2011 Kia Sorento Electrical System Problems
- 165
- 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 165 stored complaint records:
- 3 indicate a crash
- 3 indicate injury
- 11 indicate fire
What owners report
- open outside · 13 records
- steering wheel · 13 records
- side door · 12 records
- passenger side · 11 records
- door open · 10 records
- drivers side · 9 records
Mileage in stored records
| Band | Records |
|---|---|
| 100–150k mi | 41 |
| 60–100k mi | 40 |
| 1–30k mi | 36 |
| 30–60k mi | 20 |
| 150–400k mi | 9 |
Complaint records
Owner-submitted complaint content, presented as stored.
Electrical System · Engine · Exterior Lighting
When driving car jerks and engine cuts out losing all power and mobility. Usually comes back on within seconds. This happens when driving at any rate of speed. A few times i had to pull over to the side of the road with no power and restart the car. When losing all power i have been on the highway driving 55-60mph. All power is lost and with no power steering i have had to get the car off the road out of the way of…
ODI 11171010
Electrical System
Drivers side,rear seat passenger door lock does not open from outside or inside. The door locks are electrically opened via key fob opener. I had this difficulty before but had been able to open from inside. I am fearful that the child lock on the jamb of the door may have been flipped to the locked position. In any event the door will not open. The vehicle was purchased used in aug of 2015 with 46k on odometer. The…
ODI 10955668
Electrical System
This vehicle has the abs light, traction control light, and the downhill assist lights that comes off and on whie diving the vehicle. After driving for a while than they may go off, now they are back on and they are staying on which my wife is sceptical of having on and so am i, when i checked tis problem on the internet fr complaints ther we many for this same problem and the dealers can't seem to know how to fix…
ODI 10954100
Body · Electrical System · Unknown Or Other
Already filed complaint about 2 doors that you cannot open from the outside of the vehicle when unlocked, now i have a 3rd door that won't open from the outside while unlocked. Gonna have to climb in from the hatchback pretty soon. They all open from the inside, not the outside. So now i have to leave the child safety locks open all the time, hopefully my 3 yr olds won't pull on the door handle from the inside and…
ODI 10897556
Body · Electrical System · Unknown Or Other
Kia sorento 2011. Parked. First it was one door, just stopped opening from the outside, opens from inside, unless you put child safety lock on, then it won't open at all. Then today the other side not opening from the outside. All open from inside, only problem is what to do when all four stop opening from outside. If my kid is in there, falls asleep, and it's hot outside, how do i get the kid out if i can't open…
ODI 10895780
Electrical System
In august 2010 there was a recall to reroute the wiring harness for the starter and was supposedly corrected. Three weeks ago i was coming down a mountain in the vehicle (2011 kia sorento) and i noticed a little hesitation. When i stopped the vehicle, it would not start again. I had it towed to the local kia dealer and they advised that the fuse panel had been shorted out and was defective. They said that kia would…
ODI 10894683
Door · Electrical System
I have been having problems with my driver door and passenger door opening from the outside. I have to open the back door to get in to the front. This has been going on for over 3 years. I've spoken to the dealer ship place where i got the car from, and they informed me it was nothing they could do about it. I also took it to the kia dealership and they told me it's not a recall or anything can do about it unless i…
ODI 10885343
Electrical System
Suddenly unable to open drivers side front door from the outside. Already paid over $300 for same issue on drivers side rear door did not open from outside suddenly. Obvious defect as normal use and no issues until suddenly stops working. Living in south florida very dangerous with canals and water should an accident occur. Vehicle stationary parked.
ODI 10883218
Body · Electrical System
A couple weeks ago, while my car was parked, i went to open the driver's side door and it would not open. I tried unlocking with the fob and with the key in the door, nothing worked. I had to get into my car through the passenger side, now the only way i can get driver's side door to open, is from the inside. Then a few days ago, during a camping trip, i stepped out of my car to retrieve some things from my trunk.…
ODI 10881425
Electrical System
Passenger rear door will not open either from the inside or outside. Poses a safety risk as that is the side the baby seat is on.
