There are 50 owner-reported electrical system complaints for the 2015 Kia Sorentoin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2015 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while attempting to register the vehicle, it was discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy. The vehicle was an auction sale. At the time of purchase, the vehicle mileage was 20,19,4 and at the time of registration, it was discovered that the mileage was 20,735.
My Kia Sorento has the pearl white paint that began peeling 4 years ago. That is a known issue for Kia vehicles made between 2013 and 2019. [XXX] . While this is not necessarily a safety issue, it is common problem that Kia knows about. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
I was on the highway with my family, when we started to smell smoke,and the car began to slow down I proceeded to get off the highway to pull over to the side the of the road oil light came on and some more signal came on .so my son told me to open the hood it was dark so I could not find the latch so he bent his head down and that’s when he seen fire he told everyone to get out the car.!,,,and we got away from the car that’s when the whole car blew up.very dramatic night in which I had my grand babies,the fire fighter believes it was electric all,my insurance I missed my payment day..so I had no insurance and I have no car.
Check engine light started coming on at about 39,000. miles took to local mechanic who preformed lots of repairs and called Kia for information concerning engine issue. Received notice of recall from Kia on the HECU -instructing me to park truck away from home due to fire. Check engine light back on again at 41,000 miles, took to dealership where they replaced the HECU and fuel pump and fuel lines. Picked up truck and noticed when braking the truck shook all over and seem to almost stall when taking off. Check engine was back on and the alert of the system telling me I had an engine failure. Took truck back next day, again repairs of the PVB valve was done. Someone drove the truck of 180 miles on a check engine light and unplugged the battery. Got truck back and within 10 minutes the check engine light was back on and the system telling me engine failure and truck was unsafe to drive. Truck now at another Kia dealership, after many conversation with Kia the representative instructed me to tell the dealership where the truck was that the truck had a recall (supposedly) fixed. Called the dealership now tells me there is no fix for the HECU issue and they can not tell me the truck is safe to drive. I have not had the truck for now 4 months and Kia doesn't know how to fix it. I have filed 4 cases against Kia, they have not offered me a rental car or loaner and they do not have any expected date for me to get the truck back. I have files but it won't let me upload them for the receipts/ information from Kia
Driving at night on an unlit rural road with the high beam lights engaged, a car was coming in the opposite direction, at which point the headlights were switched to low-beams to not impact the visibility of that driver. The headlights and lighting of the cluster turned completely off for a few moments before the low-beam headlights re-engaged and remained on for the remainder of the trip. The headlights throughout the trip were turned on by having the auto function engaged. This has happened a few times before, but the possibility of having reduced/no vision while driving prompted taking it to a mechanic to be checked out. The issue has not been replicated by a mechanic, and to date has not been inspected by the manufacturer, police, or insurance representatives. No warning signs had been present before this and other instances where the lights cut out as headlights are switched from high to low beams or vice versa. The vehicle has also been experiencing a battery drain that has yet to be identified. This has occurred within the last month, and two batteries have been drained within a month.
Engine seized while I was driving
Lights are very dim, had to put in a brighter lightbulb. All of the sudden today the radio FM/AM Satellite and blue tooth stopped working. 12/22/22 - Driving home the lights stopped working and I was driving in the dark with no lights.
traveling back from Panama City Beach, on 10/14/2022 Florida with a destination of [XXX]. At approximately 2:15pm, I had to pull off on the median of interstate 65 North bound at mile marker 123 in Greenville, Alabama due to mechanical failure of my 2015 Kia Sorento. The vehicle was smoking/caught fire and had become inoperable. I had my kids get out A.S.A.P. A good citizen called for help. Two Law enforcement cars and a fire engine arrived. Due to the trauma it caused on my kids a police officer provided transportation for us to the Quality Inn Hotel in Greenville, Alabama. Later that evening we ordered a pizza from Papa John’s for something to eat (receipt information included along with bank transaction page). We attempted to leave Greenville, Alabama and return home in a rental car while repairs were done to the Kia. We were informed by Enterprise rental in Greenville, Alabama that they were closed over the weekend and would not have anything available until Monday, October 17th, 2022. Unfortunately Enterprise Rental was the only rental car business in Greenville, Alabama and we would be stuck at the Quality Inn until Monday, October 17th, 2022. It was at that point that Amy my father drove down from Ringgold, GA to pick my kids up and take them home while I waited for repairs to be done to the Kia or to get a rental car, whichever would come first. On Monday, October the 17th, I was informed that repairs to the 2015 Kia Sorento would be prolonged. I then obtained a rental car from Enterprise Rental in Greenville, Alabama , and I continued onto to my original destination towards Ringgold, GA. I arrived at our intended destination late on the night of October 17th, 2022. During our trip home, we were advised that the 2015 Kia Sorento would be towed to Brewbaker Kia at 222 Eastern Blvd, Montgomery, AL 36117. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
Unknown
The engine started to sound weird and stopped in the middle of the road that couldve created an accident should there have been other vehicle iw as pregnant at that time We contacted kia and they wouldnt change the engine since we didnt replace the knock sensor but we never received the mail and they confirmed thag mail was not sent to us.
