CarComplaints.com Notes: There are just too many engine stalls or shuts down while driving reports to feel good about the Sorento. Especially when those things happen, on average, at just over 32,000 miles. Hopefully things will change.

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
3 / 8
Injuries / Deaths:
2 / 0
Average Mileage:
54,317 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.

2013 Kia Sorento electrical problems

electrical problem

Find something helpful? Spread the word.
Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2013 Kia Sorento:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

2013 Kia Sorento Owner Comments (Page 4 of 5)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #39

Apr 182015

Sorento

  • 55,345 miles

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

We were driving down the road one day and a large metal piece hit the bottom of the car in which knock the plastic shell covering the fuel line's off I called Kia they said so told Kia this could cause a fire Kia said so we have not been told about it Kia was like who cares. Another thing is the lights on the dash have been coming on even after fixing this still come on again Kia wanted to charge a high price to fix one part the under pinning should be replace with a plate not plastic part

- Batesville, AR, USA

problem #38

Apr 012018

Sorento

  • 120,000 miles
I have problems with the headlight passenger side that wire always burn and I had to replace every month

- Harbor City, CA, USA

problem #37

Jun 092017

Sorento

  • 74,000 miles
I started my car and turned my headlights on since it was night time. My headlights would not work. All the electrical components flickered on and off. The next day, we replaced the passenger side low beam light, believing it needed to be replaced. Once the replacement bulb was placed, the connector and wires began to smoke. All the electrical components would not work. We removed the bulb from the connector and all lights worked. I have not been able to replace the passenger side low beam headlight due to the connector melting. This is a fire hazard. I have seen many people complain about this problem, but cannot understand why there is not a recall.

- Birmingham, AL, USA

problem #36

Sep 222017

Sorento

  • 62,344 miles

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

Kia replaced my engine twice, due to oil consumption. A month after the first engine replacement, I had the same problems.. smoke coming out of exhaust, loss of power, stalling and oil consumption. I was in and out of Kia's service department. They told me nothing was wrong! I moved from co to ne, my husband and I had to add oil every 100 miles, with smoke coming out of exhaust and stalling. Lincoln ne Kia found an oil leak at the exhaust manifold right away! Kia instructs then to replace my engine again! once they replaced engine, they still saw the leak at the exhaust manifold with resulted in more guessing and parts. The day after I picked it up, my husband and I went out to dinner and my Sorento died in the middle of the road. Right away called and got it back in. At first they could not duplicate, however after taking it 50 miles, it died 3 times. They still can't find anything, but feel it may be the throttle body. They put a used one on and have me drive it a few weeks, it didn't die during that time, so they ordered a new one and installed. A month later I drive to co, I break down, it's towed back and Kia can't find anything. I drive it and it dies 1/2 dozen more times, each time I take it right in, but the code has cleared and they can't find anything! finally, it does and the light stays on, it shows it's the map sensor. Kia has a specialist come out to install that and inspect my car. They say it's fixed and safe. I drive to co on 9/22/17, 2 months later and my engine catches on fire. I loss my brakes, can't put it in park and emergency brake won't work. Flames are everywhere, smoke filling my car. I jump out of my burning, moving car and seconds later the whole thing engulfs in flames! most horrific, awful thing ever! I was lucky enough to have minor injuries. My mental and emotional state are a mess! Kia won't do anything!

- Lincoln, NE, USA

problem #35

Sep 292017

Sorento

  • 55,000 miles
My 2013 sorrento has stalled 2 times in the last 2 weekson the freeway. When bringing it to the dealer there are no ebngine codes. I see that from 2011 to 2013 there has been a PCM update for this issue SC106. And dealer states my VIN is not on the list even tho it falls into the year catagory. I will continue to go to the dealer.this is unsafe when you lose brakes and steering while on the freeway.

- Fontana, CA, USA

problem #34

Jun 072017

Sorento

  • 88,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Sorento. While driving approximately 10 mph, the vehicle lost power suddenly without warning. The contact attempted to apply the brakes, but they failed to respond. The contact attempted to steer the vehicle to the shoulder, but the steering failed. The vehicle came to a stop and was able to be restarted after the second attempt. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer (Kia West county), but the cause of the failure could not be determined. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 88,000.

