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.
Sudden Engine Failure: My car died in the middle of a highway on-ramp lane, so I had to call 911 to ask a police officer to come help. Our car came to a complete stop with no warning signs prior. My car was driving totally fine up until that point and then suddenly this happened on the highway. This put ourselves at risk (myself and my 2 children in the car), and it put everyone behind me at risk of rear-ending me, as traffic was moving. During the incident, the engine would not turn over at all. I waited about 10 minutes for a state trooper to pull up, while cars and big trucks whizzed past my stopped car on both sides. When the state trooper arrived, he called the highway department, and someone from the highway department came and pushed my car to the shoulder so that we could be safer. We had it towed to our Kia Service Center: Jones Kia, 2001 Belair Rd, Bel Air, MD 21014. They completed a diagnostic review. They contacted us and explained that: The cylinder head bolt failed. It became "threaded" (this was the term used by the Kia Service center who examined the car), causing the engine to overheat and seize. It happened so quickly that there were no warning signs. The service adviser at Jones Kia told us that we would need a whole new engine replacement.
I have an engine oil consumption issue. I am running out of oil before 1,000 miles. I have had this issue checked out at my local mechanic and at the Kia dealership in Hurst, Texas. They are recommending that I bring the unit back for a process of three visits paying out of pocket for an issue that is clearly visible. I do not have any lights on my dashboard and the oil is being burned for some reason. I purchased this car used and have not even had it for a year, and here lies a major problem. I feel this issue is placing my safety at risk. The car is starting to stutter when pulling off and when I take it for service, it keeps saying low oil. It's unethical to have to get oil changes every 30 days.
The contact owns a 2017 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while stopped in an intersection at a traffic signal, the vehicle was making an abnormal rattling sound, coming from the engine compartment, and the vehicle then stalled. The contact stated that the battery and oil warning lights were illuminated. The contact attempted to restart the vehicle; however, the vehicle failed to restart. The contact had the vehicle towed to a residence. The vehicle had not been diagnosed by a dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 91,000.
Engine burns an astronomically ludicrous amount of oil. Yes available for inspection. There have been no personal or other safety risks as I-??ve kept up on maintenance by monitoring the oil level on a weekly basis. In time, however the oil consumption may exceed typical volume consumed and the engine may seize up. The problem has been addressed, confirmed with the dealer, to which I was told this is common and the top half of the motor would need speciality disassembly and cleaning for the unreasonable amount of close to $4,000. No other inspections have happened. No, no oil light notice. On 5/1/23 I had to add 2.5 quarts of oil, no oil appeared on the dipstick. This car burns more oil than my 1995 Saturn sl2 used to burn at 180,000 miles. I-??m terribly disappointed with the manufacturing of this engine. How can something be efficient and better if it consumes oil? I-??m only contributing to the environmental concerns that are already out of hand.
- Canal Winchester , OH, USA
Search CarComplaints.com for these popular complaint phrases...
High consumption of oil (5 qrts in a week and a half). It failed the recommended test set forth by manufacturer and no one will fix it until it stalls or seizes. Major safety risk since they know of the problem and will not fix until it is too late.
We bought our 2017 Kia Sorento new from the Kirby dealership in, CA. The first 100k miles we took it faithfully to the dealer for all suggested service. For years it has had oil leak, oil where it should not be in the engine, and serious oil consumption issues. They did not solve the issues despite bringing it in many times. 9/2022 the engine completely shut down on the freeway in a very dangerous area. At 115k miles it happened again 3/23 in the exact same place, with the same symptoms. This time they say it is not covered and quoted us over $7k for an engine replacement. We escalated to management and corporate, they have all denied responsibility, given us many reasons why, all that we do not agree with. Each person we have talked to has given a different reason. I joined the Engine Failure- Kia/Hyundai group on Facebook. Now I am aware of the extent of the catastrophic Theta ll engine failure problem. Kia is doing everything they can to deny claims even with class action suits and pending suits and litigation. Anecdotally, I have read hundreds of stories like ours. In 4 weeks 4k more have joined, almost 500 daily, with engine failures. Now that I know that this is a pervasive and wide spread issue with thousands of faulty engines, I realize that this is not a company who cares about the wellbeing of their customers. Their engine design flaws, actions and inaction are causing their customers stress and heartache, financial ruin, terrifying accidents, house fires, and death and yet they are doing everything they can to skirt financial responsibility for their issues. They are lying to their customers, finding every loop hole they can and not honoring the mandated settlements to make their customers whole and provide them with a safe and reliable vehicle. It is a tragedy that should be getting more press and legal attention to hold Kia responsible for the pain they are causing their customers, who put their faith and safety in the hands of the company.
A broken connecting rod punctured the engine block which resulted in engine oil escaping. The leaking oil caught fire while it was being driven down a highway. My son was driving at the time. He could have been killed had he not noticed the fire and stopped the vehicle. There were no warning lamps\lights on until after the fire occurred. Because Kia stated that the engine in my car was not part of the previous recall, and my insurance company did not consider it a total loss, I chose to put ~$10,000 into the car to have a used engine installed. (A used engine that most likely has the same safety issue) See this article about other Kia owners being told that this issue not covered under the previous recall since it didn't cover their year\make. I fall into this category as well. Kia has refused to acknowledge there being a problem and provided NO assistance with getting me car repaired. My vehicle is still not drivable, due to other electrical issues most likely caused by the fire: https://www.wsmv.com/2023/04/12/despite-not-being-subject-recall-second-kia-catches-fire-while-driver-is-behind-wheel/ Kia Case Number:[XXX] Kia has stated that they feel there is no issue with the engine in my vehicle and that it is safe to drive. This is most likely not true and I feel they are engaged in gross negligence by not taking this issue more seriously. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
This 2017 Kia Sorento burns oil so excessively that it has stalled at times creating unsafe driving conditions. More so, it seems that Kia is aware of this issue but not moving to fix it. The date is for the most recent stalling.
