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.
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact pulled over and turned off the vehicle. The vehicle was later restarted; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was towed to the residence and then to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and confirmed that the Knock Sensor Detection System (KSDS) software was not installed. The contact stated that she had not received notification for the Knock Sensor Detection System (KSDS). The failure mileage was 100,575.
Car is overheating, mechanic stated head gasket bolts are stripped and it's a defect in these Kia Sorento 3.3L V6 engines. I am the 2nd owner even though it was purchased in the same year it became available (2016). On November 14th, 2023 it will be 7 years old, with 110,000 miles. It's regularly serviced with no issues until the overheating which started on April 22, 2023. My portfolio warranty ended on 100,000 miles. There are hundreds of complaints on various websites with this exact issue. Please help me as I'm a disabled retiree on a fixed income pension and cannot afford $7,000 to replace the engine.
This 2016 Kia Sorento is burning a LOT of oil. Every month we are adding 4 quarts of oil. The oil light is not coming on to indicate that the oil is low. Because of the oil burning, it's causing things to get dirty and clogged. We've had to replace plugs and coils twice already and we are experiencing the same problem again now. The car is having (and previously had) trouble accelerating and runs rough (happened in both prior incidents as well). The problem accelerating can be put us in danger, potentially other vehicles hitting us, in heavy traffic situations, when making turns etc.
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power and overheated. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that the head bolts had a gap between the head gasket and the engine block. The mechanic recommended an engine replacement. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and informed the contact that the vehicle was not covered under recall or warranty. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that there was an abnormal knocking sound from the engine while the vehicle was idling and upon depressing the accelerator pedal. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was initially taken to an independent mechanic where the contact was informed that the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil, resulting in engine damage. The dealer and the manufacturer were notified of the failure and the contact was informed that the vehicle was not covered under recall or warranty. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 137,000.
- Worcester, MA, USA
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While driving on i95 the car suddenly stopped without warning. After getting the car towed twice, to find out the engine seized up after a mechanic took a look at it.
Rod bearings failed while driving down busy road had to immediately pull over. Car was just recently serviced. Even after engine failed the check engine light never came on which is highly unsafe!
In 2020 Kia replaced the engine on our 2016 Sorento. The new engine is doing the same thing with regards to oil consumption and causing us to repeatedly have to put oil in the vehicle at almost every fuel stop. There are no obvious oil leaks observed by us or Kia, we are also experiencing error code 0420 on the vehicle as often as 2-3 times a week. The dealership states that the engine replaced in 2020 only had a 1 year, 12000 mile warranty on it and it is no longer covered. The check engine light was unable to be diagnosed by the dealership despite being illuminated when taken to the dealer. We believe the engine oil leak and 0420 code are related as there are no other codes being shown on the vehicle.
I was driving the car when I suddenly smelled coolant. No warning lights came on and the temperature gauge was in the normal range when I first smelled coolant. Then, steam began to come through my vents. This is when the temperature gauge began to rise. I drove the car to get it to a safe place before shutting it off. I had it towed to a service center to get the problems diagnosed. The service center told me the engine and cooling system would need to be replaced. I can provide the diagnostic assessment. This could have been extremely dangerous if the problem occurred on the highway, as I fear the engine could have caught fire. I was blessed that this happened on a city street. There was a very sudden loss of coolant, and the inspection revealed metal shavings in the oil. I have had this vehicle regularly maintained and checked the oil myself to keep it at the proper level. None of my prior service visits noted any presence of metal in the oil.
The engine was built with a known defect. The bolts securing the head to block were all fine thread bolts. Fine thread bolts will strip out under torque and compression. The antifreeze will flood the compartment.
The engine was going through over 5 quarts of oil about once a month. There were no visible leaks. For months, there was no check engine light illuminated so the dealership couldn't help determine and fix the problem without charging over $10,000 to open the engine, which I couldn't afford. A Service Advisor, in their words, told me to, "Run it until it dies, " so that they can start using the warranty. This to me was very unsafe, especially for my infant who was there when she said this. Months later, the car started shaking intensely and the check engine light finally came on. The car stopped working in the middle of the freeway but I was able to exit and take it to the nearest dealership. They were able to run a diagnosis and said it was an engine misfire and they replaced it (I was able to use my warranty for some of the repairs but still had to pay about $4000). It didn't take long for the car to stop working again. They then said there was a problem with the fuel pump so I had them replace it. I had barely just left the dealership when the car stopped working again. They replaced the catalytic converter, which was a part of a voluntary recall. For months after, they've been trying to figure out the issue with no success. It has been sitting at their service center since November 2022 with no solution.
