CarComplaints.com Notes: Kia really changed the design of the Sorento in the 2011 model year. Instead of a truck-like body-on-frame more capable of offroad adventures, the newest Sorento is a unibody construction and is much more crossover than sport utility. The changes brought a whole slew of problems, including a frustrating problem where the door that won’t open. Is it too late to go back?

1.7

hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
97,731 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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.

2011 Kia Sorento accessories - exterior problems

accessories - exterior problem

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2011 Kia Sorento Owner Comments

problem #13

May 012024

Sorento

  • 92,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while attempting to unlock the vehicle with the key fob, the contact heard the doors unlocking, but the rear doors failed to unlock. Additionally, the contact stated that the failure initially started after the vehicle was serviced by the dealer. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by a dealer or an independent mechanic. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was opened. The contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 92,000.

- Hemet, CA, USA

problem #12

Apr 152022

Sorento

  • 93,000 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while attempting to open the passenger-??s side door from the outside, the door handle was inoperable. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 93,000.

- Mentor On The Lake, OH, USA

problem #11

Feb 202022

Sorento

  • 185,000 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that the exterior front driver side door handle had malfunctioned and the door could not be opened from outside the vehicle. The cause of the failure was not determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were both notified. The contact was informed that the vehicle was previously serviced under a manufacturers TSB for the failure. The failure mileage was 185,000.

- Greensboro, MD, USA

problem #10

Aug 152018

Sorento

  • 110,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that the rear driver's side door failed to lock manually or with the key fob. Also, there was an abnormal clicking noise when starting the vehicle. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The local dealer and the manufacturer were not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was 110,000.

- Elk Grove, CA, USA

problem #9

May 162018

Sorento

  • 138,000 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. The contact was unable to open the doors from outside the vehicle. The dealer (billion auto Kia in sioux city, Iowa) diagnosed that the vehicle doors needed actuators. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The VIN was unknown. The failure mileage was 138,000.

- Sioux City, IA, USA

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problem #8

Oct 052016

Sorento

  • 78,000 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. While attempting to open the passenger side door from outside the vehicle, the lock failed to open the door. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact also received notification of NHTSA campaign numbers: 156260000 (power train) and 13V114000 (service brakes, hydraulic, exterior lighting). The part needed for the repair was not available. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 78,000.

- Apo, AE, USA

problem #7

Jan 092017

Sorento

  • 47,500 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

On 1/16/2017 I went to a dr appointment. When I came out I unlocked the car and the outside handle on the driver's side door wouldn't work. The door was unlocked but the handle would not work. I had to go into the car from the passenger side and climb over to open the door from the inside. This was not easy as I am a short 67 year old woman. Took the car into a mechanic and he had to order the entire latch assembly $243.50. I checked on the NHTSA site and there are so many other cars that have had this safety issue also. It looks like that this problem is becoming a bigger problem as our cars age. Hopefully my other doors won't break also as was the case for several other owners. Please look into this extremely potentially dangerous issue and have Kia issue a recall. Thank you for your time.

- Brea, CA, USA

problem #6

May 152016

Sorento 6-cyl

  • 95,000 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that the rear driver side door would not open from the outside. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The dealer diagnosed that the door lock would need to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The VIN was invalid. The failure mileage was 95,000. Updated 01/23/2017 updated 7/10/18

- De Queen, AR, USA

problem #5

Jul 202015

Sorento

  • 28,000 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that the rear driver and rear passenger side doors failed to open from outside and inside the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who replaced the parts with plastic locks, but the failure recurred. The front passenger side door failed to lock and unlock without warning. The vehicle was to be taken back to the dealer for a third repair. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and provided no recommendation. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 28,000.

- Miles, IL, USA

problem #4

May 132016

Sorento

  • 171,000 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that the front driver side exterior door failed to unlock manually or with the key fob. The contact entered the vehicle through the front or rear passenger side doors. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 171,000.

- Lebanon, TN, USA

problem #3

May 092016

Sorento

  • 85,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that the front and rear driver side doors locked and failed to open. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 85,000.

- Rialto, CA, USA

problem #2

Aug 232015

Sorento

  • 85,000 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that the passenger and driver side door failed to open from the outside of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the latches fractured and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 85,000.

- Franklin, GA, USA

problem #1

Feb 232014

Sorento

  • 63,000 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that the driver's side door lock failed and the driver's side door could not be unlocked from the exterior, only from the interior of the vehicle. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 63,000.

- Richland , IN, USA

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