Owner-reported complaints naming the engine system, filed with NHTSA
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Reports naming the engine itself — including stalling, misfires, oil consumption, cooling and internal engine components. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2011 Kia Sorento submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 316 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
The 25 most recent of 316, in the owner's own words
Just bought this from a private seller last week and was driving to work. The engine suddenly caught fire and the car essentially exploded and melted.
Intake manifold. A previously repaired recall that is still causing issue. Rough idle and check engine light.
I was driving my car, while at a stop light I noticed some smoke coming from under my hood. I thought it might have been the cold I turned off the main road onto my street and noticed the smoke increasing, I pulled over turned off my car opened the hood and a fire started at the back of my engine.
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while driving approximately 60 MPH, the vehicle unexpectedly stalled. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that there was a rattling sound coming from the vehicle with smoke coming from the engine compartment. The vehicle was unable to restart. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V877000 (Engine). The vehicle was taken to a dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the engine block had failed, and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 189,711.
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V877000 (Engine). The contact stated that the engine had seized while driving approximately 40-45 MPH. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact had owned the vehicle for a year. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, who declined to service the vehicle due to the contact not having the oil change records. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 230,000.
The vehicle is shifting weird out of first, knocking sound. A code of p1326 skds is showing on diagnostic. This was supposedly repaired by kia a few months ago from a recall. I am questioning if they corrected and inspected the recall appropriately, due to this being the issue. The car is now unable to be driven because I do not want to do more damage.
the car has been running fine with no problem. I noticed as I was driving the engine light came on. i made it to my destination and as I was processing to head some where else i heard an unusual sound and the smell of burning smoke. Then all of a sudden there's a lot of smoke coming from the car and the car was stalling as if it was cutting off. I manage to get the car to a staff place since it seems as though the car was running hot. the car had to get towed to a mechanic shop and he thought maybe it was the radiator but it was a blown head gasket in the engine.
I was driving and my Kia started over heating and smoking and smelled like plastic burning I got it towed to the Hendricks of Kia and it sat there for 2weeks and I contacted them about giving me a lender until they fix my engine problem and they told me that my engine is not under warranty but is a recall I didn’t blow my engine I recently bought it about 6 months ago
Was on my way back from picking up my child father from work. My 2 kids were also in the car [XXX] & [XXX] old. My car started smoking and another motorist pulled down his window to let me know that my car was on fire from underneath. I immediately got all of us out of the car and my child father went to go pop the hood and noticed that fire was coming near the engine !! Made an insurance claim and they deemed the car as a total loss. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle jerked, and the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended while depressing the accelerator pedal. The check engine warning light was illuminated. There was an abnormally loud sound coming from the engine. The contact stated that the vehicle occasionally stalled and was restarted after pulling over to the side of the road. Whenever the vehicle failed to restart immediately, the contact would disconnect the battery and wait approximately 5-10 minutes before reconnecting the battery and restarting the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle occasionally stalls while driving uphill. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the contact was informed that the vehicle had several pending recall repairs. The dealer informed the contact that since the vehicle made the knocking sound, the knock sensors and O2 sensors needed to be replaced. The contact was informed that the mileage was above the approved mileage for the repairs. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure progressively worsened. The contact recently received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V877000 (ENGINE). The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 205,000.
Growl on cold start
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while driving approximately 55 MPH, the vehicle started to lose motive power. The accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to respond as intended. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated before pulling off the roadway. The hood was opened and there was white smoke coming from the engine compartment. The contact stated that the smoke then dissipated. The vehicle was towed to a local mechanic. The mechanic diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the alternator and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 200,000.
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving 55–60 MPH, the engine overheated and the vehicle stalled while making a turn. The vehicle stalled and failed to restart. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V877000 (Engine). The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, but no assistance was provided. The vehicle was towed to another independent mechanic, but the cause of the failure was not determined. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer where it was determined that the battery and bracket needed to be replaced. The dealer also informed the contact that the engine and fuel pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted. The failure mileage was unknown.
My KIA Sorrento spontaneously engulfed in flames approximately 200 yards from my home. This is not a vehicle crash the car had flames coming from the vents and floor boards. I was the driver my daughter was the passenger and my granddaughter was in the rear car seat we barely escaped with our lives before it exploded and we were steps away as car debre was flying past us.
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving 15-20 MPH, the axle popped out of the transmission, and fractured the lower ball joints and steering system. There was an abnormal burning electrical odor coming from the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The local dealer was not contacted; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 200,000.
see attached documentation
Head gasket blew due to head bolts losing threads or stretching not sure exactly why but many people has reported this issue
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while driving on a main road at 55 MPH, there was an abnormal sound coming from the engine, and the engine power was reduced, and the vehicle failed to accelerate above 20 MPH. The temperature gauge indicated that the engine was overheating. The contact was forced to pull over onto the side of the road where the vehicle was left idling for a while. The check engine, and the oil pressure warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a local independent mechanic, where the contact was informed that the engine was faulty and was not worth the effort to replace the engine, as the cost would significantly outweigh the value of the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 200,000.
The contact’s son owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving 60 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The contact was able to pull over to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to the residence and had not been driven since the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, and unknown recall repairs were performed; however, the failure persisted. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH and pulling into a gas station, the vehicle stalled and rolled next to a gas station pump. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle failed to restart and was towed to Firestone, where an unknown diagnosis was provided. The vehicle was then towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the long block, the head gasket, and the bolts needed to be replaced. Additionally, the dealer informed the contact that the brake fluid needed to be flushed and refilled. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the dealer for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 230,000.
Engine light flashes fast then Kia will slow down to about 30 mph when going up a hill, I've make claims on this Kia for the fire loss, transmission, brakes and now it won't run unless I pay $85 to have the sensor reset which lasts a short time and the light starts flashing again. Was told it doesn't qualify for a new engine because the mileage is over 150,000.
Engine fire, extinguished by the fire dept. Car was parked at the time. Dealer informed us that the fire recall was completed on 10-29-2021 and now we are over the 150,000 mileage warranty so no repair can be done by Kia. I will submit 2 more claims for transmission and brakes for the same Kia.
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that there was a knocking sound coming from the engine compartment. While driving at various speeds, the vehicle jerked with the transmission slipping gear with an engine misfire. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to Auto Zone and a code for the knock sensor failure was retrieved. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact had replaced the spark plugs on the vehicle. While driving 65 MPH, the vehicle went into LIMP Mode. The contact restarted the vehicle and continued driving. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who confirmed that the knock sensor had failed. The dealer related the failure to the NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V877000 (Engine); however, the VIN was not included. The dealer cleared the code, but the vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was taken to a different certified mechanic who confirmed the diagnostic result and cleared the code. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 135,750.
No oil after filling up with 4qts. Engine over built compression and blew hole through bottom of the block which caused a fire underneath
3 different episodes suv will start by appear warning lights downhill, slippery road, abs, engine , decrease speed, shuts down, tire pressure finally battery dead and rubber smell. I've had it fixed once mentioned it was Altarnator, second time battery, finally third time something electrical or unknown. Total cost now $3000 and my life in danger al 3 times and towec.
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
Data on this page last refreshed .