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 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.
The engine and yes it is available for inspection The Car stalled at a red light at a busy intersection on my way to work I was afraid I was going to be hit The car is at a mechanic shop There was no warnings lights it all the sudden started tapping and then stalled and would not crank back
El mes de 01\22\2022 compre un beiculo y el primer problema que tube fue como alas dos semanas de tenerlo con migo y fue con los frenos y lo lo llebe a que lo areglaran pero el gran problema bino con el motor que se quemo cuando iba de camino a mi trabago y apenas tenia dos meses con el beiculo y en el lote cue la compre ni mis aseguransas que le puse al beiculo quieren alludarme
Last year driving on a highway, my car suddenly lost power. I was able to coast another mile onto a 2 lane roadway, then it just died*every light on panel came on & went off. I was very lucky & very scared that no one rear ended me. My car was towed to a Kia dealer where the RECALLED ENGINE was Replaced. Now here it is a year later & the Knocking noise has been reported & videoed by me to the Kia mechanics(nothing done). This past saturday(9-17-2022) we were in the car & the exact same thing happened(backed up & car was on but would not do anything Warning Lights). After sitting for a few minutes we were able to start the car (this time) & went home, called Kia mechanic and left a message. I was on my way out of town but definitely changed my mind about driving my Kia. Monday we took it to the Kia mechanic & he said it just needed something RESET ???'.... This morning knocking noise( I recorded it again) was present. It really makes you mad. Should Kia be held responsible for another ENGINE.???' I hate having a car that i'm scared to drive to far from home. ?
In our 2016 Kia the engine seized according to the mechanic at AAA. There was no warning. The car ceased operating going 45 miles per hour. It powered down with no dash light indicators to give warning and no other signs of engine failure in the middle of a merge lane leaving me stranded at the end of the merge lane at ask risk of causing a major accident. No lights came on (check engine and battery) until the car stopped working. I easily could have been rear-ended or caused a major backup on several roads in the area, putting myself or others at risk of injury or death. Per NHTSA, there is no active unrepaired recall on this vehicle. However, research indicates many Kia Sorentos of the same year were recalled. Kia has been contacted several times. Once they indicated there was no active recall on this car but could not explain why the engine seized. On a separate occasion, Kia was contacted and indicated there was a recall on the vehicle for this reason and advised that 2 separate recall notices were mailed--one in 2018 and one in 2019. Kia was again contacted and informed the vehicle was under recall, but a previous owner was listed as having the car.
- Bowling Green, VA, USA
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My wife's 2016 kia sorento only had 86,000 miles on it and is knocking bad! So it's been sitting and I've seen others recanted for the same thing. It's a rod knocking no mistaking it! Very disappointed in the service, it had the 2.4 l so I tight it would be a good motor because we had a2010 optima with the same engine and put over 100,000 miles on it. It was running perfect and then it started knocking!
The engine has been burning oil - I have to put oil in every week. No leaks are evident. Three days ago, I began hearing a loud knocking when I start the car. Took to local mechanic, he said it's the bottom end. Needs a new motor. No warning lights have come on.
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving approximately 65 MPH, the vehicle suddenly lost motive power and stalled. While inspecting under the hood of the vehicle, there was smoke, steam, and fluids coming from the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the head gasket was blown. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 51,248.
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while the vehicle was at an independent mechanic for an oil change, the mechanic informed her that the engine was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil. The engine was consuming one quart of oil every 700 miles. The contact was concerned that the vehicle might catch on fire due to the failure. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that the warranty had expired and they were unable to assist until the engine seized. The failure mileage was approximately 108,000.
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while the vehicle was getting a routine oil change, the mechanic stated that the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that cylinder #4 had failed and needed a new spark plug. Additionally, the oil pan needed to be replaced and the engine sealer needed to be replaced. The vehicle was taken for a second diagnostic test. A compressing test was performed and the contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 81,000.
Twice now the oil has completely burned out of the car. With the first incident, I went to a location and they were going to top off the oil as a courtesy while they were changing my tail light. When they went to do that, they noticed that there was no oil in the car at all. A week and a half later I checked the oil myself and it was bone dry once again. The oil light does not come on at all. When I check it is saying there is no safety recall for my car, but there absolutely needs to be. I'm afraid that my engine is going to blow and I'm going to be left without a car. I took the car to the dealership and they said that there was no recall with it. They put oil dye in the car to check it. This is unacceptable. I'm told that the oil light does not come on because The light is only designed to detect pressure and not level. That is a horrible design. There is no evidence of leak in my garage or my driveway where my car is parked all the time.
The check oil light keeps turning on then turning off. For the last 2 oil changes which are done every 3000 miles with high mileage oil the oil has been non existent. When you pull out the oil it is dry! No leaking of oil is found anywhere even though the exhaust smells of burning oil. When I took it to the dealership I was told "this was a known problem" and all I need to do is start changing my oil every 3000 miles using synthetic high mileage oil. That's not working. The light keeps coming on and off and I've only driven 1000 miles since my last oil change in July! I took it to the dealership when I threw a code that I was told was just because I ran out of oil and my car stalled. My car should not be running out of oil!
Engine seized with no warning. Kia is stating there was a recall but I never received a notice in the mail. They stated it was sent in July of 2022. Even if I did receive the recall letter, that wouldn't be enough time.
I am trying to understand how my car was running fine no issues and then it stops on the highway while I am driving in 4P rush hour traffic. The dealership gets to my car 3 1/2 weeks later I get to shortage to tell me my engine is gone when there were no warning!! Continue on my car engine going out to be told because I didn't getting a senor upgrade in 2019 when to inform me of the engine going not to fix the engine but to tell me the engine is gone I must pay close to $9000. This is unacceptable and not the fault of the consumer. There was no letter no email no call nothing to inform me. I am a single mom who lives here in Indy where public transportation is not the best and when I take care of car and service car this not fair especially when this is a known issue with this 2016 Kia Sorento. I am a single mom where transportation is not the best and this issue was not a neglect of me. I do not have an extra $9000 to fix a problem that is known with your cars. To tell a consumer that since they did not get this sensor upgrade that they must eat the cost not right at all.
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while driving approximately 55 MPH, the vehicle lost power and decelerated to 25 MPH. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact pulled off to the side of the road and turned off the vehicle and was unable to restart the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic. The independent mechanic diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the oil level had dropped to a very low level and that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 81,000.
Car recall repair for Knock Sensor failure has been done three times car now will not accelerate properly, is using excessive oil and, makes horrible engine noises. Dealer refused to inspect the vehicle after the last recall repair was done 10 days ago.
The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. The engine was burning oil at a very high rate, with no indication of a problem. We went in for an oil change and they said the oil was extremely low and we would need to replace the engine. I've reached out to the local dealership to see if there's anything else that can be done, but the engine is making a loud clicking sound now. The fuel pedal stopped working while my son was taking the car to the shop and he had to push the car off of the road. There were no indicator lights or signs of a problem prior to this issue.
There is a continuous buildup of carbon in the intake manifold system in the 2.0 engine causing stalling whenever accelerating from a stop, such as turning either way or accelerating across a road when using the power steering which uses up power while accelerating. This carbon buildup is very expensive and difficult to clean out and is very dangerous as it causes you to stall completely for a few seconds when entering traffic lanes, if it does not restart quickly, you will crash...
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Rosenberg, TX, USA