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 was traveling on the interstate, I heard a slight tapping noise, after about 5 miles, there was no warning light indicators, the car just died, I lost all power, there were no brakes, I was able to get pulled off the highway to the warning track that helped slow the vehicle down, smoke was coming from under the hood & into the cabin, then I saw flames, at about 20mph I knew I had to get out so I put it in park & it finally stopped. I had just enough time to grab my purse & suitcase out of the back & it was in engulfed in flames immediately. I had just had the car serviced 1 month prior for oil change & Anti theft recall but was advised that recall wasn't being done at this time. The engine light had came on the day before I took it in for the oil change, they reset it stating it was a CO2 sensor & if it came back on to let them know. It did not. It has been reported to my insurance& deemed total loss, I filed a claim with Kia & have not heard back, the Kia service dept. where it was taken said there was nothing they can do, that it will have to be investigated by insurance.
Vehicle was purchased used on 02-23-2023 from a dealership. One and a half months later, the temp gauge goes into the red. This was the only indication that there was an issue. The dealer found that the head gasket was blown, however upon further inspection it was discovered that the bolts were stripped inside and this was what started the problem. With no other warning other than the temp gauge, the vehicle could have seized up while driving down the highway causing a catastrophic failure and a safety hazard.
On my way home from work I heard a knocking sound coming from the engine while on the highway the vehicle slowed down at 40 miles per hour then the from end dipped then return in an upright position. The vehicle suddenly lost power the engine would not turn over. There were no warning engine lights or anything before hand to indicate there was a problem before the engine power loss. I had to pay All County Auto Body $135.78 to two vehicle off the highway and then my insurance tow transported my vehicle to Queens. Galaxy Auto completed diagnostic test and informed me the engine is no good, basically the engine seized. I reached out to KIA headquarters via email no response to the situation at hand. On 05/12/2023 received notice from KIA recall for tow hinge on vehicle. KIA did not address the engine failure on the 2016 KIA Sorentia GDI which I just finish paying off. My vehicle is parked up no monetary funds to purchase an engine or to pay for labor cost. On 5/26/2023 vehicle towed KIA dealership service area for diagnostic test and I was informed by a representative that the vehicle has life time warranty on the engine. After the diagnostic test I was informed on June 1,2023 "that I can eliminate the $2000 core charge on there however there is a $2500 installation cost on top of the parts. The power-train warranty had expired May 8th of 2020." Also, there was an engine recall on this model no one can give me a date or year of the recall. Basically, KIA is not going to honor their mistake and failed to make necessary repairs on the engine. The entire situation is terrible and KIA is not being held responsible for their negligence. Upon close review of the engine failure posted on NHTSA. gov website there are over 300 plus vehicles reported on this site with the same engine failure. what is being done to help us the consumer from being duped by manufactures who preyed on hardworking consumers who purchased vehicles that are defective?
Vehicle had a slow engine oil leak which began just after 100,000 miles and mirrored symptoms of the "oil pressure switch" defect, which was replaced under warranty pursuant to a warranty extension campaign from Kia. Following the replacement of the oil pressure switch, the vehicle continued to slowly leak oil. Kia service manager took the engine apart and stated that the threads for the head bolts were stripped from the engine block, causing an oil leak from the head gasket. During a later in-person conversation, which was lawfully recorded, the service manager stated that it was a well known and established defect which Kia is refusing to officially acknowledge, and said that he has personally replaced over fifty (50) 2016 model year 3.3L V6 engines with stripped head bolts. The only solution was to replace the engine, and Kia refused to cover any repair or replacement costs. The vehicle is available for inspection (at the dealership), and although my vehicle did not have any symptoms other than the oil leak, in other instances it commonly causes engine overheating.
