10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 13
Injuries / Deaths:
3 / 0
Average Mileage:
22,709 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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.

2017 Kia Sorento engine problems

engine problem

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2017 Kia Sorento Owner Comments (Page 1 of 15)

problem #297

Apr 012024

Sorento

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Vehicle up to date on oil changes. Driving down interstate and vehicle just stopped without warning. Message to contact a dealer popped up. When diagnostic put on vehicle shows camshaft and crankshaft bad. No oil on dipstick AT ALL. Oil light never came on showing low. Never seen oil in garage so no leaks. Sensors showing misfire were changed along with spark plugs and coil packs. Codes never cleared. Car is not drivable but has been well maintained and up to date on everything. After researching I have seen multiple pages and pages of the same exact complaint on same exact vehicle. There is a recall for certain 2017 kia Sorento 3.3L V6 engines but shows mine is not affected although my vehicle is the exact same as the recall and having exact same issue as the recall. I would like this looked into and a explanation for the engine issue with help on fixing it through Kia. This is a good vehicle never gave ANY issues at all, nor gave any warnings on the issue that caused it to stop running.

- Concord, NC, USA

problem #296

Dec 272024

Sorento

  • miles
like many other kia owners I have a Kia Sorrento and after 6700 miles started running into problems with oil consumption. I have Toyota extended warranty because I am second owner and wanted some type of coverage. Kia knows there are problems and giving customers run around plus higher insurance premiums. second time over 5 days my car is being evaluated I have done 3 oil changes since March 2024 I did get engine oil switch fixed did own oil consumption test which Toyota did not except because it was not Toyota or kia dealer that did it. I would sue them on my own or geta new car if i could afford it. I love the car for size and smoothness of ride but they are failing their customers.

- Northlake , IL, USA

problem #295

Dec 192024

Sorento

  • miles
Coolant system not functioning properly replace thermostat and worked a day then back to overheating. Engine overheating with new oil and filter also shakes badly Car does not shut of when ignition is pressed the first time have start the car then shut it off again

- Sylva, NC, USA

problem #294

May 242024

Sorento

  • 104,100 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2017 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while driving at approximately 60 MPH, the vehicle stalled and failed to return to normal operation. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact researched and was made aware of NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V586000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the VIN was not included. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed and determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 104,100.

- Jackson, OH, USA

problem #293

Dec 112024

Sorento

  • miles
Engine Oil Burning 2-4 quarts of oil in less 1000 miles.

- Rochester, NY, USA

problem #292

Aug 062024

Sorento

  • miles
I have noticed that there is some il leavking from the car. My independent mechanic was sevivign the vehicle and has informed me that the head gasket has a leak and that this is a common problem with Kia Sorento 3.3 from 2017. I have taken to a kia dealer and they onfromed that there was only a leak from the oil pan which is not possible as i have seen the leak coming from higher up the engine. I have informed Kia USA and they have deferred to the warranty that i purchased. The small print thati was not made aware of was such that buying the vehcile used the manufacturere was only liable for the first 65,000 miles. I purchase an extended warranty and power train and engine were not covered. As such I am lookign at some point to a failing engine or a bill for 3 to 4k. Kia know of this issue and have done nothing to put this right before the issue happens

- Marina Del Rey, CA, USA

problem #291

Nov 252024

Sorento

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I was driving down the road and my car shut off. It would not restart at all. I just had my state inspection and a new oil change on November 11. There was no light on the dash at all. They had to tow it to kia where it has been since the 25th.

- Virginia Beach, VA, USA

problem #290

Nov 042024

Sorento

  • miles
I have been having excessive oil burning for months. When I took it to the Kia dealer, this was a known issue. They told me I'd need to continue to regularly top off my oil (way over the recommended amount) or risk my engine blowing. Just over the warranty at 102,114 miles the car seized. The repair shop diagnosed it as a valve/cylinder head issue, but the engine has not been working as it should since long before before the 100,000 warranty mark. It is documented at my Kia service center. My car is useless, not even drivable now. This is a known issue (the burning of oil) and Kia isn't upfront about this issue. While there was a class action lawsuit for other engine issues in this model, there is no accountability for the issues we face. My car is worthless and at only 102k miles. I've taken great care of this vehicle, but it is poorly made. [XXX] lists 339 complaints about the 2017 Sorento's engine, with engine failure being the most significant issue. I feel I was taken advantage of by trusting Kia that this was a solid investment. The cost of repair is $5,000-10,000 depending on if the 5k does the job - it was suggested that the repair doesn't always work without a full engine rebuild. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

