2021 Kia Sorento

The contact owns a 2021 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving 25 MPH, there was an abnormal clunk coming from the transmission while depressing the accelerator pedal, and the vehicle failed to respond as intended. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact pulled over to the side of the road, turned off, and restarted the vehicle; however, the failure persisted. A dealer was contacted. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed, and determined that the transmission needed to be replaced. The transmission was replaced; however, the failure reoccurred and became worse. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V760000 (Power Train); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 66,658.

Power train incident - • transmission holding gears, jerking between shifts, gear shifted into S mode on its own and stuck there, unresponsive acceleration, locked up steering/inability to turn the steering wheel and total loss of drive power. • happened while merging onto a highway in one of two split lanes for highway access. A merging semi truck in the other merging lane almost ran into me because I could not give it gas. Me and a local police officer who saw me broke down and stopped to provide additional cover, were nearly hit several (6) times from other vehicles and semi trucks due to malfunctions happening. • diagnosed by Kia dealership and was told there was a major electrical failure which caused the electrical oil pump to fail and need a new transmission. Although my VIN doesn’t list recalls, similar issue to the recall on my same year/make/model under NHTSA Campaign Number 21V519. • Warning lamps/messages shown in photos attached. __________________________________ Forward Collision warning incident - • front forward safety system light appeared on dash, then moments later a warning appeared and the vehicle braked on its own detecting a vehicle in front of me when there was not another vehicle in front of me within vision!! • happened while driving in a 55mph zone, a vehicle was driving behind me when this occurred and that vehicle almost slammed into the back end of mine causing a crash. • problem not yet inspected on vehicle due to blown transmission from above incident and inability to start/move the vehicle.

I am writing to file a formal complaint regarding Recall 22V-760 (SC250) affecting my 2021 Kia Sorento. This recall was marked “complete” by Kia, even though no actual repair or remedy was performed on my vehicle. I am now facing a complete transmission failure and have been quoted $7,100 to repair a defect Kia already acknowledged and promised to fix. The reality is, the defect was always present, it just hadn’t reached full failure yet. The recall being closed does not mean the issue was resolved, and this approach leaves thousands of Kia owners like myself unprotected.In May 2023, I brought my vehicle to Daphne Kia in Alabama for a radiator leak. During that visit, they noted the transmission recall was open but stated that no defect was found. As a result, they marked the recall as “complete” without conducting any meaningful repair or replacement. No transmission work was done, despite known problems reported nationwide.In May 2025, my Sorento began showing the exact symptoms described in the recall: surging RPMs, transmission hesitation, jerking, and drifting in and out of gear. At times, the vehicle would slow dramatically or jolt in the middle of traffic and lose drive! Extremely dangerous situation for me in traffic with complete loss of acceleration. I had to take time off to bring the vehicle to Step One Automotive Kia in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, on June 30, 2025 the soonest my schedule allowed. At that appt, I was told the transmission had failed and would cost over $7,000 to replace.I also am paying for a rental vehicle while my car is still with Kia for resolution as of now. Recall coverage did nothing to protect me when the defect eventually surfaced. Kia has publicly stated that:“If your vehicle is affected by a recall, Kia will repair the vehicle free.” They have a legal obligation under the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act to correct safety related defects.They are not meeting that. kia consumer relations contacted as well.

The contact owns a 2021 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle hesitated while depressing the accelerator pedal, with several unknown warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where the contact was informed of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V760000 (Power Train); which the dealer linked to the failure. The vehicle was repaired under the recall; however, the failure returned soon after leaving the dealer. The vehicle was then taken to Arapahoe Kia (9701 E Arapahoe Rd, Centennial, CO 80112); where the contact was informed that the recall was closed by the previous dealer. The contact believed that the initial dealer never serviced the vehicle under the recall. The contact made several requests to the dealer to provide documentation about the work that was performed for the recall; however, the contact had not yet received the documentation. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was provided a case number. The contact later received an email from the manufacturer stating that all future repairs would be performed out of pocket. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.

I had purchased my vehicle in January of 2024. At the time the car drove great. Fast forward a few months later and that’s when the issues started happening. I would go to accelerate the vehicle and it’s like the car didn’t want to go anywhere. I would have the pedal down to the floor and it wasn’t moving. At first when it happened it was sporadicly, and I thought ok it’s a new car maybe that’s just how it drives. But then when I was pressing the gas pedal the engine would revv up but then continue to rev even when the car was moving, like it wasn’t catching the gear. So I had enough of just thinking it’s the car and I had my own mechanic look at it and he mentioned CVT transmission slipping. So being still under warranty I took it into Kia this past December and explained the loss of acceleration, it eating gas, and how I truly do not feel safe. Well of course I was told there is nothing wrong with it, and that it learned my driving habits and that I possible keep hitting the shifter in manual. I had videos of the rpms revving up and the car not moving, and they didn’t want to see my videos. I was just a few thousands miles from my 60,000 mile second owner warranty and not sure if that’s why I was told there was nothing wrong with is. This vehicle is truly a hazard as it does not move on acceleration on the highway and feel like I will get into an accident because of it one day. Kia really needs to address the issue before something really bad happens to someone. I apologize but it will not allow me to upload videos of the issues before and after going to Kia and how there is still an issue.

I started the car and it started having a hard time shifting around 13 and 30 miles an hour. And had a lack of power. No lights were on. Took it home and shut it off. The next day started the car and it told me to put it in park and the check engine light came on. I had no acceleration when in drive. Checked for powertrain recalls for my 2021 Kia sorento sx awd and 0 recalls came up for my vin #. It’s definitely a transmission powertrain issue.

I bought the car at 28k miles certified pre owned at jake sweeney kia in Florence ky. I had taken the car to the service station multiple times complaining of a clunky transmission. Things got worse and a whine from the engine bay occurred. At this time kia replaced the transmission at just under 42k miles. After having the new transmission about 500 miles later this issue is occurring again. Within 50 miles of replacement I went back to the dealership complaining of the the same clunking issue. At this time the dealership told me they could not replicate the problem. Now just a few hundred miles later the problem is extremely worse. I once again visit kia were they tell me again they could not replicate the issues. At this time I asked the service advisor Donavon to ride with me and I will point out the issue. Within a mile of our trip the problems occurred and the advisor noted the issue. I now am driving the car and waiting for a loaner from the dealership so they can yet again diagnose the issue which may result in another transmission replacement