My car is excessively burning oil. I have Had oil consumption tests done and it has come back excessive. I got the recommended engine cleaning done. They said this fixed the problem. Here I am Less than 3000 miles later and my oil is dry again. I only drive to and from work (5ish miles a day) and longer spouts on the weekends. Kia does not want to honor this and fix it. They know it-??s a problem and everyone at the service will tell me they know but corporate won-??t make it right.
The contact owns a 2017 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, a clicking noise was heard coming from the engine compartment. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the crankshaft and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle remained with the independent mechanic awaiting the repair. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V586000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA Hotline. The approximate failure mileage was 70,000.
First issue: Computer fails to throw codes for issues like low oil or engine overheating because of a cracked radiator that was bone dry when the mechanic looked at it. At the time of the incident with the cracked radiator, mechanic checked fuses and system but could not find any issues. However, they agreed that check engine light should have come on. But it did not. Second issue: Oil some how magically disappears out of the engine, and because of this, I'm now stuck, with a worthless car that I'm going to have to abandon about 900 miles from my home because it'll cost too much to replace an engine. Even the mechanic that looked at it said it wasn't worth spending the money on replacing the engine. Think about the level of absurdity because that's a big amount of labor for them and they recommended against spending money on the Sorento.. I'm now car less and f*cked because of Kia's sh*tty defects.. I'm sorry for the profanity but I'm lost.. I'm lost.
The contact owns a 2017 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle was jerking. While shifting from first to second gear, the transmission was shifting hard. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer five times however, the mechanic was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. While driving, there was an abnormal ticking noise detected. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who changed the oil. The vehicle was taken to another local dealer, Fredy Kia 11711 Gulf Fwy, Houston, TX 77034 where it was diagnosed there was no oil in the vehicle. The dealer informed the contact that the engine was consuming an abnormal amount of engine oil. There was a leak coming from the engine and it was diagnosed that the transmission and engine needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was contacted but there was no additional assistance provided. The failure mileage was approximately 113,000.
Driving on interstate when vehicle began to lose power, going slower and slower. Exited highway and suddenly the entire dashboard lit up and the car shut off. There had been NO INDICATION of a problem prior to this point. I was 500 miles away from needing an oil change. Had car towed to dealership where they told me there was no oil in the car. How is that even possible, when there had been no oil leakage. (I park in the same two places every day.) 1) How does a car burn through all the oil like that with no indication of a problem? 2) Why wouldn't the low oil sensor come on in the car if this were the case? I had to replace the engine at at cost of over $6000.
The contact's daughter owns a 2017 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while her daughter was driving at approximately 55 MPH, there was a knocking noise coming from the engine compartment and the vehicle was stalling. The contact's daughter was able to pull over to the side of the road, and the vehicle then lost motive power. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle failed to restart and was towed to the residence. The vehicle had not yet been taken to an independent mechanic or a local dealer to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that the warranty had expired. The failure mileage was 79,210.
The contact owns a 2017 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The vehicle failed to restart. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced. The contact referenced NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V907000 (Fuel System, Gasoline, Engine) however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 66,000. The VIN was not available.
After owning this car for four years and performing regular oil changes, it suddenly started knocking and stalling. I immediately checked the oil, which was not even registering on the dipstick (despite an oil change not due for another 2,800 miles). I added almost 4 Qt of oil. We were able to make it home and have a mechanic confirm that it needs a new engine. It has only 82,000 miles. I'm glad that we stalled just BEFORE getting on the snowy highway, otherwise, who knows what would have happened to my entire family.
My husband was driving and said he heard a knocking noise. We pulled over and had no oil. We put 5 quarts in and drove to the Kia dealership in Huntsville AL. We kept losing power and stalling while we drove. They said we needed a new engine. It was a known issue but not under warranty or recall. They quoted us over 14k to fix it. We trailered it home and have been praying for a recall since it is a known issue. I saw people on a facebook group say to report the problem to you. They have had luck getting help from your department. I originally leased the vehicle and the bought it after lease was up. I still owe on the vehicle and have kept up on maintenance. Thank you for your time, [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
The vehicle is using excessive engine oil. I change the oil every 3,000 miles. I am currently adding about 5 quarts of oil between oil and filter changes. That's 10 quarts of oil every 3,000 miles. The vehicle has about 99,000 miles on it. It has been getting progressively worse the more miles it goes.
It is an engine failure thru excessive oil usage. My oil light has never came on and Dealer nor KIA can tell what point does it suppose to come on. My vehicle has 90,000 miles and I put 6 quarts of oil between 4500 miles oil change. I just completed a oil consumption test in which it was down 2.5 quarts within 1000 miles. Then I had to pay $654 for a compression test. They say the test failed and the pistons are worn. Because they are worn, they say repair is not covered. I purchased a KIA Certified vehicle with an extended warranty and they say engine is not covered because the pistons are worn not broken. I say the pistons are worn because it may have been the lack of oil causing the extensive friction on the pistons. Is it mandatory for the car manufacturer to have an oil level warning or minimum standard that all of them should follow? They told me that my engine will die soon and a new engine is $12,000. I believe the public should be aware of their intentional engine failure caused by excessive oil usage by not giving a low oil notification. I have had my oil changed at the same dealership since I purchased it. I paid $2500 for an extended warranty in which they do not honor. I paid $2500 plus interest for a service that is not being honored. A warning light for low oil should be mandatory, manufacturer should be liable for not having a warning light in place. Service manager and service all played dumb stated nobody never asked about an oil warning light. Please Help!!! I still owe $15,000 on the vehicle.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Monkton, MD, USA