2008 Kia Sorento Engine Problems
- 25
- Owner complaint records in our dataset
Records are owner complaints, not a measured failure rate.
Owner complaint recordsComplaint records reflect reports in our dataset and do not measure how frequently the problem occurs across all vehicles.
Among these 25 stored complaint records:
- 0 indicate a crash
- 0 indicate injury
- 2 indicate fire
What owners report
- check engine · 15 records
- engine light · 10 records
- light came · 6 records
- light illuminated · 5 records
- brake light · 4 records
- lost power · 4 records
Mileage in stored records
| Band | Records |
|---|---|
| 60–100k mi | 10 |
| 30–60k mi | 5 |
| 150–400k mi | 4 |
| 1–30k mi | 2 |
| 100–150k mi | 2 |
Complaint records
Owner-submitted complaint content, presented as stored.
Electrical System · Engine
Sunday sept 9th at around 9 - 9:30 am i smelled smoke and walked around the house and smelled that it was coming from the garage. When i opened the door i saw flames underneath the car and smoke and fire on top of the hood. I called the palm bay fire department when they got there they put the hose on the car until the fire was out they had to cut the hood in order to finish putting out the fire. They fire marshall…
Fire reported
ODI 11128582
Air Bags · Engine
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 kia sorento. While driving 25 mph, the vehicle shook and stalled. Additionally, there was an abnormal thumping noise and the check engine, air bag, and electronic control indicators illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who stated that the automatic control sensor, rear sensor bearing, and rear line driveshaft needed to be replaced. The local dealer and…
ODI 11129087
Electrical System · Engine
I drove my 08 kia sorento home at about 730 am. I work night shift and went to sleep and was woken up at 945 by ems to my car up in flames. It was showing no signs of any problems, not running hot, nothing. It was parked for about an hour when it went up in flames. The fire chief was on the truck that day as he had orientee's, and said the fire started behind the steering wheel/dash and that it was an electrical…
Fire reported
ODI 11089996
Engine · Exterior Lighting · Service Brakes
The starter burned out and the starter relay is sticking. It started sticking and making funny noises around mid october or beginning of november 2017 and acutally burned out december 8, 2017 and was replaced december 9, 2017. Now the starter went out again january 16, 2018. Also i had my driver side brake light bulb replaced around july or august 2017 and now the same driver side brake light is out again.
ODI 11063281
Engine
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 kia sorento. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to tire discounters for an oil change. It was noticed that the check engine and oil indicators were illuminated. The contact stated that 200 miles later, the engine failed. The vehicle was taken to auto mall of dayton where it was noticed that the vehicle was properly maintained and the cause of the failure could not be…
ODI 11000846
Engine · Vehicle Speed Control
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 kia sorento. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 60 mph, the vehicle decelerated independently to 30 mph and failed to accelerate. The contact mentioned that the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer however, a technician reviewed the vehicle and diagnosed that the throttle actuator needed to be repaired. The vehicle was not…
ODI 10946950
Electronic Stability Control · Engine
On two seperate occasions approximately 2 months apart on start up and initial drive the engine suddenly lost all power, the check engine light came on and the esc off light came on. Pulled vehicle to curb, shut off engine, waited several minutes to one hour, restarted engine and had full power.. Check engine light remains on for several start ups then resets itself. This sudden loss of power at highway speeds could…
ODI 10919210
Electronic Stability Control · Engine · Power Train
Check engine and esc light came on while driving down the interstate. Truck immediately loses power.
ODI 10903721
Engine
The engine makes a high pitch whining noise. Have not had any repairs as of yet. Kia thinks it's the timing chain tensioner. Kia states this will cost 4000 or more to fix
ODI 10875044
Electrical System · Engine · Power Train
Every 6 months the engine light and ecs off lights come on and the car loses power intermittently. This is dangerous when it happens on the freeway. I bought the car from carmax in july 2014. By november, it started to have the issue, it progressed at i checked it on the internet and saw a recall and brought it in to city kia in orlando. The mechanic could not find an issue why the engine light was on and there was…
ODI 10783165
Engine
My 2008 kia sorrento, with only 92k miles on it... I had it in the service shop at the kia dealer, for a noise coming from the engine.. They informed me it was the main barring going out.. And they quoted me 12k to replace my engine as a fix... Of course i said no, that was 3 years ago, my sorrento is still sitting in my driveway un-driven, which is completely paid off.. Instead i purchased another car from kia...…
ODI 11120106
Air Bags · Engine
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 kia sorento. While driving 60 mph, the esc, passenger side air bag, and motor light illuminated before the vehicle lost power. The failure recurred numerous times. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was not included in nhtsa campaign number: 11v473000 (air bags). The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The aproximate failure mileage was 180,000.
