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.
Often, Service Managers like [XXX] from Kia University Dealerships will unlawfully charge you for diagnostic tests or other unrelated issues that should be free or try to persuade you to purchase repairs as a condition for completing the free recall work; however the repair is a standalone obligation, and the we should have the right to decline any additional, non-recall-related maintenance that the service department might recommend. Seven (7) months ago, I spoke with a Kia customer service agent that informed me that there may be another recall or another Product Improvement Campaign coming regarding my 2017 Kia Sorrento; therefore, please be on the lookout for issues with your vehicle and the engine. Therefore, when I took my vehicle to the Kia Dealership on University Drive -??Which I had been going to since I purchased my vehicle-?? and informed them my engine light was just on, the gentlemen informed me that they needed to see the engine light on before they could input the Product Improvement Campaign/Recall. I ask the gentlemen why is this situation different, usually they just install the part and I just move out. Once again, I was informed they had to see the engine light on before they could install whatever they needed to install. Between the seven (7) months, I drove the vehicle to Kia and just before I got there, the engine light would go off, they still would not install whatever I was informed needed to be installed. I offered for them to take the vehicle and take it as long as you need to in order to get the engine light on, I was informed they did not have enough space in there shop. I started taken pictures that showed I was right around the corner from the shop; often three (3) minutes from the shop, they indicated they would have to emulate the engine light on before they could install whatever needed to be installed. Finally, after never pass seven (7) months, I was able to get the 2017 Kia Sorrento to the dealership and the first thing [XXX] info INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM
Engine oil consumption test, did 3 at Kia dealership and was confirmed engine was bad, we don-??t have all the maintenance records so we are denied.Kia should stand by their product and change this engine under warranty and recall.
1) My vehicle incurred catastrophic engine failure. The engine stopped running suddenly. It does not crank over. It is available for inspection. It does not run. 2) I am thankful that no one was injured and that the vehicle did not catch fire. 3) There is a safety-related defect in certain 2017 Kia Sorento vehicles. 4) My vehicle was towed to the house and has not been inspected. 5) There were no signs of leaking oil or oil burning. No dashboard lights came on to signal overheating or low oil level. No check engine light ever appeared.
- Converse, TX, USA
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Prior to the below incident, my vehicle was driving normally. Oil levels were normal, and there were no warning lights. In June 2025, I was driving on [XXX] during morning rush hour. As I approached a traffic light at the end of this 3-lane expressway, the engine suddenly stalled. I rolled up to the red light. When safe to do so, I left the vehicle to stand on the side of the road so as not to get hit. I had the car towed to a local repair facility. Repair shop looked at the vehicle and determined that the engine was seized. They then checked for TSB's and discovered that Kia had, in some instances, extended the warranty to 180,000 miles and 15 years. My vehicle had 142,000 miles. I then had my car towed to the closest Kia dealer in Hickory, NC. The dealer initially indicated it was possible my car would be covered by the extended warranty, but they needed to run pressure tests to determine the cause of the engine seizure. Over the next 2 weeks, I called the dealer repeatedly, but they had no update for me. After about 2 weeks, they told me that my vehicle would not be covered by the extended warranty, and a new engine would cost me $15,000. I then called Kia Customer Care, and the representative told me there was nothing they could do. I asked about an appeals process and was told there is none. After I returned from vacation in early August, the Kia dealer contacted me and requested that I pick up my vehicle. I drove to the dealer and called a tow truck to bring it to my home. I rented cars at my own expense from the time of the engine failure until I bought a new car in mid-August. Shortly thereafter, I arranged to sell the Kia to a used car dealer for $1,500, far less than I would have received with a healthy engine. At that point, I needed to get the car out of my garage. While cleaning out the car the night before it was to be picked up, I opened the hood and found that the engine had been left disassembled with parts lying all over the place. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT
Engine burns oil excessively and Kia has this marked as a known issue. The oil is leaking inside the engine around the pistons and into the combustion chamber. Because the engine is direct injection, it now has to go through a combustion cleaning every time this happens at $700 a pop plus diagnostics which makes it over $900 every time this happens. Happens so often that it won't even get to the milage for an actual oil change to be due. Kia refuses to do anything until the connecting rod or connecting rod bearing fails and I have a complete engine failure. I feel like that is very dangerous and could cause serious harm to myself or others if I have an engine failure and cause an accident.
I came to this website because it was suggested to me to look for a recall. While there is an active recall with my car, the interesting part to me is the fact that the issues I'm having with my car match a recall for the same model as mine, just a different spec. To me that seems odd, I'd have the same type issues... I was wondering how to get this examined.
On July 25th when I started my car, 2017 Kia Sorento, to leave work, it made a horrible knocking noise when it was starting, but once it started the noise stopped, no alert lights came on, so I drove it home 7 miles and parked it for the weekend. When my husband and I took it out again on Monday, July 28th, we had driven under 10 miles and gotten up to 70 miles an hour on the toll/express road, the check engine light started flashing as the power produced by the engine drastically declined and acceleration seemed capped or limited. We were able to safely exit the toll road without causing or being involved in an accident. We drove it 6 more miles home and parked it. A week later we had it toed to a Kia mechanic who confirmed that the engine had been using oil, had metal shavings in the oil and the rod bearing had failed. The engine would have to be replaced. Once the engine was replaced, it was determined that the turbo had also failed on the impeller side and would have to be replaced. We did not take it to a dealer. We had both components replaced by a Kia mechanic at our own cost.
