RoadVitals

2018 Kia Sorento Driver assistance Problems

Owner-reported complaints naming the driver-assistance system, filed with NHTSA

Data refreshed

Driver assistance reportsComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
15
Latest Jun 11, 2026
Share of all reportsThis category as a share of every owner report on file for this model year. One report can name more than one component, so the categories overlap.
6%
of 248 total
Crash or fire reportedReports in this category whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. The reporter's own answer on the NHTSA form, not a verified finding.
3
Injuries or deaths reportedTotals the submitters entered on their own reports in this category. Not verified by NHTSA and not a casualty statistic.
4

What this page shows

Reports naming forward-collision avoidance, lane keeping, back-over prevention, cruise control and related electronic driver-assistance systems. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2018 Kia Sorento submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 15 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.

Owner reports naming driver-assistance

Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed

AirbagsBrakesDriver assistance
Filed Jun 11, 2026
Crash reported2 injuries reported1 death reported

I have replaced my rotors and my brakes soon as I got the car I’ve had the car for a month now I was in a major accident. Someone walked in front of my car. My emergency brake system did not work my rotors and my brakes, have been scrubbing ever since I got the car. And I don’t know how to fix the situation. The brakes are still going out and sound very horrible. I can’t keep replacing them because I don’t think they need to be replaced. Is something wrong with the car. My Insurance adjuster name is Brandon Brooks [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID
11743523
Incident
Apr 13, 2026
Driver assistance
Filed Apr 5, 2026
Crash reported

I've never had a problem staying awake driving. I don't have this problem in my vehicles or other vehicles. Every time I drove the car. I could not stay awake. I ve driven the car about 5xs. I would fall asleep and not even realize it. Now fell asleep driving the car two nights ago. No warnings went off and I drove over one lane and off into the center medium. No lane change warnings went off. But I truly believe there's something more going on with the car that's making people fall asleep. My neighbor rode with me to the store in it (14 miles ) she was falling asleep. She wasn't one bit tired when we left my house. Once we got out of the car and we're changing the oil on it, we walked over to the store a couple blocks away. We were fine. Got back in the car. Started driving it home and both of us were falling asleep. There was something wrong with this car

NHTSA ID
11729316
Incident
Apr 4, 2026
Driver assistanceElectricalExterior lighting
Filed Feb 17, 2026

My speedometer was jumping from 0 to 20 mph while in park. A couple weeks later it did it while I was driving, I was going 25 mph and it jumped to 55 mph. I took it to the shop that day and all 4 of my wheel speed sensors were out, which wasn’t accurately measuring my speed. The shop said it was common with this model and year. Also, my headlights do not work in auto mode. I will have shut my car off, made sure the lights were off, and hours later I have a text from my neighbors that my lights are on.

NHTSA ID
11718665
Incident
Feb 16, 2026
Driver assistance
Filed Dec 29, 2025

1. at night when i toggle hi beams the light black out and i have to jiggle the toggle 2. My HECU assembly is out, I have about 7 lights on my dash.

NHTSA ID
11707524
Incident
Dec 26, 2025
Driver assistance
Filed Jun 22, 2025

An intermittent error occurs where these services stop working. It was last for a day or two and then the error will clear. I am not able to be alerted to passing cars or cars in my blind spot when changing lanes. And if there is a situation to suddenly stop the emergency automatic braking system will not be engaged.

NHTSA ID
11668489
Incident
Jun 22, 2025
Driver assistanceSteering
Filed Nov 26, 2024

Steering cupler failure

NHTSA ID
11627567
Incident
Nov 19, 2024
Driver assistance
Filed Jun 11, 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while approaching a stop, the brake pedal was depressed, and the driver noticed that the check Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) System and Check Lane Departure Warning System (LDWS) warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer on three occasions, where it was diagnosed that the sensors needed to be replaced and the system cleared. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for the A/C recharge and the contact was informed about unknown codes that were retrieved. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 72,000.

NHTSA ID
11593729
Incident
Oct 1, 2023
Mileage
72,000 mi
Driver assistanceEngine
Filed Apr 9, 2024

Vehicle seems to be stalling when you stop and then try to pull out. It takes minutes to accelerate after stopping.

NHTSA ID
11582032
Incident
Apr 2, 2024
Driver assistanceEngineSteering
Filed Apr 4, 2024

Me and my wife were traveling north on [XXX], left lane, 18 wheeler in right lane, cars directly behind us, 70 mph, when there was an abrupt thud, and slight skid, then lost all power from the engine. There were no warning indicators at the time. When the engine failed, we almost hit the tractor next to us. Looking in the mirror to try to determine what to do, as steering was hard to perform, there was a large cloud of black and blue smoke, the car behind us being covered in smoke and most likely oil too. The car behind us aggressively braked and ducked in behind the 18 wheeler just before a rear impact would have occurred. We finally got to safety on the side of the road as the traffic stacked up behind us was able to reduce speed in time. I had my car towed to the KIA dealership in Springfield, MO. One interesting point, the wrecker operator said that unfortunately a big part of his business was hauling KIAs. We almost died. Upon review of social media, I see there are literally thousands of KIAs placing families in danger. Why hasn’t Mr. Budegedge acted on it. After experiencing this, it’s likely there will be deaths. My car had 120,000 miles on the engine. KIA said it was my problem as they met their warranty obligation at 100,000 miles. There are so many incidents, even with 6 cyl engines. Customers need to be warned. At least they can be prepared for the failure when it happens. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID
11581146
Incident
Apr 1, 2024
Driver assistance
Filed Mar 5, 2024

I was driving home from work when vehicle downshifted while on the interstate. I continued to drive and tried to accelerate but again the vehicle downshifted. I was able to drive home by not going over 50 miles per hour.

