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Owner-Reported Problems · NHTSA

2017 Kia Sorento — Problems & Complaints

NHTSA has 805 owner complaints on file for this vehicle. Every report below was filed by a real owner with the US government's road-safety agency.

805
Complaints
filed with NHTSA
13
Involved a Crash
owner-reported
32
Involved Fire
owner-reported
17
Injuries
across all reports
Years to Avoid

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.

2010 Kia Sorento

3 complaints

2011 Kia Sorento AVOID

1,519 complaints

2012 Kia Sorento

880 complaints

2013 Kia Sorento

981 complaints

2014 Kia Sorento

987 complaints

2015 Kia Sorento

751 complaints

2016 Kia Sorento AVOID

1,252 complaints

2017 Kia Sorento

805 complaints

2018 Kia Sorento

254 complaints

2019 Kia Sorento

428 complaints

2020 Kia Sorento

136 complaints

2021 Kia Sorento

20 complaints

2022 Kia Sorento

189 complaints

2023 Kia Sorento

122 complaints

2024 Kia Sorento

42 complaints

Problem Areas

What Owners Complain About Most

Engine 386 reports
Exterior Lighting 125 reports
Unknown Or Other 104 reports
Steering 97 reports
Electrical System 96 reports
Fuel/propulsion System 39 reports
Power Train 37 reports
Engine And Engine Cooling 27 reports
In Their Own Words

Recent Owner Reports

Unknown Or Other ODI 11385764 12/31/2020

VEHICLE WAS STATIONARY PARKED IN DRIVEWAY. REAR LIFT GATE WAS ACTIVATED BY OWNER WITH KEY FOB. GRANDCHILD RAN UNDER THE LIFT GATE. OWNER PULLED CHILD FROM REAR LIFT. GATE BRUSHED CHILD'S BACK AND CONTINUED TO CLOSE . OWNER THEN PLACED SEVERAL INAMINATE OBJECTS UNDER REAR OF CAR PROTRUDING FROM CARGO HOLD AND ENGAGED THE LIFT GATE. GATE CLOSED EACH TIME UNRESTRICTED TRAPPING…

Engine ODI 11385812 12/31/2020

WAS DRIVING DOWN THE STREET ENGINE STARTED TO MAKE LOUD NOISE AND STALLED COASTED TO A PARKING LOT. NOTICED SMOKE GOT OUT TO FIND THE ENGINE ENGULFED IN FLAMES.

Unknown Or Other ODI 11292186 12/30/2019

I BROUGHT MY VEHICLE TO THE DEALERSHIP DEC 09 2019 (MILEAGE 56176) AS INSTRUCTED BY SERVICE TECH IN ORDER FOR THEM TO CHECK REASON THIS VEHICLE IS USING A LOT OF OIL IN BETWEEN OIL CHANGES. SERVICE TECH CHECKED OIL AND FOUND OIL WAS DOWN 1.25 QTS. SERVICE TECH OPENED TECH LINE CASE AND SENT PICTURES TO KIA. I WAS INSTRUCTED TO RETURN TO DEALERSHIP TO RECHECK OIL LEVEL IN 10…

Steering ODI 11562582 12/29/2023

continuous issues with "sticky" or "notchy" steering. Steering is not smooth and almost caused several accidents.

Engine ODI 11562648 12/29/2023

This car has been consuming oil at a crazy rate I have been to the dealer at least 20 times with them saying I need to do oil consumption tests which I thought was already done but the car is misfiring and all that can be done right now is to drive it until engine seizes my question is how is this ok how does Kia sell a certified car with only 15,000 miles on it (when purchase…

Same Vehicle

Recalls & Crash Tests

Complaints are one half of the picture — see the official recalls and NHTSA crash-test stars for the 2017 Kia Sorento, or check your exact car by VIN with the free VIN lookup.

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Problems Checker

Any year, make and model: open the Car Problems Checker. Data: NHTSA (US DOT, public domain), cached up to 7 days.

Questions

FAQ

Is the 2017 Kia Sorento reliable?
Owners have filed 805 safety complaints with NHTSA for the 2017 Kia Sorento, most often about engine. Compare the complaint counts across model years above — a year with far more complaints than the model's average is the strongest 'avoid' signal in public data.
Which Kia Sorento years should I avoid?
The rule of thumb used by analysts: a model year whose complaint count is well above the model's own average (we flag 2× or more) usually had a real manufacturing or design problem — not just noisy reporting. Use the year-by-year strip on this page.
Where do these complaints come from?
Directly from NHTSA, the US government road-safety agency. Any owner can file a Vehicle Owner Questionnaire; NHTSA publishes them as public domain data. We cache each lookup for up to 7 days.
Do complaints mean a recall is coming?
Sometimes. NHTSA opens defect investigations when complaint patterns emerge, and investigations can end in recalls. Check the recalls page for this vehicle to see what has already been recalled.