8.7

pretty bad
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
2,865 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.

2021 Kia Sorento electrical problems

electrical problem

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2021 Kia Sorento Owner Comments (Page 1 of 2)

problem #24

Jan 112025

Sorento

  • miles

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

On [XXX] we were driving the Kia at slow speed due to snow on the road when a warning light came on which we think said hybrid vehicle failure pull over. The car stopped and the traffic lane with the engine off. The car would not start and we were exposed to traffic. Fortunately, we were on a country road at the time about a mile from our house and we were not struck by following vehicle when the car shut off and stopped in the traffic lane. If we had been on a beltway with 60 or 65 mph traffic obviously the result would-??ve been quite different. Because I felt the vehicle was not safe to drive. I had it towed to the Kia dealer in Salisbury Pocahontas Kia, who have not been able to duplicate the problem and have also not been able to tell us what was wrong with the Kia to cause this problem in the first place. Unless there is a clear reason why this happened And it can be fixed then we have no reason to believe this would not happen again and endanger our safety. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

- Tyaskin, Md 21865, MD, USA

problem #23

Nov 112024

Sorento

  • miles
I unable to accelerate to merge on to the highway. This is the second time that my car was unable to accelerate and kick into gear. The first time was in 2021/2022 a few months after getting the car.

- Morrow, OH, USA

problem #22

May 102024

Sorento

  • miles
Windows and door locks will intermittently stop operating. When doors will not unlock the rear doors will not open. Turning vehicle off and restarting 1-6 times will usually make the problem stop for a short time.

- Katy, TX, USA

problem #21

Jun 062024

Sorento

  • miles

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

Intermittent issues with windows not operating and doors will not unlock, which means the rear doors will not open.

- Katy, TX, USA

problem #20

Aug 152023

Sorento

  • 34,256 miles
The contact owns a 2021 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, several unknown warning lights illuminated. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the vehicle failed to shift into the intended gear and stalled. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the wiring harness for the remote starting system had malfunctioned and needed to be replaced. The wiring harness was replaced; however, the contact stated that after driving for an undisclosed period and parking the vehicle, the contact was unable to shift the gear shifter. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer but was not diagnosed. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the State Attorney General who then referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 34,256.

- Titusville, FL, USA

problem #19

Feb 122024

Sorento

  • miles
Sometimes the vehicle will stall and not want to move. I have to try and coast off the road to kill the car and restart it. Also sometimes the radio goes completely black and doesnt come back on even if you kill the car.

- Coushatta, LA, USA

problem #18

Jun 112023

Sorento

  • miles

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

My 2021 Kia Sorrento has shut down and died while on a Highway drive 2 days in a row. The engine light comes on, the oil light comes on, and and the phrase -??Engine Off. Shift to N then start engine-?? comes on. Prior to this, other issues were happening. Originally, my automatic start wasn-??t working properly, and a Kia service advisor told me to -??turn that feature off-??. After that, while driving down the road last month, all symbols on my dash began flashing and the phrase -??Check forward safety system-?? appeared.

- Mckinney, TX, USA

problem #17

Feb 212023

Sorento

  • miles
Vehicle shut off on interstate while slowing for a wreck and almost caused our own ACDA crash. Entire gauge cluster flashed and started back up after stopping in the roadway for approximately 5 minutes without restarting. The vehicle was able to be driven home and was taken to a local Kia dealership where after 3 days has not been able to replicate the issue.

- South Bloomfield, OH, USA

problem #16

Dec 212022

Sorento

  • 34,000 miles
The contact owns a 2021 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while driving and coming to a complete stop, the auto Start/Stop feature failed to engage upon releasing the brake pedal. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact restarted the vehicle manually. The contact stated that the failure had been reoccurring while at a complete stop. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where an unknown software update was completed under an unknown recall; however, the failure reoccurred increasingly. The contact stated upon releasing the brake pedal while at a complete stop, the vehicle would turn on temporarily. The contact stated she would manually restart the vehicle. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact to bring the vehicle to their location for test driving. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure referred the contact to the dealer. A case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 34,000.

- Palmdale, CA, USA

problem #15

Dec 242022

Sorento

  • miles
I received the recall notice essentially telling me not to drive this vehicle and park it away from my home or other vehicles. When i contacted KIA I was told all they are currently doing is a reimbursement of up to 40 dollars a day for a rental while they figure out how to fix this. Rentals here are over 100 dollars a day and when I told them that I was told the additional money would be on me. My car is still under warranty but they expect me to pay for their issue. Due to this I am still driving a car they recommend parking and will continue to do this. If they were actually concerned about this they would fund rentals and not make me pay for them up front and for over half the cost. When I contacted my dealer they directed me to the manufacturer, no help at all. I am only still driving this car because it would be too expensive for me to fund a rental for an unknown length of time.

