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.
Lights will just turn off while driving and and the blinkers will not work. The horn will not work either. It happens all the time it doesn-??t matter if it-??s day time or night time.
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.
I have a 2017 Kia Sorento. I bought this vehicle with less than 5000 miles on it. I had the oil changed when it was recommended. Loved the vehicle. Fast forward to about 48,000-50,000 miles. {currently at 62,000 Miles} Had the required oil change done and they noticed the vehicle was low 2 quarts of oil. Oil consumption continued. Had an OIL CONSUMPTION test done {at approximately 53,000 miles] and determined it as a legit complaint. As i am not the original owner and the vehicle warranty expired at 50,000 a free new engine is NOT an option. They offered to complete a free combustion flush. I am now waiting for 1000 miles to recheck the oil to see if the flush took care of the problem, but I did check the oil at 100 miles, and it is down 1/2 a quart already. I will be reporting back to the garage if the consumption gets worse or when I hit the 1000 mile recheck mark. I am seriously concerned about this. I paid a lot of money for this vehicle, and it was to be my last car in my retirement years! If the engine fails, seizes or continues to burn excessive oil and I have to pay for a new engine or more repairs I will be devastated as I am on a Social Security and have a limited incoming. The engine could seize if it burns all the oil when I'm driving and could cause injuries to myself or the public. I know hate this vehicle and wish i never bought it !! I really feel Kia should be required to replace this engine with a SAFE no problems engine!
- Poynette, WI, USA
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Excessive oil consumption causing engine to misfire- needing spark plugs replaced with low mileage. Adding 2 quarts of oil about every 700 miles. With no solution given to correct issue.
I think there is something wrong with engine I just changed oil with sythitic oil and drove it around at least 100miles and its done 3 quarts and there is no visuable leaks anywhere and also the radio does not work on any station
Window regulator cables are failing. Talked to Auto glass repair shop he has had numerous KIA Sorento's in for failed regulator, he had one just in with only 1 window that worked. There is no stock available & as of right now they cannot even give an estimated delivery date on the ones due-in.
My car started running badly with a knocking noise at the start. The knocking noise got worse, I so pulled over and checked the oil and there was virtually no oil in the engine. I filled it with oil and the knocking continued and got worse as I drove it to the dealer for service. The engine failed before I could make it to the dealer. It now needs a new engine. The Car was serviced regularly. NO LOW OIL ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON TO NOTIFY ME OF LOW OIL. NO LEAK WAS DETECTED.
My husband and I were driving through a busy section of town and all of a sudden our suv completely lost power, dying on the side of the road. We never had a check engine light or anything come on. When we had it towed to the dealership we were informed our engine had locked up. Apparently there was a product upgrade that should have alerted us that our engine was going out, but we were not notified by Kia of the knock system upgrade. Nor were we informed that, as the second owners of the vehicle, in order to receive such notifications from Kia we needed to contact them and let them know we were the new owners and share our contact information. However, if Kia had classified it as a recall on the warning system, we would have been notified through our registration with the BMV. The dealership did share that this particular engine in a lot of Kia-??s models have locked up suddenly similarly to ours. Luckily we were able to get our vehicle stopped right before the intersection, but did end up blocking a lane of traffic until the tow truck came. Kia also refuses to replace our engine because we did not get the knock system upgrade even though we were never notified.
Car oil had not been changed but a month or two ago and only went on one 2-3 hour trip there and back after the oil was changed. Only stayed in town and went to regular grocery store and work after trip. Did not check oil due to not normally having it deplete fast. A month or so later oil deplited rapidly (this is an unknown part if it was fully the cars issue or if was the person who changed the oil.) Oil was lower than normal mainly noticed when car showed oil lamp light (was only blinking did not stay lit) and started halting and jerking when driving home. More oil was added and once that happened the check engine light came on. Car has jerked and been close to stalling when trying to drive to autostore for diagnostics. Since then the car is acting like it did not have oil added. Oil light is off but engine light blinks constantly. The halting and stalling is similar to the recall on other 2017 Kia Sorento's (with a 3.3 L engine) with the crankshaft being the problem. The halting and stalling can lead to an accident. No prior engine issues before this when the oil ran low.
