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.
I was driving on the highway when my car suddenly lost all power. I tried to brake, but the pedal went straight to the floor several times with no pressure. The car finally slowed down, and I believe the ABS kicked in, causing a jerky stop. I managed to pull over, but the engine was barely idling and seemed on the verge of stalling. This was a very dangerous situation. Not only did losing power on the highway put me at risk, but I also had to wait on the side of the road at night in the rain with traffic whizzing by. When I initially checked for the problem, I noticed a strong smell of gasoline and exhaust fumes, with no other indications of failure. Check engine light is now on, and there was a warning failure but i can not recall what it said.
I recently got this vehicle and only has 26k miles on it. I have always been a good driver and have taken care of this vehicle, but this vehicle has brought too much stress in my life recently. Keeps breaking down, and i have to repeatedly go to the service center. My value for time is gone. The service team are not welcoming and they never give you a replacement car. Not everyone has a replacement car for when it will break down. It messed up with all of my schedule, my family's schedule, kid not being able to go to school. Me not being able to go to work. Today i had to take my car to service again, second time. Last time i had to book a rental car from my own pocket for 2 whole week. And it broke down again today, i have no car and it has been a worst experience. KIA needs to do something about this. I will never be a KIA customer again in my life. KIA has a worst engine and worst customer service.
I was driving when the ESC electronic stability control kept going on. Then all of a sudden the pedal and brake would start to shake and not work. Randomly driving when light would go on and then the pedal and brake would shake. I had to pull over. Light would go on and off. Roads were dry normal no issues.
My car lost power & completely shut down at 70 mph on the highway. My dash lights went place & I had no control of vehicle other than to go straight & come to a rolling stop. It has shut off repeatedly while driving
1)Transmission keeps slipping on a car that is one year old. Typically it-??s from a park>drive or park>reverse but it also happens while accelerating. The worse instance so far has been while I was pulling across an intersection and my gas pedal was to the floor and the car just froze like it was in neutral-?? rpms went up but car -??disengaged-?? and I had to let off the gas and try again and it engaged. This was a HUGE safety issue as cars were coming at me and I was stuck. I have take the car to KIA FOUR times for this issue and they keep telling me that if there was an issue there would be a check engine light on and they can-??t do anything. 2) Adaptive cruise control and lane assist functions keep randomly stopping and have to be reset. 3) Rotors are crap. I have had to to have them turned twice in the first year of ownership and they are making a squealing sound now for a 3rd time. There are tons of complaints about this online and Kia fails to consider it a warranty issue. 4) Two pieces of the car have randomly flown off-?? Kia says there are no known defects so they won-??t help. A piece of windshield cowl came off at highway speeds and a rear axle plastic guard/cover came off and dragged for awhile before I had to zip tie it up-??. Again normal highway driving, no off road- no excuse for this to be falling apart and flying off where it can cause harm to other drivers.
- Black Canyon City, AZ, USA
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First off, Kia states that if there is not an illuminated check engine light, they cannot do anything for me -??. I will post a photo of the instrument cluster if I can find where to do it. This issue has been going on for a couple months and it is steadily getting worse as time goes by there-??s no rhyme or reason to why it does it just get in the car and start driving. You may make it 2 miles. You may make it 100 miles, but when it wants to it just turns itself off totally no power whatsoever coasting down the highway with nothing. Transmission is clunky as hell as well. Mostly all in low speeds like in traffic.
In early June, my car went into limp mode. The two lines with a car between on the dash were blinking red. I notified Kia, both Roseville and Folsom, but they seemed unconcerned since it seemingly corrected itself after restarting car and driving it. Since then, the car has had the Ebrake engage while driving at least 6-7 times. After the 5th or 6th time, I reported to Kia and after much back and forth they agreed it was a safety problem since it would cause my car to brake slowing it suddenly to about 1/2 of my traveling speed. The week of August 7th, they had it a week and said they couldn-??t replicate the issue. They did do something pertaining to TSB SC252. I got it back on Aug 11th and on the 17th, it did it again when I was traveling about 35 mph causing my car to pull right. It is back in the shop again. On Aug 4th, it engaged, causing me to swerve into the lane to my right. I was in rush hour traffic. On July 28th, I was on the Hwy 50 traveling approx 70-75mph, when it happened causing me to suddenly slow to 35 MPH. It happened 3-4 times previously as well. The emergency brake lights up red and blinks a few times before it disengages. Kia refuses to acknowledge there-??s an issue, but they-??ve asked me to turn off driver assist and other safety features. It is random and I googled if anyone else had ever had the issue. I found on Kia Forum of someone that had a 2021 model that did the same thing. Kia customer care rep said it wasn-??t a real Kia site and the person was probably lying. The contact stated the dealer believe it-??s the forward collision sensor that is malfunctioning.