It-??s been a month since I did an oil change. However, while I was driving the car, I heard a noise like the engine had no oil in it. I stopped and after 15 minutes I checked the engine for oil when I discovered that the engine was empty. I then checked for a leak and there is no leak detected. I took it to a Valvoline to get an oil change. This is when I discovered that the engine is burning the oil. This is most likely to happen due to a manufacturing problem. I am submitting this complaint and would like to have an investigation done on that matter because it is a safety concern when a car keeps burning oil without any leak detection.
Engine seized with zero warning lights, cautions, check engine lights, or low/high indicators. It started knocking and was driven 3 miles to our mechanic who said it was a failed engine. I called the Kia dealer who recommended I tow or drive it to the dealer. ~3 miles from our house, less than a mile from the dealer the car lost all power. We had it towed. The service manager chastised me for not towing but also told me irregardless of how it arrived that the engine was no longer functional. It is out of warranty w/ 143,000 miles but without any indication of a problem how was I supposed to mitigate any risk. From the start of the knocking until the engine failed it was less than 6 miles. The mechanic had to put 3 quarts of oil in the car and it still failed on the way to the dealer. I get regular oil changes and have never been told it-??s running low on oil. I-??m asking that somebody please look into this issue. Thank you. R/ Aaron
This 2017 Kia Sorento with the 3.3L V6 Lambda II engine appears to have had possible rod bearing failure or connecting rod failure. This vehicle has 107,987 miles on it when the incident happened. 2 hours into a drive on the highway, the car began to sound like it had a possible exhaust leak, however this was followed shorty by knocking which prompted us to pull over and just as we made the shoulder as the engine quit and began to smoke heavily. Went to quickly open the hood and the smoke died down in about a minute. Most likely due to the oil hitting the exhaust from the hole the rod left in the block. There were no oil lights or other indications that anything was going to happen prior to this. The vehicle has been maintained meticulously with all maintenance items. This vehicle is available for inspection. Let me know if this needs to happen prior to KIA getting ahold of it. Our entire family was in the car (5 people including our dog) and we were at highway speeds when this happened. Fortunately we were able to get over just before the engine blew. Also fortunate enough to open the hood fast enough to get it cool before it started a fire. We are going to take it to the dealer for inspection, however both the dealership and Kia Customer Care said this is not currently under any warranty for engine failure. I have yet to inspect myself to take pictures from under the car, so no inspection has been thoroughly performed. As previously stated, there was no warning lights, the car did sound like it started to have an exhaust leak no more than a minute or two before the knocking started.
On 8/16/2025 my 2017 Kia Sorento experienced major engine failure which resulted in loss of power and severe engine misfiring. I submitted a warranty claim with full maintenance documentation to Kia cooperation but was denied coverage on 8/27/2025. This denial is improper because 1.The engine type is covered under recalls and/or the Kia Engine Class Action Settlement, which extends coverage to 15 years / 150,000 miles and my vehicle currently has 94423. 2.I complied with all maintenance requirements and have already provided numerous records. 3.Engine failure presents a serious safety hazard and has been widely reported.
Valves are knocking and rattling. Engine sometimes stalls out. The knocking and rattling will not go away. It is getting worse everyday to the point that I am scared to drive it because it will stall out on me somewhere and leave me stuck on the side of the road. Been doing this for a couple of months now.
The contact owns a 2017 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving at 20 MPH, the contact heard a clicking and banging sound coming from the engine. The contact mentioned that while looking through the front driver's side mirror, she noticed smoke coming from the engine. Several unknown warning lights illuminated. The contact pulled over to the right side of the road, turned the vehicle off and then exited the vehicle and opened the hood of the vehicle and noticed flames coming from the engine. No injuries were sustained. No medical attention. The contact dialed 911, but there was no police report filed. The fire chief showed up at the scene and extinguished the fire. The vehicle was not destroyed. The vehicle was towed to a collision center. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and opened a case. The approximate failure mileage was 105,000.
I was driving and out of no where the battery light pop up and than car turns off on in the middle of traffic.. surprisingly there was no accident it was scary I had my two babies in the car with me. There-??s no recall it-??s a safety hazard..
I don-??t understand how my 2017 Kia sorento doesn-??t have a recall on its engine. I bought the car in cash and 1 month the car doesn-??t want to start.. I don-??t understand I wasted money-?? I need engine replaced and don-??t have $10000
The engine locked up. The engine only had 80,000 miles. The car stopped in the middle of traffic. The dealership refused to take responsibility. KIA also declined warning coverage. I had to pay to replace the engine.
My 2017 Kia Sorento has developed intermittent safety-related engine issues that have resulted in loss of acceleration and stalling. December 2024: After a two-hour drive, the vehicle stalled and would not restart. Roadside assistance confirmed the engine oil level was low, despite no external leaks. After approximately two hours, the vehicle restarted. [XXX]: After driving about 30 minutes and parking for 10-?"20 minutes, the engine started with loud rumbling/knocking noises, and the accelerator was unresponsive. The problem resolved only after shutting the car off and restarting. Video is available. The Kia dealer performed a rod bearing test which passed, but the symptoms match early failure stages of the known Theta II engine defect covered under Kia-??s lifetime warranty (PI1802 settlement). Kia attributes the issue to -??low oil-?? as a maintenance problem, but the oil consumption appears to be internal and abnormal. This defect creates a serious safety risk because it causes sudden loss of power, which could lead to an accident if it occurs while driving in traffic. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Red Lion, PA, USA