2011 Kia Sorento Engine Problems
- 142
- 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 142 stored complaint records:
- 5 indicate a crash
- 5 indicate injury
- 14 indicate fire
What owners report
- engine light · 18 records
- check engine · 14 records
- failure mileage · 12 records
- lost power · 9 records
- side road · 9 records
- notified failure · 8 records
Mileage in stored records
| Band | Records |
|---|---|
| 100–150k mi | 42 |
| 60–100k mi | 32 |
| 30–60k mi | 27 |
| 1–30k mi | 16 |
| 150–400k mi | 9 |
Complaint records
Owner-submitted complaint content, presented as stored.
Engine
On 06/15/2015, drove my car to the barn, then it will not start. I thought it's battery problem. Battery is only 1 year old. So i charged the battery. Didn't work. So i jumped it, it had a hard time starting. It finally started after 3 attempts. I got a new battery for it. Then it happened again two days later, got it started after a few attempts.took it to kia service. They said oil ring has slow leak. Dealer…
ODI 10735309
Engine
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 kia sorento. While driving at 20 mph, the engine stalled. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 60,000.
ODI 10725216
Engine · Steering
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 kia sorento. While driving 30 mph, the vehicle lost power steering ability and stalled. The vehicle was not able to restart after numerous attempts. The contact was able to pull the vehicle over to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to valley hi kia ([redacted], victorville, ca 92395, [redacted]). The vehicle was diagnosed, but not repaired. The results of the diagnosis was not…
ODI 11078290
Engine
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 kia sorento. While driving approximately 55 mph, the vehicle suddenly stalled. After pulling off the road and restarting the engine, the vehicle operated as normal. The contact indicated that the failure had occurred on multiple occasions and the check engine light would illuminate when the failure occurred. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who was unable the diagnose the…
ODI 10700578
Electrical System · Engine
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 kia sorento. While traveling approximately 40 mph, there was a loud noise coming from the front of the vehicle. Also, the contact mentioned that smoke emitted from the engine compartment. Upon pulling the vehicle over, it was further noticed that the engine compartment was on fire. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that a rod fractured into the engine…
Fire reported
ODI 10694186
Engine
My check engine light came on twice when my gas was low and when i filled up it went off. That happened for two weeks. The third week it came on again, but my gas tank was full so i took it in for service. Turns out my vcm had to be replaced. They also stated that it was accelerating on it's own at some point. Luckily i was under 60,000 when i took it in, otherwise i was told it would not have been covered. *js
ODI 10690261
Body · Engine · Power Train
A vehicle abruptly stopped to turn left and i had to swerve to avoid rear-ending it resulting in head on collision with a utility pole. *tr
Crash reported
ODI 10676576
Engine · Vehicle Speed Control
My son was driving on interstate i-5 near salem, or when his car suddenly stopped and would not accelerate. The car had a 50,000 mile and $1000.00 service 3 months prior to this incident. I did on line research and saw several instances of kia sorentos stopping suddenly on the highway. Kia offered $400.00 to compensate our inconvenience but i think the us consumer safety is worth much more. I would appreciate your…
ODI 10672033
Engine · Vehicle Speed Control
I was driving on the highway, in the high speed lane going 75mph when my rpm's suddenly went all the way up and then down, past 0. The car made a huge jolt but then kept driving with no tachometer. Approximately 1/2 mile later i had to slow down to get off highway and then merge onto another interstate when my car wouldn't accelerate and totally shut off. I've been having issues w fixing it at kia. They have…
ODI 10689482
Body · Electronic Stability Control · Engine · Vehicle Speed Control
While driving on light, new snow my car had suddenly skidded slightly, no over-correcting, i simply got the car back in control when the car suddenly shot forward, steering wheel seized and started racing down the opposite side of the street into the embankment! I had pulled the car to the left and had the brakes pushed all the way down (and both feet including all my weight on them) until my car crashed completely…
Crash reported · 1 injury
ODI 10663971
Engine
Our kia went up in flames last sunday. It had been in the shop on thursday before. Here is the article that got me thinking it was under a recall. Http://money.cnn.com/2010/09/03/autos/hyundai_kia_recall/index.htm. *tr
Fire reported
ODI 10661186
Engine · Exterior Lighting · Power Train
The vehicle would not start finally it started in the drive position , have been complaining to the dealer that the vehicle shifts on its own from drive to another position. In addition all the lights remain on in the dash board. Vehicle was taken out the repair shop on 8/25/14 and this problem was rectified. The airbag light is on now since 8/25/14. *tr