ODI 10872196
Electrical System · Unknown Or Other
Drivers side door on 2011 kia sorento will not open from the outside. Inside still works, can hear lock/un-lock but seems like outside latch is stuck in the lock position. Have to either crawl through the car or reach in the window and open from inside. Still have extended warranty on car (82,000 miles) but was still going to cost me $200 to fix it. Why am i paying $200 to fix a handle on a car that is well under…
ODI 10874479
Electrical System · Latches/Locks/Linkages
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 kia sorento. The contact stated that the front driver side exterior door failed to unlock manually or with the key fob. The contact entered the vehicle through the front or rear passenger side doors. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 171,000.
ODI 10871644
Electrical System
Engine light stays on all the time. Bought used and returned to dealership to repair. They could not get light to go off. Dealership called kia dealership for info and did all that was told to try installing actuator to repair but to no avail. I purchased master tech when i bought the car. Will a kia dealership accept master tech as repair payment other than $100 deductible?
ODI 10871804
Air Bags · Electrical System
About a month ago i discovered that my air bag light came on. Well apparently i am not the only person that has complained about this. I called my nearest dealership which is in huntsville alabama to let them know about this problem of course they informed me that there will be a 120.00 charge just to check to see what is causing this problem, i suppose to have an extended warranty which i feel has expired so…
ODI 10863162
Electrical System
Tl* the contact owned a 2011 kia sorento. The contact stated that the vehicle caught fire without warning. The contact was notified of the fire by a car alarm that sounded from the garage. The contact noticed flashing lights coming from the vehicle upon entering the garage. In addition, the contact noticed flames coming from the rear of the vehicle. The contact called the fire department to extinguish the fire. The…
Fire reported
ODI 10824280
Electrical System
A few weeks ago my husband went to open the drivers side door and it would not open. He tried unlocking with the fob and with the key in the door. Nothing works. So in order to get inside to drive we either crawl across or start the car from the passenger side, reach over and roll window down. Then walk to drivers side and reach in to open from the inside. I have down research and this is a common problem with kia…
ODI 10836987
Electrical System
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 kia sorento. The contact stated that the engine experienced a loss of power; however, the radio, bluetooth, and exterior lighting still worked. In addition, the vehicle could not be shifted except between neutral or drive. The check engine warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was stopped after rolling into a parking space against a curb. The vehicle was towed to the contact's…
ODI 10824000
Air Bags · Electrical System · Exterior Lighting
Original owner '11 sorento 4cyl, awd w/tow package & approx 88k miles. Problem 1st noticed about 2 mos ago when seat belt light began flashing with audible clicking coming from relay behind dash. It was daytime when this happened 1st few times & i could not duplicate problem. This issue seemed to happen after starting car & would go away after a few moments of driving. Releasing & re-connecting seat belt had no…
Crash reported · 1 injury
ODI 10811503
Electrical System
I have a 2011 kia sorento, 106,000 miles on it. First i saw a headlight had burnt out, i bought a new one, by the time i got home, it was out again. My mechanic had to replace the wire harness on the passenger side, said the wires were melted. Soon after, as i am driving in the early mornings, i would turn on the right signal and the lights would turn off for 10 second, all the lights, inside, outside, but turn back…
ODI 10807909
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting
The bulbs for the low beam headlights have been "burning out" at the rate of once a month. Last month, the entire assembly plugin to the bulb was melted due to "a poor contact" or short in the wiring". Unfortunately they said i need an entire headlight assembly (about a $400 part and $250 labor) as they won't just sell the connection plug. Frustrated i found a great mechanic who cut and spliced a new connection plug…
ODI 10808108
Electrical System
Heated seat element on drivers side started on fire. Caused driver to be burnt. Heated seat had been turned on for about 2 minutes. Car was in motion on city street.
Fire reported
ODI 10783067
Electrical System
Recently my 2011 kia sorento ex will not shut down. When i press the engine start/stop button the engine will shut off but the dashboard, navigation touchscreen & lights all remain on. It can sometimes take up to 3 minutes of pushing the button, turning the car back on and trying to turn it back off before it will actually shut all the electrical components down.
ODI 10782921
Electrical System · Power Train
The abs,esc, and dbc lights stay on when i start car and drive it at all speeds.
ODI 10794620
Air Bags · Electrical System
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 kia sorento. While driving at any speed, the air bag warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the clock spring failed and caused the air bag warning light to remain illuminated. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 49,800.
ODI 10762334
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting
While driving at night the headlights will go off then come back on after being off for approx 2 seconds. It also occurs sometimes when changing lanes and using the turn signals. I feel that it may be a defect in the turn signal headlight assembly switch on the steering column.
ODI 10749622