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?
10.0
really awful
Crashes / Fires:
19 / 2
Injuries / Deaths:
22 / 0
Average Mileage:
73,385 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.
Fault code B1620, internal fault replace srscm. Just out of warranty 107000 mls. No previous air bag deployment. Many complaints on line but no recall. $1000 to fix. This is a safety issue and should be recalled at Kia's expense.
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. While operating the vehicle, the air bag warning light remained illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the front driver side air bag was deflating. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 100,000.
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving at 30 mph, the vehicle ahead stopped suddenly without warning. As a result, the contact crashed into rear end of the vehicle. The air bag failed to deploy. The driver sustained a head injury that required medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. In addition, the contact mentioned that 24,000 miles after the failure occurred, the air bag warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the clock spring and the front passenger side seat air bag sensor failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 60,000. The VIN was not available.
After changing the battery the airbag/SRS light will not shut off. Diagnostic error code is B1346. The are a number of postings online about this with very dissatisfied customers. Kia did a similar recall under: 12V014000. Called Kia and they said they wouldn't do anything.
Air bag light came on. Took the vehicle to the dealership and the service rep said it was the faulty clock spring assembly. The service rep also stated that Kia had already issued a similar recall on a 2008 model. If the airbags/sytsems are vital safety requirements. Then why are they going bad with-in 3yrs of being manufactured? please do not wait until people die to issue a recall.
- Houston, TX, USA
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Original owner '11 Sorento 4cyl, AWD w/tow package & approx 88K miles. Problem 1st noticed about 2 mos ago when seat belt light began flashing with audible clicking coming from relay behind dash. It was daytime when this happened 1st few times & I could not duplicate problem. This issue seemed to happen after starting car & would go away after a few moments of driving. Releasing & re-connecting seat belt had no effect. The 1st time it happened @ night I realized that the headlights & dash lights would flash on & off also. Still could not duplicate problem, but being a mechanic I watched for it to happen and tried different things to see if they had any effect on the issue. Always would begin after initially starting car, but not do it most times. Then 3 evenings ago, I found it happening every time I would start the car & would even do it afterwards driving down the road. I was 70 miles from home & tried to get back. It didn't matter whether the headlight switch was on, off or auto, it would still flash all lights & seatbelt light w/clicking from relay. On the way home, while driving a rural road, the lights again started blinking on & off causing me to hit a metal pole a drainage ditch thru farmer's fence into his field. Accident pushed metal bumper (behind bumper cover) back about 12", tore the entire front end &lights from car & bent hood back 1 1/2 feet and buckled it upward - all of this without ever deploying the airbag.these problems are prevalent in this car as I have read, but I now have a vehicle which despite it's damage will now duplicate the lights going on & off every time the car is turned on. Have contacted Kia Corp in hopes that they will want to use my car to get to the cause of this issue & finally correct it. As a mechanic I very well understand the need to be able to duplicate problem to find cause..... Kia now has no excuse.
I have a 2011 Kia Sorento and my airbag light is on when I turned on the vehicle. I have not yet taken it to a dealership but I am seeing a lot of complaints about this same issue. Why hasn't Kia recalled this" do they really need a death in order to fix the problem"
2011 Kia Sorento airbag light came on out the blue. Took to dealership was advised either defective passanger airbag or the sensor for passenger seat. Would have to pay $$$ to put on diagnostic. Car jerks forward when switching gears. Also, car just accelerated by itself.. put the car in park and it jerks forward. Its jerks so hard I could get whiplash.like the car doesn't want to stop.scarriest thing ever. I am really concerned how sometimes I don't even have to press the brake to put in gear. Last, went to change headlight, rightside extremely jot and could hear boiling like something cooking.
After jump starting the 2nd battery installed by Kia in 5 years 4 months 21 days on my Kia Sorento, the air bag warning light came on and stayed on. I took it to my dealer and asked if this meant that my air bags would not work, they said they thought that might be the case so I had them look at it. I was told that the air bag module assy needed to be replaced at 37,697 miles at the cost of $864.45 and of course my car was 4 months and 21 days out of warranty. It seems to me that something this critical for safety should never go out and certainly be covered under warranty this close to 5 years. My stop lamp switch went out 10/11/2011, 8,031 miles and was fixed under warranty and then on 4/1/2013 it was recalled. I hope they do not wait this long for the airbag module to be recalled and I would hope they would also reimburse for the replacement that I have paid for. I notice that I am not the only person with this complaint regarding the airbag problem on the 2011 Kia Sorento.