ODI 10629311
Engine
After a small number of days of a minor rattling from the engine, as i pulled away at an intersection there was a bang from the engine, the engine lost all power and there was a tremendous amount of banging from the engine. Managed to crawl to a nearby gas station. The car stalled on the forecourt. Managed to restart it, only to hear the terrible banging again and see that the engine still had no power. Had it towed…
ODI 10627789
Engine · Power Train
Vehicle started by losing power on take-off. Later violent jerking/shifting over 30 mph. I have taken the vehicle to both dealer and personal mechanic. Crank and cam sensors were replaced. Issue is not resolved. The vehicle sometimes shuts off upon take-off. Sometimes it immediately starts again, other times i have to put into neutral and restart. This issue is also not resolved. Positive battery cable was removed…
ODI 10641838
Engine
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 kia sorento. While the vehicle was under warranty, the contact stated that there was a constant presence of an oil leak and the oil was not properly cycling through the oil pump. Darcars kia of frederick (5826 urbana pike, frederick, md 21704, [redacted]) serviced the vehicle per manufacturer campaign number: sc106; however, it failed to provide a remedy. The contact stated that the…
ODI 11219995
Engine
4/26/14 my sorento cel light was flashing & vehicle running rough. After shutting off and restarting, no issues, contacted dealership took in for service 5/9/14, they said they were unable to diagnose problem as it was not doing it at that time. On 7/25/14 cel light flashing & running rough again, called dealership and took in 8/9/14, again they said they could not diagnose and no codes showing up or in history…
ODI 10639234
Engine · Power Train
When the sorento reaches a speed above 60 it hesitates before abruptly jumping into the next gear, causing the entire vehicle and all passengers to jerk forward. The jumping of the gear is so forceful that it sounds as if the engine is about to fall out of the vehicle each time it's placed in gear. *tr
ODI 10575946
Electrical System · Engine
Occasionally and more than once, the remote key fob will not open the door and when it does will not start the car. Sometimes you have to insert the key into the fob holder in the console for the vehicle to start. It has happened now more than 5 times to my family and i. *tr
ODI 10584805
Electrical System · Engine · Power Train
1) the vehicle has stalled out six (6) times during my ownership. This has occurred after stopping. I was able to restart the vehicle four of the six times by stopping, putting the vehicle in park, and pressing the "start" ignition button. Two of the six times the gear was locked into drive and neutral only. The vehicle would also not shut off. Both times 911 was called for california highway patrol assistance was…
ODI 10596981
Electrical System · Engine · Service Brakes
Push button start not starting vehicle. Brake lights do not come on upon depress of brake pedal. Vehicle only starts after holding button 10-15 seconds.
ODI 10564855
Engine · Power Train
When switching from park to drive a loud pop will be heard from the vehicle usually occurring (loudest) during cold moist days. In the same conditions when the vehicle is in motion the car begins to stutter and vibrate when switching gears (this is usually felt initially driving off or during hard brakes at lights). Car at one point stalled in middle of traffic. When going to dealer they said software updates should…
ODI 10573729
Engine · Steering
I was driving to work on a [redacted] with people behind me. My car made a sound like a rock rolling around in an empty water bottle then all the dashboard lights turned on and the engine died. Luckily i was able to pull over with a great deal of strength applied to the steering wheel. I called kia immediately and they had it towed to a dealership within the hour. The dealership is now claiming i had a coolant leak…
ODI 10558007
Engine · Vehicle Speed Control
Started vehicle 7am. Shifted from p to r. Engine revved on its own. Shifted back to p. Observed clunk sound from transmission. Shifted back to r and observed clunk sound. Reversed to street. Shifted to d. Vehicle accelerated on its own without depression accelerator to 20 mph. Pulled over. Shifted to p. Turned off ignition. Restarted vehicle. Clunk sound or sudden acceleration not observed. *tr
ODI 10543053
Electrical System · Engine · Power Train
While pulling into parking space, car became non-responsive to gas pedal input, but brakes sill worked. Hill asst and etc lights lit up on dash, car would not shift past neutral. Turned car off and on and was able to shift to park. Car started normally after being shut off. *jb
ODI 10541704
Engine · Fuel/Propulsion System
When starting vehicle, engine revs up & won't stop until vehicle is turned off. This happens intermittently & has continued to be a problem for the last 3 years. I have reported this problem several times to my kia dealership where all regular maintenance has been serviced since i purchased this vehicle in 2010. They state they have noted this problem but since it doesn't happen all the time, nothing has been done.…
ODI 10711816