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:
3 / 7
Injuries / Deaths:
4 / 0
Average Mileage:
53,178 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 miscellaneous problems

miscellaneous problem

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2012 Kia Sorento Owner Comments (Page 3 of 4)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #31

Feb 042019

Sorento

  • 52,000 miles

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

I was driving myself and my brother southbound on the 101 freeway near tempe, AZ on Monday, February 4, 2019 at approximately 10:20am when we suddenly heard a loud explosion over our heads and saw glass raining down through the overhead visor and off the back of the car. Stunned and shocked, I carefully made my way across three lanes of busy morning traffic to pull over to the shoulder and inspect the damage. The entire sunroof had shattered, leaving jagged glass particles over the top and inside the sunroof mechanism, as well as inside my car. I'm grateful my two children weren't sitting in back or they may have been cut by the spraying glass! we had been traveling at average highway speeds, during a cool, cloudy day. It was about 55 degrees and there was no significant activity or debris on the road that morning. I never noted prior damage to the roof and was traveling with the sunroof completely shut that morning. This was an absolutely terrifying experience that very well could have caused an accident. I'm furious to find so many reports of these incidents occurring! recalls must be made and a better solution needs to be in place!

- Scottsdale, AZ, USA

problem #30

Dec 122018

Sorento

  • 72,775 miles
On three occasions in the last two years, my 2012 Kia Sorento, while cruising at the speed limit of appx 55 mph on a major highway, totally lost power. Dashboard lights were blinking, but nothing else was operable. On the first two incidents, I managed to steer car onto shoulder. I put the car in park and tried to start it again. After about 30 seconds, car restarted. I was able to drive normally after that. Later on the evening of the first incident, sometime in 2016, I replaced the battery in the fob and thought that solved the problem. After second incident (3/5/17), I took car to herson's Kia in rockville, md. They did a diagnosis, which reported no problems. After the third incident (12/12/18), I took it back to herson's Kia. They checked and saw that a recall procedure (SC 106) that was supposed to have fixed the problem had been performed on an earlier visit. They again performed a diagnostic, which again reported no problems. They basically said they couldn't do anything about it if they couldn't diagnose the problem. This third incident was pretty frightening because the car lost power in the center lane of a five-lane highway, so I couldn't pull over. This is obviously a situation that could be life-threatening. Although my web research finds that this has happened to many other 2010--2013 Kia Sorentos, , Kia doesn't seem to be able to figure out what the problem is or know what to do about it.

- Derwood, MD, USA

problem #29

Dec 012018

Sorento

  • 90,000 miles
Door handles broke off, air bag light is turned on after replacing battery in car, and car won't pass smog because O2 sensor readiness and fuel system monitors won't show ready even though there is nothing wrong with the car and car is not pulling any error codes, both upstream and downstream O2 sensors were replaced, air filters changed, and fuel system was flushed and still did nothing to make the monitors show ready

- Corona, CA, USA

problem #28

May 262018

Sorento

  • miles

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

"takata recal". my Kia 2012 with current millage 49,000. No accident. Airbag light is on. Check engine light is on. Brought my vehicle to Kia dealer. They said intake manifold need to be replaced and it cost around $900.

- Houston, TX, USA

problem #27

Nov 082018

Sorento

  • 140,000 miles
While driving all warning lights on dashboard turned on and my car started shaking and I hear the engine turn off while in the middle of driving. I was in a residential area going down hill and speed limit was 25 mph so I was able to pull to the side of the road. The lights would stay on and would not turn off. The gears were stuck as well, it would not let me park the car. I waited a few minutes to turn car off and it worked. I used the emergency brakes to keep car from rolling. I then waited a few minutes to turn car on lights on again and was able to shift the car into park. I have my car service routinely and no warning of something like this could happen.

- Stafford, VA, USA

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problem #26

Mar 152017

Sorento

  • 100,000 miles
'takata recall' I continue to smell a burning smell under my hood but no one can seem to find it. It come and goes I had it checked was told all fluids are fine and no leaks. I pray it never catches fire as I have a grandson who rides with me often. Also my rear break light go out ever two months not sure why it is not just one side they take turns each side. Pressure in tires tend to go low very often for no reason please help me find out what is really wrong before something bad happens 🙏🙏 the burning smell scammers the most but I smell while in motion.

- Akron, OH, USA

problem #25

Sep 252018

Sorento

  • 96,000 miles

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

Sunroof randomly exploded while driving. Just the front portion that opens up has completely shattered.

- Brookeville, MD, USA

problem #24

May 082018

Sorento

  • 72,000 miles
My Sorento made a clanging noise then the engine caught fire. The car was totalled. I was on a busy city road in cincinnati when it caught fire. It was in motion, I pulled into a parking lot before it died.

- Felicity, OH, USA

problem #23

Aug 052018

Sorento

  • 100,000 miles
Sun roof shattered

- Magnolia, TX, USA

problem #22

Jul 082018

Sorento

  • 92,000 miles
While driving on highway 50 about 20 miles from South lake Tahoe my car just stalled out while traveling at the speed of about 55 mph. Steam/smoke from coming from the front end. As I pulled over to the side of the road other motorist traveling West bound started honking and pointing to the vehicle. After stopping is when we realized the engine area was on fire. After opening the driver side door the flames shot out from under that car causing 3rd degree burns to the back calf on my left leg. The car was in totally in flames within 5 to 10 mins.

