Complaint volume
245 consumer-submitted complaints are matched to this model year. Treat the count as a research signal, then read the actual summaries for repeated symptoms.
Complaint records
2018 Kia Sorento Complaints
245 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2018 Kia Sorento, grouped by component category.
245 Total complaints
11 Crash reports
10 Fire reports
9 Injury reports
Complaint data reflects consumer-submitted reports. A complaint is not proof
of a defect, recall, or manufacturer fault. Enriched severity fields come
from official bulk records when the complaint can be matched by ODI number.
Buyer interpretation
How to use these complaints before buying
Complaint records are most useful when they turn into inspection points, seller questions, and comparison checks against nearby model years.
Pattern to inspect
The most common categories are engine, exterior lighting, steering. Use those categories as a test-drive checklist instead of judging the vehicle from the total count alone.
Severity flags
Enriched records include 11 crash reports, 10 fire reports, 9 injury reports, and 0 fatality reports. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage clue
Mileage is available on 58 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 50,150 miles. Compare that with the mileage on the listing.
Questions to ask the seller
- Have you had any problems related to engine, exterior lighting, steering?
- Can I see recent maintenance and repair records?
- Has the vehicle ever been towed, involved in a crash, or repaired for the same issue twice?
- Can we also check the recall record for this 2018 Kia Sorento?
Used-car checklist
Use these complaints before the test drive.
Build a buyer checklist to turn these issues into questions and inspection points.
2018 Kia Sorento
Build buyer checklist Compare with other years Sends year, make, and model to pre-fill your checklist.
How severe are the 2018 Kia Sorento complaints?
11 Crash
10 Fire
9 Injury
0 Fatality
15 Towed
5 Medical attention
What are the most common 2018 Kia Sorento complaint categories?
ENGINE 70
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 24
STEERING 22
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 20
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING 10
AIR BAGS 8
TRAILER HITCHES 7
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 5
STRUCTURE 5
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 4
245 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2022 | ENGINE | My wife was taking my son to school on April 11, 2022 around 7:45am. On the way, and without warning, the engine stopped. She coasted on an exit ramp and stopped at the light. The car's engine wouldn't turn over or even click. A police officer assisted by pushing the car into a gas station parking lot. We had the car towed to the dealer in Fort Worth. After two weeks, they contacted me and said I needed a new engine, intake manifold, and starter because the engine was sized. They said there was no oil in the vehicle. They could not offer an answer as to why.. There had been no warning...no lights had come on the dash...no indication the engine was overheating....no check engine light came on...no check oil light....no limp mode activated. Until that morning, there had been no problems with our vehicle whatsoever. I filed a complaint report with Kia Consumer Affairs. Today, 6 days later, I was told that they would offer no assistance and that all repairs would have to be paid by me. It is available to inspect st the dealer. My wife and child could have been seriously hurt had they stopped in the middle of the interstate by another car running into them. Only the dealer has inspected the vehicle. Had any warning lights come on, we would have had the vehicle serviced. There was never an indication there was a problem. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2022 | ENGINE | While driving the vehicle there came a knocking noise from the engine. We had driven down to the beach for a work event. We decided to turn the car around and to retrieve our other vehicle from home. As we were driving back the engine was still making the knocking noise. We went over a bridge and the engine started seizing. The engine light then came on. We were able to get it to a pepboys by home lucky but barely made it. They looked over the car and determined a whole engine repair was needed. We took it to Kia dealership and they determine the same and that the bearings had failed. Our car was under warranty but do to failure of proper oil changes our warranty was voided. I understand the need for proper maintenance of the vehicle but our car had only 24000+ miles on it. When I looked up issues regarding the specific engine our car has there were many complaints of engine failure for the theta 2.4 gdi engine. This is very underwhelming and I am grateful my children were not in the car at the time of this failure and we did not get hurt. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | This is with regards to a major safety incident that could have been fatal for my wife and others on 2/2/2022. My wife parked her 2018 Kia Sorento on our driveway picked up her belongings and closed the door of the car. As she was about to enter the house it felt to her that the car was still running. So, she went to the car again opened the drivers side of the door and reached out and pressed the "Start/Stop" button thinking if the car's engine is still "ON" it will turn it "OFF". As soon as she hit the button the car started rolling backwards and my wife got entangled in the door. She got knocked down to the ground sustaining a concussion on her head and deep bruises on her legs and shoulder. The car went to neighbor's front yard across the street and was stopped by the curb and the snow bank on neighbor's yard. After I tended to my wife I went to fetch the car I double checked and saw that the gear shifter was in "Parking" position. The mystery is how the car moved backwards while the car was in "Parking". It's not a steep hill and the way car rolled it felt to my wife as the car was in "Neutral". There is no warning lights or any other failure indications. We took the car to local Kia dealer for thorough inspection but they couldn't find anything. We are quite scared to drive the car. I am hoping a very through investigation of the car and get to the bottom of the issue. We complained to Kia, they reached out once after almost a month and now radio silence on the issue. | Crash: No Fire: No Injuries: 1 Medical attention | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | ENGINE | I was hit by another car in July 2021 which totaled the lovely suv I owned. I decided to buy my 2018 KIA Sorento (from a different state) in August 2021 because I thought KIAs were safe and reliable cars. My KIA began to oil leak right before September 2021. I had it checked for oil leak and got my oil topped off. There was no oil leak detected. In November 2021, my engine light comes on. I believed it to be an indication it was time for an oil change. The night before I could even make it to the car shop my KIA begins to make a loud knocking sound. I got my oil change and the knocking still persist. The mechanic gentlemen tell me that I needed a crankshaft position sensor replacement. I drive my KIA to the nearest KIA dealership and they keep my KIA Sorento over the weekend because of the shortage in workers. The following Monday KIA dealership calls to say I needed a full replacement engine (motor). I haven't had my KIA for even four months and it is under 100,000 miles. I have never had to receive such gut wrenching news about any car I have brought! I pick up my car to park it immediately. There has been over thousands of recalls on KIA motors I was and still am frightened my engine (motor) could catch fire anytime. I am scared to even start it to keep my battery alive. KIA dealerships will not offer me any help because I am the second ownwer of this KIA. I definitely will NEVER buy a KIA car again or even HYDAUI car. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | ENGINE | 02/06/2022 driving north bound on TX hwy 75 near McKinney, TX at the posted speed limited 70mph the engine suddenly quit running and the steering and brakes went out. There were no warning buzzers or lamps prior to the shut down. Traffic was light and with a lot of pumping of the brakes able to get onto the shoulder. Vehicle was towed to Kia of McKinney, TX. They stated engine bearing had gone bad, causing the engine to seize. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | SERVICE BRAKES | My breaks would not push down for me to stop and I collided into the car in front of me causing a serious accident. It is being investigated for malfunctioning breaks. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Towed | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | STEERING | When trying to move the steering wheel, it initially sticks and requires extra force to get it to provide a steering input. Once it gets past the initial resistance, it jerks the car in the direction you are trying to go which required compensation in the other direction. Upon correction, it jerks the car in the opposite direction causing a continual need to correct the steering wheel to keep the car straight and causing the car to not be able to maintain perfectly straight travel. On large sweeping corners, this problem is even more pronounced and feels dangerous. This happens mostly on longer trips where the vehicle has been on the road more than 30 minutes. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2022 | ENGINE | Our 2018 Kia Sorento seized, stalled, in the middle of the road, smoked, then nearly caught fire with our young daughter in the car and 19 year old son driving. We reported it to Kia. They agreed to reimburse our rental car IF we sign a settlement agreement/hush order regarding it our vehicle and to get reimbursed. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2022 | ENGINE | The contact owns a 2018 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving approximately 65 MPH, a loud noise was suddenly present coming from the engine before the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was towed to the residence and was examined by an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the engine rod bearing had failed. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The local dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacture was not yet notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 65,000. | Crash: No Fire: No Towed | 65,000 |
