2023 Kia Sorento Hybrid Electrical Problems

During normal operation the vehicle will randomly decelerate (no brake lights). This has happened on the highway and on city streets. I repeat on the highway this vehicle will go from 75mph to 40mph with no lights or warnings. The issue happened with my wife and child in the car and I was able to replicate the issue. I refuse to put my family in the car at this point. The Dealership says they cannot replicate the issue but is also lying about driving it diagnostically. The issue is video documented on two occasions. Since vehicle is under warranty it was brought to the dealership both times and have had zero resolution. During its last visit I was without the car for a month. I Contacted KIA corporate who denied a buy back. This vehicle will undoubtedly kill or injure my family or more if driven. I have been responsible and not done so to protect the public. But I need the car. Car is available for inspection at anytime. Videos available upon request.

NHTSA ID

11775786

Incident

Sep 10, 2026

The contact owns a 2023 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while stopped at a light or making a left or right turn, while depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle failed to respond. The contact stated that seconds later, the vehicle responded, and the vehicle hesitated and moved forward independently. The contact stated that during the failure, there was a vibration coming from the rear passenger’s side wheel, and the vehicle lost motive power while driving. A dealer was contacted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed; however, the diagnostic result was unknown. The battery and all four tires were replaced, and the vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that the failures had occurred several times over the past two years. The manufacturer was notified of the failures and stated that the VIN was not under recall. The approximate failure mileage was 95,000.

NHTSA ID

11773979

Incident

May 15, 2024

Mileage

95,000 mi

The contact owns a 2023 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving approximately 40 MPH on several occasions, the vehicle stalled after the battery became drained. The vehicle was able to restart each time after waiting for the battery to recharge. The vehicle was taken to two different dealers on three occasions. During the first two visits, the dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. On the third visit, the failure was duplicated, but the dealer was unable to provide a cause for the failure. During a visit to the dealer, the vehicle stalled while a mechanic was driving it, and the vehicle was towed back to the dealer. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 25,000.

NHTSA ID

11718445

Incident

Oct 20, 2025

Mileage

25,000 mi

While driving on September 15, 2025, the vehicle displayed a loud beeping and the warning message “Check Hybrid System. Stop Safely.” The vehicle restarted about an hour later, but the combustion engine ran very rough. The Kia dealer inspected it but reported no stored error codes. On September 23, 2025, the vehicle suddenly lost power while driving. It appeared to operate only on electric at low speed, then died completely in the roadway. The vehicle would not power down until the start/stop button was held. It required a tow back to the dealer. Prior to the first incident, a faint electrical smoldering odor was present. The vehicle remains at the Kia dealer for evaluation. This is a serious safety concern because the vehicle experienced sudden loss of motive power and stalling in traffic, which put both myself and others at risk. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11689872

Incident

Sep 23, 2025

I was driving down the highway when my vehicle shut off with no warning and the parking break engaged. I was stuck in the travel lane with cars flying by me going 50 plus MPH. My vehicle has 7000 miles on it. According to KIA the hybrid battery failed and they don’t know why. KIA has been no help and as far as I know they are not looking into this issue. Upon further research there has been multiple instances where this hybrid model has just shut down while the vehicle is moving and KIA has been unable to resolve the issue. Myself and my children could have been severely injured or killed. They need to get to the bottom of what is causing these hybrid batteries to fail on brand new vehicles.

NHTSA ID

11576334

Incident

Feb 19, 2024

My vehicle died inThe middle of an extremely busy four lane road. A light came on That said to turn the car off immediately. The engine light and battery light flashed on. It sounds like the engine recall for the 22 and 21 hybrid sorento’s. I had to have the vehicle towed to the dealership, it is only 7 mos old.

NHTSA ID

11565469

Incident

Jan 14, 2024

Vehicle loses power from combustion engine and drives only on electric battery. Hybrid system doesn’t engage correctly and vehicle will accelerate extremely slowly after a delay and will only achieve roughly 30 mph with accelerator fully pressed. This vehicle has been sent to the dealer multiple times and they have recreated the problem. However even after parts being replaced and connections being replaced the problem persists. Vehicle can be inspected anytime. My family has been in several near collisions with oncoming traffic due to the vehicle moving after a delay and then at a much slower than expected pace. Pulling out in to traffic is nearly impossible when the vehicle malfunctions. It has also depleted the entire battery and left us motionless on the side of the road multiple times. Due to the problem being intermittent and not reliably duplicated a service technician was given permission to use the vehicle to commute to and from work for a time. This allowed him to experience the issue in person. The vehicle has been inspected multiple times by the dealers service department and they have been working with engineers from the manufacturer. When this problem occurs there typically is not a warning light or a code stored. They believe it is a faulty connection. This issue will cause an accident in the future if not resolved. The manufacturer has not been able to determine what is causing the issue. They also have not been concerned with our safety and have released the vehicle back to us 3 times stating that it is fixed yet the problem persists.

NHTSA ID

11553611

Incident

Sep 20, 2023

car parked automatically while in drive. won't allow car to shift to drive or reverse due to "driving conditions not met". hybrid system light also randomly comes on.

NHTSA ID

11516071

Incident

Mar 21, 2023

The contact owns a 2023 Kia Sorento Hybrid. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, a loud and squeaky noise was intermittently coming from the driver's side cabin. The Highway Driving Assist (HDA) system warning message was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where the failure could not be duplicated. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 5,000.

NHTSA ID

11512882

Incident

Jan 20, 2023

Mileage

5,000 mi