Owners filed 4,270 complaints about the 2015–2025 Kia Sorento with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the 21st-most of any vehicle in our Car Problem Index. The 2016 model year drew the most (1,249), and the single most-reported problem area is engine, named in 45% of complaints.
Key findings
- Worst model year: 2016, with 1,249 complaints, led by engine (694).
- Spike years: 2015 (3.0× the typical year), 2016 (5.1× the typical year), 2017 (3.3× the typical year), 2019 (1.7× the typical year).
- Earliest-failing area: steering complaints came at a median of 30k mi on the odometer.
- Fire and crash reports: 141 complaints mention a fire and 112 mention a crash; owners reported 122 injuries and 2 deaths.
Kia Sorento complaints by model year
| Model year | Complaints | Top problem areas | Median mileage | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 738 | Engine (359), Body structure (99), Exterior lights (91) | 76k mi | 19 | 14 |
| 2016 | 1,249 | Engine (694), Transmission / powertrain (124), Body structure (110) | 66k mi | 29 | 49 |
| 2017 | 803 | Engine (385), Exterior lights (125), Steering (97) | 46k mi | 13 | 32 |
| 2018 | 254 | Engine (106), Exterior lights (41), Electrical system (30) | 49k mi | 12 | 11 |
| 2019 | 426 | Engine (155), Electrical system (68), Body structure (54) | 22k mi | 10 | 19 |
| 2020 | 134 | Engine (64), Electrical system (19), Transmission / powertrain (18) | 19k mi | 9 | 11 |
| 2021 | 244 | Transmission / powertrain (134), Engine (66), Electrical system (47) | 40k mi | 4 | 1 |
| 2022 | 189 | Transmission / powertrain (64), Engine (52), Electrical system (30) | 29k mi | 4 | 1 |
| 2023 | 119 | Electrical system (37), Engine (30), Transmission / powertrain (20) | 22k mi | 3 | 2 |
| 2024 | 41 | Electrical system (11), Body structure (7), Engine (5) | 25k mi | 4 | 1 |
| 2025 | 73 | Electrical system (21), Transmission / powertrain (19), Engine (19) | 4k mi | 5 | 0 |
Newer model years have had less time on the road, so their counts are lower partly because owners have had fewer years to report problems.
Most-reported Kia Sorento problems, and what they cost to fix
| Problem area | Complaints | Share | Median mileage | Repair estimate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engine | 1,935 | 45% | 75k mi | Engine repair cost |
| Electrical system | 522 | 12% | 48k mi | Alternator / electrical repair cost |
| Transmission / powertrain | 522 | 12% | 55k mi | Transmission repair cost |
| Exterior lights | 362 | 9% | 47k mi | Headlight replacement cost |
| Body structure | 305 | 7% | 55k mi | — |
| Steering | 274 | 6% | 30k mi | Power steering repair cost |
| Fuel system | 213 | 5% | 62k mi | Fuel pump repair cost |
| Speed control / acceleration | 170 | 4% | 31k mi | — |
One complaint can name several problem areas, so shares add up to more than 100%.
What this data can and can't tell you
These are unverified reports that owners submitted to NHTSA, counted by model year. They are not defect findings, and they aren't adjusted for sales: a best-selling vehicle collects more complaints simply because more of them are on the road. Use the counts to compare model years of the same vehicle and to see which systems owners complain about most, not to compare how reliable two different models are. See the full methodology.
Other Kia models in the index
- Kia Soul (3,124)
- Kia Optima (2,598)
- Kia Telluride (1,977)
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, consumer complaint files (nhtsa.gov), model years 2015–2025, retrieved 2026-09-23. Free to cite with a link to this page.