- Franklin, TN, USA

problem #289

Oct 092024

Sorento

  • miles
Driving down the interstate to pick my children up from school and all of a sudden the car made a weird bubbly grinding sound and stopped accelerating. I had to pull off and park as the car would not go any further. My vehicle has had regular maintenance and oil changes since I purchased it. I had in fact just put a full quart of oil in it. The first mechanic stated that there was metal shards in the oil. In between oil changes, I have to add several quarts of oil because it seems to just disappear. There-??s no oil leak yet the oil would be almost completely gone not even a full month after a complete oil change. My car has currently been sitting at the Kia dealership for a lot now waiting for repair. I paid for the extended warranty yet. Kia is dragging their feet and won-??t even offer me a rental car while I wait for my car to be repaired, no one returned my calls. No one updates me on what-??s going on. I am fed up.

- Greenville, SC, USA

problem #288

Aug 012023

Sorento

  • miles
While driving my vehicle going up a hill, I all of a sudden had a loss of power and heard a bunch of noise. I had to pull over as well as possible while people were speeding past because the noise turned out to be a piston rod blew apart causing catastrophic engine failure

- Northern Cambria, PA, USA

problem #287

Oct 152024

Sorento

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Heard light knocking coming from engine compartment while on a trip. The knocking become louder while driving home on County Roads. Knocking was very loud when I reached a populated area. While attempting to get to an auto store the vehicle drove very slowly and then a huge plume of black smoke discharged from the rear and front of the vehicle. The car stopped on an entrance ramp and would not start again. I had the vehicle tow on a flat bed tow truck to a vehicle repair shop in our hometown. This was on a Tuesday after normal business hours. The following morning I took the key to the shop and explained what happened. The shop called me later the same day and told me the engine was blown and not salvageable that there was a hole in the engine. I am in the process of looking for a new car due to the unreliability of installing a rebuilt engine. There have been several documented cases of KIA engine failures. I do not know if this has been reported, but I would like a record of this failure reported and documented. Thank you.

- Georgetown, TX, USA

problem #286

Oct 142024

Sorento

  • miles
My vehicle has a 2.4l GDI engine that is excessively burning oil. I burn 2 qts every 1000 miles. I took it to the Kia dealership since I-??m still under warranty and they refused to do an oil consumption test. They want 3k miles worth of readings and it will put me over the 100k warranty. I was instructed to keep putting oil in my car and eventually the engine will die. When I asked they told me it will lose power when I-??m driving. I-??ve done a lot of research and I don-??t understand how a vehicle that may stall out on a highway, and potentially cause a car crash, is safe. I am shocked and appalled. The oil consumption has rapidly increased and it-??s not safe to be driving with these engines.

- Shawnee, KS, USA

problem #285

Feb 132024

Sorento

  • miles
On February 13th, while driving from a restaurant to our residence with our children, the vehicle experienced a complete shutdown, accompanied by an engine failure alert. This incident posed a significant safety risk to both myself and my children, necessitating that we push the vehicle to a safe location. Subsequently, the vehicle was towed to a KIA dealership for diagnostic evaluation. It was determined that KIA had previously misdiagnosed the issues with the KIA Sorento, and it was confirmed that the engine required replacement, after several tests. Prior to this incident, the engine exhibited symptoms of excessive oil consumption and irregular jerking. Despite multiple visits to the KIA service center, we consistently received inaccurate diagnoses. Most recently, the vehicle ceased operation once again, and I have been informed that the engine wiring harness is compromised. However, KIA has declined to acknowledge responsibility for this issue. KIA has been the subject of prior reports regarding engine failures and refrains to replace the engine or the harness.

