2011 Kia Sorento — Problems & Complaints
NHTSA has 1,519 owner complaints on file for this vehicle. Every report below was filed by a real owner with the US government's road-safety agency.
Kia Sorento — Complaints by Model Year
Years flagged AVOID have at least twice this model's average complaint count — the strongest public-data signal of a bad year.
3 complaints
1,519 complaints
880 complaints
981 complaints
987 complaints
751 complaints
1,252 complaints
804 complaints
254 complaints
What Owners Complain About Most
Recent Owner Reports
Engine fire, extinguished by the fire dept. Car was parked at the time. Dealer informed us that the fire recall was completed on 10-29-2021 and now we are over the 150,000 mileage warranty so no repair can be done by Kia. I will submit 2 more claims for transmission and brakes for the same Kia.
Transmission, shocks and struts had to be replaced. Kia was having a hard bump knock when it changed gears driving down the highway, we had it looked at several times by the Kia dealer and they couldn't find anything wrong. Eventually had to replace the parts above.
Rear brakes failed, had to replace them. This is the 3rd repair not covered by Kia.
Engine light flashes fast then Kia will slow down to about 30 mph when going up a hill, I've make claims on this Kia for the fire loss, transmission, brakes and now it won't run unless I pay $85 to have the sensor reset which lasts a short time and the light starts flashing again. Was told it doesn't qualify for a new engine because the mileage is over 150,000.
Headlights go on and off while driving at night, especially when using turn signals. We cannot use Kia Sorento at night. All bulbs are OK
Recalls & Crash Tests
Complaints are one half of the picture — see the official recalls and NHTSA crash-test stars for the 2011 Kia Sorento, or check your exact car by VIN with the free VIN lookup.
Problems Checker
Any year, make and model: open the Car Problems Checker. Data: NHTSA (US DOT, public domain), cached up to 7 days.