2017 Kia Sorento
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Engine is the leading concern among 804 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 6th highest complaint count among 23 Sorento model years with reports.
Of the 2017 reports, 13 involved a crash and 32 involved a fire. 17 people were injured.
What owners report most often
Recalls and investigations
Trailer hitchesPark outsideSep 19, 2022
Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2016-2022 Sorento, 2021-2022 Sorento Hybrid (HEV), 2022-2023 Sorento Plug-In Hybrid (PHEV), and 2017-2022 Sportage vehicles equipped with a tow hitch harness installed as original equipment, or purchased as an accessory through a Kia dealership. Debris and moisture accumulation on the tow hitch harness module printed circuit board (PCB) may cause an electrical short, which can result in a fire.
A 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 inspect the vehicle, and, as necessary, replace the fuse and/or tow hitch harness module, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 11, 2023. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC249.
Campaign 22V703000 on NHTSA.gov
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
Engine and engine cooling, engineSep 21, 2017
Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2017 Sorento vehicles equipped with 3.3L engines. The engine crankshaft may have been improperly heat treated and may fail.
If the crankshaft fails, the engine will stall, increasing the risk of a crash. A failed crankshaft also increases the risk of a fire.
Kia will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the crankshaft, and, as necessary, replace the engine sub assembly, free of charge. The recall began November 6, 2017. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC153.
Campaign 17V586000 on NHTSA.gov
Trailer hitchesNov 30, 2016
Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 Sorento vehicles manufactured October 27, 2014, to August 25, 2016, and 2017 Sportage vehicles manufactured December 10, 2015, to August 26, 2016. The affected vehicles are equipped with an accessory trailer hitch wiring harness that, due to a malfunction of the tow hitch module, may result in the trailer brake lights being constantly illuminated. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 108, " Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."
If the trailer brake lights stay illuminated while being used, other drivers may be confused, increasing the risk of a crash.
Kia will notify owners, and dealers will replace the trailer tow hitch harness, free of charge. The recall began January 18, 2017. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC142.
Campaign 16V862000 on NHTSA.gov
Representative owner complaints
804 reports, newest first.
Steering, Nov 17, 2023
Steering wheel sticking when driving. Kia replaced the steering column assy-steering and the gear and linkage assy. Steering is some better but still the sticking
Engine, Nov 17, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, the vehicle failed to accelerate as needed and lost motive power. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the engine was blown. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 144,000. The VIN was unavailable.
Engine, Nov 16, 2023
My Kia had a code for the crankshaft sensor. I took the car to a mechanic that checked the sensor, crank case and reset the code. A few weeks later, the same code came back on. Took to the same mechanic and said that the code had to be cleared by the dealership. No issues found. A week later, the check engine light came on (blinking) and when I tried to put it into gear, began to misfire. I turned the car off and had it towed to a different mechanic. This mechanic asked me "where did your oil go?". I said, I just had the oil changed about a month or so ago. He said "yeah, I can see that. But your car is low 4 quarts of oil. I had to flush the engine due to metal shavings being in your oil. I changed the crankshaft oil as well. The code will not clear and it is still misfiring. You need a new engine". I notified Kia and there response was "You're the second owner and since the car has 108,000 miles, is out of warranty". This is very frustrating and to think that I could have had my engine seize while driving makes me sick. I have ordered a remanufactured engine and am waiting for it to be shipped and installed. This is just negligent of Kia not to correct this issue.
Engine, Nov 8, 2023
Excessive oil consumption. Chronic problem. I don’t know how this isn’t a recall yet. Hundreds of people are having this EXACT same issue! Please make this a recall so Kia is responsible for resolving this issue!!!
Engine, Nov 2, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the engine started shaking uncontrollably and the vehicle lost motive power. The contact was able to pull to the side of the road and restart the vehicle. After restarting the vehicle, the contact noticed that the vehicle is not able to exceed 65 MPH. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and confirmed that the VIN was not included in a recall. The failure mileage was approximately 102,000.