- Sacramento, CA, USA

problem #21

Jul 272018

Sorento

  • 129,000 miles

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

The break lights stopped working and the electronic stability control ESC and downhill breaking control dhc lights came on. I was alerted to the break light issue when I was stopped by a fort worth police officer. I tried to fix the problem by checking the break light bulbs (they were good), the fuses were all good. I replaced the break switch with on bought from O'reilly auto parts. It did not fix the problem. I took it to mechanic who told me that the switch was bad, so I returned that switch and changed it again but still the lights didn't work. I took it to southwest Kia in mesquite and was charge $312.95 to fix a $19.41 part: Another break switch. I found this preposterous. As I was waiting in the waiting room I looked up Kia recalls and I found that previous year model vehicles had been recalled for this issue. I believe that this is a recurring issue and that 2012 and other model years having this same issue should be included in the recall...

- Dallas, TX, USA

problem #20

Jun 092018

Sorento

  • 90,000 miles
The push button to open the gas tank door continuously has problems activating to open the door. You have to push the button several times rigoursly to engage the unlock mechanism. This has been happening for several months. I've been advised by other Sorento owners they too are having this issue.

- Port Saint Lucie, FL, USA

problem #19

Feb 022018

Sorento

  • 75,000 miles
Takata recall my transmission is making a noise when I bringing it to a stop and my tires start going to the left also it has no transmission or motor light flashing but I can feel thats theres something wrong also when I park it moves a little I have to make sure the emergency brake is on so that it wont bounce into gear and move and cause an accident.

- San Bernardino, CA, USA

problem #18

Apr 062018

Sorento

  • 78,500 miles
On 06 April 2018 at 1743, my wife was driving our 2012 Kia Sorento and the sunroof exploded. After further investigation, the vehicle's glass was spread across the top of the vehicle. No foreign object, rock or major temperature change created the accident and the vehicle was traveling at fifteen (15) miles per hour.

- E L Paso, TX, USA

problem #17

Mar 082018

Sorento

  • 94,000 miles
The paneramic sunroof shattered while driving at 60 mph on highway in very light traffic. Nothing seemed to strike the sunroof.

- Goose Creek, SC, USA

problem #16

Feb 152018

Sorento

  • 71,000 miles
While driving down an expressway at approx. 45mph, my sunroof exploded. Glass was forced down and the cover screen saved me from the debris coming into the car. There was no other traffic around me and no foreign matter found in the debris. This event was extremely frightening, and I had my mother and my daughter in the vehicle when it happened. I made a police report of the event and I have pictures of the damage.

- Grovetown, GA, USA

problem #15

Jan 242018

Sorento

  • 120,000 miles
1. a few months ago I lost power while entering the highway was nearly rear ended 2. a few months ago while driving the car on a highway or basic street it will jerk the RPM drops to 0 and won't allow you to accelerate, shut the car off turn back on its fine then randomly happens again. This is still happening. 3. about a month agowhile sitting idle in traffic the car stalled, turned the ignition off then back on and it started back up 4. yesterday I put the car in drive it does not engage right away and when it does it jerks. Now the engine light is on. I have had my car to the dealer regarding the issues and every time they say they can't diagnose it because the engine light went out and that they test drove it and nothing was wrong. This vehicle is dangerous to myself and others to drive and I'm about to contact the better business bureau if this does not get resolved. There is a recall out on the year make and model of my vehicle but not on my "specific" motor. Well in telling you there's a problem and I've read about other Kia's having the same issue.

- Pulaski, NY, USA

problem #14

Sep 162017

Sorento

  • 61,000 miles
Vehicle stalls during operation traveling around 15 mph; happens frequently on freeway and highway; happens at random; vehicle starts immediately on neutral; unsafe potential collision on major freeway and highway; children is transported in this vehicle.

- Kapolei, HI, USA

problem #13

Jun 172017

Sorento

  • 73,986 miles
Rear truck door lift gate support, tail gate support. I was cleaning out out our vehicle while stationary in our driveway with the back door open, and next thing I knew he door had slammed down on me. One of the lift gate supports gateway and blew and collapsed on top of me. I suffered from a major headache and some minor back pain. I'm grateful this was not my child who would have been hurt worse. This seems to be a safety issue.. I contacted dealership and no recall listed nor covered we had to replace and repair ourselves. We purchursed new ones and replaced today when we received them!

- Cornelius, NC, USA

problem #12

Jan 302017

Sorento

  • miles
Truck started making a knocking noise. Took it to the local dealership and to my surprised, was told that I need an engine. It was shocking because there were no signs prior to the knocking to indicate a problem. No lights on the panel lit up, no oil leaks or anything of that nature. The most appalling thing is that they quoted several prices for replacing the engine" it was nothing that I did wrong to cause this problem. In researching, I found that shavings from the engine could cause this problem. This is a manfacture defect. My husband was driving it when it finally stalled. He suffered a heart attack one year ago and is not able to pnysicall push the truck out of the way of traffic. Finally, he was able to coast it off the highway. Although it has one hundred thousand miles, it was serviced regularly and showed no signs of a problem. If there was a problem, it was not caught or it was ignored during service appointments. What options do I have" I do have a lawyer waiting to help me with this problem. I was not given information that supported the need of a new engine at the cost of $8,000 which is more than the value of the truck.

- Verona, MS, USA

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