- Ballwin, MO, USA

problem #33

Nov 152015

Sorento

  • 26,000 miles

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

Radio cuts on and off at will. Mostly off. Headlights go out often. Both of these things happen while moving and while sitting still. It has happened while driving and sitting in the driveway.

- Kennedy, MN, USA

problem #32

Mar 042017

Sorento

  • 91,000 miles
Passenger side headlight went out, when I went to replace it the plastic plug was melted! bought a new plug and wired it in.

- Lawrence, KS, USA

problem #31

Dec 262016

Sorento

  • miles
The electrical wire to the lights burned as well as the connector the battery will not stay charged nothing is on at the time the airbag light stays on continuously the car is unsafe and needs to be changed. The doors randomly lock battery will not hold a charge and there's a short somewhere in the electrical system is it a hazard to drive

- Notasulga, AL, USA

problem #30

Oct 102016

Sorento

  • 40,178 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that the ABS warning indicator and two other warning indicators randomly flashed. In addition, there was an abnormally loud knocking noise that occurred randomly. The dealer replaced the two rear wheel hub assemblies, but was unable to replicate and diagnose the engine assembly failure. The dealer kept the vehicle for a day and test drove the vehicle, but provided no solution. The dealer stated that the manufacturer was aware and there were several tsb alerts. The manufacturer had not provided a repair solution. The approximate failure mileage was 40,178.

- New Orleans, LA, USA

problem #29

Jan 232016

Sorento

  • miles

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

Vehicle will not start after sitting overnight. Replaced battery & after aprox 1 month issue has occurred again. No one has been able to diagnose the issue, the only answer I get is to replace the battery (which I did). The most recent occurrence was Jan 2016 & I have kept battery on a slow drip charger as I cannot wait on jump/tow daily.

- Utica, OH, USA

problem #28

Dec 192015

Sorento 4-cyl

  • 45,000 miles
I bought a 2013 Kia Sorento last night Saturday 12/19/2015 and the paperwork did not get complete until after 10:30pm. The salesman stated that all components had been checked and that all was good. I live a hour away from the dealership and when I was on 290 heading East at about 70 mph, when I noticed that my dash and radio panel lights start flickering, my motor felt like it idled down a little but then it was ok, but then it happened again and all the lights in the radio area, steering wheel and speedometer area turned off and it lost a little power but then they all came back on and I made it home, then on 12/20/15 I was driving into town and after about 10 miles at 75 mph my inside lights started flashing again, and then went totally dark. I didn't lose any power this time but I'm starting to feel pretty ripped off. I also noticed today that while driving on hwy that when you come up to a curve to the right, the vehicle jerks to far and I ended up in the other lane. Thank god that no car was there.

- Lincoln, TX, USA

problem #27

Nov 252015

Sorento

  • 52,307 miles
The contact owned a 2013 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle caught on fire. The contact merged the vehicle to the shoulder of the road and the vehicles occupants were evacuated. A fire report was filed and there were no injuries reported. The fire was extinguished by the fire department. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was deemed totaled. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 52,307.

- Ona, WV, USA

problem #26

Oct 302015

Sorento

  • 47,600 miles
I took T\he vehicle to a non dealer location to be inspected after having multiple issues with the headlamp assembly being faulty. Upon inspection I was notified by the mechanic on duty that the wiring assembly was actually melting, a manufacturers defect. Because this being a fire hazard he was unable to replace the bulbs for me and said he felt the vehicle was unsafe to drive because it would place myself, my family and others on the highway at risk. He proceeded to show me the problem. This problem has resulted in my having to replace the bulbs five times in the past on the drivers side and at least twice on the passenger side. The dealer had to replace the wiring assembly on the passenger side due to the same problem. Have also provided a picture of the repair note of the problem on the opposite side of the vehicle. Also providing a clip showing that according to their inspection my lights were in working order when in actuality they were not. Lastly noting several electrical issues remain in addition to having to replace the battery as it is being continually drawn from due to these issues.

