IllustrationENGINE SEIZED DUE TO A FACTORY RECALL. RECEIVED THE NOTICE AFTER THE FACT AND KIA IS NOT WILLING TO ACCEPT AND TAKE RESPONSIBILITY IN CORRECTLY FIXING MY ENGINE AND PAYING FOR MY $1000 RENTAL CAR. *JB
2004 Kia Sorento
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 2004 Kia Sorento do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 242.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Sorento years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
170–25K
1325–50K
4150–75K
3675–100K
56100–150K
24150K+
187 reports with mileage · 33 unknown
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Engine. Review the 46 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Engine And Engine Cooling. Review the 46 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Power Train. Review the 40 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
11 crash reports12 fire reports9 injury reports
What owners actually said
220 reportsTL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 KIA SORENTO. WHILE DRIVING 65 MPH SHE COULD SMELL SOMETHING BURNING. THE VEHICLE WAS PULLED OVER AND TURNED OFF. THERE WAS SMOKE COMING FROM UNDER THE HOOD. THE CHECK ENGINE WARNING INDICATOR LIGHT WAS ILLUMINATED. THERE WAS FLUID LEAKING UNDER THE VEHICLE AND CATCHING FIRE AS IT HIT THE GROUND. …
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TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 KIA SORENTO. WHILE DRIVING 65 MPH SHE COULD SMELL SOMETHING BURNING. THE VEHICLE WAS PULLED OVER AND TURNED OFF. THERE WAS SMOKE COMING FROM UNDER THE HOOD. THE CHECK ENGINE WARNING INDICATOR LIGHT WAS ILLUMINATED. THERE WAS FLUID LEAKING UNDER THE VEHICLE AND CATCHING FIRE AS IT HIT THE GROUND. THE VEHICLE BURST INTO FLAMES WITHIN 5 MINUTES. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT EXTINGUISHED THE FIRE. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A TOW YARD, THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE WAS UNDETERMINED. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 60,000.
CAR STARTED MAKING A SQUEAKING RUBBER NOISE IN AFTERNOON THEN BY NEXT EARLY MORNING CAR WAS MAKING A LOUD SQUEALING NOISE THEN A LOUD THUNK AND BY THE TIME WE GOT IT TO THE KIA DEALERSHIP IT WAS SLIGHTLY SHAKING. WAS TOLD THE WHOLE DRIVE SHAFT NEEDED TO BE REPLACED AND IT WOULD TAKE 6 DAYS TO GET THE PART IN! NO LOANER CAR AVAIL…
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CAR STARTED MAKING A SQUEAKING RUBBER NOISE IN AFTERNOON THEN BY NEXT EARLY MORNING CAR WAS MAKING A LOUD SQUEALING NOISE THEN A LOUD THUNK AND BY THE TIME WE GOT IT TO THE KIA DEALERSHIP IT WAS SLIGHTLY SHAKING. WAS TOLD THE WHOLE DRIVE SHAFT NEEDED TO BE REPLACED AND IT WOULD TAKE 6 DAYS TO GET THE PART IN! NO LOANER CAR AVAILABLE SO I'M LEFT WITH NO TRANSPORTATION TO AND FROM WORK!! THANK GOD THIS IS WARRANTY WORK OTHERWISE I'D BE SCREWED EVEN MORE! *JB
AFTER ALREADY REPLACING A CRANKSHAFT AND A SPEED SENSOR IN MY 2004 KIA SORENTO EX, I AM NOW EXPERIENCING A KNOCKING SOUND UNDER THE HOOD. IT USUALLY STARTS WHILE WAITING FOR A STOP LIGHT BUT ALSO WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD. MY WARRANTY IS OUT AND I CAN'T AFFORD TO HAVE IT WORKED ON AT THIS POINT. DON'T EVER BUY A USED KIA SO…
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AFTER ALREADY REPLACING A CRANKSHAFT AND A SPEED SENSOR IN MY 2004 KIA SORENTO EX, I AM NOW EXPERIENCING A KNOCKING SOUND UNDER THE HOOD. IT USUALLY STARTS WHILE WAITING FOR A STOP LIGHT BUT ALSO WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD. MY WARRANTY IS OUT AND I CAN'T AFFORD TO HAVE IT WORKED ON AT THIS POINT. DON'T EVER BUY A USED KIA SORENTO WITHOUT CHECKING CARFAX FIRST!!!! *TR
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 KIA SORENTO. WHILE DRIVING 30 MPH, THE VEHICLE SHUT OFF AND THE POWER STEERING AND BRAKES FAILED. THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT RESTART AND WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER. THE DEALER STATED THAT THE CRANK SHAFT BOLT WAS THE CAUSE OF FAILURE. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 60,000.