NHTSA ID
11575652
Incident
Mar 5, 2024
Driver assistanceEngine
Filed Feb 8, 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while accelerating, there was an abnormal knocking sound coming from the vehicle. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the knock sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The mechanic completed a road test and indicated that the vehicle was working as designed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that while driving at 65 MPH, the vehicle was shuddering, shaking, and then lost motive power and stalled. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact used a code reader and retrieved DTC code: P1326 (Permanent go Relay Stuck On). The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who cleared the codes but informed the contact that the failure would continue and recommended an engine replacement. The contact stated that while driving at 70 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. There was a thumping noise detected from the engine. The contact reduced the speed to 40 MPH. The vehicle began to hesitate, sputtered, and failed to accelerate. The contact used a code reader and retrieved DTC code: P0302 (Cylinder Misfire). The manufacturer was contacted, and opened a case. The failure mileage was approximately 95,000.

NHTSA ID
11570707
Incident
Sep 16, 2023
Mileage
95,000 mi
Driver assistance
Filed Jun 3, 2023
Crash reported1 injury reported

My car went into Sudden Unintended Acceleration when I shifted from neutral to drive. I was in a gas station that was perpendicular to highway traffic. When I attempted to come out of the car wash tunnel to get my car dried off, the car accelerated out of control, the gas pedal was stuck and the brakes would not engage. The car flew out of the tunnel and into traffic. The car hit a curb before entering into traffic and went airborne. I in the third lane of southbound traffic. The vehicle then continued on through a grass median and across three lanes of northbound traffic, hitting another curb. At sone point during this accident, three of the tires popped and drivers side airbags did deploy. The popped tires appears to be the reason why the car finally came to a stop. It is only by the grace of God that I made it out alive. The airbag burned my torso. This accident occurred on 5/19/2023 at approximately 4:15 pm. X-rays and cat scans revealed no additional injuries. Currently, I am waiting to be seen by an orthopedic doctor for pain in ankles, lower back and stiffness at base of neck. My insurance company concluded the car as a total loss.

NHTSA ID
11525144
Incident
May 19, 2023
Driver assistance
Filed Jan 16, 2023

The cruise control has been fixed once. It was not fixed. Same problem still happening. Sometimes it works, more than not it does not. Sometimes you can’t shut it off. They also have not come up with a fix for the new hitch recall problem that results in fires.

NHTSA ID
11502042
Incident
Nov 1, 2021
Driver assistanceEngine
Filed Aug 26, 2019

I WAS DRIVING BACK HOME I HAD TOO WORK IN RODEO CALIFORNIA HALF THE WAY EVERYTHING WAS GOING GREAT I HAD MY 3 CHILDREN WITH ME MY CAR DIDN'T GAVE ME ANY WARNING NO CHECK ENGINE LIGHT.,NO WHITE SMOKE , I WAS PASSING THE DODGER STADIUM WHEN SUDDENLY MY 2018 SORENTO JUST SHUT DOWN ALMOST GOT HIT I WAS ABOUT TOO ENTER THE 710 AND NOOOOO I DIDNT EVEN GOT A CHANCE TO GET OUT THE I-5 SOUTH I CHECKED THE WATER IT WAS FULL OIL WAS OK NO SMOKE NO OVER HEATING ONES THE CAR SHUT DOWN I TRY TOO STOP SINCE WHEN PASSING DODGER STADIUM IN GOING DOWN HILL THE DAMM BREAKS DIDNT WORK GOD WAS ON MY SIDE I STOP THE CAR THE DASH BOARD TURN ON AND OFF THE ENGINE HOW EVER NEVER TURNED BACK ON. I WAITED FOR 5 HOURS FOR KIA ROADSIDE SERVICE 60 MINUTES TURNED UP TOO BE 5 HRS ITS FUNNY I GOT THAT 2018 BECAUSE I DIDN'T WANT TO BE HAVING PROBLEMS LIKE THIS ONE I THOUGHT HEY A NEW CAR WOULD BE GREAT FOR THE FAMILY ...NOPE I SHOULD HAD NEVER GOT THAT CAR LOVE MY CHEVROLET SILVERADO NOTHING LIKE CHEVY

NHTSA ID
11246317
Incident
Aug 25, 2019
Mileage
2,214 mi
Driver assistance
Filed Feb 14, 2018

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2018 KIA SORENTO. WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS STATIONARY, THE SMART CRUISE SYSTEM MALFUNCTIONED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE SMART CRUISE SYSTEM DID NOT DETECT THAT A VEHICLE WAS IN FRONT OF IT AND ACCELERATED FORWARD INDEPENDENTLY. STEVENS CREEK KIA IN SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE, BUT THE SOURCE OF THE FAILURE WAS NOT DETERMINED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 650.

NHTSA ID
11072858
Incident
Feb 2, 2018
Mileage
650 mi

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.

Other components reported on this vehicle

Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own

Elsewhere on this vehicle

Data sources

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