- Norwalk, CA, USA

problem #284

Oct 052024

Sorento

  • miles
While driving on the interstate i starting hearing a rattling/slapping like noise that I originally thought was outside my car. It was a soft sound but there wasn't any change in performance and no lights came on. I was in the middle of no where so I drive the additional 20 miles and pulled off into town. The sound seemed louder but still no lights appeared on the dash but as I accelerated from a stop light to pull off and see what may be going on, my car engine died, immediately lost power steering and brakes were difficult to push, the battery light came on then the check engine light and oil light came on at the same time. I was able to pull into a parking lot by coasting in and had my car towed. All illumination lights worked outside and in and the tow truck driver tested my battery and it was fully charged. My motor seized. This is a class action suit for other engines in this model car but not this one even though it's doing the same thing. This could have been dangerous had the motor seized at a higher speed.

- Seymour, MO, USA

problem #283

Jun 062023

Sorento

  • miles
Excessive oil consumption, and I can-??t believe this is not a recall because this is a known problem with Kia and Kia knows this!!! My oil light came on when I literally had no oil in my vehicle, took it to the Kia dealer and i basically got the run around because they want you to jump through hoops to figure out what-??s wrong with it even though they really know what-??s wrong !!! They have a bunch of Kia-??s out back waiting for new engines when I was there, I have no warranty on my vehicle except for the extended warranty because I bought out right, it came as is no warranty, I-??m on disability so I barely drive it now because of the oil consumption and don-??t know what to do or go about this, it has 71,000 miles on it, I-??ve read thousands of stories online about this same exact thing, how is there not a recall or something not being done about this"?"

- Muskegon , MI, USA

problem #282

Sep 282024

Sorento

  • miles
I was driving down an interstate when my check engine light came on and began to flash. The car then began to shake violently. I was able to pull it into a parking lot successfully. There was a smell & it felt hot. During my routine oil changes, the shop had notified me a couple of times that I had low oil. No low oil lights or any other warnings ever came on my dashboard to say I was having issues until that day. I had it towed to a local dealership on 09/29/2024z Local Kia dealership confirmed on 10/04/2024 that the whole engine needs replaced.

- Williamstown, WV, USA

problem #281

Sep 192024

Sorento

  • 110,000 miles
The contact owns a 2017 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was restarted; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the engine failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 110,000.

- Coatesville, PA, USA

problem #280

Aug 112024

Sorento

  • miles
Vehicle over heated on vacation trip. Had mechanic check out vehicle to get it moving again. They removed the thermostat in hopes of a stuck thermostat. Once we arrived at our vacation house I set up appointment with KIA dealership to have them make repairs. I informed them that the thermostat was removed. They came back with it having a blown head gasket and it needed engine replaced. It took them 3 weeks to replace engine by that time we had to rent a vehicle and go back home. I had to pay over 1000 out of pocket for the temp repair, rental, and to have the vehicle shipped back to my home. Finally got the vehicle back and the check engine light was on and it was running rough. It would not reach operating temp. I knew that they must have not put a thermostat on with the new engine. Took it to my local dealership with the issue. They charged me 295 to tell me that it was a issue with the thermostat. They wanted 360 to put a thermostat in it. I declined. I put the new thermostat in and that took care of the check engine light and coolant temp problem but it is still leaking coolant and runs rough. I spoke with KIA and they are unwilling to help. They said the replaced the engine but the thermostat is not covered. That is like saying we replaced the engine but the coolant that leaked out is not covered so we won't replace that.

- Delta , PA, USA

problem #279

Sep 092024

Sorento

  • miles
This 2017 Kia Sorento is using an excessive amount of motor oil and looking online regarding this issue, there have been many complaints about this. The vehicle has just over 61K miles. The engine light came on (9/10/2024) and we pulled over. Unsure of what to look for, I checked the oil level and there was barely any oil on the dip-stick. The oil was changed this past May (2024) and should not be using this much to where its not registering. There doesn't seem to be any recalls for this but only complaints from other owners and not much help from KIA Corp. I'm not sure if there's any recourse here.

- Maynard, MA, USA

problem #278

Jun 112024

Sorento

  • miles
Car was burning oil rapidly. While driving heard loud noises, shaking, smoke started coming through vents and car turned off. Kia is stating that there are many recalls on vehicle, but the only recall I received is for a tow hitch. I don't have a tow hitch. Very dangerous if I was going somewhere with a higher speed limit. Kia dealership is saying corporation won't offer extended warranty due to recalls not being completed. Again the only recall is for a tow hitch. Kia dealership has quoted me over $10000 to fix a vehicle that is suffering from known manufacturer failures.

- Columbus, GA, USA

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