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 7, 2024
While driving a red wheel icon with exclamation mark appeared on the dash. This caused for my car steering wheel to become increasingly hard to maneuver and drive while on the highway driving about 60mph.
Engine, Nov 1, 2024
While driving my vehicle going up a hill, I all of a sudden had a loss of power and heard a bunch of noise. I had to pull over as well as possible while people were speeding past because the noise turned out to be a piston rod blew apart causing catastrophic engine failure
Exterior lighting, Oct 25, 2024
While in auto mode my headlights turn on and off randomly. This is very dangerous at night and has happened several times. When the head lights go off I can not see and no one can see me. There is no warning when this happens. The first occurrence was on August 4, 2024. Kia dealers say it has to be happening when I bring it in but the problem is intermittent. Many other owners have stated they have this same problem in online forums. Canada has issued a recall for this problem (Kia Canada: RC184).
Engine, Oct 19, 2024
Heard light knocking coming from engine compartment while on a trip. The knocking become louder while driving home on County Roads. Knocking was very loud when I reached a populated area. While attempting to get to an auto store the vehicle drove very slowly and then a huge plume of black smoke discharged from the rear and front of the vehicle. The car stopped on an entrance ramp and would not start again. I had the vehicle tow on a flat bed tow truck to a vehicle repair shop in our hometown. This was on a Tuesday after normal business hours. The following morning I took the key to the shop and explained what happened. The shop called me later the same day and told me the engine was blown and not salvageable that there was a hole in the engine. I am in the process of looking for a new car due to the unreliability of installing a rebuilt engine. There have been several documented cases of KIA engine failures. I do not know if this has been reported, but I would like a record of this failure reported and documented. Thank you.
Engine, Oct 16, 2024
My vehicle has a 2.4l GDI engine that is excessively burning oil. I burn 2 qts every 1000 miles. I took it to the Kia dealership since I’m still under warranty and they refused to do an oil consumption test. They want 3k miles worth of readings and it will put me over the 100k warranty. I was instructed to keep putting oil in my car and eventually the engine will die. When I asked they told me it will lose power when I’m driving. I’ve done a lot of research and I don’t understand how a vehicle that may stall out on a highway, and potentially cause a car crash, is safe. I am shocked and appalled. The oil consumption has rapidly increased and it’s not safe to be driving with these engines.
Engine, Oct 14, 2024
On February 13th, while driving from a restaurant to our residence with our children, the vehicle experienced a complete shutdown, accompanied by an engine failure alert. This incident posed a significant safety risk to both myself and my children, necessitating that we push the vehicle to a safe location. Subsequently, the vehicle was towed to a KIA dealership for diagnostic evaluation. It was determined that KIA had previously misdiagnosed the issues with the KIA Sorento, and it was confirmed that the engine required replacement, after several tests. Prior to this incident, the engine exhibited symptoms of excessive oil consumption and irregular jerking. Despite multiple visits to the KIA service center, we consistently received inaccurate diagnoses. Most recently, the vehicle ceased operation once again, and I have been informed that the engine wiring harness is compromised. However, KIA has declined to acknowledge responsibility for this issue. KIA has been the subject of prior reports regarding engine failures and refrains to replace the engine or the harness .
Engine, Oct 12, 2024
While driving on the interstate i starting hearing a rattling/slapping like noise that I originally thought was outside my car. It was a soft sound but there wasn't any change in performance and no lights came on. I was in the middle of no where so I drive the additional 20 miles and pulled off into town. The sound seemed louder but still no lights appeared on the dash but as I accelerated from a stop light to pull off and see what may be going on, my car engine died, immediately lost power steering and brakes were difficult to push, the battery light came on then the check engine light and oil light came on at the same time. I was able to pull into a parking lot by coasting in and had my car towed. All illumination lights worked outside and in and the tow truck driver tested my battery and it was fully charged. My motor seized. This is a class action suit for other engines in this model car but not this one even though it's doing the same thing. This could have been dangerous had the motor seized at a higher speed.
