NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
What owners actually said
188 reportsMileage unknown · Aug 8, 2023
Service Brakes
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 afr…
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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
NHTSA ODI #11537149
Mileage unknown · Aug 7, 2023
Electrical SystemSteeringVehicle Speed Control
Warning lights go crazy. Power steering goes out for several seconds. Rpms and speedometer go nuts or lay on zero. Sometimes I can’t shift into drive for several minutes. sometimes it sounds and feels like (under the pedal, in acceleration) it’s losing power for a few seconds, almost like a slipping feeling but in power. The clo…
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Warning lights go crazy. Power steering goes out for several seconds. Rpms and speedometer go nuts or lay on zero. Sometimes I can’t shift into drive for several minutes. sometimes it sounds and feels like (under the pedal, in acceleration) it’s losing power for a few seconds, almost like a slipping feeling but in power. The clock and profiles have reset overnight before where I had to reset clock and presets. Kia has had my car for many weeks already in January at just 2-3 thousand miles I’d say (I bought it brand new in October 2022). My dash cam was plugged in. They tried so many things…the “remedy” was to not use the dash cam a while to see if it happens again. After a few months, I plugged it back in. Issues returned. Took back to Kia who said they’ll need it to do it again without dash cam in so I unplugged it that night. Issue has returned at least three times since then. I’ve sent video to Kia and i guess I’m still waiting for them to get an extra loaner because they’ll need to keep it…when I went up there a couple weeks ago, I was told they didn’t have any loaners available so they would call me when they did.
NHTSA ODI #11536843
Mileage unknown · Aug 3, 2023
Electrical System
My raise and lower Windows don't work some times including the unlock and loock Windows. I get my house and want closed the car but I can rise the Windows, and try many times after a couple hours and could. I was far for the kia service and I dont have time at the moment to go, went al make the appointment the said that the car …
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My raise and lower Windows don't work some times including the unlock and loock Windows. I get my house and want closed the car but I can rise the Windows, and try many times after a couple hours and could. I was far for the kia service and I dont have time at the moment to go, went al make the appointment the said that the car need to have the fail in the moment if the not fail at the moment the can do anything.
NHTSA ODI #11536264
Mileage unknown · Jul 28, 2023
EngineFuel/propulsion SystemUnknown Or Other
This is the second occurrence of this issue. Suddenly all warning lights appear and the car loses power. When press the accelerator there is no revs increase and the engine misfires. I photographed the dashboard and will try to attach. The car becomes impossible to drive and my wife is scared to use it. Luckily in both cases I h…
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This is the second occurrence of this issue. Suddenly all warning lights appear and the car loses power. When press the accelerator there is no revs increase and the engine misfires. I photographed the dashboard and will try to attach. The car becomes impossible to drive and my wife is scared to use it. Luckily in both cases I have been able to stop in a safe area. Switching off and restarting the engine a couple of times re-established normal engine running the issue but left the ECU warning light on.
NHTSA ODI #11535072
Mileage unknown · Jul 25, 2023
Engine
Driving along, slow down and signal to make a right hand turn. Start the turn and all dash lights illuminate and engine dies, coasting through the damn intersection. 2nd time this happened. No check engine light, no codes……wtf KIA?
NHTSA ODI #11534468
3,200 miles · Jul 25, 2023
Engine And Engine CoolingCrashInjury
The contact owned a 2022 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while approaching a stop light, she lost consciousness. The contact crashed into another vehicle as the air bags deployed and the front driver side tire had separated from the vehicle. The other driver sustained injuries; however, their whereabouts were unknown. An em…
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The contact owned a 2022 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while approaching a stop light, she lost consciousness. The contact crashed into another vehicle as the air bags deployed and the front driver side tire had separated from the vehicle. The other driver sustained injuries; however, their whereabouts were unknown. An employee from a nearby dental office removed the contact from the vehicle and placed her inside the office. When the contact regained consciousness, the dental employee informed her that a strong unknown odor had emitted from the vehicle which prompted her to remove the contact from the vehicle. The contact believed that this odor caused her to lose consciousness which resulted in the accident. The contact sustained an injured left eye and bruises to her forehead. The contact later sought medical attention at a hospital where she was treated for her injuries. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to an independent tow yard. The dealer and the manufacturer were both notified of the failure but neither have offered any assistance. The vehicle was deemed a total loss. The failure mileage was approximately 3,200. The VIN was not available.
