532 of the 1,446 complaints about the Kia Sorento (36.8%) concern Engine, making it the model's largest problem area. That share is 1.6× the Engine share across all tracked vehicles.
532Complaints · Engine
36.8%Share of complaints
1.65×vs. all vehicles
172Last 12 months
5.6%Share involving a crash or fire
2Related recalls
Analysis
172 Engine complaints were filed in the last 12 months versus 150 in the 12 months before — up 15%.
31 of these reports (5.6%) describe a crash or fire, with 10 injuries and 0 deaths mentioned.
2 recall campaigns relate to this area, most recently campaign 25V548000 (2025-08-25, model year 2025).
Driving at highway speed, the vehicle began to make a loud rattling noise that came from under the vehicle. A passerby pulled even with my car and began frantically gesturing.
Engine · 2026-09-26 · ODI 11767149 · Fire
Spontaneous fire under hood. Nothing was malfunctuoing, no warning lights. All fluids were good, no temp issues. Parked to to run inside to use rr, was paged and came out car is on fire
Engine · 2026-07-20 · ODI 11751488 · Fire
I am submitting this complaint to report two separate incidents involving a sudden and significant loss of acceleration in my vehicle while merging onto the freeway.
Engine · 2026-10-13 · ODI 11770915
XXX - 9:35am EST: Lost acceleration power while driving on interstate, hybrid battery rapidly depleted forcing gas engine to engage at high RPMs in effort to maintain speed and charge hybrid battery.
Engine · 2026-10-13 · ODI 11770979
The engin cought on fire while driving. The entire car burnt. The engin burns 1 quart of oil per tank of gass consuming approximately 20 quarts beetween oil changes.
Engine · 2026-10-10 · ODI 11770345
On October 3, 2026, at approximately 12:30 p.m., my 2019 Kia Sorento, with fewer than 100,000 miles, experienced an unexpected engine failure while I was driving on the highway in the Chicago, Illinois, area.
Engine · 2026-10-10 · ODI 11770369
Excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA, trimmed for length. The ODI number is NHTSA's record identifier.
Related recalls
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:CRITICAL FASTENERS Campaign 25V548000 · 2025-08-25 · Model years: 2025
Summary: Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2025 K4 and Sorento vehicles. The connecting rod bolts in the engine may have been improperly tightened, which can cause a loss of drive power.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the sub engine assembly, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed September 12, 2025. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC349.
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE:TURBO/SUPERCHARGER Campaign 22V202000 · 2022-03-29 · Model years: 2022
Summary: Kia Motor America (Kia) is recalling certain 2022 Sorento vehicles. The oil supply pipe to the turbocharger may crack, which could result in an oil leak in the engine compartment.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the turbocharger oil supply pipe, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 22, 2022. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC233.
Why modern engines burn oil, and what owner complaints revealDesign choices linked to oil consumption in recent engines, the warning signs owners describe, what counts as normal, and which tracked models currently have the highest engine share in their complaints.
