CarComplaints.com Notes: Kia really changed the design of the Sorento in the 2011 model year. Instead of a truck-like body-on-frame more capable of offroad adventures, the newest Sorento is a unibody construction and is much more crossover than sport utility. The changes brought a whole slew of problems, including a frustrating problem where the door that won’t open. Is it too late to go back?
10.0
really awful
Crashes / Fires:
3 / 17
Injuries / Deaths:
7 / 0
Average Mileage:
64,198 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
My driver side door just stopped working from the outside. It unlocks, but the handle does not open the door. This is such an inconvenience, not to mention a safety issue. I searched and see tons of complaints about the same thing, but no recall. I am so surprised at Kia for not taking responsibility
Drivers side, rear seat passenger door lock does not open from outside or inside. The door locks are electrically opened via key fob opener. I had this difficulty before but had been able to open from inside. I am fearful that the child lock on the jamb of the door may have been flipped to the locked position. In any event the door will not open. The vehicle was purchased used in Aug of 2015 with 46K on odometer. The unlocking issues were noted when the vehicle was stationary as the door locks originally engaged when the transmission was placed in drive. The locking problem was likely first noted in early fall of 2016. By November of 2016 the door would neither open with the key fob button, electrical switches on the master door control on the drivers and front seat passenger interior arm rests, or the the interior passenger door handle from the inside. The remainder of the locks have not failed to open with the key fob, electric switches or with the interior door handles. This situation presents a safety concern particularly to driver's side rear passenger as exit from the vehicle through the door is not possible at this point. The situation has not yet been repaired.
This vehicle has the ABS light, traction control light, and the downhill assist lights that comes off and on whie diving the vehicle. After driving for a while than they may go off, now they are back on and they are staying on which my wife is sceptical of having on and so am I, when I checked tis problem on the internet fr complaints ther we many for this same problem and the dealers can't seem to know how to fix the issue. I wrate a letter to the Kia corperate office today to see what can be don with this problem.
- Geismar, LA, USA
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Push button start. Sometime it starts and some time it does not. Hit and miss. Battery replaced. Alternator replaced, starter check. Car does not always start the 1st, 2,3,4, or 5th time
Driver side door on my 2011 Kia Sorento stopped working yesterday, . would not open by remote or key. I had to climb in and crawl over to drivers door to get into car. This is a serious defect that could result in death or injury to me and my passengers during a very common event in houston - flooding. If I was pinned in my car going under water and no one could open the door by any means then I would drown. Just how many complaints do U need to have to recall your obvious defect? I have seen an alarming number of people who have complained to you on the same but no actions are taken by Kia to remediate this dangerous default. People have been charged up to $900 to Kia dealership to fix their shoddy cost saving cheap door only to have the other door(s) on their car go out within weeks. In other words, we should always be ready for this much reported safety hazard! it is going to flood in houston tomorrow...hope I am not trapped in my car due to your negligence. Oh and there are lots of other issues that could happen, unable to get my grandchildren out of the car in a houston summer!
2011 Kia sorrento/the car the lock mechanism failed. The car will not lock with the key fob or when pushing the locks in the door. Approximate failure was 80,000 miles. Took it to the dealer said I was over mileage for the repair. It will cost about $800 for repair. I am seeking advice to see if extended warranty will cover this cost. I have already replaced the front drivers door latch, I received a letter saying the repair on the locks would be done but apparently it does not cover this part. 5 year old car no locks work at all.
In the last week, the vehicle shut down completely while driving. The first time it happened on the highway while driving 70mph - the car shut off and dropped to 50mph, the steering wheel locked but it started back up. Twenty minutes later while driving 25mph on a side road, the same thing happened. And then again while in a drive thru line. This has since happened twice while on the highway. The vehicle does start back up again but it is obviously unsafe to drive, especially on the highway. After researching the issue, I found there was a recall on 2011-2013 models with the same issue. I contacted Kia and was told my vehicle was not part of the recall but to bring it in and have it looked at. I have an appointment on Monday, December 19, 2016 to have several other recall items corrected.
I bought my car in 2011 by 2013 the rear passenger door does not open at all, driver side wont open from out side. Then 2014 ABS light on, controls on steering wheel for phone, cruise and volume don't work. Shifting to park or drive isn't catching all the time, and door locks click open & close randomly. I do not feel safe driving my car.
Already filed complaint about 2 doors that you cannot open from the outside of the vehicle when unlocked, now I have a 3rd door that won't open from the outside while unlocked. Gonna have to climb in from the hatchback pretty soon. They all open from the inside, not the outside. So now I have to leave the child safety locks open all the time, hopefully my 3 yr olds won't pull on the door handle from the inside and fall out of the vehicle. All this within the last 3 weeks. I'm guessing somebody has to die before this will be recalled. Going to call dealer today to see what they say.