The running lights on the front and rear drivers side work half of the time, the plate light seems to turn off when they do. They'll come on for a split second and then go out, or on a good day they'll stay on. Seems like a short in the wiring. It could be a safety issue at night!!!
almost all of my tire/brake lights are on my dash, dealership said its the speed sensors in my back tires. A week later (with those lights still on) my parking brake light came on while driving and started a dinging noise, parked turned it off and back on the noise had stopped but all lights were still on. dealership said speed sensors arent a serious issue to fix, however, my UVO diagnostics says its my ABS/EBS system. Ive already had a blown engine and now have a lifetime warranty but, they are picking and choosing whats covered and what isnt.
Upon receiving Recall NOTICE , Vehicle Is A Fire Danger and I can Not Drive it.Living in the middle of the Forrest makes having this vehicle in this HIGH FIRE DANGER TOWN for 2 months put not only my family and home in danger but my entire FIRE VULNERABLE COMMUNITY AT RISK. The company headquarters or Dealership would not loan me a safe car nor remove this FIRE HAZARD from this community.
On June 23rd my 2015 Kia Sorento with a 3.3 l engine V6 started making noises and I called a dealership and they asked if it sounded like knocking noises and I said no it sounded more like exhaust noise within an hour my car was losing power it was idling very rough and I took it into the dealership and they said that I need ed an entire new engine. However I had been in there on June 14th and they told me that my oil level was good and there were no leaks but on June 23rd suddenly I had 0 oil in my engine and they were claiming that it was my issue however it is The exact issue that Kia has had with this model and make but different engine. My car has 91000 miles on it I use full synthetic oil I had it changed 6000 miles ago it was fine then I have had the maintenance done on my car and there were 0 warning lights on my - for either oil or engine that is why I checked electrical I was told by the dealer that there Oil lights and engine lights often don't come on when they have a problem with the car. This is a huge safety issue and if it's starting to happen on the 3.3 engine this needs to be looked at immediately I know someone who owns the exact same year exact same engine and they have been dealing with this type of thing as well
This is a continuing problem. I have previously reported this issue to KIA and it has fallen in silent ears. For whatever reason my vehicle has been bone dry of oil. There is no warning that the oil is low. No indicator comes on., nothing! This can happen immediately after an oil change. The oil does not leak on the ground and it is known where the oil goes. The only way I know that there’s is no oil is that the car smells as though something is burning. I have spent hundreds of dollars in oil trying to keep up with when it dry’s out. Also, the rear brake light (right) burns out at least twice a month. At one point the light burned into the housing unit and had to be pulled out with needle nose pliers. I have again spent a lot of money on replacing bulbs. This car is extremely unsafe and I feel at anytime the car will catch on fire.
While operating my vehicle I experienced sluggishness and power failure. Sorento became disabled on main road while driving to work. Vehicle was towed to the closest Kia dealership where they performed a diagnostic test. Maintenance test and Parts Department revealed the that the power shortage was possibly from a Brake fluid leakage inside the Hydraulic Electronic Control Unit (HECU). This also caused the engine to seize and the only remedy was a new engine. He also stated that the repair was not covered under warranty due to the open recall that was not completed. I did explain to the repair center that I was never made aware of any on going recalls from the dealer where I purchased the vehicle either by mail, phone call or email as well as from Kia corporate. The parts department provided me with the contact information for Kia Headquarters to assist me. Kia Headquarters provided me with a case number 14188680 and that they would contact the dealer and get back to me. After a couple days with no response, I called back with the case number, however, I got a new customer service rep. who said that nothing has been completed yet. This went on for a couple weeks with me calling to try to get updates and contacting the dealership parts department who said that their headquarters has not contacted the dealership and that according to their policy with Kia corporate the replacement of the engine would be at my expense. The estimated cost was quoted at about $8,000.00 dollars. I told the parts department at the dealership that I did not understand, how could I be responsible if the engine was a defect and I received no word of a recall from Kia. The parts department response was that is Kia Headquarters policy that they recall had to be completed or Kia was not responsible.
