2012 Kia Sorento Engine Problems
- 278
- 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 278 stored complaint records:
- 1 indicate a crash
- 2 indicate injury
- 28 indicate fire
What owners report
- check engine · 18 records
- engine light · 13 records
- engine seized · 11 records
- side road · 11 records
- warning lights · 9 records
- without warning · 9 records
Mileage in stored records
| Band | Records |
|---|---|
| 60–100k mi | 91 |
| 100–150k mi | 90 |
| 1–30k mi | 37 |
| 30–60k mi | 26 |
| 150–400k mi | 13 |
Complaint records
Owner-submitted complaint content, presented as stored.
Engine · Suspension
My 2012 kia sorento at low speed,stalled and completely shut off, no power steering. I had to put my car into park and then restart. So glad i was not hit from behind as my car just shut off so suddenly. My car is only two years old and low mileage. It has happened twice since then. Thank god no accidents, yet. But im worried to drive it anticipating for it to happen again. It has been in the kia service shop twice…
ODI 10573777
Engine · Steering
The first time i was driving at 35-45 mph and slowed to turn and my engine spontaneously stalled and steering wheel locked up. Luckily, no one was around me so i braked, and restarted the engine and car seemed to reboot fine. Today, it happened again except i was driving at a much slower speed, 15 mph. I was ready to take a turn and the wheel locked up in the turned position (but not fully turned) and the engine…
ODI 10574699
Electrical System · Engine
Kia sorento stalled when approaching a stop sign at low speeds of 10-15 miles per hr. There was no sound or damage. Dealer not able to recreate situation so no repairs. This has happened couple of times in last two years. Symptoms are yellow engine light turns on and car engine stalls. After putting car in parking and pressing ignition button on would re-start the engine. Please follow up as this is a safety hazard…
ODI 10549534
Electrical System · Electronic Stability Control · Engine
I was driving my 2012 kia sorento on a flat residential road in fair weather and came to stop at a stop sign. After going forward about 20ft after the stop sign my car just died. It completely turned off, all electrical, the engine, everything and i had to put it in park to restart the engine. This has happened on 4 separate occasions, 1 time on a hill, 1 time in rush hour traffic with a tractor trailer behind me,…
ODI 10598872
Engine
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 kia sorento. The contact stated that while driving 25 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact was able to safely pull over and restart the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the dealer but was neither diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The vin was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 24,000. *tr
ODI 10525777
Engine
We have had two incidents where the engine just stops. The first time was last summer, and the second this past weekend. It stalled while my wife was making a right turn onto a street. She is thankful that the traffic was light. The thought of stalling while making a left turn in front of traffic or while on the freeway could cause a serious accident. *tr
ODI 10595435
Engine · Vehicle Speed Control
Driving on highway and heard a loud knocking noise like something was loose in engine. No acceleration and luckily had an exit close to pull off side of the road. Car would turn on, but would not drive at all. Car was towed to nearby dealership. We were 8 hours away from home when this happened. Kia was not helpful at all with dealing with this. Customer service was terrible. We had all paperwork for oil changes in…
ODI 10542633
Engine · Service Brakes · Steering
While driving at freeway speeds (55-65 mph) our vehicle spontaneously shut down; all electrical powered off, engine shut down, loss of abs, loss of power steering. The vehicle would not restart until shifting into 'park' position. This was the third time this has happened, all under the same circumstances. *tr
ODI 10531913
Engine
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 kia sorento. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled three times without warning. The dealer inspected the vehicle all three times but was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The manufacturer sent a technician to further inspect the vehicle but to no avail. The failure mileage was unknown, but the current mileage was 20,000. *tr
ODI 10523911
Engine
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 kia sorento. The contact stated that while driving approximately 10 mph, the vehicle stalled as the engine warning light illuminated on the instrument panel. The failure recurred twice. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing however, the failure could not be duplicated. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure…
ODI 10596401
Engine · Service Brakes · Steering
This has happened four times! While coming to a stop sign, engine dies, power steering out, power brakes out. After shifting into park or neutral, car will immediately restart, and function without this problem for weeks. Kia dealership finds nothing wrong and no "codes" to indicate the car has had problems. *tr
ODI 10574852
Engine
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 kia sorento. The contact stated that while driving approximately 25 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. The failure was recurring. The vehicle was taken to a dealer but was unable to be diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 13,000. Updated 03/12/14*lj *tr
ODI 10557329
Electrical System · Electronic Stability Control · Engine
My family and i (wife, 4 year old daughter and 9 month old daughter) had just exited the freeway and entered our housing complex. While driving through the neighborhood our vehicle's engine as well as all electrical components turned off. We were in motion at the time it turned off. We had another vehicle behind us, but luckily they saw our vehicle slowing down and drove around us. My wife was driving and stated…
ODI 10508127
Engine
It has been 3times on the road. The first time was when i drove in highway about 35 mph (had traffic) my engine was turned off so i did not know what i to do so i put my gear to park and restarted it and it was turned on. And couple weeks later i was drove in rocal road it happened again so i called kia dealer they asked me to bring my car to dealer and i left in the morning and picked it up at afternoon and they…
ODI 10604568
Electrical System · Engine · Power Train
The vehicle grossly lost power and came to a near stop which almost caused collision with vehicles traveling at speed limit behind me. While traveling normally at the posted 55 mph speed the vehicle slowed immediately to nearly moving. This happened multiple times which i reported to the kia dealer each time. The dealer did not correctly diagnose the problem until after the third report.
