2014 Kia Sorento

Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues

Engine is the leading concern among 987 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 3rd highest complaint count among 23 Sorento model years with reports.

Complaints by model year
  1. 987

Of the 2014 reports, 23 involved a crash and 46 involved a fire. 24 people were injured and 1 person died.

Primary concernEngine388 reports · 39% of complaints
Owner complaints987Filed with NHTSA
Recall relationship6 safety recallsNHTSA campaign records

What owners report most often

  1. Engine388
  2. Structure160
  3. Electrical system153
  4. Other or unspecified147
  5. Exterior lighting86
  6. Service brakes84
  7. Power train72
  8. Air bags51

Recalls and investigations

  1. Service brakes, hydraulic, antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip, control unit/modulePark outsideSep 25, 2023

    Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2010-2019 Borrego, 2014-2016 Cadenza, 2010-2013 Forte, Forte Koup, Sportage, 2015-2018 K900, 2011-2015 Optima, 2011-2013 Optima Hybrid, Soul, 2012-2017 Rio, 2011-2014 Sorento, and 2010-2011 Rondo vehicles. The Hydraulic Electronic Control Unit (HECU) may experience an electrical short, which can result in an engine compartment fire while parked or driving.

    An engine compartment fire while parked or driving can increase the risk of injury.

    Owners are advised to park outside and away from structures until the recall repair is complete. Dealers will replace the HECU fuse, free of charge. Interim notification letters, notifying owners of the safety risk, were mailed November 14, 2023. Owner notification letters were mailed March 29, 2024 through June 18, 2024. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC284.

    Campaign 23V652000 on NHTSA.gov

  2. Service brakes, hydraulic, antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip, control unit/modulePark outsideMay 10, 2021

    Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2013-2015 Optima and 2014-2015 Sorento vehicles previously recalled under recall 20V-519. Brake fluid may leak inside the Hydraulic Electronic Control Unit (HECU), possibly resulting in an electrical short.

    An electrical short in the HECU increases the risk of a fire while parked or driving.

    Owners are advised to park outside and away from other vehicles and structures until the recall repair is completed. Dealers will install a new multi-fuse, and inspect the HECU for leaks, replacing the HECU if necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on July 2, 2021. This recall supersedes previous NHTSA recall number 20V-519. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC212.

    Campaign 21V331000 on NHTSA.gov

  3. Service brakes, hydraulic, antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip, control unit/modulePark outsideAug 27, 2020

    Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2013-2015 Optima and 2014-2015 Sorento vehicles. Brake fluid may leak inside the Hydraulic Electronic Control Unit (HECU), possibly resulting in an electrical short.

    If the HECU short circuits, there is an increased risk of an engine compartment fire.

    Kia will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the HECU for leaking brake fluid and replace the HECU if necessary, free of charge. Owners are advised to park outside and away from other vehicles and structures until the recall repair is completed. The recall began October 20, 2020. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC197.

    Campaign 20V519000 on NHTSA.gov

  4. Fuel system, gasoline, delivery, hoses, lines/piping, and fittingsDec 19, 2018

    Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2011-2017 Optima, 2012-2017 Sorento and 2011-2018 Sportage vehicles that previously received an engine replacement under recall number 17V-224, warranty, or the Knock Sensor Detection System (KSDS) Product Improvement Campaign. The high pressure fuel pipe that connects to the fuel pump outlet may have been damaged, misaligned or improperly torqued during the engine replacement procedure, possibly causing a fuel leak.

    A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source can increase the risk of a fire.

    Kia has notified owners, and dealers will inspect and replace the fuel pipe, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began January 17, 2019. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC172.

    Campaign 18V907000 on NHTSA.gov

  5. Engine and engine cooling, engineMar 31, 2017

    Kia Motor Company (Kia) is recalling certain 2011-2014 Optima, 2012-2014 Sorento and 2011-2013 Sportage vehicles. Machining errors during the engine manufacturing process may cause premature bearing wear within the engine.

    Bearing wear may result in the engine seizing, increasing the risk of a crash.

    Kia will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the engine assembly, and replace the engine if necessary, free of charge. The recall began June 20, 2017. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC147.