- Asbury, NJ, USA
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I became the proud owner of a 2016 Kia Sorento, which I got from Jerry Smith KIA in Burlington, Washington, in February 2020. This car has received prompt service for every maintenance item at the dealership where I bought it. Other than the expected wear and tear, I have never experienced any unneeded problems with the car. It's driven 143,928 miles. I had no warning what so ever that there was an issue with the motor. I had the car inspected and had the regular oil changed on April 20th, 2023, and everything was fine. On April 22, 2023, I drove the Kia while out to dinner with my daughter and her friends. On the way home, however, after dropping the girls off, the car cut out and died, but I was still able to make it to the side of the road. The engine knocked like a rod and wouldn't stay turned over for more than ten seconds when I tried to start the car again. All the dash lights lit up and engine sounded like a rattle can. I had the car towed the following morning to the dealership where I have it serviced. After a week, they were able to identify the problem. It appears that the engine's bearings failed. They estimated that a replacement engine would cost $18,000. The vehicle has a negative equity of $13,000, which is too high for me to trade in. Spending that much money on it is not worthwhile. It is currently yard art in my driveway. Despite my attempts to rectify the situation, I am still left with a sense of dissatisfaction and regret over this purchase. It's a lesson learned, but one that comes at a steep cost. After doing some extensive research I have found numerous owners of the same type of vehicle have similar issues.
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle overheated. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who informed the contact that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 143,000.
This is the second very similar incident with the engine of this vehicle. On Monday, May 29, 2023, the engine failed at a stop light in Fort Wayne Indiana. A few miles before it failed, it suddenly got very noisy and wouldn-??t go over about 15 mph. It wouldn-??t really react to the accelerator pedal. At the stop light it just quit at a major intersection leaving me stranded in the middle of the road. It has been towed to the Kia dealer in Fort Wayne. They have not diagnosed the problem yet but I have read many reports on line and my experience was similar: vehicular just quit, engine lost oil, accelerator pedal not responsive, and loud ticking sound. I-??m afraid the repair will be thousands of dollars and I-??m a senior citizen on Social Security. This is a second incident. On October 20, 2022, my daughter in law drove my car to IU Health Hospital in Indianapolis to visit me in the hospital (major surgery). In an hour and a half she used a full tank of gas and 3 quarts of oil -?" the car slowed to 40 mph, accelerator pedal didn-??t work and she was on Route 69 a 4 lane major highway and was very scared. She pulled off at the next exit. The car had to be towed from Indianapolis to Fort Wayne. My mechanic worked on it, got it running ok but it had a major oil leak. I was recovering from my surgery so drove it little. I now find out that the engine in my car has major problems just like what I have experienced and that Kia is refusing to fix them unless people pay in excess of $6000. This is a safety issue!!!! Having the car fail and just quit while on local or interstate roads leads to accidents and injuries. This engine needs to be recalled. Kia knows it and has settled claims out of court so they don-??t have to admit responsibility. This is a serious safety hazard. The recent date of May 29, 2023 is provided but the previous date this happened is October 20, 2022. So there were two incidents.
It has 120,000 miles on it. No warning lights. No -??low oil-?? light or anything. My ex-husband hooked up a code reader to it and no codes were being given. It-??s currently sitting at dealership, I still owe $3500 on the car and I can-??t drive it. Will cost more to put an engine in then to pay off of my car. The dealership can-??t look at it for another week. I have no means of another car. And Kia says they can-??t do anything.
My vehicle is still leaking oil bad after paying over $700 to get the oil pressure switch and gasket replaced on March 1, 2023. I was promised a reimbursement of my funds spent to fix the issue and have not heard back for over a month nor have they addressed the issue with the vehicle still leaking badly. As others are having the same issue it is not fair to us costumers we are left with a defective vehicle. I have small children and this is my only vehicle which is not safe to operate. I need help just like the others who are being ignored. I have included the estimate of the other issue as well.