ODI 10887898
Engine · Equipment Adaptive/Mobility
Car would drop its speed to about 1 mile an hour , brought car to dealer, told needed software re-set, occurred again in about july 2012, told again a software problem, but could not tell me why or that it would not happen again. Rear camera and entire radio-council goes out on occasion. Sun roof jams and won't close. In shop to repair sun roof over one week. *tr
ODI 10605706
Engine · Exterior Lighting
I have a 2012 sorento that has been nothing but a constant headache. Just some minor issues have been a headlight that continuously has to be replaced because of a short that they service department can't get to the bottom of. I medium issue that is becoming a health hazard is that the car is leaking water into the floorboard and causing mold to grow. An even bigger issue is that when with speeding up fast like when…
ODI 10575061
Electrical System · Engine · Power Train
I am beyond disappointed in my 2012 kia sorento. It all started when my sorento began to vibrate when traveling at interstate speed, then it just led to more complex problems. I can be driving down the interstate at normal interstate speed of 70 or going 50 and it will go crazy making unusual sounds and all the lights start going crazy. Then the whole vehicle shuts off. This is very concerning since i have a 2 year…
ODI 10537397
Electrical System · Engine · Power Train
When i am slowing down to around 20 mph, the car completely shuts down. No power, at all. *tr
ODI 10532979
Engine · Power Train
While in regular traffic when gas is applied, car will start to move forward then act as though the motor had been turned off. If you add more pressure to gas pedal nothing happens, than all of a sudden the car will lurch forward at a high rate of speed as if you had pushed the gas pedal to the floor. This condition has happened as least 40 or more times in 14k miles. This condition happened at least 6 times while…
ODI 10618792
Engine
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 kia sorento. The contact stated that while driving 60 mph the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was merged to the side of the road and then towed to a dealer for diagnosis. The technician stated that the engine locked up and as a result, it would need to be replaced. The vehicle was in the process of being repaired. The manufacturer was notified but offered no assistance. The failure and…
ODI 10486070
Engine · Vehicle Speed Control
On 08/12/12 while driving in cruise control at approximately 72-74 mph, i eased out into the passing lane to put myself behind someone going faster. The car suddenly downshifted and accelerated with maximum throttle. I touched the brake pedal moderately to disconnect the cruise control. The car continued at maximum acceleration and in the passing gear. I then applied the brakes with great vigor and the cruise…
ODI 10473846
Engine
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 kia sorento. The contact was driving 20 mph when the vehicle stalled without warning. There were no warning lights illuminating. The engine was turned off and then restarted within ten minutes. The dealer was notified and the contact was waiting on a return call. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 17,000.
ODI 10469985
Electrical System · Engine
I leased my kia sorento 2012 lx v6 awd new, after about 5 or 6 months i noticed when breaking to slow down the car the engine sometimes stalls completely, once i shift back in n i can restart the engine. This happens completely randomly, there is no rhyme or reason, there is absolutely nothing preceding this incident, it happens on its own, once actually it happened while the car was completely stopped at red light.…
ODI 10536306
Engine
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 kia sorento. The contact stated that while driving approximately 20 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. The failure was recurring when traveling at low speeds. The contact was able to restart the vehicle and the vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnosis. The technician stated that the battery would need to be replaced. The battery was replaced however, the failure continued but…
ODI 10553233