The airbag sensor light is on and the dealership is saying I need a new passenger airbag weight sensor. The cost is $1,800! Kia previously recalled the 2007 and 2008 models but the problem seems to be happening on newer models as well. It seems that this is a safety issue and not normal wear and tear. Please consider a recall.
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. While driving at any speed, the air bag warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the clock spring failed and caused the air bag warning light to remain illuminated. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 49,800.
I turned on my car and the airbag light came on. I took it to the dealers a week later and was told the clock spring in the steering wheel has a shortage and it will cost approx. $450 to have it replaced. I was also told that this service is not under warranty.
My airbag light is on and according to the Kia dealership there is a malfunction that needs to be repaired. They told me that my car went our of warranty in early June 2015 and that I have to pay for this repair(approx $500). This strikes me as wrong since there has never been an accident with my vehicle and thus the airbag has never deployed. How can they claim that my airbag is broken since it has never been used/activated? how can it not be the manufacturer"S/dealer responsibility to correct the defect. Could you please help me with this situation. Consumer email update on Sept 3, 2015: "they have given us the info today regarding what's wrong with the airbag: It needs a clock-spring for the airbag that is located somewhere in the steering column. I have not had any horn or cruise control malfunctions, but the airbag light is on all the time." Updated 9/15/15......updated 12/10/15 the consumer was informed the clock spring needed to be replaced. Updated 12/17/15.
Upon starting vehicle the airbag light stayed illuminated. Taken to mechanic that states it's a malfunction in the airbag system. I've never been in an accident or deployed the airbags. It is scary to know that if I was involved in an accident I wouldn't have the safety of airbags designed to save lives. I've taken to the dealer and they want 2000 to fix. I feel this is a safety hazard and should be covered under a recall. I have done a lot of research and it seems like it's a common problem affecting many Sorento owners. Please investigate.
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. While driving 60-70 mph, the contact attempted to switch lanes due to construction on the highway and crashed into the preceding vehicle. The air bags failed to deploy. The front passenger sustained fractures on her ribs, nose, cervix, and pelvic bone. The rear passenger sustained right optical bone and sinus bone fractures. The contact sustained a right leg injury, hip fracture, and spinal injuries. Medical attention was required for the contact and the two passengers. A police report was filed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 79,000.
Dash light with the airbag logo came on as I was starting up today, and stayed on. Went straight to Kia dealership, the one we always use. Service advisor said he's seen a lot of them, same problem. He agreed that $2,000 was very expensive for this repair. This malfunction disables all the airbags. In the event of an accident, we are toast. Kelly blue book rates this vehicle at a value of $9500, in mint condition, which this is. 21% of the value for a repair" are you kidding me" very disappointed that this is an issue for so many ( I did check the internet, it's a common problem) and no one chooses to take it seriously. We just went around with the tire pressure monitoring system, and finally they replaced that on a recall, but we had a blowout on I-81 at 70 mph that could've ended our life.....someone needs to look into this. I appreciate anything you can do.
Airbag sensor light came on suddenly. Took vehicle to dealership and after "resetting" the sensor light three times they needed to take more diagnostics. They came back that the clock spring needed to be changed. This repair for part and labor is $500. I couldn't get it fixed today so if I get into an accident the drivers airbag will not deploy.
Air bag light came on will not go off have an apt with dealership tomorrow they say $45 to run a diagnostic check because there is no recall. And it is not covered so we will see about a cost I don't feel safe not knowing if my air bags are not going to work..updated 07/13/15
Good afternoon, I have a 2011 Kia Sorento and the airbag light stayed on. When I took it to the dealer it was the clock spring. I paid to have my vehicle fix last fall. However, looking on the internet this seems to happen a lot in Kia cars. Why havent Kia reported this issue? I was rear ended recently and none of my airbags deployed. Im wondering if Kia is hiding this issue. The person at the shop told me a clock spring should not go bad on a fairly new vehicle. Someone needs to look into this situation before someone gets killed. Kia is ripping off car owners because they wont acknowledge the problem publicly. www.Kia-forums.com/Kia-carens-rondo-forum/76352-air-bag-light-clock-spring.html I hope someone will investigate this situation. Please copy and past the above url to see what Kia owners have to say. Updated 10/17/2017
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Portage, MI, USA