2023 Kia Sorento Hybrid

The contact owns a 2023 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving approximately 40 MPH on several occasions, the vehicle stalled after the battery became drained. The vehicle was able to restart each time after waiting for the battery to recharge. The vehicle was taken to two different dealers on three occasions. During the first two visits, the dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. On the third visit, the failure was duplicated, but the dealer was unable to provide a cause for the failure. During a visit to the dealer, the vehicle stalled while a mechanic was driving it, and the vehicle was towed back to the dealer. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 25,000.

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.

We were involved in a T-bone type accident at highway speeds. I am filing a complaint because I feel Kia Of America did not pursue potential safety issues with the seatbelts. I called them to inform them of the issue to see if there was any other similar trending reports. they stated that they would send an inspector out which they never did. I believe that the seatbelt failed due to the nature of my injuries and discussion with medical experts. I was sitting behind driver. The accident resulted in a fractured sternum and rib injuries, injuries to both of my shins and injury to my coccyx. Most significant is that there was no seatbelt bruising on my chest. All suggestive of hitting back of front seat.I have pix. Also, upon attempting to exit the vehicle post impact, the seatbelt was fully extended, as I got tangled up in it trying to exit. Also to note the driver’s seatbelt was fully extended also however they were protected by airbag deployment. The front and rear passenger seatbelts were not extended and those passengers had only minor injuries. My wife’s, the driver, injuries were much more serious and has resulted in permanent damage. I contacted Kia of America to report the concern and they assured me they would send an engineer out to provide an inspection. They had multiple months to do this, and I followed up multiple times as to the status of this inspection. During that time the car switched insurance carriers hands however there was ample time to perform the inspection. After a couple months, I followed up again and they informed me that the car was destroyed. I informed them that was not satisfactory and please escalate this. They did and a gentleman called me and left a voicemail. I returned his call 4 times and left voicemails but again no follow up. I feel that this attention to a potentially significant safety issue has been neglected and I ask you to further investigate. I have emails and timelines of conversations documented. Thank you.

Faulty Oil filter placed in Vehicle during Oil Change at Dealership. On November 4, 2023 vehicle was taken into Rick Case Kia located at 3190 Satellite Blvd, Duluth, GA 30096. The oil was changed and vehicle driven approximately 5 miles home that afternoon, The following morning the vehicle was driven approximately 25 miles to Cobb Hospital. At no time during the ride did I note warning signals that something was wrong. At lunch I went to my car and started the vehicle and it alarmed with Engine and Oil lights. The vehicle was making a knocking noise. They added oil back to the engine and stated it was OK to drive. The manager of the dealership stated that this has happened several times.