- Basehor, KS, USA

problem #14

Aug 062022

Sorento

  • miles

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

Refill inverter coolant notice comes up after routine oil change and downhill control turns on without me turning it on I have to sh*t my vehicle off in order for the brake control to turn off, available for inspection upon request. This notice interferes with me seeing the digital speedometer. Coolant was checked by dealer no leaks found, was told to wait patiently until a fix is available. No prior issues until I took it in for an oil change with the dealership.

- Phoenix, AZ, USA

problem #13

Apr 192022

Sorento

  • miles
Refil inverter fluid warning light is on constant, this doesn-??t allow the driver to access any digital information while vehicle is on. The vehicle is also having issues with the entertainment consul, Bluetooth connection issues along with the ability to access apple car play. Dealership says it-??s Kia and nothing is being done. Various forums with others having similar issues.

- New Braunfels, TX, USA

problem #12

Aug 072022

Sorento

  • miles
Vehicle went into limp mode suddenly while driving on the road and would only go 10 mph. We were able to pull vehicle aside and within a minute the car would not move. Check engine light came on with a warning message to pull vehicle to the side of the road. We were able to drive the vehicle home 7 miles after waiting about 1 hour after the issue and the next day drove it to the dealership. Car has been at dealership since 8/8/22 and service advisor and Kia engineer have yet to figure out what went wrong. We have no eta as of today when we will get car back. This issue is concerning as the vehicle came to a complete stop with traffic around us.

- Mesa, AZ, USA

problem #11

Aug 052022

Sorento

  • miles
I have owned this vehicle for about 1 yr & 7 months now. it's been great but all of a sudden last Friday, the dashboard started producing an engine overheat warning with an alarm sound when I was driving under normal conditions. So then I pulled out of the highway and went to the nearest parking lot, and checked the engine. The coolant color was normal & max level. no sign of leaking. Then we resumed driving and nothing happened. later on the way back home... the same thing happened. The alarm sounded for a while and the temperature indicator reached red at the max level then it went away. it was already too late for us to reach out to either dealership or KIA, so I was going to get in touch later. The next day afternoon, I got a diagnostic appointment for the coming Wednesday with the nearest KIA dealership and went out to take care of a few other stuff. The alarm sound with the temperature gauge reaching the red max level happened again after merging into the highway, and it went off after a while. This occurrence has happened 3 times already and I'm a bit worried that it may happen again and something else may happen even though the engine and other fluid levels were fine based on the visual inspection. Not sure if this is fixable...

- Mckinney, TX, USA

problem #10

Mar 012022

Sorento

  • miles
Inverter coolant refill light will not turn off. This is available for inspection. This could be a possible fire risk. Issue has been confirmed at dealership. Components have been inspected by manufacturer. Issue started around 23,000 miles.

- Owasso, Ok, OK, USA

problem #9

Jun 292022

Sorento

  • miles
There is a constant error happening daily where a warning shows -??refill inverter coolant-?? it takes up the main display and no dealer has a fix

- Blaine, MN, USA

problem #8

Jun 012022

Sorento

  • miles
There is a warning message stating "Refill Invertor Coolant" that keeps coming up. The coolant is already full and the car functions normally. However, the warning message can only be cleared for a few seconds before it returns. The message covers up other information on the display such as digital speed and driving warnings such as lane departure. I feel this is an unsafe condition. The dealer I talked to said they are aware of the issue and trying to resolve it on another customer's car. At this time they are unable to resolve the issue.

- Saint Joseph, MI, USA

problem #7

Mar 012022

Sorento

  • miles
The inverter coolant refill light will illuminate at all times even with the system serviced. Kia has serviced the system but has no solution on how to stop the light. The light also blocks out any other warning that may happen on the dash. With the light illuminated while driving, it is impossible to determine if the system is empty to cause a fire or just a faulty light. The dealership has confirmed the faulty warning light. There are no computer codes associated with the warning light.

- Owasso, Ok, OK, USA

problem #6

May 112022

Sorento

  • miles
Car has been having issues with not starting many times also dealership was contact also was serviced and still having issues.

- Bayonne, NJ, USA

problem #5

Mar 262022

Sorento

  • miles
I have a -??21 Sorento hybrid. The refill inverter coolant warning light keeps coming on. The first time it happened was on a road trip. A local dealer told me to check coolant levels and when it was full, told me it was safe to drive. I had it looked at as soon as I got home. By that time, the light had gone off. They flushed and refill the coolant. It happened again within 3 weeks. I took it in again. The dealer inspected said nothing was wrong with vehicle. Safe to drive. Also said I was the second one of these they-??d seen. They were told corporate is working on a fix. I starting a ticket with Kia customer service. It-??s been 9 days and no response from them. I am counting on the dealers being correct and that it is safe.

- Long Beach, MS, USA

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