Engine, Oct 10, 2024
Excessive oil consumption, and I can’t believe this is not a recall because this is a known problem with Kia and Kia knows this!!! My oil light came on when I literally had no oil in my vehicle, took it to the Kia dealer and i basically got the run around because they want you to jump through hoops to figure out what’s wrong with it even though they really know what’s wrong !!! They have a bunch of Kia’s out back waiting for new engines when I was there, I have no warranty on my vehicle except for the extended warranty because I bought out right, it came as is no warranty, I’m on disability so I barely drive it now because of the oil consumption and don’t know what to do or go about this, it has 71,000 miles on it, I’ve read thousands of stories online about this same exact thing, how is there not a recall or something not being done about this???
Electrical system, Engine, Oct 7, 2024
I was driving down an interstate when my check engine light came on and began to flash. The car then began to shake violently. I was able to pull it into a parking lot successfully. There was a smell & it felt hot. During my routine oil changes, the shop had notified me a couple of times that I had low oil. No low oil lights or any other warnings ever came on my dashboard to say I was having issues until that day. I had it towed to a local dealership on 09/29/2024z Local Kia dealership confirmed on 10/04/2024 that the whole engine needs replaced.
Exterior lighting, Oct 7, 2024
When in auto-mode, the headlights randomly just turn off while driving which is a huge safety risk. This has been happening randomly every once in a while since at least 2021. It seems to be happening more often now. Also, the taillights are randomly turning on at night when the car is off.
Exterior lighting, Oct 3, 2024
While I was driving at night, my headlights would turn completely off. Sometimes it would happen when I turned my blinkers on, sometimes when switching from high to low beam, and sometimes totally randomly. Lights were set to AUTO at the time. It’s been extremely dangerous because most of the time I’ve been driving on dark county roads. Have not taken it to a shop yet was trying to self diagnose the problem first. Found information online that this has been a common occurance with Kia Sorentos. No warning lamps light up.
Fuel/propulsion system, Oct 3, 2024
Oil consumption is astronomical. I have burned through 15 quarts of oil in 3,000 miles with no other obvious issues with the vehicle.
Electrical system, Sep 24, 2024
When the headlights are in auto mode, they turn off and on sporadically. There are times that the car is not even on and the light turn on and I have to manually turn the headlights off. This has been ongoing for months. I've reported the issue to before to the dealership but they could not find any malfunction. This morning, I was driving with my lights on (not auto mode), and when I would use the turn signal (left and right), the lights would turn completely off and come back on. This new problem has been occurring off and on for about a week.
Engine, Sep 19, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was restarted; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the engine failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 110,000.
Exterior lighting, Sep 16, 2024
When in "auto" mode for headlights, the lights occasionally turn off while driving. I have to switch to "on" to get them to work again. Very dangerous obviously. Also, sometime the lights do not turn off, or turn on in the middle of the night when the vehicle is parked. Again, this is while in "auto" mode.
Engine, Sep 14, 2024
Vehicle over heated on vacation trip. Had mechanic check out vehicle to get it moving again. They removed the thermostat in hopes of a stuck thermostat. Once we arrived at our vacation house I set up appointment with KIA dealership to have them make repairs. I informed them that the thermostat was removed. They came back with it having a blown head gasket and it needed engine replaced. It took them 3 weeks to replace engine by that time we had to rent a vehicle and go back home. I had to pay over 1000 out of pocket for the temp repair, rental, and to have the vehicle shipped back to my home. Finally got the vehicle back and the check engine light was on and it was running rough. It would not reach operating temp. I knew that they must have not put a thermostat on with the new engine. Took it to my local dealership with the issue. They charged me 295 to tell me that it was a issue with the thermostat. They wanted 360 to put a thermostat in it. I declined. I put the new thermostat in and that took care of the check engine light and coolant temp problem but it is still leaking coolant and runs rough. I spoke with KIA and they are unwilling to help. They said the replaced the engine but the thermostat is not covered. That is like saying we replaced the engine but the coolant that leaked out is not covered so we won't replace that.