    Campaign 17V224000 on NHTSA.gov

  6. Power train, axle assembly, axle shaftAug 13, 2013

    Kia Motors Corp. is recalling certain model year 2014 front wheel drive Sorento vehicles manufactured January 7, 2013, through March 12, 2013; and equipped with 2.4 liter engines. Due to a manufacturing issue, the right front axle shaft may fracture.

    A fractured front axle may result in a loss of power to the wheels. Additionally, if the vehicle is parked without the parking brake applied, it may roll away. Either condition increases the risk of a crash.

    Kia will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front axle shaft assembly, free of charge. The recall began on September 9, 2013. Owners may contact Kia at 1-800-333-4542 . Kia's recall number is SC099.

    Campaign 13V356000 on NHTSA.gov

Representative owner complaints: structure

160 reports, newest first. Show all

  1. Structure, Other or unspecified, Jul 12, 2022

    The pearl white paint is peeling off the vehicle on the hood and all around the windsheild.

  2. Structure, Other or unspecified, Jul 9, 2022

    Paint peeling left and right sides of front windshield. Front of car.peeling in spots where rocks have hit and left back passenger side large piece paint peeling Started with a very small spec. Continuing to peel

  3. Structure, Jul 1, 2022

    The paint has chipped off in spots all over the vehicle.

  4. Structure, Jun 25, 2022

    Paint is chipped and peeling. Snow white pearl.

  5. Structure, Jun 9, 2022

    ON MY 2014 KIA SORENTO , THE PAINT HAS PEELED, IS PEELING SO BAD, THAT IT IS EMBARASSING TO EVEN DRIVE THE VEHICLE. THIS STARTED ABOUT 4 YEARS AGO . AT THAT TIME, IT STARTED ON THE HOOD, OVER THE DRIVERS SIDE. TOOK IT TO THE KIA PLACE, AND THEY TRIED TO SAY IT WAS BECAUSE THE VANITY LIGHT MIRROR HAD BEEN LEFT ON OVER NIGHT. THE NEXT VISIT WAS WHEN IT WAS PEELING ALL OVER THE CAR. THEY OF COURSE SAID, IT WAS OUT OF WARRANTY. MY CAR HAS ABOUT 75,000 MILES ON IT.

  6. Structure, Jun 7, 2022

    I have a Pearl White 2014 Kia Sorrento that I bought used with approximately 50,000 miles from Rick Case Kia in Sunrise, Florida. It has 117,000 miles on it today and multiple parts of the paint that is peeling on the hood and roof. I noticed the first paint defect when I bought it, which was on the roof (This is where to largest peel is now). I didn't think too much about it because it was small. I have had lots of trouble with this vehicle like engine failure and wheel hub failure. Then at around 65,000 miles, I noticed that the roof paint had peeled more to be 2 to 3 inches in size. I then called Wallace Kia in Stuart, FL to request a covered repair and they told me that my paint warranty had expired. Since then the paint has continued to peel with exposed rusted metal with some paint defects to be the size of my hand.

  7. Structure, Jun 6, 2022

    Paint is sliding off vehicle Pearle White drivers side, side window frame & top above window. I see many others have made complaints on those issues. Yes this vehicle is 8 years old, but is kept in a garage in the winter, I have never had a problem with other vehicles like this & have them beyond 10 years.

  8. Structure, Jun 2, 2022

    Vehicle is experiencing paint adhesion failure

  9. Structure, May 27, 2022

    Paint chipping/flaking off driver side pillar...over 4-5 inches in length

  10. Structure, Other or unspecified, Apr 24, 2022

    I was informed to report the incidence of paint chipping on this form, although it is not a safety risk. From the images I upload you can see 2 years ago (4/23/2020)there were a couple of small areas of paint chipping where the windshield meets the roof of the car. These areas to my knowledge had no previous damage to them. There are/were a couple areas where there were minor dents (not pictured) which over the years began to peel as well. However just in the last few months (mainly over the winter) those small areas and new areas of peeling have started and grown at an enormously fast rate. I'm afraid to bring my car to a car wash now as it may chip more paint away. When doing research about this model and year trying to find out how to fix this problem I found a forum called Kia-forums.com as well as a facebook group all about the snow white pearl peeling and chipping delimitation problem. While not a safety risk, this is a risk of rust becoming a problem and something I'm very concerned about not only because I plan to keep this car for a long while but if I decided to sell it or trade it in my car is now going to sell for less. As an 8 year old car I understand wear and tear is natural but this is not a natural occurrence and I hope Kia will find a way to recall these cars and fix the paint delamination problem.

