LIVE Global accident monitoring — updating every 15 minutes
Owner-Reported Problems · NHTSA

2019 Kia Sorento — Problems & Complaints

NHTSA has 428 owner complaints on file for this vehicle. Every report below was filed by a real owner with the US government's road-safety agency.

428
Complaints
filed with NHTSA
10
Involved a Crash
owner-reported
19
Involved Fire
owner-reported
16
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.

880 complaints

981 complaints

987 complaints

751 complaints

1,252 complaints

804 complaints

254 complaints

428 complaints

136 complaints

20 complaints

189 complaints

122 complaints

42 complaints

75 complaints

0 complaints

Problem Areas

What Owners Complain About Most

Engine 156 reports
Unknown Or Other 110 reports
Electrical System 68 reports
Structure 55 reports
Power Train 51 reports
Fuel/propulsion System 24 reports
Exterior Lighting 22 reports
Forward Collision Avoidance 18 reports
In Their Own Words

Recent Owner Reports

Engine ODI 11707881 12/30/2025

At 79,000, the engine started running very rough. I took it to the dealer. It’s got a cylinder that won’t fire. I have an extended warranty( big $!) but I’m getting the runaround from Kia. It’s been almost 3 weeks. They’re dragging their feet because they know these Theta II engines are JUNK! I’ve maintained my own vehicles my entire adult life, and I don’t drive crazy either.…

Structure ODI 11707683 12/29/2025

Paint peeling issues with the snow white paint

Fuel/propulsion System ODI 11562669 12/29/2023

There's something SERIOUSLY wrong with the Lambda Ii GDI engine similar to the theta ii. Like the SAME oil problems. I have a perfect service record at 89,600 miles and no accident and the oil light came on with solid oil, and even after the new oil, the new transmission flush and full injection service the oil light came on. They took it in numerous times and turned off the o…

Unknown Or Other ODI 11707323 12/28/2025

A noisy steering wheel column while driving ,car suspension was check everything was ok

Structure ODI 11707140 12/26/2025

The Snow White Pearl Paint Color is peeling off my entire car, compromising the vehicle since the metal is no longer being protected. I took it into a KIA dealership and they acknowledged the paint defect but said they can’t do anything about it even though they know that there is a manufacture defect with this specific paint color. There was no warning, my car is parked in th…

Same Vehicle

Recalls & Crash Tests

Complaints are one half of the picture — see the official recalls and NHTSA crash-test stars for the 2019 Kia Sorento, or check your exact car by VIN with the free VIN lookup.

Check Another Car

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 2019 Kia Sorento reliable?
Owners have filed 428 safety complaints with NHTSA for the 2019 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.