Most recently the engine burned up the oil prior to my next service date. After oil was added and the engine drove fine. The next day the engine ran fine and after driving through an intersection 1/2 mile from my house the car died. It lost complete power, putting myself and my family in danger. (Thank God we were able to get off to the side of the busy roadway safely). At that moment, a battery light came on first, then an oil and engine light illuminated at the same time. The car wouldn-??t start and had to be towed off the side of the road. The mechanic that looked at it said it needed an engine. Due to lack of maintenance records, the extended warranty company chose to deny my claim. The dealer has my car and will do a diagnostic test. About a year ago I had the transmission looked at for hard shifting into first and the dealer said it needed a flush. The problem continued not too long after they flushed it. It only happens if you release the brake and push to start too quickly and put in gear too quickly. No recalls I-??m being told for that issue as well. ZERO indicators on dash prior to any issues happening that would have given me the opportunity to maintenance/service my vehicle before resulting in engine failure and potentially costing my thousands I don-??t have. I love my Kia and want my baby back in great working order but I-??m afraid I won-??t be able to have her back if the repairs are more expensive than the cars worth. I-??m still financing this vehicle as well. Please KIA/Hyundai I need your grace and good faith to repair my vehicle under warranty.
At an intersection, the vehicle-??s engine died unexpectedly without warning. No lights or alarms. The vehicle would not start. Once towed to the repair shop, I was told that the engine had seized and that the engine would need to be replaced at a huge cost. The vehicle had only been driven 1500 miles since last oil change. No oil light or check engine light ever went on.
Excessive oil consumption. Less than 3,000 miles between changes, consuming roughly 2 quarts less than 3,000 miles. Up on reading others having same engine experiencing same problems. My car serviced religiously. Still runs, now going to dealer.
While daughter driving home on interstate, Sorento started losing power and slowing down, no warning lights turned on. She pulled off interstate when she noticed it was missing and cut the car off. When trying to start the vehicle again, engine light came on, but the car was missing so bad, we had it towed home. Next day had it towed to auto repair, was told it was losing compression in one and two cylinder and coming out tailpipe. The oil was checked and good and the vehicle did not have any warning lamps, even when it failed her on interstate. The vehicle never register or run hot. No lights came on until after pulled over and turned off and then on again. Had the knock sensor installed for recall when received in mail and it was updated. Vehicle has not been repaired because I can't find anyone that will work on a Kia! Making payments & Insurance on a car that cannot drive.
I was driving down the road and heard a grinding noise from engine. I pulled over to check under the hood for fluid leaks or check engine lights which everything checked out good temp gauges and everything giving normal readings. I then proceeded to keep traveling my route and about 5 minutes in I was loosing power and my car wasn't accelerating any more. I contacted the dealership I received my car from letting them know of these problems and informed them of a recall that was in affect a couple years back and also about the recent one I then asked if they fixed this problem or had any Knowledge of these defects which they stated it's not on them I have to take it up with the manufacturer even though I wasn't informed of these problems before my vehicle purchase. I then contacted the manufacturer and let them know of the troubles and got them in contact with the mechanic that was in charge of my diagnostic at the time and they did an investigation and turned out the recall caused this problem but since the problem already occurred they can't help me with repairs. This shouldn't be on me when they sold me a faulty vehicle without disclosing the recalls that needed attention which in return could've cost me or someone's life that day.
My engine stalled while Driving, There was no warning it just cut off. The car would not turn over to start only a click. I held the key in the start position it started, the engine shook and it cut off immediately. What is wrong with my car "??" The oil is good, the coolant is good etc.
My vehicle abruptly went into catastrophic engine failure 01/03/23. After diagnostics run by both a third party repair shop and a Kia dealership, we were informed that a knock sensor failure had led to the lack check engine light as the problem was evolving. This knock sensor is a known defect in Kia's product and has previously been labeled a "product improvement" issue. I was not notified of this product improvement recommendation and could therefore not reconcile it. I contacted Kia directly who state a letter was sent in December 2018 and June 2019; these communications were absolutely never received. This issue directly led to a serious safety event of the vehicle and therefore for my family. As a "product improvement" this known defect is not searchable through the NHTSA or Kia website for consumers awareness. This issue needs to be escalated to a product safety recall to prevent further serious safety events
The motor oil is disappearing at a rapid rate and I have to fill up the engine oil every week because they just disappear. A few weeks ago my vehicle started jumping while on park and when I took it to the mechanic he said the oil is leaking out to the coils and there were several misfires. It cost me over $200 to repair it and I am still filling up the engine oil every week. This issue is showing up in other similar models as well.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Louisburg, NC, USA