There are 13 owner-reported visibility & wipers complaints for the 2016 Kia Sorentoin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
Driver side headlight keeps going out. Bulb doesn’t blow and fuses are fine….take the bulb out and put back in and after a couple minutes light starts working again for a couple days before it goes back out. If you go to the passenger side and pull that one out the bulb is smoking.
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving approximately 40 MPH, the contact heard a loud popping sound. After stopping to inspect the vehicle, it was discovered that the glass sunroof had shattered upward. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer. The cause of the failure was not determined. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted and notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 95,000.
I was driving my 2016 Kia Sorento on the freeway when I heard a loud boom, like a gun shot and then the vehicle was showered with glass from the sunroof that exploded. It was NOT struck by any object or rock. Fortunately the sun shade prevented me from getting glass poured on my head. The dealership denied responsibility and I am in the process of getting it replaced though my insurance company. In doing research I found that while it not common place it has happened more than I thought.
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving approximately 65 MPH, an abnormal booming sound was heard which startled the driver. After stopping to inspect the vehicle, it was discovered that the glass sunroof had shattered. The contact indicated that during the incident no object had struck the vehicle to cause the failure. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were not yet notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 85,000.
AS WE ARE DRIVING DOWN A FREEWAY, THE PANORAMIC SUNROOF EXPLODED WITH A LOUD POP AND GLASS FELL ONTO US. IT WAS ALARMING AND OUR ATTENTION WAS DIVERTED FROM DRIVING TO TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT HAPPENED. WE MADE OUR WAY TO THE EDGE OF THE ROAD AND STOPPED. WE LOOKED FOR A ROCK ETC, BUT DID NOT FIND ANYTHING. THE REMAINING GLASS ON THE SUNROOF LOOKED LIKE IT WAS BLOWN FROM THE INSIDE OUT. FROM RESEARCHING ONLINE IT APPEARS THAT THIS HAS BEEN HAPPENING FOR YEARS. THE WEATHER WAS CLEAR AND IN THE MID-60S WITH THE INTERIOR TEMPERATURE IN THE 68 RANGE. THIS IS A HUGE SAFETY ISSUE!
2016 KIA SORENTO V6 LX FWD AUTOMATIC -- ONE DAY, SUDDENLY, THE WIPER FLUID LEAKED ALMOST THE ENTIRE TANK ON OUR GARAGE FLOOR IMMEDIATELY AFTER FILLING. NO OTHER SMALL LEAKS WERE NOTICED BEFORE THIS MAJOR FAIL. I FOUND KIA BLOGS IN ABUNDANCE AND A LARGE NUMBER OF YOUTUBE VIDEOS REPORTING THE SAME ISSUE. THERE WAS EVEN SPECULATION IN SEVERAL KIA FORUMS THAT THE PROBLEM WAS SO PREVALENT KIA SHOULD, AT A MINIMUM, PUBLISH A SERVICE BULLETIN, AND SOME URGED FOR A BONA FIDE RECALL. I CHECKED THE POINT OF FAILURE AS SUGGESTED IN SEVERAL VIDEOS AND BLOGS, AND INDEED IT WAS A CRACK IN THE WASHER PUMP MECHANISM, APPARENTLY AROUND THE WHITE BULBOUS PIECE THAT BIFURCATES ON OPPOSITE SIDES WHERE RUBBER TUBES ARE ATTACHED TO PLASTIC PROTRUSIONS, AND FROM THERE THE FLUID IS DISPENSED TO EACH OF TWO NOZZLES NEAR THE BASE OF THE WINDSHIELD THAT RELEASE THE FLUID ON DEMAND.
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while she was at the red light a day after purchasing the vehicle, the sunroof failed to close properly. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the sunroof had a faulty tilt lever. The contact stated the vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred a year later. The vehicle was taken to the same dealer who informed the contact that she would be responsible for the cost of repair as the vehicle was out of warranty. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that they could not cover the cost of the repair as the vehicle had been out of warranty for two days. A case was opened. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 19,000.
WHILE DRIVING THE PANORAMIC SUNROOF IMPLODED SUDDENLY WITH OUT WARNING OR BEING STRUCK BY ANYTHING. MY HUSBAND WASN'T DRIVING AT A HIGH RATE OF SPEED OR UNDER BAD WEATHER CONDITIONS OTHER THAN BASIC RAIN, LUCKILY OUR INNER SUN SHADE HAD BEEN CLOSED OR THE GLASS WHICH COMPLETELY SHATTERED COULD HAVE FELL ON TOP OF MY SELF AND OUR 3 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER POSSIBLY INJURING US GREATLY AS WE WERE SITTING IN THE REAR SEATS DIRECTLY UNDER IT WHEN THE EVEN OCCUR.
