9.3

really awful
Typical Repair Cost:
No data
Average Mileage:
123,000 miles
Total Complaints:
3 complaints

Most Common Solutions:

  1. not sure (3 reports)
2008 Kia Sorento electrical problems

electrical problem

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2008 Kia Sorento Owner Comments

problem #3

Feb 032022

Sorento 3.3L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 180,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

ESC OFF light comes on and I lose power and cant drive over 20mph. Check engine light is also on. Code said bad throttle sensor. Replaced entire Throttle Body 2 weeks ago. The light came back on today and I lost power again. I have read 100's of this same complaint. Has anyone found the solution?

- Barbara L., Cartersville, GA, US

problem #2

Jun 012015

Sorento EX 3.3L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 60,000 miles

Sorento has ESC issue, which I am pretty certain is an electrical short, somewhere in the system. My main theory behind it, is because before it became as prevalent, it would only happen briefly, after hitting a bump, or going through the carwash, or driving while it was raining..... ie, shorting something. a day later, problem goes away.

But now it is just constant. So, what happens is the ESC OFF light comes on. This does two main things, first it prevents you from going into 4wd, hi or lo. Second, which is what people notice in their other compaints is that the vehicle goes into "limp" mode. More or less, the RPMs are limited, and it puts the vehicle in 4th gear, even from a dead stop. So you have no acceleration. If it happens when you're not expecting it, then it can be dangerous, when you pull into traffic expecting to move, and your car just puts along taking its sweet ass time.

So, different error codes, I have had the stop lamp switch replaced, the wheel base speed sensors replaced, the ABS module replaced, and the TCS module (under the front passenger carpet by their feet) replaced. Oh, and the transfer case motor replaced. All at the suggestion of different dealerships. None of them fixed it. I don't necessarily blame the dealerships- despite their price gouging, they are trying to fix the problem. But Kia corporation is terrible, won't disseminate information or create service bulletins for them to go off of. And they only use basic error codes. Additionally, the vehicles are wired like they were built in a third world country- last winter, there was a heavy snow, and I turned on my windshield wipers, that caused an overload and burnt the fuse. But that fuse was only for the first "speed" of the wipers, and some- not all- the lights on my center console, and my dash lights, as well as my right brake light..... Talk about the most random assortment of crap. So when there is a short in the ESC system..... where they are supposed to look, I have no clue. The last time I took it in, they wanted me to replace the front transfer case- at half the cost of the vehicles worth. At this point, its just a piece of junk, but it still runs, and gets me from point A to B. But I will NEVER, not even in an apocalypse, own a Kia again.

- Wendel B., Burnsville, MN, US

problem #1

Jul 212016

Sorento LX 3.3L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 129,000 miles

Dealers response to an electronic sensor problem is to physically replace the transfer case at a cost that equals or exceeds the value of the vehicle!!!!!!

- Dale P., Bend, OR, US

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