NHTSA ODI #11534332
Mileage unknown · Jun 26, 2023
Power Train
Received "Stop Vehicle Immediately" warning on 5/11/23. Notified Destination KIA service department on 5/12/23 and was advised that if the check engine light was not on, that I shouldn't bring vehicle in. Destination KIA scheduled recall service for 07/09/23. On 5/13/23, vehicle lost all power, on highway, and rolled to a sto…
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Received "Stop Vehicle Immediately" warning on 5/11/23. Notified Destination KIA service department on 5/12/23 and was advised that if the check engine light was not on, that I shouldn't bring vehicle in. Destination KIA scheduled recall service for 07/09/23. On 5/13/23, vehicle lost all power, on highway, and rolled to a stop. Vehicle stopped on a bridge, with no shoulder, and in a travel lane. Myself and three occupants were placed in substantial risk of being struck by other vehicles. Vehicle was diagnosed at Destination KIA and determined this was a result of transmission failure.
NHTSA ODI #11529007
Mileage unknown · Jun 16, 2023
Forward Collision AvoidancePower Train
Failures with power train around 12,000 miles. Code P1C2D03. Engine jumps gears and may require full transmission replacement. Upon research, there are at least nine other separate complaints of the same issue under 12,000 miles. Car was brought in a month earlier to have the front camera replaced due to a latent defect in the s…
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Failures with power train around 12,000 miles. Code P1C2D03. Engine jumps gears and may require full transmission replacement. Upon research, there are at least nine other separate complaints of the same issue under 12,000 miles. Car was brought in a month earlier to have the front camera replaced due to a latent defect in the sensor causing forward assist to erroneously lock the brakes while driving. As an aerospace/automotive quality engineer, I am appalled that there isn't a major recall on this vehicle for powertrain failures under 12,000 miles. https://www.carcomplaints.com/Kia/Sorento/2022/transmission/transmission_failed.shtml 12/27/22 – At around 12,000 miles the SUV wouldn't accelerate while driving 20mph to 40mph. Also, it wouldn't get out of 1st gear off the line. On its 3rd transmission in 2 months. 8/4/22 - Kia Sorento is 5 months old, with 2017 miles locally driven, and this is the third time the transmission has failed me while driving. 2/21/22 - Transmission failed at 1561 miles. It would accelerate to 3000rpm, do the 1-2 shift then bang back to 1st gear. https://www.kia-forums.com/threads/transmission-recall-updated-information.360349/ 4/2/23 - Waiting to hear whether I’ll need a new transmission on my SX Prestige 2022 Sorento. 8000 miles on the clock and it started struggling to change out of first. 5/4/22 - same with my 2021 Sorento 11,582 miles, been at the dealers since last Thursday night (4/28/22). This is what’s on my Kia app…Code P1C2D03. (1) Powertrain 5/8/22 - Same milage basically here at 10,400mi for my failure. Transmission was not rebuilt for me FYI. It was a brand new transmission from factory shipped in. 5/10/22 - Check engine code was P1C2D03. I have had the car 15months, and not even 25k yet. Mine is 2021 SX 2.5Turbo AWD https://sorentoforums.com/threads/2021-kia-sorento-transmission-light-wont-move.149/ 5/10/22 - Mine is the same code P1C2D03 and they tell me they've never seen this code before. I have 8500 miles on it.
NHTSA ODI #11527309
Mileage unknown · May 24, 2023
Service Brakes
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.
NHTSA ODI #11523746
Mileage unknown · May 19, 2023
Fuel/propulsion SystemSteering
This is the info that was given to kia : VERIFIED CONCERN, CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ON VEHICLE IDLING ROUGH, SCANNED FOR CODES AND FOUND CODE P0303 PRESENT, MONITORED WITH LIVE DATA AND CAN SEE HEAVY MISFIRES ON CYLINDER #3, REMOVED SPARK PLUG AND SWAPPED TO CYLINDER 1 AND REMOVED COIL AND SWAPPED WITH CYLINDER 4, REMONITORED AND MIS…
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This is the info that was given to kia : VERIFIED CONCERN, CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ON VEHICLE IDLING ROUGH, SCANNED FOR CODES AND FOUND CODE P0303 PRESENT, MONITORED WITH LIVE DATA AND CAN SEE HEAVY MISFIRES ON CYLINDER #3, REMOVED SPARK PLUG AND SWAPPED TO CYLINDER 1 AND REMOVED COIL AND SWAPPED WITH CYLINDER 4, REMONITORED AND MISFIRE REMAINED ON CYLINDER 3, NO FUEL ON SPARK PLUGS, PROCEEDED TO PERFORM COMPRESSION TEST, FOUND 60 PSI ON CYLINDER 3, PERFORMED WET COMPRESSION TEST AND READING WENT TO 120 PSI, PERFORMED COMPRESSION TEST ON CYLINDER 1,2,3, FOUND 90 PSI IN ALL OTHER CYLINDERS. was told i would need a new engine but have now been denied it. The car has stopped on me and shakes while I drive it. It has an active recall and have been told there is no solution for it. The dealer confirmed issues and recall that is active with no remediation. Have contacted dealership as well as corporate kia and have not been able to get any resolution. this issue apperaed first with a check engine light Sep 2022 ,
NHTSA ODI #11522926
Official recalls
6Sep 25, 2025
Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2021-2023 Sorento vehicles. The heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) blower motor wiring harness may be inadequate, which can result in a fire.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: A fire increases the risk of injury.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the wiring harness and blower motor resistor, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 23, 2026. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC351. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will be searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning October 9, 2025.
