My 2016 Kia Sorento shifter got stuck in park and the only way to release it was to use shift release, then about 15 minutes later my car completely died driving down the road...

After 3 weeks of trying to figure out what it is, my mechanic thinks it is engine failure... Kia won't do anything because apparently the NO KNOCK sensor was never installed.

How do you sell these piece of s*** vehicle for SOOOOO much money just to have them die before 60,000 miles??? They pride themselves on dependability - Yah, right... never again will I buy a Kia!!!

I purchased a 2016 Kia in May 2017 as a certified preowned vehicle with an extended warranty. For the entire time I had the car performed remarkably. But at the end of May in 2021 the car all of a sudden started running hot. I had a tow to the dealership and they thought it might be a thermostat. The check engine light never ever came on. All of my services were performed in a timely manner at the dealership where it was purchased. I was informed that the engine had a manufacturing defect which caused Baltz to back out of the block which ended up messing up the head gasket. The only way to repair the situation was to install a new engine. I was astonished.

The car had 116,000 miles on it and it was just out of warranty. The manufacturer would not cover it even though I spent more money on an extended warranty. The only engine available was a remanufactured engine. I’m not even sure if this engine is made anymore. The dealership that replaced my engine said that he was replacing an average of seven engines per week and that it was a manufacturing defect that Kia knows about and is not addressing. They handle the issues relating to the four-cylinder engines but they are doing nothing relating to the six-cylinder engines. Again, the service manager at the dealership informed me that Kia knows that there’s a problem and they are refusing to address it or pay for the repairs. I have finally received word that my engine finally came in and was installed.

The dealerships have been so backed up regarding repairs that I had to tow my car almost 70 miles away from my home to get fixed. It took almost 6 months to get a new engine. I have filed complaints with the federal government, with Kia, and I had a person even escalate my issue so that I could get my car fixed but even with all of that the manufacturer will not cover the repair because it’s out of warranty. All of these engines are garbage on the used car market because as my service manager indicated, they will all fail between 100,000 and 120,000 miles. And even after replacing the engine the only warranty I will receive is 12 months and 12,000 miles.

Again, Kia knows that it has a problem and is not going to address it. Their service managers and all of the people I spoke to acknowledge that there is a problem. If they do not cover or reimburse me I am going to sue them for all that I have lost in this deal. And everyone else who has the same problem should too.

There was absolutely no warning about this defect. It was described to me that the manufacturing process for some of these engines would lead to bolts in the block shearing off and backing out causing the exhaust and cooling system to converge and ruin the engine making it unrepairable. The cost of the full repair is $6700, not to mention the fact that I have had to have numerous car rentals and I had to go out and buy another car because it took so long to repair my automobile.

Update from Nov 14, 2022: I ended up having to pay $6850 for a remanufactured engine. I received absolutely no help from Kia although the dealership did go out of his way to do its very best to get me assistance. When I actually spoke to a Kia representative, a conversation I recorded, they were actually very aggressive and snippy and saying essentially that while I bought a preowned vehicle “they are only in the business of selling new cars“ and that my pre-owned certified warranty was simply just an insurance policy and that they had nothing to do with it. It was a completely unsatisfying experience. But I ended up having a good relationship with a new dealer and should I ever buy another Kia I will buy it from them because they have a lifetime warranty which is beyond the manufacturers warranty. The dealership where I originally purchased it was horrible and I would never return. But I will drive almost 60 miles outside of the city to give my business to someone else now.

But the down and dirty version of the story is that buying a used Kia from a Kia dealership is no better than buying it from someone off the street. Buy a new one to get a full warranty and if you can buy it from a dealership that offers a lifetime warranty, I would go with that. Unless the transmission fails or something else goes wrong I expect to drive the wheels off of this one.

While driving on the highway at posted limit, we heard pop and then rpm's dropped to zero and engine shut down and would not restart. Had vehicle towed to local Kia dealer in North Aurora, IL who told me after inspection a spark plug had imploded and cracked a hole in the #4 cylinder exhaust valve. I was told head can be sent to a local machine shop to be checked and machined in addition to replacing valve and checking seals. Current estimate is in the ballpark of $6,500 so far and still waiting on corporate to decide on coverage.