The brake rotors and pads have to be replaced every about 2,000 miles! its hard to break the steering wheel keeps pulling when you attempt to brake its like metal on metal and feels like your sliding on gravel, WE have been told its a known issue and there's no real fix they just keep having to replace them every time but im afraid one day its going to completely fail and crash and cause a fatality
The ABS system did not activate when emergency breaking nor did the system indicate anything was wrong with the ABS (no warning lights on dash board). When emergency breaking, the wheels locked causing the car the slide straight forward. The vehicle has not been inspected by any parties.
I got a Kia Sorento 2022 in May of 2022. I was very happy with the car but I noticed an issue with brakes within a few weeks. The brakes would feel as if it grind on the road when pushed down on a sudden stop. A little over 5 months and I was due for an oil change, I was informed there was a recall on the transmission system and it just needed to be updated, I was shocked I was not informed, nor did I see a recall online. I figured I would mention the brake issue. Upon getting the car back I was told the brake issue was due to "debris or pebbles found." I was told to change the rotators/pads if it continued (the car was only 5 months old?) NOW the car drives strange. When shifting gears the car makes a loud clicking sound. When braking the car lunges forward and the car jerks. I do not feel safe in the car. It only has under 4000 miles. It is currently at the dealership for Transmission Diagnosis(NotShiftingProperly, Leaks, Other).
Intermittent brake issues without error code or visual indication. On or about July 27, 2022 my wife was driving away from our house in our neighborhood when she noticed the brakes weren't responding normally & she was able to press the brake pedal all the way to the floor. This happened again the following day & she recognized that something was wrong. She called roadside assistance to assess towing but the first available service appointment in our area was August 17, 2022 at Lee Johnson Kia in Kirkland, WA. The vehicle wasn't driven due to safety concerns & was towed to Lee Johnson Kia on August 16, 2022. The service department has been unable to fix the car as of September 23, 2022. The brake master cylinder has been replaced twice & evidently has a leak issue. Kia America Customer Case #15006678.
My vehicle has only 8,672 miles and the vehicle brake rotors are warped and shake violently from normal driving. I seen other complaints online with the same issue saying the vehicle has a undersized brake system that produces a lot of heat. Also I have had a issue where I would be coming to a stop slowly and the brake pedal feels like it grinds or makes a crunch noise, also I have had twice where I get a message on my dashboard saying -??check ESC-?? I-??ve called dealer and they told me I can drop off vehicle to get it looked at but if the warning lights or messages don-??t stay on then for me to come back when they are on constantly.
6700 miles and vehicle began exhibiting Check ESC, Check Engine, Emergency Brake lights. Daily driven, vehicle does not sit for more than a day at a time. 7092 miles now, local dealership inspection lead to concluding that a rodent has chewed through wires and must be repaired. Claims KIA warranty does not cover such damage. Of the SEVERAL (6+) vehicle I have owned/financed/driven over the last 3 years, this is the first and only incident involving a wiring harness chewed. NOT HAPPY! Quick research shows there's a bit of a problem with KIA manufactured vehicle including Soy-Based wire shielding.
This vehicle has less than 10,000 miles on the odometer and the brake rotors are warped. They are undersized and will overheat under normal braking. Called the dealership and attempted to get warranty work complete, however the manufacturer, KIA Motors USA, has not responded or offered to replace the rotors under warranty. This isn't the only Sorento with this issue, I have submitted one similarly last week.
Breaks failed to engage while driving on the highway, which almost caused us to have an accident. The car was leased a few months ago so very concerned and will be taking it to the dealership. The autonomous emergency breaking system engaged and prevented the accident.
Bought the vehicle brand new in late 2021, and began noticing some vibration when braking at any speed. The vehicle at this point has less than 10,000 miles and the brakes are vibrating really bad. The manufacturer has not issued a recall and their best fix is turning the brake rotors and calling it a day. Never had I had such a poor experience with this manufacturer.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Windsor Locks, CT, USA