WHILE DRIVING MY CAR DOWN THE FREEWAY GOING 77MPH MY CAR FAILED TO SHIFT WHILE GOING UP A HILL AND STARTED MAKING A KNOCKING NOISE WHILE IN CRUISE CONTROL. THEN OUT OF CRUISE CONTROL THE CAR MADE A LOUD BAG AND POP AND SMOKED. WE PULLED OVER AND THE CAR MOTOR HAD THEN BEEN SEIZED AND WOULD NOT START. KIA MOTOR IS DECLINING TO REPLACE MY MOTOR BASED ON THE PRODUCT IMPROVEMENT CAMPAIGN OF 18V907000 BECAUSE THEY STATE THAT I FAILED TO HAVE THE CAR INSPECTED WITH THIS CAMPAIGN. KIA MOTORS TOLD ME THAT THEY SENT THE PRODUCT IMPROVEMENT CAMPAIGN NOTICE TO THE PREVIOUS OWNER IN 2018 BUT THAT IT WAS STILL MY FAULT THAT THE INSPECTION WAS NOT DONE AND THE KNOCK SENSOR WASN'T ADDED. I LET THEM KNOW I KNEW NOTHING ABOUT THIS BECAUSE I NEVER RECEIVED THE LETTER BECAUSE IT WAS NOT SENT TO ME AND I WAS NOT NOTIFIED AND THE CONSUMER AFFAIRS SUPERVISOR SAID IT WAS STILL MY FAULT FOR NOT CALLING KIA WHEN I PURCHASED THE CAR IN 2015 TO LET THEM KNOW I AM THE NEW OWNER AND TO GIVE THEM MY INFORMATION.
Cut off in middle of the interstate start smoking
MONITOR THAT DISPLAYS DEFOGGER & DEFROSTER IS NOT DISPLAYING INFORMATION.......... THIS MONITOR IS PART OF THE VEHICLE'S "MULTIMEDIA SYSTEM"......WHICH DISPLAYS :: GPS, RADIO CHANNELS, HEATING, AIR CONDITIONS, DEFROSTING-DEFOGGER..... I PAID $700.00 & $65. 10/05/2018 TO REPLACE THIS SAME "NAVIGATION/ MULTIMEDIA SYSTEM".....VEHICLE MILEAGE THEN WAS 48,600.... THIS UNIT STOPPED WORKING/ NO LONGER DISPLAYING INFORMATION JANUARY 2021. THEN MILEAGE OF 87,000.. ELK GROVE KIA SAID I WOULD HAVE TO PERSONALLY PAY TO HAVE THE MULTIMEDIA SYSTEM REPLACE. THE NEW SYSTEM ONLY LASTED APPROXIMATELY 1 YEAR, 6 MONTHS..... I ASKED THE KIA DEALERSHIP TO REPLACE OR OFFER DISCOUNT TO REPLACE THIS NEEDED SYSTEM.....THE ANSWER WAS NO ! I SAID TO KIA DEALER THAT OBVIOUSLY THE PRODUCT INSTALLED WAS INFERIOR..(LASTING LESS THAN A YEAR....THE REPLY WAS THE DEALER IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PRODUCTS INSTALLED IN KIA VEHICLES. I MADE A COMPLAINT TO THE BBB NATIONAL PROGRAMS- AUTO LINE...RE: KIA2115737....BBB SAID MY COMPLAINT DOES NOT QUALIFY PER THEIR GUIDELINES.. I AM STILL WITHOUT VISUAL ASSIST OF THE "MULTIMEDIA SYSTEM".....DEFOGGER/ DEFROSTER.., GPS,
I PURCHASED THIS VEHICLE LESS THAN 2 MONTHS GO. I WAS DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY AND CAME TO A RED LIGHT. THE CAR JERKED AND DID NOT WANT TO MOVE WHEN THE LIGHT TURNED GREEN. I CAME TO A SECOND RED LIGHT AND THE LIGHT TURNED GREEN AS I PRESS THE GAS THE CAR SHUT OFF IN THE MIDDLE OF HEAVY TRAFFIC. I COULD NOT GET THE CAR TO CRANK AGAIN. I FINALLY GOT HELP FROM SOMEONE WHO HELP PUSH THE CAR TO A NEAR PARKING LOT.
Showing 1–20 of 50 complaints
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 26, 2026