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.
Would not shift out of park Dealership repair cost $1000 - told -??not part of transmission so not under the warranty -?? - now reading online and on recall site lever and linkage column shift issue but now dealership says -??not the same-?? but reading lots of Kia owners reporting same problem? Should be a recall!!
Car started to make a knocking noise especially when accelerating, however no lights on dash indicated anything was wrong. Car started fluttering and engine died. Started the car again, more knocking and fluttering before the engine died. Pulled over and checked oil. It was low so had someone bring me oil. Put in 3.5 quarts and got the car started again. The car was still making the knocking sound but was able to drive.5 mile to the closest mechanic. They said it is a serious engine problem from the sounds of it and instructed me not to drive it but to get it towed to the dealer.
Car started to make a knocking noise, however no lights on dash indicated anything was wrong. Checked oil and the oil was low, had to add 4 quarts of oil, checked for leaks and nothing was leaking. Two weeks later noticed the car was driving a little different, checked oil and had to add two more quarts of oil.
Twice now my 2016 Kia GDI has had the same problem as many others. I had my oil changes made and they said there was no oil in the car. the oil light never came on. I am afraid to drive my car. Has there been a recall on this. or for a engine recall. My car is under warranty.
i was merging into traffic on the expressway and when i stepped on the gas the vehicle wouldnt accelerate and died on me, i was able to coast to the side of the expressway, the vehicle sputtered when i attemted to restart, and when i put in drive it died. once it was towed home, i was able to start it and back it up to the garage like 3 feet. but it was sputtering and shaking. this vehicle was purchased used, and the dealership replaced the headgasket approximately 3 months ago. i purchased it 4 months ago. now i'm having problems again and don't know how i'm going to fix this on going problem.
- Milwaukee, WI, USA
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We bought our vehicle in April of 2020. In July 2020 our car broke down and Kia replaced the engine due to a recall that caused the engine to fail. We continued to get our oil changed per the recommended miles. In August of 2022, our turbo failed. We brought it into the dealership and were advised that the engine was bone dry of oil. There has been no oil leaks, nor was our oil light on. After some research we discovered despite this being a common issue with this motor that there is not a recall. Our turbo was replaced and now our entire engine of only two years old needs to be replaced again.
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving at less than 10 MPH, the vehicle accelerated unintendedly without warning. The contact was able to shift into neutral (N), which stopped the unintended acceleration and caused the vehicle to operate as needed. The vehicle was taken to an unknown dealer who informed the contact that they could not duplicate the failure as the vehicle had operated as designed. Additionally, the contact stated that while driving at 65 MPH, the failure reoccurred without warning. The contact stated that the vehicle accelerated unintendedly at a higher speed. The contact depressed the brake pedal and pressed the ON/OFF button, however, the vehicle failed to respond. The contact then drove into a vacant parking lot and shifted into neutral (N), which stopped the acceleration. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred while taking the vehicle back to the unknown dealer. Upon arriving at the dealer, the contact informed the dealer that he no longer wanted possession of the vehicle as it was unsafe to drive. The dealer provided the contact with a rental vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact sent a letter to the manufacturer informing them of the failure, but the contact had not yet received a response. The contact stated that the whereabouts of the vehicle were unknown. The failure mileage was 27,093. Manufacturer Safety Recall Campaign issued. NHTSA #22V703 Recall #SC249B SC249B TOW HITCH (REMEDY NOT AVAILABLE) Status: Remedy Not Yet Available
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, his wife was unable to shift into drive (D) as the gear shifter remained stuck in park (P). The contact's wife used a screwdriver to depress a button as instructed by an online tutorial. The contact's wife was then able to shift into drive (D) and continued driving; however, the failure reoccurred whenever the vehicle was parked. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that they could not be repair the vehicle under NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V612000 (Power Train) as the VIN was not included due to the manufacturing date of the vehicle. The failure mileage was approximately 55,000.
I have a 2016 Kia Sorento that was purchased Certified Pre-Owned on 5/18/2022. On 9/16/2022, I was driving the car at approximately 50 MPH when the care began to lose significant power. The car completely lost power making it hard to drive and adjust steering. I was able to safely pull over; however, being stranded in the dark as a woman is not safe, and I feel had another car been in front of or near me, I could have easily crashed. At that time, the car would not restart, and I noticed when I tried to start the car, smoke coming from under the hood. I sat for about 30 minutes, tried to start the car again, the car would not start. Prior to the car shutting down, there was no warning. The engine light has never been on in the car. What I did notice is the engine light flashed just before it went into this coasting mode. So, whatever was happening, happened without any warning at all. I had the car towed to my home. The tow driver parked the vehicle in a spot where I do not park; I noticed upon inspection oil had puddled on the ground. The car has never had or shown any previous leaks. I park in the same spot daily and have never seen a leak. Since having the car towed into the dealer, I have learned from Kia, the engine locked up; however, they have not been able to determine the cause as of yet. What they have shared with me is that they ran the diagnostic on the vehicle and confirmed that oil was everywhere (as I reported). They stated although the oil was dirty, the oil was full in the engine. They have confirmed the engine is locked but stated any claim with Kia against the Theta II Settlement Claim was denied because the KSDS had not been upgraded. When I asked how would I have known the car needed this recall because my car's VIN does not produce any recall notices on neither the KIA site nor NHTSA, I was told Honda (the Seller) should have performed the update before selling the car to me. So currently I am looking at $8K-$12K in repairs.
My 2016 Kia Sorrento is burning oil, about 1 quart every 300 miles. It only has 64,000 miles on it. We have the oil changed every 3000 miles and last time it was black and sludge like. This is not acceptable and called the dealership and they suggest paying $700 to do a carbon test. Not paying that when the car has a warranty still!!!! This issue needs to fixed!!! We have dealing with this for months!! Also the lights on dashboard flicker once in a while.