The case was reported to Kia dealer and corporate in November of 2020 of excessive oil burning and was told it was an acceptable amount according to their specs and to monitor and top off oil when needed. No repair or solution given and corporate denied any help. Dealer suggested a fuel force carbon build up cleaner at a cost of $550 which corporate also denied covering, but would not correct problem, just a temporary issue minimizer. In January 2022 it was reported to Kia dealer and Kia corporate oil burning issue has gotten much worse and burning one quart of oil after every fuel fill up, approximately every 400 miles. New case has been opened with Kia corporate and am anxiously waiting for them to respond and stand behind their product and cover engine repair.

Truly in awe! I have to replace an engine of a car, that never gave a single warning sign until it would not accelerate after giving it gas and a quick blinking engine light appeared. There was no check oil sign, nothing!! Now in order to get my car back on the road, I have to replace the engine. I have only had this car for 6 years!! I have previously owned cars for over 13 years, never having engine problems. I will admit there were times that I replaced oil at 4500 miles, but come on!! Engine Failure! With NO warning!! I hope this next engine replacement gets me at least 3 more years. It is a used with 54,000 miles. I will NEVER purchase another Kia again!

My wife’s heat started to not work. Then the temperate gauge started to go up. Long story short, my mechanic got the car and found a blown head gasket. Thinking it was under warranty, I had it towed to Crowley Kia. The service department told me that they have seen this issue before. Looks like the head bolts stripped from the block. Needs a new engine.

I bought an extended limited lifetime warranty at Premier Kia in Branford when I bought the car. Crowley Kia contacted them. They wanted a complete Teardown of engine to determine the cause of failure. Cost to do this is 1500 at my expense to only be paid by warranty if it is something that was covered. Well guess what, I had them do it, only to find that the cause of failure is caused by the stripping head bolts which is not a lubricated component of the engine.

Crowley gave me a price of 8900 to put in an engine on top of the teardown cost. $10400 to fix my car for stripped head bolts that this mechanic has seen before. They told me it was a manufacturing issue. I decided to do some research by calling 7 different Kia service departments in CT, all of which have seen this exact issue on my particular engine multiple times! Contacted Kia Consumer affairs, who denied any help. Says it’s not under warranty, there are no recalls... and anything that anyone has told me is hearsay. Funny thing is, I read this exact complaint on this blog and they live in the same town as me!!!! So frustrated!

My family was driving from Washington state to Texas 8 month ago, her engine lost a cylinder on top of mountain with 3 kids in car, towed vehicle to closest Kia in Spokane Washington. KIA WOULD NOT COVER THE ENGINE FAILURE, AND AFTER REVIEWING OIL RECORDS, MY WARRANTY DECIDED TO COVER A VALVE REPLACEMENT. I drove back up to Spokane to pick up car after 2 months of fighting with them, and on my way back down the car broke down again. I took it to a Kia in Idaho, Poccatello, and they replaced the oil drain plug, and finally made it home with having to dump oil in every 100 miles.

I took it to a Kia here in Texas and they found that the craftsmanship previously done on it was complete garbage, NOTHING THEY COULD DO FOR ME AT THIS TIME EVEN THOUGH I WAS STILL UNDER WARRANTY. J&M WARRANTY ARE THE ABSOLUTE WORST - DO NOT EVER BUY A KIA WARRANTY OR USE J&M WARRANTY SERVICES. FAST FORWARD 8 MONTHS, AND IWENT ON A TRIP TO NORTH DAKOTA. I CHANGED OIL PRIOR TO LEAVING, AND ON OUR WAY BACK DOWN THE ENGINE BLEW AGAIN... CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT?! AND KIA IS STILL AUTHORIZED TO BE A CAR MANUFACTURER.

I'M NOW OUT OF THAT GARBAGE WARRANTY AND COMPLETELY ON MY OWN FOR REPAIRS. THE CAR IS SITTING UP NORTH AND IT'S GONNA COST ME OVER 7K TO GET IT HOME AND NEW MOTOR INSTALLED. I WILL NEVER IN MY LIFE BUY ANOTHER KIA VEHICLE, AND I WILL ALSO TELL EVERYONE I COME ACROSS AT A DEALERSHIP TO AVOID THIS MANUFACTURER, THE WORST COMPANY I HAVE EVER DEALT WITH,

On July 11th, 2016 I took a trip to VA to see my mother, and when I came back on Monday 13, the car felt sluggish. Checked the oil, it was clean and full, my oil change wasn't due yet. I was scheduled to take another trip to VA the following Saturday to visit my grandson before he went into the military. We left home at 6:30 am, got to Maryland, about 51 miles away from home, and started hearing a noise. I looked into my rear view and saw white smoke. I pulled onto the shoulder and the car shut off. After calling my husband to come and get me, we had the car towed to the nearest Firestone. The guy there told me "Your engine is toast, there is a giant hole in your engine and there is no more oil in the tank, and the pistons had come through and you need a new engine". I called a Kia dealership, they told me that my car should be ok, and that my engine was covered for a lifetime. I am taking the Kia to the dealer and will let you know what happened.