Additional source detail variants (2)
Visibility:defroster/defogger/hvac System:fan/motor
Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2021-2023 Sorento vehicles. The heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) blower motor wiring harness may be inadequate, which can result in a fire.
Consequence: A fire increases the risk of injury.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the wiring harness and blower motor resistor, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 23, 2026. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC351. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will be searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning October 9, 2025.
Electrical System:wiring:fuses And Circuit Breakers
Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2021-2023 Sorento vehicles. The heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) blower motor wiring harness may be inadequate, which can result in a fire.
Consequence: A fire increases the risk of injury.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the wiring harness and blower motor resistor, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 23, 2026. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC351. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will be searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning October 9, 2025.
Aug 31, 2023
Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2022-2023 Sorento, Sorento Hybrid, and Sorento Plug-in Hybrid (PHEV) vehicles. The mounting clips for the rearview camera may break, which can cause the rearview camera image not to appear properly on the display. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: A rearview camera that does not properly display an image can reduce the driver's rear view, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect and replace the rearview camera housing, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed October 27, 2023. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC280.
Oct 11, 2022
Kia Motors, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Sorento and 2021-2023 K5 vehicles. The vehicle's "fail-safe" limited-mobility drive mode may be impaired, when prompted by a transmission oil pump malfunction, which can result in a complete loss of drive power.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: Loss of drive power increases the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect and replace the transmission, as necessary. Dealers will also update the transmission control unit software. All repairs will be performed free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed December 9, 2022. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC250.
Sep 19, 2022
Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2016-2022 Sorento, 2021-2022 Sorento Hybrid (HEV), 2022-2023 Sorento Plug-In Hybrid (PHEV), and 2017-2022 Sportage vehicles equipped with a tow hitch harness installed as original equipment, or purchased as an accessory through a Kia dealership. Debris and moisture accumulation on the tow hitch harness module printed circuit board (PCB) may cause an electrical short, which can result in a fire.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: A fire while parked or driving can increase the risk of injury.
Remedy: Owners are advised to park outside and away from structures until the recall repair is complete. Dealers will inspect the vehicle, and, as necessary, replace the fuse and/or tow hitch harness module, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 11, 2023. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC249.
Jul 19, 2022
Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2022 Sorento and Telluride vehicles. The vehicles may be equipped with an incorrect spare tire which, when installed, can impair the anti-lock braking system (ABS) and the traction control system (TCS). As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 110, "Tire Selection and Rims."
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: Impaired anti-lock braking or traction control systems can increase the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect and replace the spare tire, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 27, 2022. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC244.
Mar 29, 2022
Kia Motor America (Kia) is recalling certain 2022 Sorento vehicles. The oil supply pipe to the turbocharger may crack, which could result in an oil leak in the engine compartment.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: An oil leak in the presence of an ignition source such as hot engine or exhaust components, can increase the risk of a fire.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the turbocharger oil supply pipe, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 22, 2022. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC233.
Additional source detail variants (2)
Engine And Engine Cooling:engine:oil/lubrication:pipes, Hoses, And Fittings
Kia Motor America (Kia) is recalling certain 2022 Sorento vehicles. The oil supply pipe to the turbocharger may crack, which could result in an oil leak in the engine compartment.
Consequence: An oil leak in the presence of an ignition source such as hot engine or exhaust components, can increase the risk of a fire.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the turbocharger oil supply pipe, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 22, 2022. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC233.
Engine And Engine Cooling:engine:gasoline:turbo/supercharger
Kia Motor America (Kia) is recalling certain 2022 Sorento vehicles. The oil supply pipe to the turbocharger may crack, which could result in an oil leak in the engine compartment.
Consequence: An oil leak in the presence of an ignition source such as hot engine or exhaust components, can increase the risk of a fire.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the turbocharger oil supply pipe, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 22, 2022. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC233.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