Exterior lighting, Nov 1, 2023
The headlights randomly turn on and off while driving and with the switch set to “Auto”. This also occurs when the vehicle is shutdown with no key in the ignition and with no one in the vehicle. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. Having the headlights turn off when driving at night presents a risk of the driver not being able to see the road and for other drivers to not see the vehicle. These risk may lead to an accident causing great harm to life and property, including death. The vehicle is currently with the dealer for diagnosis. There are no warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure. This problem began in the spring of 2023 with less than 60,000 miles on the vehicle.
Exterior lighting, Oct 30, 2023
Sporadically during night driving the headlights will go out. Headlights set to AUTO each time. Most recently while turning right. Had not used right turn signal.
Power train, Electrical system, Engine, Oct 24, 2023
Cars burns a qt of oil every 200 miles oil smells just like gas
Electrical system, Engine, Oct 18, 2023
Oil consumption. My car is always empty after 3000 miles. I am always having to put oil in my car. Now having engine issues… No warning lights came on to let me know of issues or low oil.
Other or unspecified, Oct 17, 2023
The motor and chemical smell
Exterior lighting, Oct 12, 2023
While driving at night, headlights turn off.
Engine, Oct 9, 2023
The engine malfunctioned, it is available for inspection upon request. My family of four was traveling in the vehicle at 80 mph down I-65 when the malfunction occurred. No warning lights came on, the vehicle began to slow to 60mph and would not accelerate when pressing the gas. When the gas was pressed the entire vehicle began to shake, still no warning lights. Thankfully we were 1 mile from exit 71. I pressed the gas one last time, at this point we are coasting off the exit at 25 mph, that is when all the lights came on in the dash. We were able to safely park on the side of the road and the car died and would not restart. This all happened in less than a minute. Mine and my family's safety were 100% at risk. When my mechanic looked at the vehicle, he said it was lucky that the car did not catch fire. The entire base of the engine was melted, and all the oil was gone from the engine. My mechanic advised me to take the vehicle back to where I bought it, Car Town KIA in Nicholasville KY. They had in place an extended warranty on the engine due to a rod failure but have now told me that the engine will not be covered to be replaced.
Engine, Oct 6, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle made an abnormal sound. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who informed the contact that the vehicle needed four new rotors and brake pads. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who informed the contact that there was a leak in the engine. The vehicle was not repaired. Additionally, the contact stated that the brake light bulbs had to be replaced every three months. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 28,000.
Engine, Fuel/propulsion system, Oct 1, 2023
My Kia engine started consuming oil internally, with no external trace of a problem. First reported to Dealer at Service Appt on 5/16/23 (at mileage 58,370) and another on 9/25/23 (at mileage 61,789). I've had the car serviced regularly by this dealer. Only 3400 miles driven between those two appointments, but my engine consumed 4.5 quarts of oil during those 4.5 months. Copies of my service receipts are attached, with dealer's notations on the issue. The dealer service rep advised me that said there is nothing more they can do until the engine Fails. Then they'll contact Kia Corporate requesting total engine replacement, at no charge to me. They gave me Kia's Corporate phone number to call & report this problem to them, asking what they can do about resolving it for me. My car is still under Factory Warranty, and dealer said I have lifetime warranty on the engine. I found the following article reporting this problem, with comments from other owners experiencing the same issue: [XXX] Can NHTSA force Kia to take proper action, as a safety recall on this? - [XXX] [XXX] C: [XXX] E: [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Exterior lighting, Sep 27, 2023
Headlights switch set in Auto position. Headlights turned on spontaneously, two different times while auto was off and locked. This resulted in battery being drained and auto would not start. This has not happened since switch was set to Off position.
Engine, Sep 27, 2023
It is burning through 2 quarts of oil every 3000 miles and it is sitting at a Kia dealership whom doesn’t want to fix it. I have seen class action lawsuits in regards to this issue
Exterior lighting, Sep 25, 2023
I have had my lights to go off at night while driving.
