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.
On March 14, 2024 at approximately 11:40, while driving on a private driveway, which had no other cars or pedestrians on or near it, my vehicle performed its own emergeny braking effort to bring the car to a stop. The standard KIA Emergency Braking warking text displayed on the dashboard declaring the incident. However, no other vehicles or pedestrians were in hundreds of feet of the vehicle or presented a potential obstical that may be crossing in front of the vehcile.The car was traveling approximately 25 MPH and came to a complete stop. It felt as though the engine had frozen and all the wheels locked.
I was driving on a highway where maximum speed limit was 65miles. Suddenly my car stalled and restarted again and post that i had a warning for Check AEB, auto hold was disabled and Traction control was enabled. For a brief moment, i lost steering which may be a result of the stall but then i regained steering. This has happened 4 times in the last 6 months. I stopped the car by the road, turned off the engine and restarted the car. The dashboard still showed the same warnings. I again turned off the car, opened my drivers side door and closed it and then restarted the car. The warning signs went off and then there were no issues post that.
The shift release has been replaced for 2017 kia sorento but now it is traffic light switch causing one of my car problems. In gas I spend 40 dollars a day for less than 110 miles of driving even with an full synthetic oil change just done is problem two. The speedometer is off by 3 to 5 I have had bmv and officers do their test on vehicle along with the head and tail lights being replaced every 6 to 8 weeks what am I to so with a vehicle that I am still paying on.
After using AutoBrake while driving I turned off the engine without turning off the Autobrake system. The Electronic Parking Braking System {EPB] engaged. When I turned the car on again I could not disengage the EPB. After trying everything recommended in the owners manual I called the Kia dealer and they had no suggestions. I called for a tow to the dealer. After they examined the car they informed me the system (cables & EPB system) needed to be replaced. I was lucky that the. failure accrued after I had parked and not while in motion. I have @41480 miles on the car & had only started using auto brake within the last year so I think there is a connection since the manual advises to turn auto brake off before turning off the car - not an intuitive action.
Within the last 6 months the EPB Electronic Parking Brake system engages and will not disengage leaving me stranded 3 separate occassions having to be towed to the dealership twice. Now, the KIA dealer tells me the system needs to be replaced. The dealer originally acknowledged issues with this system and that there is no fix, or recall, at this time. Such a basic function should work on this vehicle without incident and certainly should not fail under 100,000 miles. It is dangerous and can put families at risk when the vehicle locks up and will not move from its spot. Replacement of this sytem is expensive and unreasonable. There are numerous reports that can be found online.
- Clayton, NC, USA
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There were a handful occasions where the epb light would come on, and the emergency brake would lock up, which resulted in me not being able to move. The first time, I gave up trying to get it to move. Later, my husband tried, and it was back to normal. We researched it, and the next few times it happened, we thought we were just doing something wrong. We would try a few different "tricks" (like making sure you had your seat belt on), and, eventually, it would work! not today!! I went to someone's house to pick up something I had ordered from them. When I got there, I engaged the parking brake and turned the vehicle off, like normal. I heard this sound that sounded like a saw. I thought it was my car, but after I got out of the car, and I still heard the sound, I figured it was actually a neighbor working with a saw. When I went to leave, and my car's epb light was on, and I was firmly locked in place, I realized that it was not a saw I heard. The sound, was in fact, coming from my vehicle's brake system. We tried anything and everything! we researched what other people have done when this happened to them. We tried everything! the whole ordeal had us stuck for over 3 hours while we waited for the tow truck. Currently, it's sitting at the Kia dealership waiting for a tech to look at. So, I don't know what the final conclusion is. And, of course, the warranty ends at 60,000 miles, and mine has about 63,000 miles!!! I feel like this has happened the majority of the time on a driveway with a slight incline. I'm not sure if this is just a coincidence or not. Especially since it happened at least once in a level grocery store parking lot.
I was driving my 2017 Kia Sorento about 30mph early today going about 30mph when all of a sudden I heard a loud clunk from the rear end and the engine, all lighting, electrical, power steering and brakes just shut off. I was able to coast to a stop put the car in park. I then restarted it and it was fine. The dealer could find nothing wrong with it. This is very dangerous. What happens if I am going 70 mph and the car shuts down like this. Since the dealer could not duplicate the event there is no solution.
On May 9, 2018 I was driving my vehicle when for no reason at all the aeb system alarm sounded and locked up all 4 wheels. The roads were wet and it was raining lightly. I was traveling aprox 40mph and was not braking at the time. When this happened I could not get them to release. I tried accelerating which only revved the engine. I also tried tapping the brakes which did nothing. This resulted in someone rear ending me. When the vehicle rear ended me that is when the brakes released.I had the vehicle towed to the dealership where I purchased it from. Since then the dealership has inspected it per Kia's instruction and Kia sent an engineer out on June 7th to retrieve the date from the edr. I was told by an individual at the body shop for the dealership that the edr showed no information and that the techs have found nothing wrong with my vehicle. I had been in communication with a man named alex vilalpando from Kia usa prior to them sending someone out and have left him several messages trying to find out what is wrong with my vehicle. I am also aware of 2 technical service bulletins regarding the aeb system but was told by the auto body worker that they said they did not apply to what happened. I am skeptical to take this vehicle back for fear that it will happen again. There is no possible way that the vehicles computer system or edr showed nothing when its obvious something happened. I also requested a copy of the edr findings and have yet to receive anything.I am getting no help or answers from Kia and dont know what else to do. I have paid out of pocket for a rental car and again am getting no help from Kia. This is a serious problem and no one is giving me any answers. I tried contacting Kia again today and each time I got someone on the phone and they started reading the notes I was hung up on this happened 3 times.