Excessive oil consumption with no low oil warning light. Driving with no oil can cause severe engine damage. I was informed by the Kia dealership after reporting an issue with oil consumption. Issue started in March 2022, diagnosed in april 2022 and 1 month of driving had no oil and no low oil warning light come on after oil change.
Sunroof portion of moonroof exploded while driving on the freeway. We heard a sonic boom inside our car and the sunroof window shattered glass up and outward spraying glass out onto the freeway and into the fabric ceiling liner.
The vehicle has stalled multiple times while in motion presenting a life safety concern, the vehicle is under warranty and has been at the dealer multiple times and they are unable to duplicate and refuse to do any further diagnoses beside scan for active codes which the vehicle does not have. Vehicle currently will not start and has left us stranded in an area where we are concerned for our safety.
Rear left passenger window drum defective. Window has been used maybe 20 times in 5 years. Window will not raise or lower and fails to stay closed. Appears to be window Drum Pulley. From internet chatter, this is happening often. This vehicle has low mileage we purchased it new and we are in our 70-??s. Took it to my dealer for repair. My dealer service rep. say-??s they get about two vehicles a week with this issue.
While driving the car slows down without me slowing down on the breaks. Car wants to shut down & is vibrating. Car doesn't want to drive past 2000 rpm. I take it to mechanic, he can't find the code. I take to mechanic a 2nd time. I get codes p1326 & p2600. No recalls are found for Sorento but other models there is plenty.
Driving on the highway at 65mph uphill, engine started making horrible noise and started to fail. Pulled over on shoulder and had to have it towed. Kia is denying warranty because I cannot provide service records. Whether or not they will right this wrong it is a major safety issue when you have complete engine failure with no warning. The engine in my vehicle (3.3 v6 Lambda)completely failed without tripping any warning devices that are equipped on the vehicle. There is a Defect that causes the engine to burn too much oil and there is a defect where the vehicle fails to warn of potential safety issues. There was total engine failure with no warnings. No Service Message No Check Engine Light No Low Oil Pressure Light No Knock Sensor Code No Limp Mode activation. In the service technician's report it even says "no codes set in the ecm" This could have caused a fatal accident and I don't see how this is acceptable.
My car was fine, then all of a sudden (after an oil change) it started knocking really loudly. I pulled over and the noise stopped- so I got back in the car a drive home. When I pulled into the driveway, I heard the noise again- knocking. I popped the hood and had daughter press the gas, sure enough- knocking again. I told husband and we parked it, he towed it to the dealership the next day. They said that because my car did not get the "campaign" update- ROD KNOCKING SENSOR- that the extended warranty was null and void. I asked to place a complaint at how the whole situation was handled- they said they mailed us letters, but they must have been the most non-descriptive letters in history. It's not safe- they know about this problem and they are not doing anything about it- they are doing the bare minimum, that is how people get hurt. We owe more to repair this vehicle than it is worth, and there is no "Goodwill" assistance on a car that wasn't "kept". I kept my car within it's normal limits, it's not right how the company chose to notify. They have all my contact info- I am the original owner. Thank goodness my teen daughter wasn't driving.
The contact owns a 2017 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving approximately 20 mph when the vehicle began to lag in acceleration when attempting to go uphill. The driver noticed a spark within the instrument panel directly behind the steering wheel. The driver then immediately pulled over and both the driver and the passenger (the contact) exited the vehicle. The vehicle then caught fire. The fire department showed and distinguished the fire. A report was made. There were no injuries. The vehicle was towed and deemed totaled. The dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was contacted and made aware of the failure. A case was opened regarding the matter. The approximate failure mileage was unknown
Steering began sticking at about 55K miles. Got worse over time. Causing difficulty with accurate lane changes or straight steering. Car has electric motor assisted power steering. Found multiple similar cases on line where solution was to replace entire steering column assy. Took car in to dealer (Peoria Kia, Peoria AZ) 15Oct2021. Dealer said had to replace entire column assy- steering. Was covered by 3rd party extended warranty on car, 2 months later, steering stopped working completely. We were able to get the car to the side of the street and stop. Had car towed back to Peoria Kia. They now report broken steering gear, which appears to be related to previous repair. Solution pending back ordered parts. Work order for first repair attached.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Huntington, TX, USA