WELL, THERE IS AN ANNOYING, OVER TIME DRIVEN HISSING SIBILANT NOISE COMING FROM UNDER THE KIA SORENTO 2004 VEHICLE I WENT TO KIA, AND COMPLAINT ABOUT IT . THEY CLAIMED THAT THEY HEARD THE NOISE, BUT IT WAS NOT ENOUGH LOUD FOR THEM TO FIX THE PROBLEM. IN MY LIFE I NEVER HAD A CAR THAT MADE SUCH NOISE . COULD SOMETHING …
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WELL, THERE IS AN ANNOYING, OVER TIME DRIVEN HISSING SIBILANT NOISE COMING FROM UNDER THE KIA SORENTO 2004 VEHICLE I WENT TO KIA, AND COMPLAINT ABOUT IT . THEY CLAIMED THAT THEY HEARD THE NOISE, BUT IT WAS NOT ENOUGH LOUD FOR THEM TO FIX THE PROBLEM. IN MY LIFE I NEVER HAD A CAR THAT MADE SUCH NOISE . COULD SOMETHING BE DONE ABOUT IT?*AK
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 KIA SORENTO. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 20000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 41380. THE TAIL LIGHTS HAD BEEN CHANGED FIVE TIMES AND KEPT BURNING OUT. THE CONTACT STATED THE TAIL LIGHTS WERE A SAFETY ISSUE BECAUSE SOMEONE COULD RUN INTO THE BACK OF THE VEHICLE.*AK
TRANSMISSION OVERHEATED CAUSING OVERFLOW OF ATF ONTO EXHAUST MANIFOLD IGNITING A FIRE. *TR
2004 KIA SORENTO - LOSS OF POWER, BRAKE AND BATTERY LIGHTS ILLUMINATED, VEHICLE STALLED. CRANK BOLT FAILURE. HAPPENED 3 TIMES; REPLACED/FIXED 3 TIMES. A LETTER TO KIA BEING SENT AT THE TIME THIS WAS BEING WRITTEN.*AK
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 KIA SORENTO. THE VEHICLE VIBRATES WHEN THE BRAKE IS DEPRESSED AT 40 MPH. THE FRONT ROTORS WERE WARPED AND LATER RESURFACED AT 18,000 MILES. THE VIBRATION DUPLICATED APPROXIMATELY 6,000 MILES AFTER THE RESURFACING. THE DEALER REPLACED THE FRONT ROTORS, HOWEVER THE VIBRATION RECURRED APPROXIMATELY 2…
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TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 KIA SORENTO. THE VEHICLE VIBRATES WHEN THE BRAKE IS DEPRESSED AT 40 MPH. THE FRONT ROTORS WERE WARPED AND LATER RESURFACED AT 18,000 MILES. THE VIBRATION DUPLICATED APPROXIMATELY 6,000 MILES AFTER THE RESURFACING. THE DEALER REPLACED THE FRONT ROTORS, HOWEVER THE VIBRATION RECURRED APPROXIMATELY 29,000 MILES LATER. THE DEALER REPLACED THE FRONT ROTORS FOR THE SECOND TIME. PRESENTLY, THE VEHICLE IS BEGINNING TO VIBRATE AGAIN. THE VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN BACK TO THE DEALER FOR INSPECTION. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGE WERE 33,700 MILES.
Official recalls
0No recalls in this snapshot.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.