I was driving on the highway going 70 mph when my 2016 Kia Sorento 3.3L lost power and could not accelerate. I had to navigate to the side of the highway carefully and got my car towed to the closest Kia Dealership. Upon their investigation, it was a blown head gasket that required the whole engine to be replaced. I am the 2nd owner of the car and bought the car in late 2019 with 45, XXX miles on it and it currently only has 66, XXX miles. I was not covered under warranty as it expires once you pass 60,000k miles. Estimation from Kia would cost close to $10K with a new engine/labor. Contacted Kia Consumer to see if they can help and was denied. Now stuck with a dead car trying to figure out what I can do.
-I was driving my vehicle in a parking lot, stopped at the stop sign to let a car pass and hit the gas pedal and the car did not move. - My concern is what could have happened if the transmission died while I was driving. -The problem has been confirmed by the dealer that the transmission needs to be replaced. The car has less than 31,000 miles on it. I am a 2nd owner, and I only put 7,000 miles on it in 3 years but it was out of warranty. KIA even denied a Good Will replacement. - There were not any warning signs, message or symptoms. Unfortunately I have to pay $3200 to have it replaced and I spoke to KIA and they said that there was nothing they could do. It seems strange that a vehicle with less than 31,000 miles would have a transmission just die without any warnings.
Vehicle has always been serviced through KIA service center so upon taking the vehicle into service for a sudden severe oil leak repair and to service the water pump as fluid was not circulating through the radiator, and while all the services were done they found the vehicle still over heating so they did a compression/block test and found blown head gaskets. As stated on the invoice of the service done : Vehicle Needs Engine Replacement. I paid for Labor and Parts for Services done for a total of $1539.49 and had to tow the vehicle from the KIA service center back to my residence Inoperable. It should be noted after this event I have research that the KIA 3.3L v6 engine has had this same occurrence for many KIA owners with this engine. They also have filed complaints, with no recalls from KIA on this defective engine. In all this stated above, there were no indicator lights or engine light indicating any problems with any of these situations, only my own visual inspections that noticed the sudden severe oil leak and coolant/heating problem that I brought the vehicle in for service.
I was sold a 2016 Kia Sorento, VIN# [XXX], by salesman [XXX] and [XXX] from " Ride 4U Level up auto sales located at 5599 34th street north, Saint Petersburg FL 33714. Upon Purchase, I took the car to get an oil change and have been consistent with top offs every other week at the local Jiffy Lube. On December 15, 2021, I Was on the interstate with my kids in the vehicle. Out of nowhere, no ignition warnings or alerts, Stopped. I noticed I was pushing the gas but the car wasn't accelerating. Scared beyond measure with my kids in the car ranging from ages 16 to 11 months old, I panicked but got us over to the median lane. Once the car came to a complete stop, I called a tow company. Once they arrived, they checked the car for any codes, which showed nothing. I called [XXX], and he apologized and told me to have it towed back to them and it would be looked at the next day. Kia manufacturers have serviced and said the engine blew due to the dealership not getting a recall serviced before selling me the car. I only had this vehicle up and running for three months due to Ride 4u/ Level up failure to get Manufacturer recall did before putting me in my innocent kids in a faulty vehicle that could have been demolished by a semi truck on the interstate on December 15 when it gave out on a busy highway during high traffic hours. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
Car uses oil frequently, even after I get an oil change. The oil light does not come on when oil is low. It is low before my oil changes. On 1/22/22 my check engine light is on and it says P303 with cylinder 3. Replaced the coil and the check engine light is still on. The engine is sputtering and it takes 2-3 times to start. This started all of a sudden. It is frustrating because I took it to a Kia dealership last year and told them the problem. They told me it was a recall but it was only for up to 100,000. So they only put oil in it and basically sent me my way. So there are two issues going on and It doesn't matter the mileage because several Kias are having identical issues.
The car was well maintained and oil was full but the engine started knocking over a short period and then came to a stop when switched to reverse. It can be turned off and on but the sound would continue. The gear shift and the steering would lock.
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that the gear shifter would not shift out of PARK. The contact had to use a screwdriver to override the gear shifter. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the diagnosis was unknown. The vehicle was not repaired and remained at the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 75,000. The VIN was unavailable.
I was driving my vehicle up a hill. I accelerator a little. The car picked up speed then my oil light flickered and then stayed steady, along with the battery indicator. At this point my engine shut down and the car began to slow down. I came up on a side street that I turned into, because at this point the car was slowing down and loosing power and the breaks were not functioning, I would have either stalled and rolled backwards, or myself and my child would have been rear-ended. All the lights still work and everything come on, so I know its not the battery. My oil light flickered a little when I went around a turn a few times prior to this day, but never steady. No other indicator lights came on. The car is at my mechanics, who advises me the engine has seized and the vehicle has no oil. My last oil change was 3.5 months ago and according to the counter I'm only 99 miles over, which should not have caused this. Even though I was told I had up to 4,000 miles before I needed an oil change again. All of my fluids were checked at this appointment and this is the first major issue with my vehicle.
Shifter cannot be moved out of PARK without pushing down on the SHIFT LOCK RELEASE. I must do this every time I want to go forward or backward. A reliable service center informed me this is a frequent problem with the 2016 Kia Sorento and he suggested a recall may be forthcoming. Owners manual states that when using the RELEASE, depress the brake pedal so vehicles does not lurch forward or back. The additional step to move the car may be hazardous when attempting to get out of the way. Service center isolated the problem to Body Control Module which is expensive and OEM only. This happened without warning when I parked briefly in the road adjacent to a friend's driveway. I blocked the road until I discovered how to use the RELEASE button.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Waynesburg, KY, USA