Other or unspecified, Engine, Sep 12, 2024
This 2017 Kia Sorento is using an excessive amount of motor oil and looking online regarding this issue, there have been many complaints about this. The vehicle has just over 61K miles. The engine light came on (9/10/2024) and we pulled over. Unsure of what to look for, I checked the oil level and there was barely any oil on the dip-stick. The oil was changed this past May (2024) and should not be using this much to where its not registering. There doesn't seem to be any recalls for this but only complaints from other owners and not much help from KIA Corp. I'm not sure if there's any recourse here.
Steering, Vehicle speed control, Engine, Sep 10, 2024
Car was burning oil rapidly. While driving heard loud noises, shaking, smoke started coming through vents and car turned off. Kia is stating that there are many recalls on vehicle, but the only recall I received is for a tow hitch. I don't have a tow hitch. Very dangerous if I was going somewhere with a higher speed limit. Kia dealership is saying corporation won't offer extended warranty due to recalls not being completed. Again the only recall is for a tow hitch. Kia dealership has quoted me over $10000 to fix a vehicle that is suffering from known manufacturer failures.
Exterior lighting, Aug 29, 2024
The stalk appears to be failing, specifically when lights set to auto. The most alarming aspect of this issue is when head (and maybe tail) lights go out entirely while driving [at night]. This has happened several times, at various speeds, drive times, vehicle occupancy, etc. Additionally, the head and tail lamps will turn on randomly when the car is off and locked. This can happen both hours or days after parking and has been the cause of replacing two batteries within two years.
Exterior lighting, Aug 29, 2024
Over the past couple of months my headlight are shutting off while driving at night. They don’t come on when I start the car some nights. When they shut off it’s hard to get them to turn back on. I’m twisting the knob multiple times to get them back on while driving.
Engine, Aug 27, 2024
On August 26, 2024, my Kia Sorento failed to start. While driving it, the vehicle started to make a noise so we pulled off the road and shut it off. When we tried to restart it, it made only clicking noises but would not start. There were no warning lights indicating any issues; no oil light, no check engine light, nothing. It ran fine the day before, the last oil change was May 1st and the vehicle was running fine. When the vehicle arrived at my house we checked the oil, and there was barely any oil in the car - we put oil in it and tried to restart it, but it failed to start - only clicking noises. I recently put a brand new battery in it. If the indicator warning light would have been working as it should have been, I would have known the oil was low. I saw no leakage anywhere that would have indicated a problem - now I have no running vehicle. The Kia is our only means of transportation for me and my family. After much research, I have found other Kia Sorento owners with the same engine and indicator light issues. I am seeking resolution to this problem as soon as possible. I am the original owner of this vehicle and I've never had any issues until now. Please provide assistance as soon as possible.
Exterior lighting, Interior lighting, Aug 26, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the interior lights and headlights turned off and turned back on without driver's input. There were no warning lights illuminated. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 104,082.
Steering, Aug 24, 2024
The power steering system has randomly gone out. This occurs at random times when I’m driving. Once I was backing out of somewhere and the power steering light came in, while I was in the middle of the street blocking both sides. I had to turn my car off and restart it. I am put at risk because of my inability to turn at random times. This puts others at risk too when I can’t turn/ move my steering wheel properly. I’ve been desperately trying to get my car looked at but I keep getting the run around that they can’t check what the codes are on the car because the lights on the dash turn on and off. There were no warning signs. The car is managed well and kept up with. This started randomly when driving and turning into a parking lot, causing me to almost hit cars and large rocks. The car has been fine until now.
Fuel system, Gasoline, Aug 23, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal gasoline odor permeating through the interior of the vehicle. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who observed a crack in the low-pressure fuel pump. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to Technical Service Bulletin: 064. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was 85,000.
Steering, Aug 21, 2024
Steering motor and controller failed at 53000 km . The steering light and traction control came on and no power assist to the steering in any way . It requires considerable force to turn the steering wheel. Took it to a certified KIA dealer and was told the steering motor and controller needs to be replaced. KIA CANADA refused to fix this issue insisting that the warranty is for 5years or 100,000 km.(bought brand new ,single owner) I do understand the business part and I will take my business elsewhere in the future. Consumers should be aware that such a critical part of their vehicle can fail with no warnings whatsoever. Imagine driving on the highway and your steering fails....