CarComplaints.com Notes: As long as catastrophic engine failure at under 60,000 miles is the top owner complaint, it'll be pretty hard to recommend the 2012 Sorento.
2.8
hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
52,268 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.
I purchased a Kia Sorento on July 21 2020 after test driving the vehicle the air bag light popped on the sales man took it to one of their on site employees and they hooked up the code device no codes appeared so he suggested its just a sensor problem and told me it shouldn't be much take it to a Kia dealership. I did in which couldn't get in to see the service department until today in which I had to pay out of pocket for a diagnostic test and they found that the ods mat was faulty. I told the service guy that the car lot took the seats out to clean the SUV for sale and he told me they damaged or broke the ods mat. I contacted the seller and stronger expressed my feeling about my vehicle is no longer safe to drive and the only thing he said to me is my payment due August 31 today is the 10th and this replacement will be over 2300 that I can't afford and the vehicle is no longer safe for me and my daughter. I really feel they knew it was a problem with the air bag and just tried to make a sale saying it was a sensor issue that Kia will have to reset.
Had tow truck company pick up my Kia a week before christmas 2019 because check engine light and recall issue. I pick my Kia up 2-3wks later and the driver side seat adjust is hanging off never has that been broken Kia said it arrived that way. That's complete trash I had no issue wit that seating adjustment and now it sets off starks it's dangerous Kia claims no responsibility and I have my husband as witness neighbors friends I've given rides. Never broken til tow driver and findlay Kia has my vehicle
The OCS (occupant classification sensor) has failed, resulting in the passenger side airbag failing in the "off" position. The cost to replace is in excess of $2,000... a price that will leave many owners without a functioning passenger side airbag. Kia has extended coverage for other failing airbag components (clock spring), it is odd they would leave their customers exposed by not covering this one.
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that the air bag indicator illuminated. The vehicle was taken to aloha Kia of maui (89 E wakea ave, kahului, hi 96732) and repaired several times regarding the failure. The dealer stated that the weight sensor for the passenger seat was the cause of the failure. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The dealer stated that the entire seat assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified. The failure mileage was 117,250.
My airbag light went off a few months ago. I originally thought is was a short because it went off anytime I moved the passenger seat around. I had my service tech check it a few times, and he reset it. He eventually said I should take it to Kia. They diagnosed it and said the OCS mat was bad. It was the passenger seat occupancy sensor. I was quoted $2601.29 for just the part! they said I needed the whole cushion assembly. This is totally ridiculous. Imo, they should put a backup switch to override this if they're going to put faulty parts in their seats. Or, they should construct a better way to repair these without a complete seat replacement. It basically means, if I was in a head on collision, the passenger side airbag wouldn't think anyone is present in the seat. So, it wouldn't trigger the airbag on that side. I've contemplated building a bypass to force the airbag to go off even if no one is in the seat during a collision. It was so bad for the 2009 version, that you can purchase the bypass for $50. But, there's no good documentation on the 2012 model. I do have 142,000 miles on the car. But, I would bet that the passenger seat has been used about 30% of that. So, this is a case of a bad part. I have pampered this car. It still looks new. I paid it off and had planned to drive it until it blew up. Now, I'm considering getting rid of it and buying a new car. I'd prefer to drive free for awhile. But, I'm certainly not paying $3000 to fix this. I knew they had a recall on previous models for this exact same thing. I'm not convinced they changed anything for the 2012 model. But, that's just my opinion. I can provide additional documentation for this as needed.
- Canton, GA, USA
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Hello, I am 2nd owner @51,000 K with no known accidents to this SUV. From 51,073K I discovered the 2nd row seat latch was faulty and I couldn't fold the seat down. I had the latch replaced and it was fine and only used it about eight imes. Then @ 68,000K found it was using/ burning oil. The repair cost quoted for this is $3,600. Ever since I've had to add up to four quarts of 5W20 between oil changes. At 85,000K the same seat latch quit working again. I was quoted $110 for the replacement latch and book install calls for 3.1 hours equalling close to $340. Also from 87,000K to current (116,007K) there has been a slurry of seemingly random oddities: A) the electrical system has had five glitches. Moments lasting less than 40 sec. Where all the warning lights flash and chimes sound, completely out of the blue. It has happened while driving, while parked but running and when starting after getting fuel. B) the ignition switch sticks occ. Which sounds the 'key in' chime and prevents doors from locking. C) there is an insane amount of air flow coming in around the door hinge areas, center console/ arm rest and beneath the seats; front and back. Temporary fix, in the ia winters my children and I have blankets over our laps and behind our legs...and the extra winter garm is strategically placed to try and block air flow. D)the motor makes a ping/ knock, metal on metal sound @69K. Fresh to 72hr oil its fine.E) the driver airbag light came on @115,996K. I drove to town, 7.4 miles, the light was off, nothing wrong. I parked, left SUV running at the gas, ran inside to grab coffee and doughnuts, came out less than five mins later and saw the light on. Stayed on after I buckled. Thankfully it's not flashing, just on, as of 7:36am on 3/31/18. Please help. I'm one adult trying to care for two kids. My children and other drivers need better safety than this. Thank you
We are changing the 3rd head light on the drivers side in a month. We had a storm knocking out all street lights and it was hard to see..ansmd I keep getting pulled over. I feel like I need to carry a back up. Plus my plastic pos door panels detach and trap my kids in the car..we have to beat them down so so we can open doors. Oh and we had to cut the gas cover off cause it wouldnt open...and the seats wont go down anymore, hatch wont stay up..and my blutooth system only works about 20 percent of time! never again Kia!
Both driver and front passenger seat trim that houses the seat position adjustment knobs are designed poorly and fail under normal use. Once failure occurs trim can move easily which can cause the seat adjustment switches to be engaged causing the seat to move while vehicle is in motion.
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that the second row seat latch system failed to fold the seat causing the contact to be unable to use the third row seat. The vehicle was taken to the several times for the failure. The dealer replaced the seat folding system several times however, the failure was not corrected. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 14,980.
On my second row seat, the latch the make the seat recline back and to fold down has broken for the 4th time. When I went to pull the latch it did not move the seat the latch was stuck and then it seemed as tho it is just not catching onto anything to move the seat. My vehicle was parked because I was trying to get my kids into the third row seat.
While driving at highway speeds all dashboard instrumentation, A/C and headlights were lost. It was later determined that a short in the driver's seat wiring harness had blown the fuse for control module #2 resulting in the aforementioned instrumentation and safety equipment.
2nd row seat difficult to flip down to access 3rd row. Latch difficult to disengage. Been to dealer 3 times in the past year and their fix WD40 only lasts a week or 2 at best.
Seat trim on drivers seat breaks allowing seat controls to move seat while vehicle is moving. It can move seat forward or backward without driver doing anything. This trim has broken 4 times with the seat moving twice (2) out of the four (4) times. Kia dealer has replaced trim all four (4) times and acknowledged it is a defect in the trim design, however Kia has not issued a recall. Trim is held on by plastic, as it moves the plastic breaks, allowing seat controls to move against door or floor making seat move. This has occurred on 8/27/11, 06/16/12, 08/04/12 and 11/09/12. Talking to Kia dealers it is a common problem that has not been addressed.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Tuskegee Inst, AL, USA