First hint of trouble was a tendency of the engine to overheat, but thought that was solved by adding additional coolant. However, the V6 needed a new fuel injector, which was covered by extended warranty. However, after that, the engine continued to overheat so took it to Jerry Seiner KIA in Salt Lake. Diagnosis was hot exhaust leaking into the cooling system. They then stripped the engine out only to find that the engine was completely kaput and had to be replaced with a new one from Korea.

So far, the repair has taken >2 weeks (mainly waiting for parts) but threw a spanner into our spring break travel plans. I expect that the engine replacement should be covered by the 10 year/100K drive-train warranty. Any additional costs should be covered by the extended warranty that we purchased. Not sure whether to keep or offload this car once it is fixed. Have doubts about its future reliability even with the 10 year/100K drive-train and the extended warranty as a back-up.

Engine caught fire while my son was driving home. Routine oil changes performed, with no warning lights prior. Car stalled, lights illuminated and engine caught fire. Towed eventually to Kia, complaint filed with Kia Consumer. Contact at Kia consumer requested pictures to send to engineers. Once pics were sent offered me a rental car. Dealer removed engine shield and Kia Consumer told me it was due to lack of maintenance and they wouldn’t cover engine replacement. They told me there was a hole in the oil pan. Once I informed them I had documentation for service they noted I could send it in and they would “see how they could help”.

I'm in the process of gathering paperwork to submit. I don’t understand how almost every CDI engine could be recalled EXCEPT FOR my year??!! I will continue to fight Kia! Just to add when I went to get my belongings out of the car, 2 young workers informed me they have OVER 30 Kia’s waiting to have engines replaced??!!!

All maintenance records kept. Bought vehicle from Kia dealership. Previously was a new car lease. Vehicle began sporadically overheating. Serviced coolant system, vehicle ran fine for several days. Problem returned, had mechanic perform hydrocarbon block test and found exhaust gasses in coolant system. Diagnosis is that engine had failed head gasket at 78,000 mi. Turns out vehicle has defect workmanship in the cut threads of engine block causing TTY engine bolts to loosen and seal to fail. Mixing exhaust gasses and oil with coolant system was causing vehicle to overheat.

Engine repair cost can easily begin to exceed cost of engine replacement if heads are warped of other components damaged as result of overheating. Owners under original warranty 10/100k usually get an engine replacement. No recall or TSB so far to date. Starting class action lawsuit in Indiana.

I am sharing a complaint on the 2016 Kia Sorento. My situation could have been much worse, and I like to think luck was on my side. After a weekend of visiting family with a lot of driving, I was driving back from a doctors appointment when I pulled off a major highway. I stopped at a stop light, and proceeded forward as the light turned green. Mind you, I had no indicators on my dash lit up as if anything was wrong with the vehicle. Not one. I try to accelerate, and suddenly I cannot accelerate, and every single light illuminates on my dash. Thankfully, I was off the major highway and in a somewhat decent spot for my car to totally stop working and become disabled. We tried jumping it, nothing worked.

We ended up getting it towed to our mechanic who called my husband and I in the morning after he took a look at it. He tells us the entire engine seized. There was not a drop of oil in my engine. I was not due for an oil change for another 2,000 miles on my car, again which was regularly serviced and taken care of. The car was not leaking oil either. Our mechanic says the estimated cost for repair would be $5,000-$6,200, and that my car needs a new engine. Not to mention, I am 16 weeks pregnant and was driving this death machine around with no indicators it was a piece of crap falling apart, where we could have been in a serious accident depending on where my engine decided to fail. After speaking with the mechanic some more, he informs us (to his knowledge) of a class action lawsuit going on against Kia and their Sorento's having engine issues.

What I don't understand, is how this crappy car company has no open recalls on this POS car. I guess they are okay getting sued and not worrying about fixing this serious issue with THEIR vehicles as innocent people drive them around thinking they are safe. My plan is to get this repaired, get reimbursed for the repairs for filing this claim for the lawsuit, and trading this POS crap car in for something else. I will NEVER buy a Kia car again.