IT WAS COLD OUTSIDE AND WENT TO GET IN THE PARKED CAR IN THE MORNING AND THE BACK WINDSHIELD SHATTERED WHEN I CLOSED THE DRIVER SIDE DOOR.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 KIA SORENTO. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 55 MPH, THE SUN ROOF SUDDENLY EXPLODED WITH A LOUD BOOMING NOISE. THE GLASS SHATTERED INSIDE THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT INDICATED THAT THE EXPLOSION OCCURRED IN AN OUTWARD DIRECTION. THERE WERE NO INJURIES. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE LOCAL DEALER (SMITH KIA, 1804 IOWA STREET, BELLINGHAM, WA). THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 30,000. *TT THE CONSUMER STATED VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED ON JANUARY 12, 2018. *TR
MY REAR WINDOW SHATTERED FOR WHAT APPEARS TO BE NO REASON AT ALL. MY VEHICLE WAS PARKED ON THE STREET, AND WHEN I WENT OUT TO LEAVE, I NOTICED MY WINDOW WAS CRACKED. BY DAY 2, THE GLASS WAS CAVING, AND HAD A HOLE THE SIZE OF A QUARTER IN THE MIDDLE.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 KIA SORENTO. WHILE DRIVING 45 MPH, THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT THE COATING ON THE AIR CONDITIONING VENT HOUSINGS WAS REFLECTING INTO BOTH SIDE VIEW MIRRORS, WHICH MADE IT VERY DIFFICULT TO SEE. THE DEALER STATED THAT THEY COULD PAINT AND REPLACE THE HOUSINGS ON THE VENTS. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE AND STATED THAT THEY WOULD REFER THE ISSUE TO THEIR INTERIOR DESIGN ENGINEERS. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 12,529. UPDATED 07/11/17*LJ UPDATED 9/28/18*JB
[XXX] 2016 KIA SORENTO (VIN # [XXX]) SUNROOF EXPLODED WHILE ON INTERSTATE 55 NORTHBOUND IN JACKSON, MS ON 10-21-15 AT APPROX. 8:30PM CST WITH NO TRAFFIC OR OBSTRUCTIONS OR OVERHEADS. OUR MILEAGE AT THE TIME WAS LESS THAN 200 MILES. [XXX] WAS DRIVING AND I WAS THE FRONT PASSENGER. THE ROOF WAS CLOSED AS WAS THE CLOTH SHIELD (WHICH PROBABLY SAVE OUR LIFE). THE EXPLOSION WAS VIOLENT LIKE AN M-80 GOING OFF. WE COLLECTED SOME OF THE GLASS SHARDS (WHICH SHATTERED INTO LITTLE SHARP PIECES WHICH WOULD HAVE PROBABLY KILLED US) AND CHUNKS OF GLASS ON TOP OF THE SHIELD. AT THE TIME, WE WERE ABOUT 900 MILES FROM HOME AND FOUND A TOOL STORE, PURCHASED DUCT TAPE AND TAPED THE REMAINING MOON ROOF (SEE PICTURES) TO GET US ON THE ROAD HOME. LUCKILY, THERE WAS NO RAIN ON OUR REMAINING JOURNEY. I CONTACTED OUR DEALERSHIP GERALD KIA NAPERVILLE WHERE THEY REQUESTED WE FILE A CONSUMER COMPLAINT WITH KIA CORPORATE (CASE #[XXX]) WHERE THEY DENIED ANY ISSUES RELATED TO THEIR PANORAMIC SUN ROOF (THOUGH THERE ARE NOTED SUITS, ARTICLES, TELEVISION INTERVIEWS AND OF COURSE NHTSA INVESTIGATIONS (HTTPS://WWW.GOOGLE.COM/?GWS_RD=SSL#Q=KIA+SORENTO+SUNROOF+EXPLOSIONS). I CONTACTED MY INSURANCE COMPANY TRAVELERS AND THEY ARE REVIEWING THE CASE ([XXX]). THE CAR WILL BE AT THE GERALD KAI DEALERSHIP IN NAPERVILLE IL ON MONDAY 10-26-15 AROUND 9AM. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
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