at all and had to pull over to the shoulder to get out of the way of traffic. I noticed my ESC off light had come on somehow. I turned my vehicle off and turned it back on and the light disappeared and I had power again. Several times since then the light will randomly come on and I will lose power. I called a couple mechanic shops but when I try to take it in the light doesn't come on. I don't know what causes this to happen but I see I'm not the only one with the issue.
I was traveling down the road when all of a sudden the vehicle decelerated quickly and the ESC light came on. I coasted over to the side of the road and turned the engine off. Sat there a few minutes then turned vehicle back on and the power came back on. I have since experienced this issue several times and have now the same issue however the light is not going off.
Driving to work on the highway at 65 mph, I lost significant power and was unable to accelerate past 40 mph on a local highway. I was able to slowly drive to a auto center where I was told my transfer case assembly and accelerator pedal assembly was malfunctioning, causing me to lose power and causing my car to shift erratically while driving. I have owned this car for less than 11 months.
Current and ongoing problems began just a few days after receiving a notice of recall from Kia regarding the faulty/defective brake light switch. The switch was faulty and there was a problem with no brake lights coming on upon braking as well as "ESC off" and "check engine" malfunction indicator lights appearing and staying on the instrument cluster. The vehicle was promptly taken to a Kia dealership where the recall service was performed. Replacement of a failed brake light switch under the recall campaign did not eliminate the problems/codes that began when the brake light switch failed. Shortly after the repair (less than a month afterward and very few miles driven) the "ESC off" and "check engine" malfunction indicator lights appeared, stayed, then came on and off intermittently with engine not going over past approximately 2,000 rpms resulting in unpredictable vehicle behavior especially when it comes to merging onto a highway/interstate or getting through an intersection. The vehicle was taken to the dealership where the service advisors gave assurances that the new brake light switch is not defective. The problem is that the service advisors/technicians could not specifically diagnose what needs replacement to ultimately solve this ongoing problem or if it is related to the failure of the of the brake light switch.
Bought the vehicle brand new and noticed you have to depress the brake pedal all the way down in order for the vehicle to slow down and stop. Spoke to the dealership and they said all Kia Sorento models are like this, you have to press hard down on the brake pedal for vehicle to slow down and finally stop and it takes a while for it to respond. Having owned several vehicles and driving for 15 years, I knew something was wrong with the vehicle braking system but I just dealt with it accepting the answer that Kia Sorento brakes were not going to be as good as other brand brakes (Honda, Toyota, Mazda). I took the vehicle in for regular maintenance and always asked the engineers if they could do something about the brakes and how long it takes to brake (braking distance). I felt unsafe driving this vehicle and ultimately sold after replace brakes and shoe pads. The passenger airbag light was also faulty when an adult would be sitting there and it was not working. There was also a check engine light that would randomly come on as well as the TPMS (tire pressure monitoring system). I took it to the mechanics and Kia dealership and they would just turn off the lights but couldn't explain a reason for these turning on as the vehicle tires and engine were ok. I cannot understand why the braking system was allowed to pass on this vehicle when it was not able to stop at highway speeds in a acceptable time. I hope Kia issues a recall on 2008 Kia Sorento LX models to replace or fix the braking issues because it is very dangerous to be driving on the road and not being able to brake properly.
Backed out of driveway, check engine & ESC off light came on, wouldn't accelerate over 20mph. Brought back home and parked. Few hours later took granddaughter to dentist and only check engine light illuminated. Didn't go off until took to auto zone on asheville hwy, knoxville, tn. After placing on diagnostic machine and giving a print out of probable causes, check engine light went off. Took to dealership on 7/29 and wouldn't except diagnosis since they didn't perform. Was showing electrical and valve problems. Stated unable to repair due to lights not being on when car was at the Kia dealership. Stated replaced the problem with recall. However, now stating motor seals need replaced which is covered under warranty. Unsure if other issue has been resolved due to no issues since Friday.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Tampa, FL, USA