  11. Structure, Apr 23, 2022

    The paint on my pearl white Sorento began delaminating or peeling off in sheets on the A bars on both sides of my windshield October 2020. Lots of rust beginning as a result. Auto body shop had never seen anything like it. I did not attempt repair bc of expense and uncertainty that a spot repair would be insufficient if it were to continue in other areas. Out of warranty due to age of vehicle.

  12. Structure, Apr 3, 2022

    2014 pearl white Kia sorrento is peeling paint everywhere. It shouldn’t be doing that and it’s an inferior paint that seems to be a major problem.

  13. Structure, Mar 31, 2022

    Pearl white paint is peeling on the hood, roof just above windshield and side molding next to the windshield. Small chips quickly turn into large areas from rain. All areas were small when I purchased the vehicle in Summer of 2021.

  14. Structure, Mar 29, 2022

    Paint is peeling off of door.

  15. Structure, Feb 28, 2022

    The white paint on this vehicle is delaminating and peeling off in several spots, mostly on the hood door frames and the roof.

  16. Structure, Other or unspecified, Feb 24, 2022

    After about 59,000 miles I noticed that the paint on my vehicle began to bubble and chip then rapidly began peeling off. Over the years this has gotten progressively worse and has now moved to different parts of the vehicle. I have included images of the vehicle and all of the locations it is peeling. I also included an image of water pooling between the paint and vehicle. This is a great concern as my vehicle is still is continuing to peel and the entire paint job is now compromised and leading to rust and damage to the body. The various parts of the vehicle that are peeling are the roof, the driver and passenger sides above the windows, as well as now the diver's side fender. Pretty soon my entire vehicle is no longer going to be white but rather be rust colored. This is unacceptable and needs to be fixed as this is not normal for a vehicle's paint to peel this quickly and in giant pieces.

  17. Structure, Feb 6, 2022

    Paint is falling off in chunks for no reason. This poses a risk to other drivers who may be negatively impacted by chunks flying off of the vehicle.

  18. Structure, Feb 1, 2022

    The paint started peeling off of my car. My car is almost always parked in my garage, especially since I began working from home in March 2020. It is rarely exposed to the elements. Nothing hit or bumped my car. All of a sudden, a huge patch of paint is missing.

  19. Structure, Jan 27, 2022

    My paint has been peeling off my car the year after I got it an iwas told to contact Kia by one of my coworkers when I worked for Kia and was told because I own my car I have to pay for it out of pocket and that is not right. It is a defective paint job done on all pearl white kia's. All the paint peels down to primer and they tried to tell me it was from rocks or pebbles and that is false as well it is with all kia's and it needs to be fixed asap.

  20. Structure, Jan 19, 2022

    Paint delamination occurring on body of vehicle.

  21. Structure, Jan 4, 2022

    Snow White Pearl is peeling after 7 years with only 33200 mileage after a -25 night 12-31-2021 the picture tells it all

  22. Structure, Dec 16, 2021

    Paint is peeling on hood, roof and both sides of windshield supports.

  23. Structure, Other or unspecified, Nov 17, 2021

    Pearl White paint delaminating on A-pillar of vehicle.

  24. Structure, Other or unspecified, Nov 5, 2021

    THE PAINT IS COMING OFF OF THE VEHICLE. THE PAINT PEELS OFF IS NOT BONDING TO THE METAL AT ALL.. COMES OFF IN SHEETS . RESULTING IN BARE METAL THAT CAN RUST AND CAUSE VEHICLE TO DETERIOATE. VEHICLE IS PEARL WHITE IN COLOR AND THIS SEEMS TO BE AN ON GOING ISSUE WITH THIS COLOR AND THIS MANUFACTUER OF VEHICLES

  25. Structure, Nov 1, 2021

    I have a pearl white 2014 kia sorento with 46000 miles on it and the paint is peeling off my car