15-Dec-2016: Traveling approx. 50 mph during heavy traffic in marietta, ga, the vehicle had a complete loss of power therefore preventing the operator of said motor vehicle to have complete loss of control of the vehicle, (myself) thus, illustrating a serious safety defect. This issue could have resulted in serious injury, the loss of life of myself or other motorist, and or a catastrophic event to property and infrastructure. The engine light did come on during this incident and ever since I have been extremely fearful to operate my vehicle ever since. 2. 22-Dec-2016: Engine light, rpms accelerate, while vehicle is in park/ drive. I was parked and the rpms accelerated for no reason. I have video footage of this incident. 3. 05-Jan-2017: Engine light, rpms accelerate, while vehicle is in park/ drive. Vehicle wanted to accelerate while parked. Vehicle jerked when shifting into park or drive. Vehicle accelerated without applying any throttle. Accelerated very fast had to hold brakes with significant force to prevent from accelerating. I have video footage of this incident. 4. 16-Jan-2017: Engine light, rpms accelerate, while vehicle is in park/ drive. Vehicle seems to skip a gear when stopped and trying to accelerate. 5. front of vehicle shook and has problems accelerating coming from a complete stop or up a hill. Feels like it misses a transmission gear when trying to accelerate. 0-10 mph ok but 10-35 you have to press accelerator significantly, then over speeds. 3 different Kia dealerships including 5 incidents have taken place and and each have failed to identify the problem or make repairs. Kia corporate told the last dealership to park vehicle and not make an attempt to repair. Vehicle has been inoperable for 31 day total in Kia's custody (service repair center). Lemon law proceedings pending.
This problem is identical to NHTSA id number 10917569. On three different occasions the smart cruise control/ABS/stability control warning: Basically all warning lights lit on the dashboard. Car had less than 500 miles, doing 65mph on a clear day. Stopped and restarted car, all light S cleared. Dealer found no codes stored. So far it has only happened when using the ldws. Leave it off it never occurs.
The contact owns a 2017 Kia Sorento. While driving approximately 65 mph, all the warning indicators on the instrument panel illuminated. The contact pulled over to the shoulder, and turned off and restarted the engine. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the hydraulic brake hose needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that the failure recurred several other times. The vehicle was taken to the dealer five other times but there was no remedy to the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 418.
The contact owns a 2017 Kia Sorento. While driving 35 mph, the vehicle failed to stop when the brake pedal was depressed. The contact was able to get the vehicle to stop manually. The contact stated that the autonomous emergency braking system malfunctioned. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 1,000.
1.) driving vehicle at highway speed. Noticed parking brake light on (had not explicitly engaged brake). Tried to disengage parking brake, and the light stayed on. Pulled over, put car in park. Tried to disengage again, still would not. Turned car off, on again, was able to disengage. 2.) driving city road, app 40mph, accelerator peddle became physically stuck, took foot off peddle, peddle stayed in position and car continued to accelerate. Tried to gently push peddle, but it would not disengage. Tapped peddle hard and it came loose. This has occurred twice. Car has 15K miles.
Problem: While driving the vehicle in very slow stop and go traffic the electronic parking brake engaged. I was unable to disengage the electronic parking brake by pressing the button. To get the car to move forward I had to shut the car off and back on. Concerned that the electronic parking brake could engage on its on at any time and cause an accident. Don't know if this is also related to the issue with the smart cruise control. The smart cruise control was on, but the dashboard did no light up and the cruise control did not turn off as in my previous complaint. Think there is a chance this is a separate issue.
Problem: Intermittent problem with advanced smart cruise control and autonomous braking on a new 2017 Kia Sorento with less than 1100 miles. What happened: When using the advanced smart control feature, the smart cruise control will shut down randomly. On four occasions, while driving with smart cruise control, on a highway on a clear day, my Kia's dashboard lit up with "check smart cruise control system." These additional warning lights lit up on the dashboard: Anti-lock brake warning light, electronic brake force distribution system warning light, master warning light, and electronic stability control indicator light. The cruise control will not work and all lights stay on until the vehicle is turned off and then back on. After one occurrence, I took the vehicle to the dealer to diagnose the problem. As this only happens randomly they were not able to replicate the problem. The vehicle was also not storing any diagnostic codes. After the 3rd time it was in the dealer for the same issue they said a code was stored. They said it had something to do with the camera mounted on the top of the windshield. The service tech disconnected and reconnected the camera with the thought that it might be a loose connection. The same issue happened again after they adjusted the camera. They have a new camera on order but it is not in stock anywhere in the country. This is a serious safety concern. I contacted Kia motors Consumer Affairs several times, and they just send me back to the dealer. Problem is still unsolved.
Problem: Intermittent problem with advanced smart cruise control and autonomous braking on a new 2017 Kia Sorento with less than 500 miles. What happened: When using the advanced smart control feature, as explained to me by the dealer, the manual, and Kia videos, the car will stop autonomously when approaching a car at a stop light. My Kia stops autonomously most of the time, but not all of the time. On three occasions, while driving with smart cruise control, on a straight road on a clear day, my Kia slowed down but did not stop, causing me to take emergency evasive action at the last second. After two occurrences, I contacted the dealer and asked to simply have the system checked. The dealer stated that they do not handle safety concerns, and directed me to call Kia, which I did more than a month ago. The Kia rep tried to tell me that the vehicle cannot stop while using advanced smart cruise control, despite their tv ads, instructional videos, and my own experiences which says the car does indeed stop in the smart cruise control mode. The Kia rep said someone from Kia would follow-up, but that never happened. So, after waiting more than a month, I am filing this report to see if others are experiencing problems with this critical safety technology. Otherwise, the Kia operates normally and is a very nice SUV. I just want my Sorento checked out before an accident occurs.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Scottsdale, AZ, USA