- Knoxville, TN, USA

problem #25

Aug 222015

Sorento

  • 44,000 miles
My 2013 Kia sorrento's parking lights were on this afternoon on Saturday August 22, 2015 at approximately 2:30 pm est. I went outside to place something in my vehicle when I noticed the parking lights were on. I had parked my vehicle at 1:00 am when I returned from running an errand. I parked, made sure all the lights were turned off, armed the security system and went inside. Before my wife and I went to bed I went out to make sure that I turned all lights off which they were. This was at 2:00 am. The vehicle had not been touched since that time. This is not the first time that this has happened. I have had it in to the dealership twice already where they claim they cannot replicate the problem. We have had to have our vehicle jumped at least 12 times due to a dead battery caused by this problem. The vehicle falls well within it's warranty so it will be covered however the issue is serious enough that it warrants attention which I believe will be ignored if not brought to light and may result in injuries or cost to others when no cost should be incurred. I believe that this is an electrical issue that needs to be addressed immediately. I feel this could lead to problems with steering, braking system, engine malfunction as well as possible risks of fire due to a faulty electrical system.

- Knoxville, TN, USA

problem #24

Jul 312015

Sorento

  • 37,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Sorento. Approximately two weeks after the contact purchased the vehicle, she began smelling tar. The vehicle ws taken to the dealer, but the technician was unable to diagnose the failure. The failure recurred and the headlights burned out. The dealer replaced the headlights and stated that there was a recall; however, the contact did not receive any recall notice. Approximately three weeks ago, the failure recurred and the driver seat began to burn, jamming the driver side door. The contact called 911 and the fire department extinguished the fire. There were no injuries and a police report was not filed. The vehicle was towed away by the insurance company. The VIN and NHTSA campaign number were unavailable. The failure mileage was 37,000.

- Cordova, AL, USA

problem #23

May 102015

Sorento

  • 30,000 miles
The contact owned a 2013 Kia Sorento. While driving at 35 mph, the instrument panel lighting illuminated and the vehicle stalled. While depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle accelerated, crashed into a concrete wall, and flipped over. As a result, the contact sustained lacerations and contusions that required medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was destroyed. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 30,000.

- Yonkers, NY, USA

problem #22

Dec 232014

Sorento 6-cyl

  • 78,513 miles
While driving at highway speed my wife with 7 year old daughter in car had all the dash lights and interior lights illuminate and the car became sluggish and was hard to drive. I advised he via mobile phone to immediately pull over and turn the car off. I told he to wait a minute and try to restart it and see what happens. All dash lights lit up again and the car made a click, click, click sound over and over again. She tried this 5 times and she had the car towed to the dealer. The dealer replaced the alternator for $946.14 on 12/23/2014 at dulles Kia in leesburg, va.

- Charles Town, WV, USA

problem #21

Oct 292014

Sorento

  • 42,000 miles
This "glitch" happened twice in one week. First, driving off from a stop light at about 15-20 mph the car seemed to brake itself for about a second, lunged me forward and 30 seconds later died. No check engine light. Car restarted fine after 3rd try. Then again I had let go of the accelerator and was cruising before braking at a light, the car did the same thing at about 25-30 mph but harder and a loud clunk came from it. Even the tires screeched when it "braked" itself for a second. This second time the car died 2 seconds later when I applied the brakes. Took it straight to the dealer, the car died again in front of them when they switched on the A/C to check if it was working (could be coincidence since I wasn't fooling around with the A/C the first two times). They called me back on second day and asked me to take my car back since they could not replicate the problem and the computer hadn't registered it. I've used it exclusively on highways for 2 days now and no problem. I've done less than 10 miles of city driving since I got my car back. I've heard of other people getting an upgrade for the ECU and solving the issue, but that upgrade was already applied over a year ago to mine and according to the dealer, there is no newer version.

- Doral, FL, USA

problem #20

Oct 012013

Sorento

  • 15,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled and the check engine sensor illuminated intermittently. The contact mentioned that the failure occurred several times. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer. The technician diagnosed that the computer software needed to be updated. The software was updated, but the failure persisted. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 15,000.

- Merrimack, NH, USA

Read the next 19 complaints »

Not what you are looking for?