ODI 10808244
Engine · Steering
We were driving on a busy freeway on the way to work, the steering wheel started getting stiff so we slowed down and moved over to the far right. The car died but we were able to coast over out of traffic though the back of the car was still not out all the way due to the angle. We were not able to steer and straighten the car. The car would not start. We called roadside assistance and they were unable to jump the…
ODI 10690649
Engine
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 kia sorento. While driving at approximately 55 mph, the vehicle decelerated to 20 mph without the brake pedal being depressed. The sec and the check engine warning indicators illuminated. The failure recurred numerous times. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, where it was diagnosed that the throttle position sensor failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but the failure…
ODI 10724933
Engine
I was driving down the road and the car shut down and the all the panel lights came on. Had to stop on the side of the road to start the car. Oil light came on and took to my mechanic. Replace on oil pump and car will not start. He stated motor was gone. Please help me. Have 30 more payments on this 2008 kia sorento. God bless nd have a good day. *tr
ODI 10566395
Electronic Stability Control · Engine
Two days ago the check engine light illuminated (and stayed on) with intermittent electronic stability control off light illuminated; vehicle acceleration became sluggish and sometimes unresponsive. Vehicle codes using obdii pocketscan showed active and stored codes of p2138 (accelerator), p2127 (accelerator) and p2106 (limp mode). I made an appointment to take it to the dealership on 09/25/13. On the day of…
ODI 10545514
Electronic Stability Control · Engine
Esc light comes on then the engine loses power, it also did this 2 years ago on 10/31/2011. *js
ODI 10545351
Engine · Power Train
My check engine light and esc off light came on. After driving around for the day it went off. Then last night sept. 2 2013 they both came on again. *jb
ODI 10541768
Electronic Stability Control · Engine · Vehicle Speed Control
Driving on a surface street with a 40 mph speed limit. Car suddenly lost power and could not get speed above 20 mph. We were lucky that there wasn't much traffic about as this could definitely have caused an accident. When this happened both the esc off light and the check engine light came on. We had to leave our car in nevada and get a rental car to get home to arizona, we have no idea when we will get our car…
ODI 10526018
Electronic Stability Control · Engine · Vehicle Speed Control
I was driving on an interstate with a speed limit of 65 mph when with no warning the "check engine" and "esc off" lights came on simultaneously. At the same time, the engine lost power, causing my vehicle to suddenly decelerate and almost causing a collision both with the car behind me and with the cars merging over from an entrance ramp. Luckily, i was able to safely maintain control of my car and put on my hazard…
ODI 10525696
Electrical System · Electronic Stability Control · Engine · Exterior Lighting
Current and ongoing problems began just a few days after receiving a notice of recall from kia regarding the faulty/defective brake light switch. The switch was faulty and there was a problem with no brake lights coming on upon braking as well as "esc off" and "check engine" malfunction indicator lights appearing and staying on the instrument cluster. The vehicle was promptly taken to a kia dealership where the…
ODI 10533890
Engine
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 kia sorento. The contact stated that while driving approximately 15 mph, a loud banging noise was heard from the rear passenger's side of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the technician stated that the engine threw a rod, causing a hole in the oil pan. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure and current…
ODI 10504877
Electronic Stability Control · Engine · Service Brakes
2008 kia sorento start-up stalling temperamentally for three weeks. On 9/11/2012 the check engine light and esc off light appeared, followed with a "putting" engine and limp mode. The car would not accelerate when foot applied to gas pedal. Kia dealership confirmed tps and brake sensor failure and electronic stability control needed reprogramming. (error codes read: p2135, p0638, and p2a00 or p2a03.) kia published…
ODI 10477012
Engine
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 kia sorento. The contact stated that the vehicle lost acceleration power and did not accelerate over 20 mph. The failure was experienced numerous times. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where a diagnostic was performed and revealed that the oxygen senor, brake pedal light switch, and throttle pedal sensor had failed. The dealer replaced the failed parts but the failure recurred. The…
ODI 10493717
Engine
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 kia sorento. While driving various speeds, the check engine indicator illuminated on the instrument panel and the vehicle went into limp mode. The contact drove the vehicle to shawnee mission kia (7591 shawnee mission, ks 66202), but they could not repair the failure. The contact experienced the same failure six years ago. The manufacturer was contacted and was unable to assist. The…
ODI 11054151