| Dec 2021 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 2 Recent incidents: SUV was parked on a driveway with slight incline overnight in park and ended up at the bottom end of driveway in the morning. With car running on a friends driveway with an incline, I had car in the park mode and was going to depart car to quickly knock on door and car very slowly proceed backwards while in park mode. I called KIA dealership on 12/22/2021 where I purchased car they stated they never heard of this & could be icy driveways..I stated they were not iced over at the time and I’m very concerned for everyone’s safety with this situation. They dealership service department stated it will be a diagnostic charge due not any service or engine lights “on” at this time. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2021 | EXTERIOR LIGHTING | Having intermittent issues with the headlights turning of while driving at night. The headlights were set on "Auto". I have had this happen multiple times! Went to local dealer to report the problem & was told that they would have to drive it at night to replicate the issue. I asked if I would be charged for this & was told that if the technician could find anything that I would be charged for the technician's time. I found online that Kia had this same issue with 2015-2015 K900 vehicles & issued a recall to replace the multi-functional light switch. Losing headlight rumination can reduce visibility and increase the risk of a crash. Kia dealerships should replace this multi-function switch free of charge to the owners of Kia vehicles. There should be a recall issued for this issue because it is a huge safety issue. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2021 | AIR BAGS | I was in a weather related accident where I hit the guardrail twice head on and none of my airbags deployed. My vehicle is currently at a tow yard and will be towed to the autobody shop 12/8/2021. No warnings or indications on why the airbags wouldn't have worked properly prior to the accident. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Injuries: 1 Towed | Unknown |
| Nov 2021 | FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | Over I’d say about the last 5-7 months my husband and I have been noticing the smell of fuel coming from what/where seems to be the gas tank area and we have on an occasion or 2 noticed very small drops on the ground also around the gas tank area. Shortly after we began noticing the smell of gas, one day after re-fueling when I went to put the gas cap back on I noticed that the cap went back on but it wouldn’t make that signature clicking sound that lets you know it’s properly in place and sealed properly so we purchased a replacement one from the dealership thinking/hoping that would fix the issue but it hasn’t. In fact just before purchasing the gas cap from the dealership we purchased a replacement from Autozone and it was the wrong one. It appeared to fit for the most part (or so we thought) but it was definitely the wrong one and because it was dark when we got the cap we couldn’t see just how poorly it fit (plus you had to look from the bottom of the cap to be able to see the white plastic of the bottom of the cap was still exposed) so we ended up having to use it until the following day when we could get to the dealership to get the right one. Well while we had the wrong gas cap in it cause the check engine light to come on (which at least we know that works, lol) but oddly enough the car was getting better fuel mileage so I’m thinking that because having the proper gas cap seals the system properly it could be causing it to leak more or worse because since putting the right cap on, while it did help the check engine light go off I’m not getting very good gas mileage at all. I’m going to take it to a shop and hopefully they can figure out what is going on with it (when we’re able to pay what I’m assuming will be a pretty heft shop bill) but I just wanted to let it be known and I will send a follow up message letting you know what came of the shop fix/inspection. Thank you for reading my lengthy message and I send well wishes to you, your friends, and family. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2021 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | I Was driving down the road, my car suddenly began slowing down even as I pressed the accelerator Down more, as I started to pull over I heard a tapping noise and a sound almost like a chains rattling the vehicle shutoff immediately after. I tried restarting the vehicle, vehicle did not restart. As I got out the vehicle I smelt a burning smell but saw no fire. I had the vehicle towed to my house. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2021 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | My 2018 Kia Sorento keeps going into limp mode. It can’t be duplicated by any shop so I keep paying for diagnostic and not having anything repaired besides things that could “possibly be the problem” but aren’t covered by the warranty like a positive battery cable or a software update. Now I’m $1000 out of pocket and had the most terrifying experience of my life and the car is still not repaired. Driving 75mph down the freeway, the car violently tried to stop and shut off and turned back on all on its own. It went into limp mode. Felt like a grenade went off. Still nothing can be found as to what the problem is! It is not safe and I refuse to put my children back in this car. | Crash: No Fire: No Injuries: 1 Medical attention | Unknown |
| Aug 2021 | EXTERIOR LIGHTING | Headlights completely turn off on their own at random times at night. Has happened twice when entering into a curve at night. I have to frantically turn the knob off and then back on to make them function again. Extremely dangerous! Took into Bulldog Kia Athens Ga. They "verified concern, found open short in multifunction switch" Kia will not cover the cost of repair. Total needed to repair $495.78 | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2021 | ENGINE | Engine started smoking and cut off. Vehicle was taken to Kia dealership but representatives do not want to honor engine replacement recall. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2021 | AIR BAGS,STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | MY SON WAS TRAVELING DOWN A HIGHWAY BETWEEN 45-55 MPH WHEN HE OVERCORRECTED AND MADE FULL IMPACT OF THE FRONT OF THE CAR WITH A SOLID SNOW BANK IN THE MIDDLE MEDIAN. THE RADIATOR WAS SLAMMED BACKWARDS, THE FRONT END WAS DEMOLISHED WITH AROUND $12,000 IN DAMAGE TO THE VEHICLE. THERE IS NO REASON WE CAN FIND THAT THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. WE BOUGHT THIS VEHICLE BECAUSE OF THE SAFETY RATING BUT NOW I AM CONCERNED THAT WE HAVE ISSUES WITH OUR AIR BAGS. WILL THEY PROTECT US IF THIS SHOULD EVER HAPPEN AGAIN? | Crash: Yes Fire: No Towed | 68,702 |
| Feb 2021 | ENGINE | DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD THE CAR MADE A TICKING NOISE AND THEN JUST SHUT OFF | Crash: No Fire: No | 72,000 |
| Jan 2021 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,SEATS | THE RIGHT HEAD LIGHT JUST STOPS WORKING AND I HAVE TO OPEN THE HEAD LIGHT CASING AND PLAY WITH THE CABLES TO GET IT TO WORK AGAIN. ALSO THE POWER SEATS DON'T WORK. | Crash: No Fire: No | 67,059 |
| Jan 2021 | STRUCTURE | MY KIA SORENTO BACK HATCH (REAR DOOR) IS NOT OPENING, IT CLICKS WITH THE KEY FOB AND THE MANUAL HANDLE, BUT IT NEEDS A LIFT BY HAND TO BE ABLE TO OPEN, I DID A WEB SEARCH AN THERE ARE SEVERAL COMPLAINTS REGARDING THIS ISSUE. | Crash: No Fire: No | 60,000 |
| Dec 2020 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE,ENGINE | I WAS TRAVELING TO FLORIDA AND SAW SPARKS IN THE MIRRORS IN THE BACK. I QUICKLY PULLED OVER AND WENT TO THE BACK AND SAW FIRE, THE CAR WAS ON FIRE EVERYBODY GOT OUT, WE TRIED TO PUT IT OUT BUT IT SEEMED LIKE THERE WAS AN ACCELERRENT OR SOMETHING CAUSE IT WAS ENGULFED WITH FIRE VERY FAST ONCE WE STOPPED THE WHOLE CAR WAS BURNING.+WE WERE ON 65 SOUTH IN KENTUCKY JUST DRIVING ,NO RAIN ROADS WERE DRY. | Crash: No Fire: Yes | 36,000 |
| Nov 2020 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES | TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2018 KIA SORENTO. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE DRIVER'S SIDE DOOR LATCH INDICATED A MALFUNCTION ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE DOORS FAILED TO LOCK WHILE THE VEHICLE IS BEING DRIVEN. THE CONTACT MANUALLY LOCKED THE DOORS HOWEVER, THE WARNING LIGHT AND DOOR AJAR MESSAGE REMAINED ILLUMINATED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. THE CONTACT CONTACTED FORT BEND KIA (26633 SOUTHWEST FWY, ROSENBERG, TX 77471; (877) 265-5649) AND WAS INFORMED THAT THE VIN WAS NOT UNDER RECALL. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED NOR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 61,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 61,000 |
| Nov 2020 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | WHILE DRIVING ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS THE CAR HAS TO BE FORCED TO GO. IT'S ALWAYS HESITATING TO GO AND I'M FORCED TO PRESS HARD ON THE GAS. IN OCTOBER 2020, THE ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND THE CAR WENT INTO "LIMP" MODE. I'M VERY SCARED WHILE DRIVING WITH MY KIDS. THE DEALERS HAVE NO FIX-I WILL BE TAKING IT IN FOR A THIRD TIME WITHIN A YEAR. | Crash: No Fire: No | 26,000 |
| Nov 2020 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | SUNROOF EXPLODED WHILE TRAVELING DOWN HIGHWAY AT APPROX. 65 MPH. DID NOT SEE ANYTHING STRIKE THE VEHICLE PRIOR TO THE EXPLOSION. VEHICLE IS EQUIPPED WITH A PANORAMIC SUNROOF. FAILURE OCCURRED IN THE FRONT SECTION WHICH OPENS AND CLOSES. | Crash: No Fire: No | 34,000 |