Engine, Sep 17, 2023
I took my Kia SORENTO 2017 into my local Kia Dealership. June of 2021 my oil light came on when you turned hard left. They did oil comp. had me come in very 1,000 miles. By the third time they kept it and did deep clean and found the issue and fixed it. Once again my car is burning oil back in march and the dealership did nothing for me but a oil change. Waited until the next oil change and my oil light came on again than they said yes your burning oil again. Come back in 1,000 and we see how much it’s burning did it twice and suggested another deep clean. But the Manger of the service department step in and said we did that 2yrs go for her. Let’s do a quick clean at her next oil change. Since July have been going in to have the dealership top me car off.
Electrical system, Exterior lighting, Sep 9, 2023
Headlights turned off on 3 occasions in the last 2 weeks. first i was driving on an unlit section of a residential thoroughfare, dark night and suddenly, while both hands on steering wheel, not having had any interaction with dashboard/radio controls, smooth section of roads (no obvious bumps) the lights turned off. I immediately fiddled with the steering column mounted light control switch, which did not give me an immediate relief, flipped it to highbeams and they worked. 2nd and 3rd time (yesterday 9/8/23) while on semi lit highway they again shocked me by turning off, i again toggled the light switch, this time highbeam flip did not work, i was doing 65 on a 70 and having lights turn off, with no reason, scary. 80,000 miles. i have had the light switch in automode.
Exterior lighting, Sep 8, 2023
1. During nighttime driving, the headlights suddenly go off. Headlights are on auto and it happens randomly. The first time it happened was in August 2023 and then on 09/08/2023 twice during night driving. 2. It's very risky to be in the dark on a rural road. I really worry for my family's safety. 3. I could not reproduce the issue, nor have I taken it to a technician or dealer yet. 4. Not inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives, or others. 5. There was no warning on the dash prior to that happening.
Engine and engine cooling, Engine, Sep 7, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while having an alignment performed at an independent mechanic, the contact was informed there was no oil in the engine. The contact stated that the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil. The contact was checking the oil level daily. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that her husband checked the oil and added approximately one quart of oil per week. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where an oil consumption test was performed. The dealer informed the contact that the vehicle was losing oil. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and informed the contact about a loyalty program. The failure mileage was approximately 65,000.
Engine, Sep 6, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while the dealer was servicing the vehicle, she was informed that the vehicle was experiencing a minor engine oil leak due to the engine oil being overfilled. The dealer cleaned the engine compartment. The contact stated that the engine was running rough, and the vehicle was vibrating while idling. The contact stated that while driving with the Adaptive Cruise Control set to 73 MPH, the vehicle made abnormal popping sounds and jerked. The contact noticed a significant amount of smoke coming from underneath the hood. The contact was able to pull to the side of the road, where the vehicle lost motive power. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle failed to restart and was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with a piston slap caused by faulty crankshaft and rod bearing. The dealer determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact there would be no assistance since the vehicle was out of warranty. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.
Engine, Sep 5, 2023
My Sorento had been running just fine. I only did maintenance projects such as new brakes, new tires, oil changes and then one day out of no where my car starts making a knocking noise that got progressively louder. No check engine or oil light appeared. I took it to a mechanic the next day and they said that I needed a new engine and that there was no oil in the car. I know that I had placed oil in car with in the year when I got my brakes replaced. Also there was no leaking of oil anywhere underneath my car. I still own on my Kia and the price of a new engine was quoted over $10,000.00.
Engine, Sep 4, 2023
The car stalled and when restarted had a hard knocking. Bad engines in kias are a known issues. Why are they not replacing engines in all the vehicles!
Fuel/propulsion system, Aug 31, 2023
Check engine light came on. 65,000 miles with documented regular maintenance. Took to dealership where i purchased the vehicle new. Engine code (P0172). Was told gas was getting into the oil and i would need a new high pressure fuel pump. This is a common issue and should be repaired free of cost.