My 2016 kie Sorento use oil I can only go 2000 miles and haveto add oil too it dealer does oils chages and say im good for 600O miles is there a solition too this issue
On my way home from work I heard a knocking sound coming from the engine while on the highway the vehicle slowed down at 40 miles per hour then the from end dipped then return in an upright position. The vehicle suddenly lost power the engine would not turn over. There were no warning engine lights or anything before hand to indicate there was a problem before the engine power loss. I had to pay the highway tow truck to get me off he highway and then my insurance tow transported my vehicle to Queens. Galaxy Auto completed diagnostic test and informed me the engine is no good, basically the engine seized. I reached out to KIA headquarters via email no response to the situation at hand. On 05/12/2023 received notice from KIA recall for tow hinge on vehicle. KIA did not address the engine failure on the 2016 KIA Sorentia GDI which I just finish paying off. My vehicle is parked up no monetary funds to purchase an engine or to pay for labor cost. Not having a vehicle is causing undue hardship for me and my children. Getting to work and my doctors appointment for chemo treatments is financially difficulty. It is a shame that KIA is allowed to duped consumers and put our lives at risk for profit without any consequences. I would never purchase another KIA vehicle and I warned my friends and family to stay away from KIA brands. Shame on you KIA. Shame on you KIA.
Engine locks up (blown) with no check engine light warning lights of any kid while driving down the highway I have read this over 1,000 time on the internet from different sorento owners this needs to be recalled I could have been hit by a semi this is a manufacturer defect
While driving on Souther State Parkway on 04/23/2023 I heard a knocking sound coming from the engine. The Vehicle suddenly slowed down while in motion front end dipped then returned to original position. The knocking sound got louder I signaled exit the highway vehicle loss power on the ramp. Tow truck called to tow vehicle. Mechanic shop informed me vehicle engine is no good the engine seized up and malfunctioned. This vehicle almost killed me on the highway. It's very sad that KIA is not being held responsible for these defective vehicles. I need KIA to pay for engine replacement and labor cost. As a healthcare worker I cannot afford to purchase another vehicle. I just finish paying off the car note on this vehicle. 2016 Kia Sorento.
While driving with my family of 4 on the interstate the cars engine stopped running without warning. All the dashboard lights illuminated and the car quit running. This almost caused me to lose control of the car and cause a major accident with injury and possible loss of life. This was a traumatic event for me and my family. The car was towed to the shop and we were told that the motor blew and it-??s $15K to replace it. I also just found out that KIA issued a service bulletin to modify the computer so that the engine goes to limp mode and does not just blow up. Had there been something on a carfax or a notification to other shops this traumatic event would not have happened. There should be a safety recall and not just a bulletin only known to KIA dealers on all of these motors. This car was serviced regularly outside of KIA dealership and oil was just changed about 1 weak ago. KIA has refused to cover the repairs. We never got notification of the bulletin.
Started Tuesday, April 25, 2023. Went to head out to take kids to school and go to work but wouldn-??t accelerate much over 20mph. No indicators came on or anything. I turned around and went back home. Friday, we got a dealership to look at it and they said it was burning oil and smoking a little. Didn-??t drive it any where outside of those times. Monday called the dealer that looked at it on Friday and they told us to bring it up there and they would look at it to try and figure out the problem. Drove about 10 minutes and everything shut off. Pulled over, tried to crank, and indicators came on-battery/flashing engine/car with key, and heard rattling then quickly shut it off. Dealer said motor is done.
111k mile car engine has had oil changed how it's suppose to going down the road an engine just lost power an now knocking from rod bairings almost causing a wreck on the highway
I was backing up a residential driveway. My backup camera showed my wheels were in line. My steering wheel turned and my car had a sudden unintended acceleration. My car destroyed a double steel garage door. Pushed a parked vehicle forward approximately 10-12-??. The vehicle crushed a riding lawn mower, pushing the mower through a sheet rock wall. If anyone had been in this area of the garage, they could have possibly suffered serious injury or even fatality. I am trying to arrange to have my vehicle taken to local Kia dealership for diagnostic testing. At this time, the vehicle has not been inspected. There were no warning signs that appeared and I did not hear my backup camera alert.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Chapel Hill, TN, USA