SUV, hybrid, 4WD/4-Wheel Drive/4x4, built in South Korea. Owner complaints on file from Jan 25, 2023 to Jul 6, 2026.
Owner complaints about this model year, by the year they were filed with NHTSA.
Owner complaints by component. Hover or focus a bar for the crash, fire, injury or death count.
Check a specific vehicle by VIN on NHTSA's site: a campaign may cover only part of a model year's production.
| Campaign | Filed | Subject | Component | Vehicles | Remedy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23V-610 | Aug 31, 2023 | Mounting clips for the rearview camera may break, which can cause the rearview camera image not to appear properly on the display | Back-over prevention | 144,979 | Part replacement |
| 22V-703 | Sep 19, 2022 | Debris and moisture accumulation on the tow hitch harness module printed circuit board (PCB) may cause an electrical short, which can result in a firePark outside | Trailer hitches | 70,887 | Part replacement |
The full text of every complaint filed with NHTSA about this model year, newest first. Complaints are filed by owners and are not verified by NHTSA; NHTSA removes personal details before publishing.
30 complaints on file, page 1 of 2.
The sub roof exploded while on the freeway and all the glass shattered like rain onto the fabric underneath. We pulled over on the side of the freeway and are waiting for a tow. We didn't see any large objects fall or fly towards the car. It sounded like a huge explosion then left a big whole.
NHTSA complaint 11748566The 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.
NHTSA complaint 11718445While 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)
NHTSA complaint 11716868While 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)
NHTSA complaint 11689872On passenger side interior between glove box and dashboard, there is a textured, metallic trim plate that during a sunny mid day, casts a reflection on the passenger side window over the top of the where the passenger side rear view mirror is.
NHTSA complaint 11688202Vehicle 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.
NHTSA complaint 11661044Critical 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.
NHTSA complaint 11658457We 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.
NHTSA complaint 11657484While I am driving and try to give the car gas to speed up quickly it loses all power and won’t go faster, to speed up I would have to slow down and slowly gain up to the desired speed. It gave me a warning message that I need to park and charge the battery. I don’t have a spot to charge the battery.
NHTSA complaint 11640108Faulty 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.
NHTSA complaint 11626773While slowing from cruising speed to around 5 MPH, give or take, and pressing on the accelerator, the vehicle will not respond/accelerate for up to 1 second. This is dangerous because you don't know when the vehicle will respond and if you'll have the acceleration. My assumption is this is a symptom of the hybrid system trying to determine the best mode of propulsion - gas, electric only or a combination of both. We've taken it to the dealer and we were told "this is how hybrid systems work." We've owned Toyota hybrid systems and we know this is not normal. Kia/Hyundai should reprogram the hybrid system to that it responds with no delay, even if it means the fuel milage suffers as a result.
NHTSA complaint 11625375Sunroof Randomly exploded driving down the road.
NHTSA complaint 11619729This is the third time my car has had code p0171 and p0191 pop into the system of the car. I just picked up my car on [XXX] and after I left the parking lot it didn't feel right. I had to press the gas pedal a lot harder to get it to move. This is after they replaced the high pressure fuel pump twice within a week and I believe under 200 miles of driving the car. Luckily Florida is a pretty flat state so the hill I have between my work and home isn't very steep but I go from 40 mphs down to 30 once I reach the top of it. I'm supposed to be going from Florida to North Carolina and I don't know how it's supposed to climb the mountains. The first time my car had this problem was [XXX] the second time [XXX] and the third time was [XXX] and the last issue was [XXX]. The first 3 times it went into limp mode where it won't run the components completely. The last time I had to press the gas pedal all the way so I wouldn't be hit by other vehicles. I only had warning lights the one time but error codes on 3 of the 4 times with last time barely leaving the dealership so I wasn't able to check. It's a safety issue when you have to pray that it gets enough to merge into traffic or to stay ahead of cars where it cause cars to slow down or possibly hit me if they think I would be going faster. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint 11597574The contact owns a 2023 Kia Sorento Hybrid. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact was able to restart the vehicle, but the failure persisted. The contact stated while attempting to drive the vehicle the following day the failure persisted. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where a diagnostic result was undetermined. The dealer stated that while attempting to drive the vehicle, there were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 19,700.
NHTSA complaint 11595544I was driving home from work when I felt my car was in a limp like a previous problem I had except this time I had a check engine light come on. I was almost home and I had a check hybrid system pop up on my dash and the car basically stopped driving. Luckily I was on a side street. I had a p0171 code on both of my issues . I had it fixed about a month and half ago the first time but couldn't say what caused the issue.
NHTSA complaint 11594602The forward collision warning system and emergency braking were engaged when no forward object was present. Amount of times 2 Driver side rear quarter panel falsely detected a car swerving into my lane and engaged an emergency maneuver to avoid collision even though there was no car there. Amount of times 1
NHTSA complaint 11587476I was driving down the highway when my vehicle shut off with no warning and the parking break engaged. I was stuck in the travel lane with cars flying by me going 50 plus MPH. My vehicle has 7000 miles on it. According to KIA the hybrid battery failed and they don’t know why. KIA has been no help and as far as I know they are not looking into this issue. Upon further research there has been multiple instances where this hybrid model has just shut down while the vehicle is moving and KIA has been unable to resolve the issue. Myself and my children could have been severely injured or killed. They need to get to the bottom of what is causing these hybrid batteries to fail on brand new vehicles.
NHTSA complaint 115763342023 Kia Sorrento - The engine turned off while driving, leaving me stranded in the middle of a busy road in the first six months of ownership. The vehicle was towed, and the dealer was unable to reproduce it. On 01/12/24, the car leaked all the contents of the coolant system onto my driveway. The vehicle was towed, and the dealer later stated the radiator adapter had a small pebble that appeared to have bent some of the fins. The dealer said it was "external forces," and they are not assuming liability. I firmly believe it was a failure of the radiator adapter and not a tiny pebble that caused the entire system to fail. I write this hoping that if other issues are reported with this vehicle's radiator, it will become a known issue to assist other customers and potentially keep people safe on the roadways. I complained to Kia America, who assumed no liability and stated it was not their problem, although they never requested photographs or the affected part. I am very saddened by the response from the dealer and Kia America during this incident.
NHTSA complaint 11567428At 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.
NHTSA complaint 11566663My vehicle died inThe middle of an extremely busy four lane road. A light came on That said to turn the car off immediately. The engine light and battery light flashed on. It sounds like the engine recall for the 22 and 21 hybrid sorento’s. I had to have the vehicle towed to the dealership, it is only 7 mos old.
NHTSA complaint 11565469Technical service bulletins and other notices the manufacturer sent to dealers. A bulletin is not a recall.