I took my Sorento in for a routine oil change and to get two new tires. I told the tech that the vehicle had just started blowing warm air on idle and blowing cold when driving. He set an appointment to get all the work done for four days out. Over the weekend it suddenly overheated as I was pulling into my driveway. I left it there for the rest of the weekend and only drove it to him on that Tuesday. He called to advise me that I had a cracked head gasket and that they don't know why it overheated, but that the crack is small and that I can make it another few weeks. He advised me to call the dealership to check on warranty, but I found out that being the 2nd owner, my warranty expired last year sometime.

I called corporate asking about extensions on the warranty and they advised there was nothing they could do to help me, but perhaps the local dealership would extend a "small" discount for the repair. I got an estimate from my mechanic and he quoted me $3200 to fix the head gasket. That's nearly 2 months of net income for me!! In the span of a week, my car has started sputtering violently upon start and white smoke is coming from the tailpipe until it burns off. The leak is now showing up on the pavement beneath my car. My car isn't old enough for this type of trouble and I still have $7200 left to pay on it! SOOO CLOSE!

And now we're faced with getting laughed at for trying to trade it in with this death sentence or being forced to take out MORE DEBT to fix the damned thing. HIGHLY frustrated. This car was supposed to be driven by us for years and years and see our kids through their high school years. Now we're looking to downsize and will NOT buy Kia products again, although we were loyal buyers, with this being our 2nd Kia.

Bought the vehicle from a dealership with 40000km on it. The vehicle was always meticulously maintained and everything was done on time. At 126000 oil started mixing with antifreeze. Blown head gasket.

Took it to Kia, got quoted $12000 🤯🤯🤯 to repair the issue. Unreal. Took it to another shop, where its currently being fixed. My mechanic just had exactly the same Sorento show up with exactly the same issue.

Update from Jul 14, 2021: Update. So after about a month and a half without a car and about $6000 out of my pocket, the vehicle is back on the road. Mechanic said he was able to unscrew two engine bolts with his bare hands. This is unheard of. In the meantime I was trying to get ahold of kia via telephone. A representative advised there was nothing they could help me with. Went on Kia Canada Instagram account, where saw quite few people leaving complaints about their blown engines in the comments section. So I left mine as well. The result - Kia Canada deleted all the comments that people left there, including mine, and also blocked me. (Nothing insulting was said toward kia, just stated the fact that their engines are faulty). Unreal....

I bought a 2016 Sorento in 6/18. It had 40k on it. Spent about 23k for the car. 10/20 - The engine is done. My neighbor complained of a lot of smoke coming from the exhaust. When I got home I knew from the smell of antifreeze in the exhaust it was not gonna be good news. Confirmed a day later by my mechanic. Head gasket is bad. Since I bought the car used they said the warranty ends at 60k miles.

Mechanic started working on it and stopped and said it's get worse the deeper he goes. Cylinders are a mess. It's only getting worse. He stopped and said we should buy a replacement engine which cost about $4500. 4 year old car and the engine is finished. Mechanic said he's never seen an engine in such bad shape at 4 years old.

Update from Jan 7, 2021: Just ordered a remanufactured engine for $4600. Probably another $1500-2000 to install. Engine companies are all saying the same thing. They are getting a lot of people looking for this engine

THE 2016 Sorento, bought this vehicle brand new in 2015 and everything was GREAT. After the first year, things have slowly but surely started going downhill. Summer 2016 - the air conditioning has stopped working, brought it in and the dealership repaired it (so they say) Summer 2017 - reoccurring issue, now they have found one of the valves loose which resulted in a leak in the system, repaired again Summer 2018 - SAME ISSUE, dealership repaired again! Summer 2019 - The trend continues with this Air Conditioning system. Summer 2020 - The first summer, I did not have to take the vehicle in to repair this problem.

Winter 2021 - The heating system started to act up, I had inspected the coolant and it was low. I filled it up as per the direction of the manual. Noticed that I would need to keep filling up every few days. I brought it into the dealership and they had explained that the Coolant was leaking into the engine. It would cost around $1000 to diagnostic the issue.

Lucky me, the warranty has just expired at over 60 months. My vehicle is at 80k. Took my vehicle to my mechanic who looked into the issue and found that the piston head has lost all of its tread and warped due to a faulty rod being loose which eventually caused my gasket to fail and leak coolant.

KIA will do nothing about this issue as my vehicle is out of warranty, but it would seem that it's a result from poor workmanship.