general problems of the 2008 Kia Motor Sorento

Run away throttle, then part throttle, then stalls. Very unsafe. Nhtsa action# dp21003 problem comes and goes regularly.

I pulled into my driveway and the car shut off and I heard a pop, never had an issue before this. Upon getting out I noticed smoke and asked my neighbor to help me open the hood. Upon opening the hood we noticed a fire in the passenger side of the engine and called 911. The entire car was engulfed in flames within minutes of me getting out of the vehicle, luckily I made it out but what if I had not? I am mentally traumatized along with my family especially my young child. The car is sitting in my driveway still and it is a daily reminder of what happened. There is a recall sc186 on kia Sorento year 2007-2009 that I was never informed about. Something needs to be done or I will be making sure this is a case that is handled in the court system.

Even after having the esc and relay box replaced the vehicle has become much worse. It's shuts down my accelerator pedal and won't move I have to shut it off completely for it to reset its extremely unsafe and is now affecting my job. And the ability to take car of my son. And kia wants to charge me $200 plus for a diagnosis when it clearly keeps shutting down the vehicle and the esc off light is on. I even replaced the accelerator pedal assembly $180 and it did not fix the problem please help. Also this has been an on going issue since August 2020 and even after running diagnostic on it. I keep getting the run around from everyone stating a different issue each time.

The manufacturer has issued a recall regarding a remady on hecu repair or replacement. They are asking us to park our car away from other vehicle because the recalled car may get in fire. How the other people may know to park away from my defective car. This is a safety issue for me and for other people in the community. This is the only car I have and I have to use it every day. If kia is not able to fix the recall ,they must provide me with a substitute car until they can replace the defective part.

My left tail light is out. I have gone to the mechanic, changed the light bulb but no fix. I was advised there was some sort of short happening from kia through a recall letter. Since I've received the letter nothing has been done. I was told not to drive the car and to park it away from other cars in case of it catching fire. I live in the bay area and do not have the luxury of parking it away from other cars, this is impossible. I need to know when they're going to fix this? I can't move around without my car and I also fear for my neighbors assets if this car would to ignite as the recall states. Please help and advise on what can be done to solve this issue promptly.

Whenever weather is moist or rainy the engine has bogged down while driving and has no power even with gas peddle pressed to floor. This has left us stranded twice now but when taken to be checked they can't diagnose the problem. Also tpms is always on even though tire pressures have been checked and it will not go off. Has been this way for over 1 1/2 years now with no explanation.

Sunday sept 9th at around 9 - 9:30 am I smelled smoke and walked around the house and smelled that it was coming from the garage. When I opened the door I saw flames underneath the car and smoke and fire on top of the hood. I called the palm bay fire department when they got there they put the hose on the car until the fire was out they had to cut the hood in order to finish putting out the fire. They fire marshall came and inspected the vehicle it could have been an electrical problem. When I called kia customer service they gave me a claim number and they told me what would you like kia do for you . The customer service agent said they will give the claim to the right department and they will get back to me in 3 to 5 business days. This happened while the car was parked in the garage and it hadn't been turned on since Friday . This vehicle was a 2008 Sorento with less than 90,000 miles it was in great condition also.

I drove my 08 kia Sorento home at about 730 am. I work night shift and went to sleep and was woken up at 945 by ems to my car up in flames. It was showing no signs of any problems, not running hot, nothing. It was parked for about an hour when it went up in flames. The fire chief was on the truck that day as he had orientee's, and said the fire started behind the steering wheel/dash and that it was an electrical engine fire which is stated on my fire report. I contacted kia they told me it was no way it was their problem and had to be a user error. I have photos but my computer would not let me upload them for a reason.

Every 6 months the engine light and ecs off lights come on and the car loses power intermittently. This is dangerous when it happens on the freeway. I bought the car from carmax in July 2014. By November, it started to have the issue, it progressed at I checked it on the internet and saw a recall and brought it in to city kia in orlando. The mechanic could not find an issue why the engine light was on and there was no clear code. However, when he replaced the recall lamp switch part it went away until now (oct 2015). It is clear to me that there is an issue with the electrical system that can cause the loss of power. There are numerous comments from others with the same issue and the same symptoms. I expect carmax and kia understand there is an issue. I bought the car with 32k miles on it from carmax and it already had 2 previous owners. The average kia mechanic seems incapable of diagnosing and resolving this issue. They will just change out parts every 6 months and hopefully reset the electronics somehow. I am a licensed mechanical engineer and safety engineer working in the ride industry for 30 years. I believe this is a safety issue and I would like kia to either fix it or take my car back or carmax to take the car back. The loss of power can occur when you start or when you are driving. The engine light and ecs light come on and always accompany this issue. Typical posts on internet Jun 30, 2014 - cheektowaga, NY - power train the contact owns a 2008 kia Sorento. While driving approximately 40 mph, the vehicle decelerated. The contact depressed the accelerator pedal and the vehicle slowly decelerated to 20 mph. The service engine and esc sensors illuminated intermittently. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified. The VIN was unavailable. The approximate failure mileage was 50,000.

My 2008 kia sorrento, with only 92k miles on it. . . I had it in the service shop at the kia dealer, for a noise coming from the engine. . They informed me it was the main barring going out. . And they quoted me 12k to replace my engine as a fix. . . Of course I said no, that was 3 years ago, my sorrento is still sitting in my driveway un-driven, which is completely paid off. . Instead I purchased another car from kia. . . Recently I have seen numerous reports of the same problems on newer versions of the sorrento's. . . I wrote kia corporate, about this, and of course no response back from them at all. I am a loyal kia driver, however I wish kia would step up and claim responsibility of this main barring defect. . A lousy $20 dollar part failed on a 30k purchased sorrento, and they will not answer me back.

