Complaint volume
410 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
2019 Kia Sorento Complaints
410 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2019 Kia Sorento, grouped by component category.
410 Total complaints
10 Crash reports
18 Fire reports
10 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, unknown or other, structure. Use those categories as a test-drive checklist instead of judging the vehicle from the total count alone.
Severity flags
Enriched records include 10 crash reports, 18 fire reports, 10 injury reports, and 0 fatality reports. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage clue
Mileage is available on 92 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 44,181 miles. Compare that with the mileage on the listing.
Questions to ask the seller
- Have you had any problems related to engine, unknown or other, structure?
- 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 2019 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.
2019 Kia Sorento
Build buyer checklist Compare with other years Sends year, make, and model to pre-fill your checklist.
How severe are the 2019 Kia Sorento complaints?
10 Crash
18 Fire
10 Injury
0 Fatality
16 Towed
8 Medical attention
What are the most common 2019 Kia Sorento complaint categories?
ENGINE 94
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 45
STRUCTURE 27
POWER TRAIN 20
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE 19
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 16
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 14
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 9
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 9
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 9
410 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 2022 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | To whom it may concern: I am sending this email as an owner of a 2019 Kia Sorento for just 15 months, yet I am already experiencing significant mechanical issues. 3 weeks ago my car stopped accelerating while driving across a bridge, began shaking a making a weird noise once idle, and as expected my engine light came on. After calling endless Kia dealers I was able to get it towed 2 weeks later to my local Kia. To my surprise it was a high pressure fuel pump issue which seems to be a common issue amongst Kia Sorento’s. After only having this car for 15 months it should not be costing me $1,700 in repairs. I am requesting that this issue be looked into further and that Kia provides me with assistance. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 2019 Kia sorento caught on fire while driving. Drivers behind my wife saw flames coming from under motor. They signaled her to pull over and she got out just in time before entire car went up in flames. We believe the fuel pump was faulty as entire motor was on fire. | Crash: No Fire: Yes | Unknown |
| Oct 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | While I was driving on the NJ Turnpike near Newark, NJ, I saw black smoke coming in the front windows that I had open about 3 inches each. I immediately pulled into the shoulder of the highway and turned the cars ignition off. By the time I got the car in Park and turned it off the entire front cabin of the car was so thick with smoke that I couldn’t see or breathe. I was able to get out and away from the vehicle just as it completely went up in flames. Two truck drivers stopped and emptied their fire extinguishers on the fire but it did not help at all. By this time the NJ State Police had arrived to help with traffic and they had me sit in the back of one of their vehicles away from the heavy smoke. Prior to seeing the smoke, I had no warning lights on my dashboard, the temperature of the car never rose, and there were no emergency messages whatsoever. There also had not been any work performed on the car for at least 3 weeks prior to fire. Had I not been in a location where there was an accessible shoulder I don’t know that I would have been able to get out in time to escape being overcome by the thick smoke. I have no idea what caused the smoke and ensuing fire and I also have no idea if anyone has inspected the vehicle since the fire. The insurance company is not paying anything because of a clause in my policy indicating they do not pay if the vehicle was being used to transport for money when the incident occurred. They also knew that I had a courier service and used this vehicle for personal and work use. When I told them I wanted an investigation to find out what happened and who is at fault (because it’s NOT me) I was told that they don’t have to release the vehicle for any investigation because they wouldn’t be paying on it anyway! I believe Kia is responsible for this and I want them held accountable. There will be a police incident report but I checked on it today and it still is not ready. The vehicle was towed to Moran Towing in Kearny, NJ. | Crash: No Fire: Yes | Unknown |
| Oct 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | The pearl paint is chipping off exposing the metal underneath. I’ve contacted the dealer in Clermont, Fl twice trying to receive help with no results. I’ve also contacted KIA corporate and have been told my 2019 is no longer covered for paint. I have 40,000 miles on it and paint should not be peeling off leaving metal exposed. Obviously something was not done correctly in the setting of the paint or an ingredient left out of the mixture. I am including an image. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2022 | FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | The fuel system is faulty in that the cabin of my vehicle now smells like gas. The fumes gradually became stronger in smell. This is a huge safety concern in that it's impairing my way of driving. This put not just myself and my passengers but those on the road with me. Not to mention a fire hazard. I have gradually become I'll, major headaches, nasal/sinus pain, irritated throat and difficulty breathing, dizzy and nauseated. I'm on my way to 2nd ER visit in a span of 3weeks. Prior to smell I had notice a pull back in power. Feeling like the engine was lacking what it needed to run. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | The Transmission for my 2019 Kia Sorento V6 AWD stumbles and hesitates when accelerating. It is a safety issue. When I attempt to accelerate the transmission does not engage for a second or two which is critical in normal driving. This hesitation could easily cause an accident. It is available for inspection upon request. I have reported to KIA dealers on multiple occasions and to KIA consumer affairs and they have performed two Technical Service Bulletins that did not correct the problem. The dealer reproduced the problem but indicate that it may be a design flaw by KIA but they do not have a fix at this time. There are no warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms of the problem prior to failure. The issue first appeared since the vehicle was purchased in 2018. There are numerous complaints for the same concern on the NHTSA -Power Train Problems for 2019 Kia Sorento. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2022 | VISIBILITY | Today, while driving on the road, the sun roof of the vehicle just exploded. Nothing was thrown into it nor was it caused by an object. It sounded as loud as a gun shot, and and it exploded into many pieces of glass. Because the shade was pulled up, these pieces did not fall over us, but if the shade has been uncovered, the glass would have fallen on the driver and passenger. As far as today we only called the insurance and went to a repair shop to get an estimate of the cost to repair. A friend of mine has a Telluride 2022 and the same thing happened to her last year, she just repaired it, but now I think it is very important to let you know what happened to both of us since she did not report the incident. Now , I am worried because my daughter is driving a Kia Sportage 2023. The loud sound can scare the driver very easily and cause an accident not to mention the glass falling on the driver. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2022 | SUSPENSION,POWER TRAIN,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | I purchased my Kia Sorento in 2020. It was a used 2019 with 7,000 miles. I immediately noticed that it would squeak rather loud and bounce high when driving over very small humps on the roads. Being that I'm no mechanical savvy, I assumed this was normal for SUV's because I've driven sedans all my life. Anyways, I was informed of the issue when going to a tire repair shop asking why my back tires sounds so harsh when driving. I was told that there are waves in my tires due to the shocks. and that the shocks has had to have issues for a while to now change the formation of the tires. I have now read several Kia forums and there are lots of Kia Sorento owners who have suspension issues close or the same as mine. Another issue is the automatic emergency brake. I was unaware of this feature until one day having to make a sudden stop and the vehicle stopped and shut off on its own almost causing me to be hit in the rear. This event was very traumatizing. I googled this feature and thought that I had turned it off but I realize that I can't make it go away and it is a very dangerous feature to have. My vehicle does not have as much driving experience as I do and I am capable of controlling my vehicle to avoid an accident if I need to without the assistance of a computer which has almost caused nearly fatal accidents by immediate stops or shutting off the vehicle causing me to not be able to control the vehicle myself. Another defect is the powered trunk. Whether I open it from the button near the steering wheel or the button on the rear gate, the trunk will immediately close on its own after opening; sometimes closing down on the top of the head of my children or myself. I selected to disable the "smart" feature but it does not stop it. The last defect is electrical. I have replaced the same internal light near the rear view mirror, and it continues to go out. This is an indication of an electrical issue and with my Kia only having 54,000 miles, further action is needed. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | when vehicle is started and put in drive, you go about 5-10 feet and the FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE ASSIST, warning lights come on dash. Bright orange triangle with a exclamation mark,& 2 orange cars crashing symbol,& middle display says FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE ASSIST(FCA)SYSTEM DISABLED. RADAD BLOCKED. And the warning lights remain on. I have taken to KIA East in Louisville, they say my vehicle is fine, no problems. My advisor even told me that they popped off the plastic bumper and removed the radar and cleaned it.(I was told that if they did that the radar would have to be recalibrated--and it was not). When I left the dealership the warning lights came on and I took it back in and they still tell me they worked on it and its fine. called Kia Consumer, they tell me to video and get it back in the shop that if its throwing codes there is no problem. I told her I don't feel comfortable trying to drive and video my dash board, but did have a passenger help with this task. Lights come on every time you start it and proceed forward. I also reported how sluggish on take off and how it does not want to speed up and almost get hit if you pullout in traffic and then how it lunges forward and the accelerates very hard. I feel this is a very unsafe vehicle and they are giving me the run around Kia Consumer telling me to take it to other kia dealerships for service that are miles away from me. the documentation from the dealership just says can't duplicate and no real written explanation of what was done to my vehicle. it took 3 months to get my vehicle even checked at the dealership. i even took my vehicle to a local body shop to make sure it had not been hit and it had not. Please help me get this taken care of. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2022 | EXTERIOR LIGHTING | The contact owns a 2019 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that the front passenger side headlamp failed. The vehicle was taken to Carmax where the headlamp was replaced however, the front driver's side headlamp failed. No warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 80,000 |
| Aug 2022 | POWER TRAIN | The transmission is not shifting from first to second or third to fourth gear. RPMs jump between 4-5 and it won't accelerate. Dealership was able to replicate issue but no codes appeared during scan. They put in a ticket. It has stopped in traffic already. I was able to shut off and restart but this is dangerous. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2022 | ENGINE | The car has issues with accelerating, with huge hesitations that almost feel like the car is going to stop, causing a jerking feeling. This especially happens on the expressway, initially at around 20 mph and then around 50+ mph. Have taken the car to be serviced with no resolution for the issue after over two weeks and now my check engine light constantlystays on. Other Kia owners have expressed noticing similar issues with their Sorento. This is a big concern, as it has the potential to cause several accidents nationwide. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2022 | STRUCTURE | The white pearl paint on my 2019 Kia Sorento has started chipping in some spots without any impacts or action that would affect it. I feel that this could expand and maybe chip a large portion of the hood paint while I am driving, which may cause me to react erratically and maybe cause an accident. I have seen many complaints online recently of other owners encountering the same problem. I have taken the SUV to the dealer many times for maintenance, but they have not attempted to repair the issue. No lights or alarms have presented themselves prior to this issue, which I first noticed while washing my car in January 2022. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | On July 21 year 2022 my Kia Sorento was stolen. I am Under the impression that Kia did not fix the problem of the ease of getting into a locked car as well as fixing the problem of how easy it is to start the engine and drive off. I am very disappointed and will never buy a Kia product again. This was my second and final Kia. I feel Kia is responsible for my car being stolen because the problem Of accessibility was not fixed even though Kia was aware of the problem. I would like some kind of reimbursement for the anguish and trouble this has caused. A police report has been filed on this incident. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | My vehicle was stolen in a parking lot full of other vehicles. I now know about the design flaw, making it easy for Kias to be stolen. This needs to be resolved immediately via a recall by Kia to fix this flaw and to prevent other Kia owners from going through this. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2022 | ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | Engine stutters and jerks upon acceleration. Happens in every driving mode (Comfort / Eco / Smart / Sport). This has been a persistent safety issue, and judging by the number of similar complaints, a speedy resolution is needed. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2022 | EXTERIOR LIGHTING | The contact owns a 2019 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving at night with the low-beam headlights activated, the light beam was bouncing up and down and moving from side to side presenting a visible shadow within the light beam, causing a visibility hazard for the driver. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who replaced the driver’s side headlight assembly and the movable headlight controller; however, the failure persisted. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 30,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 30,000 |
| May 2022 | SEATS,ENGINE | The contact owns a 2019 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power. Additionally, the front passenger's seat was not able to move forward or backward. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 56,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 56,000 |
| May 2022 | STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | There is a hiss noise coming from the steering when you are making a left or right turn. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2022 | STRUCTURE | Front bumper (black) is peeling. Local repair shop said the bumper was not properly primed before they (KIA) painted them. Peeling started 9/15/2021 | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2022 | FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE | The contact owns a 2019 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V519000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 75,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 75,000 |
| May 2022 | POWER TRAIN | JERKS IN LOWER GEARS AND SOMETIMES SPEADS UP WHEN YOU'RE ABOUT TO STOP AND/OR SLOW DOWN & WHEN YOU MAKE A TURN, CAUSED ME TO GET INTO AN ACCIDENT ON i95 WHILE MY KIDS WERE IN THE CAR WITH ME!!!! WHEN I TRIED TO BREAK THE CAR SLIGHTLY SPED UP BEFORE STOPPING CAUSING ME TO REAR END ANOTHER VEHICLE. THIS IS MY SECOND KIA CAR, THE FIRST WAS AN OPTIMA. I THOUGHT KIA'S WERE STRONG, RELIABLE AND SAFE CARS. SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE!!! | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2022 | FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | What component failed-High pressure fuel pump. It would have to be towed from place of inspected. They cannot put the part back inside the car; the part went "poof" into big chunks after it was taken apart. Mine and my children's saftey; our lives were put at risk on April 5th, 2022. We were driving home from school in a 40 mph zone. At the stop light when the light had turned green when the gas pedal was pressed down the car drove at less then 5mph and then stalled out. There was zero power to the gas pedal. We had to pull over and restart car and hope there was power. We were only down the street from our home. I had to baby the gas pedal and could not get to pass 10 mph in a 40mph zone and then a 25mph zone. The car then sat on our driveway until we could take it to our auto shop on April 19th, 2022. The KIA then turned on and had the check engine light on now. The car would drive up to 38mph in Eco mode only before it would start to spurter and slow down itself on its own. There was hardly any power to the gas pump again. When I entered the auto parking lot there was a very faint squeal sound coming from the engine area. When the auto place called they told us when the part was taken out "the internal parts disintegratend" and the part cannot be placed back in the KIA. The high pressure fuel pump did not handle the "fuel pressure". This has been a concern for many KIA's that have come through the auto place. They had said they have seen KIA's of all styles as far back to 2017 having this issue and that the part is on a national back order with zero ETA of being back in stock. How can a car part not be on a recall and be on a national back order. I had called PEAK KIA in Littleton, CO. I was told that the high pressure fuel pump went bad on my account. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2022 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | During use wipers at times will random stop in up position on windshield. Intermittent problem will start working again after toggling wiper switch. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2022 | AIR BAGS | The contact owned a 2019 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at an undisclosed speed, she lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a lamp post. The air bags did not deploy upon impact. The contact's wife later received medical treatment for a fractured vertebra, right hip, and groin injury. No police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a tow lot and deemed totaled by the insurance company. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000. The VIN was unavailable. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Injuries: 1 Towed Medical attention | 50,000 |