2023 Kia Sorento Hybrid

While driving hybrid battery depletes and car stops accelerating. With pedal to the floor, it may get to 60 MPH, other times 15 MPH. Car doesn't sound great while this is happening. 3/4 times an error showed up stating "Check Hybrid System-Stop Safely". The 4th time the error didn't appear , but was driving on hilly road where battery charged when it was going down a hill. The problem occurred on back roads and Highways. It is VERY unsafe when you suddenly can't accelerate. The car was towed to a kia dealer twice. 1st time I was told it was "bad gas." $1,500 later, it happened again. The 3rd time I had it again towed to a Kia Dealer. 6 weeks later, I was told they couldn't find anything wrong, and Kia released the car. 1 week later, it happened again on the Highway. Dates of occurrence: November 17, 2025 November 25, 2025 December 11, 2025 February 9, 2026 (car was at the dealer from Dec 11-January 29th)

While driving on September 15, 2025, the vehicle displayed a loud beeping and the warning message “Check Hybrid System. Stop Safely.” The vehicle restarted about an hour later, but the combustion engine ran very rough. The Kia dealer inspected it but reported no stored error codes. On September 23, 2025, the vehicle suddenly lost power while driving. It appeared to operate only on electric at low speed, then died completely in the roadway. The vehicle would not power down until the start/stop button was held. It required a tow back to the dealer. Prior to the first incident, a faint electrical smoldering odor was present. The vehicle remains at the Kia dealer for evaluation. This is a serious safety concern because the vehicle experienced sudden loss of motive power and stalling in traffic, which put both myself and others at risk. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Vehicle suddenly loses power while driving. Engine does not turn on, vehicle will run on battery until battery is dead, then putting the vehicle in park once stopped. Vehicle will not accelerate normally since the engine does not turn on. Only goes 10-20 mph. Lights on the dash come on, prompting to keep car on to charge the battery. No code is found when the vehicle is scanned. Dealerships can't seem to diagnose the issue. This is a safety concern when driving on busy roads or state highways at higher speeds.

Critical Issue: Gasoline leaks into engine. That causes increasing engine oil level significantly and mixed with engine oil. I dropped off me car (mileage: 11731) at Kia Pro in Glendale, CA on 5/1/2025 as soon as I confirmed that engine oil level exceeds the maximum (twice of max) and smelled Gasoline from the dipstick. The service advisor and a tech confirmed that the excessive engine oil level and gasoline smell. However, they refused to repair it under warranty because they don't see any physical leaks and error codes. In addition to that, they told me that the car is not good to drive as is because Gasoline is mixed with engine oil. In my opinion, this can cause critical powertrain failures or possible life-threatening damages if that initiates fire from engine. Car maintenance history: at 6312miles, 1 oil change change at Kia in Alhambra, CA I have attached the service receipt on 5/1 for your reference. That shows that the dealership confirmed the issue but they didn't try to resolve the issue.

At times vehicle hesitates or doesn't responses when accelerator is pushed. Has occurred several times when moving into traffic from a yield lane or stop. Fortunately it hasn't lead to an accident but was very scary. Researching this problem on-line, this has been reported by many Sorento owners. This is an intermittent problem and when vehicle is taken to the dealer they report they can not duplicate problem so nothing is done. By the shear numbers of owners reporting the same issue, something needs to be corrected.