Tl-the contact owns a 2008 kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving at 60 mph, the vehicle esc, passenger air bag and the motor light illuminated then the vehicle loses power. The failure recurred numerous time. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was not included in the NHTSA campaign number: 11v473000 (air bags). The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The aproximate failure mileage was 180,000. Aw.

We were driving on a busy freeway on the way to work, the steering wheel started getting stiff so we slowed down and moved over to the far right. The car died but we were able to coast over out of traffic though the back of the car was still not out all the way due to the angle. We were not able to steer and straighten the car. The car would not start. We called roadside assistance and they were unable to jump the car. It was towed to a mechanic. The engine was locked. The mechanic said a screw broke off. There was an issue with the crankshaft. I had to get a new engine put in at the cost of just over $2400.

The contact owns a 2008 kia Sorento. While driving at approximately 55 mph, the vehicle decelerated to 20 mph without the brake pedal being depressed. The sec and the check engine warning indicators illuminated. The failure recurred numerous times. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, where it was diagnosed that the throttle position sensor failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.

Esc light comes on then the engine loses power, it also did this 2 years ago on 10/31/2011.

I was driving on an interstate with a speed limit of 65 mph when with no warning the “check engine” and “esc off” lights came on simultaneously. At the same time, the engine lost power, causing my vehicle to suddenly decelerate and almost causing a collision both with the car behind me and with the cars merging over from an entrance ramp. Luckily, I was able to safely maintain control of my car and put on my hazard lights to warn other drivers of my much slower speed. Even depressing the gas pedal to the floor, I was unable to accelerate above 55 mph, and my speed going up hills was significantly slower. Once I was able to safely reach a shoulder with comfortable clearance, I pulled over and stopped the car for a few minutes. I restarted the car, both lights remained on, and I similarly was unable to accelerate the car appropriately, especially from a stop. I limped along with my hazard lights for the last few miles to work where I immediately began researching this issue only to find that this is far from an isolated incident. In fact, this problem seems to be pervasive in kias of similar model year. There are scores of kia owners who have experienced a similar series of events. The sudden and unexpected loss of power with absolutely no warning is highly dangerous in any situation, but especially so on the interstate when speed limits are so high. I was so lucky that the drivers around me and I were able to avoid an injury-causing crash. This issue needs to be investigated swiftly and thoroughly. Again, a simple search of this very website as well as other online car forums reveals a problem so widespread that it should warrant a recall by kia.

Current and ongoing problems began just a few days after receiving a notice of recall from kia regarding the faulty/defective brake light switch. The switch was faulty and there was a problem with no brake lights coming on upon braking as well as "esc off" and "check engine" malfunction indicator lights apprearing and staying on the instrument cluster. The vehicle was promptly taken to a kia dealership where the recall service was performed. Replacement of a failed brake light switch under the recall campaign did not eliminate the problems/codes that began when the brake light switch failed. Shortly after the repair (less than a month afterward and very few miles driven) the "esc off" and "check engine" malfunction indicator lights appreared, stayed, then came on and off intermittently with engine not going over past approximately 2,000 rpms resulting in unpredictable vehicle behavior especially when it comes to merging onto a highway/interstate or getting through an intersection. The vehicle was taken to the dealership where the service advisors gave assurances that the new brake light switch is not defective. The problem is that the service advisors/technicians could not specifically diagnose what needs replacement to ultimately solve this ongoing problem or if it is related to the failure of the of the brake light switch.

Tl-the contact owns a 2008 kia Sorento. The contact stated that the vehicle lost acceleration power and did not accelerate over 20 mph. The failure was experienced numerous times. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where a diagnostic was performed and revealed that the oxygen senor, brake pedal light switch, and throttle pedal sensor had failed. The dealer replaced the failed parts but the failure recurred. The vehicle continued to lose power. The failure mileage was 55,371 and the approximate current mileage was 64,000. Mah.

The contact owns a 2008 kia Sorento. While driving various speeds, the check engine indicator illuminated on the instrument panel and the vehicle went into limp mode. The contact drove the vehicle to shawnee mission kia (7591 shawnee mission, KS 66202), but they could not repair the failure. The contact experienced the same failure six years ago. The manufacturer was contacted and was unable to assist. The failure mileage was 31,970. The VIN was unavailable.

My 2008 kia Sorento lx loses power & will not accelerate to 60mph. I fear driving my vehicle because I was almost rear ended on 2 separate occasions by an 18-wheeler diesel due to the fact the power is lost upon acceleration attempts. In addition to the loss of power, the check engine & esc off lights stay illuminated. Like many of the other complaints, I have tried turning my engine off & waiting 10 minutes before restarting the engine to see if that clears the status of the lights but had limited success. The vehicle has been taken to the dealership at least 3 times, while under warranty, for resolution. The dealership has advised that certain sensors have been replaced as well as the gas pedal but yet either has resolved the issue. The dealership even wanted to charge me $2800 for one trip & $1800 on the next. This was totally unacceptable & corporate was contacted immediately. I am currently waiting on a response from them. The brakes on this vehicle as well have been an issue & are another reason for why I fear for the safety of me & my passengers when this vehicle is driven.

I bought my 2008 kia Sorento 11/11/2008. In March 2009, I started to notice a compression type noise and it occurs every 3-5 seconds. The kia dealership has had this vehicle several times, but can't figure out the issue. This is an ongoing and still current issue. It's very inconvenient to take my vehicle to the dealership every other week just to hear that they can't figure out the issue. The kia dealership can not tell me if it a safety issue. If the dealership service tech's can't figure out the problem, then how do I know if my family is safe in this vehicle?.