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.

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 3
Injuries / Deaths:
5 / 0
Average Mileage:
39,829 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.

2012 Kia Sorento brakes problems

brakes problem

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2012 Kia Sorento Owner Comments (Page 2 of 2)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #10

Nov 032015

Sorento

  • 13,741 miles

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

The contact owns a 2012 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while coming the a stop, the brakes failed to respond when the brake pedal was depressed. As a result, the vehicle to crashed into a restaurant. The air bags did not deploy. A police report was filed. The contact did not sustain any injuries. The vehicle was still at the location of the crash at the time of the call. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 13,741.

- Grand Saline, TX, USA

problem #9

Sep 182015

Sorento

  • 43,000 miles
Friday 9/18/15 10:40 am, backing out of parking spot slowly into a road. Engine suddenly failed, engine light came on, and the brakes completely failed. Was able to restart the car and park it again, but brakes still failed and had to use the emergency brake and the curb and tree at curb to stop vehicle. Towed to ed voyles Kia on peachtree industrial blvd in atlanta who found no record of the incident in computer and that all diagnostics were normal and they couldn't reproduce the problem, so there was nothing they could do. I sent them this link with others experiencing similar issues and told rep about others' experiences:www.carcomplaints.com/Kia/Sorento/2012/engine/engine.shtml. then had it towed to cobb county Kia in kennessaw, ga. They maintained neglect on our part B/C oil level was at 0 (previous dealership saw no problem here), engine had major sludge and particles of metal in it, needed full engine replacement for $6500 didn't make sense with our regular oil changes and didn't explain the brake failure, though rep said it did. Had it towed to aaa car care plus in marietta. Could not reproduce the issue and said the car, including the engine, was in great shape, was full of all fluids. Mechanic also said that there were 0 records on computer and that one of dealerships likely wiped it completely clean. Have rented a car in meantime because my, my husband's, my two kids' and other drivers and pedestrians safety would be compromised. Other comments online mention problem more than once, some on the highway. Also remembered that my husband had had trouble starting the car a couple of months back, with no lights coming on at all. He got the battery checked out, and he was told it was fine. We relayed this to the mechanics too, but they seemed not to acknowledge the info. We cannnot and will not drive the car until it's resolved.

- Atlanta, GA, USA

problem #8

Apr 032012

Sorento

  • 30,988 miles
I purchased this vehicle used on 3-25-15 with a full factory warranty. After driving the vehicle for a few days my wife and I both noticed the brake peddle drifting to the floor while stopped and the vehicle would start to crawl forward. During long stoplights the brake peddle will slowly drift to the floor and has to be pumped up. I have taken this to the Kia dealer twice and the first time was treated like I was an idiot they did a cursory inspection and said there was nothing found and returned the vehicle to me. I left and drove the vehicle for about a week and found that at almost every stoplight it would do the same thing loose breaking and begin to roll forward. I then took it to an independent mechanic "in & out auto" he stated to me there was break loss and peddle movement to the floor and recommended I return it to the dealer. I did so the next day explaining what I was told so they had a different mechanic look it over and he was able to duplicate & make the vehicle do the same thing "but" they Kia said there was no need of repair and this is normal again sending me home. This is very disconcerting especially in traffic and also I noted on reversing at a store parking lot the breaks faded when pedestrians were walking behind my vehicle. This is a safety concern for not only myself but other drivers and pedestrians. I have Kia paperwork showing both trips to their shop with nothing being done to fix this problem. Thank you for your time.

- Anchorage , AK, USA

problem #7

Apr 072014

Sorento

  • miles

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

I purchased car around September 2013. I started to noticed sometime later in 2013. As I pull out of my driveway, get to the end of driveway and stop to wait on traffic. I noticed this grinding like sound when I apply my brakes. However I also noticed this sound when I applied my foot from the brake to gas pedal. So when I took car in for service I asked if my brakes would be checked, they said yes. Told me brakes were fine. Continued to hear this noise. Explained the noise on one occasion at the dealership while getting service and they still said nothing was wrong. It is now January 2015 and I still here that same noise. I decided to check online to see if others were having this same issues and since I was able to find at least 2 other cases reported. I thought maybe I should report what was happening to me to and hopefully it would be looked at sooner rather than later. They called it brake hydraulic problems. I have no idea what or if any solutions are being looked at because these people reported this back in 2012 and here it is 2015 and I haven't heard anything about any recalls.

- Elgin, SC, USA

problem #6

Jul 142014

Sorento

  • 31,000 miles
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that the vehicle independently shifted into park. The contact also mentioned that excessive force was applied to the brake pedal in order for the vehicle to shift into park on several occasions. Additionally, while exiting, the vehicle attempted to roll away and the brake pedal was applied. The failure recurred intermittently. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 31,000.

- Bismarck, ND, USA

problem #5

Apr 242014

Sorento 6-cyl

  • 30,000 miles
While driving the vehicle on two separate occasions the vehicle has either stalled with a total loss of steering, brakes and acceleration or with the engine still running a total loss of steering, brakes and acceleration.

- Shelton, CT, USA

problem #4

Apr 202013

Sorento 6-cyl

  • 9,000 miles

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

This has happened four times! while coming to a stop sign, engine dies, power steering out, power brakes out. After shifting into park or neutral, car will immediately restart, and function without this problem for weeks. Kia dealership finds nothing wrong and no "codes" to indicate the car has had problems.

- Hermosa Beach, CA, USA

problem #3

Jun 202013

Sorento

  • 11,000 miles
While driving at freeway speeds (55-65 mph) our vehicle spontaneously shut down; all electrical powered off, engine shut down, loss of ABS, loss of power steering. The vehicle would not restart until shifting into 'park' position. This was the third time this has happened, all under the same circumstances.

- San Diego, CA, USA

problem #2

Jan 042012

Sorento 4-cyl

  • 5,550 miles
This vehicle is extremely dangerous in the snow or on wet pavement. You cannot control the vehicle - it just goes where it wants to. This situation is going to cause catastrophic problems and loss of lives. I don't know if the problem is the very light 4 cylinder engine, problematic suspension, steering, or tires, but it is extremely dangerous and will definitely cause accidents. Something has got to be done to make this vehicle much, much safer to drive in wet and/or snowy weather. It is difficult negotiating a hill in either direction, whether going up or down. I literally slide into the street from my driveway, which is by no means a very steep drive and I certainly cannot make it up the drive in the snow without first backing up into my neighbor's drive and getting enough speed up to make it to the top of my drive. We bought and utilize this vehicle to make deliveries and put up to 500 miles per week on the car and our driver now refuses to drive this vehicle because of the imminent danger -- he calls it a death trap!

- Broadview Heights, OH, USA

problem #1

Mar 082012

Sorento 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 20 miles
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Sorento. While driving approximately 30 mph, the contact depressed the brake pedal but the brakes would not respond. The failure recurred while driving at various speeds. The contact had to apply excessive pressure to the brakes for the vehicle to stop. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing three times. The technician was unable to diagnose a failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 20...updated 11/01/12 updated updated 11/02/2012

- Canyon Lake, TX, USA

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