Kia Sorento 2011. Parked. First it was one door, just stopped opening from the outside, opens from inside, unless you put child safety lock on, then it won't open at all. Then today the other side not opening from the outside. All open from inside, only problem is what to do when all four stop opening from outside. If my kid is in there, falls asleep, and it's hot outside, how do I get the kid out if I can't open from outside, somebody is going to be seriously hurt or killed from this problem. From the looks of things there has been a lot of problems with these doors.
In August 2010 there was a recall to reroute the wiring harness for the starter and was supposedly corrected. Three weeks ago I was coming down a mountain in the vehicle (2011 Kia Sorento) and I noticed a little hesitation. When I stopped the vehicle, it would not start again. I had it towed to the local Kia dealer and they advised that the fuse panel had been shorted out and was defective. They said that Kia would provide the fuse panel if I would pay the cost of the labor. I reluctantly agreed. When I picked up the vehicle, they stated they had to put a "salvaged starter" on the vehicle to get it to start. I again reluctantly agreed because I didn't have money for a new starter($500). When I checked my past repair ticket I noticed that Kia and the dealer supposedly rerouted the starter wiring harness on a recall. After checking with other technicians, they advised that if the wiring harness was not installed correctly, it could have shorted out the starter and fuse panel and possibly could cause the vehicle to suddenly loose power even while driving. I'm afraid to drive the vehicle now; fearful that it will loose power while in operation causing an accident and possibly loss of life.
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that the rear driver and rear passenger side doors failed to open from outside and inside the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who replaced the parts with plastic locks, but the failure recurred. The front passenger side door failed to lock and unlock without warning. The vehicle was to be taken back to the dealer for a third repair. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and provided no recommendation. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 28,000.
I have been having problems with my driver door and passenger door opening from the outside. I have to open the back door to get in to the front. This has been going on for over 3 years. I've spoken to the dealer ship place where I got the car from, and they informed me it was nothing they could do about it. I also took it to the Kia dealership and they told me it's not a recall or anything can do about it unless I pay for them to fix it. I don't think this is right at all. I am not a ruff driver and I try to take good care of my car. I do not feel as if I should have to pay for this. There are so many people complaining about the same thing going on with their doors and we are not getting any help at all. They are not worrying that we have to pay the car note plus the car insurance and its nothing they can do unless we pay for it. Not to mention if it was someone trying to harm me and my kids. We would have to go through the back door to get in the front to start the car and pull off. That's not if you was to go on cargurus.com you would see all the complaints. Is there anything that you all can help us with please let us know. Thank you. Also the date I put in is not correct it would not let me put 2014.
Suddenly unable to open drivers side front door from the outside. Already paid over $300 for same issue on drivers side rear door did not open from outside suddenly. Obvious defect as normal use and no issues until suddenly stops working. Living in South Florida very dangerous with canals and water should an accident occur. Vehicle stationary parked.
A couple weeks ago, while my car was parked, I went to open the driver's side door and it would not open. I tried unlocking with the fob and with the key in the door, nothing worked. I had to get into my car through the passenger side, now the only way I can get driver's side door to open, is from the inside. Then a few days ago, during a camping trip, I stepped out of my car to retrieve some things from my trunk. At that time, all doors automatically locked. When I tried to open the car doors to retrieve more things (and my two children), the doors wouldn't open, again, it took several attempts before I could finally unlock the car with the key (it took approximately 15 minutes). It's summer time and my young child was sleeping inside the car. This is definitely a safety hazard given the circumstances. About a day later, the airbag light came on, I'm guessing related to this electrical defect. I contacted the dealer, they say these issues wouldn't fall under warranty and that I had to pay $99 diagnosis fee plus repairs (about $200 per door). Please look into this, I found several similar complains online. Kia is not taking any responsibility. Thank you!
Drivers side door on 2011 Kia Sorento will not open from the outside. Inside still works, can hear lock/un-lock but seems like outside latch is stuck in the lock position. Have to either crawl through the car or reach in the window and open from inside. Still have extended warranty on car (82,000 miles) but was still going to cost me $200 to fix it. Why am I paying $200 to fix a handle on a car that is well under warranty. This is a safety issue considering if I get in an accident it hinders the first responders ability to get to me. From what I've read this is an issue a lot of people are having. Kia needs to issue a recall and fix it.
Engine light stays on all the time. Bought used and returned to dealership to repair. They could not get light to go off. Dealership called Kia dealership for info and did all that was told to try installing actuator to repair but to no avail. I purchased master tech when I bought the car. Will a Kia dealership accept master tech as repair payment other than $100 deductible?
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Daphne, AL, USA