Four problems related to air bag on-off switch have been reported for the 2011 Kia Motor Sorento. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2011 Kia Motor Sorento based on all problems reported for the 2011 Sorento.
Original owner '11 Sorento 4cyl, awd w/tow package & approx 88k miles. Problem 1st noticed about 2 mos ago when seat belt light began flashing with audible clicking coming from relay behind dash. It was daytime when this happened 1st few times & I could not duplicate problem. This issue seemed to happen after starting car & would go away after a few moments of driving. Releasing & re-connecting seat belt had no effect. The 1st time it happened @ night I realized that the headlights & dash lights would flash on & off also. Still could not duplicate problem, but being a mechanic I watched for it to happen and tried different things to see if they had any effect on the issue. Always would begin after initially starting car, but not do it most times. Then 3 evenings ago, I found it happening every time I would start the car & would even do it afterwards driving down the road. I was 70 miles from home & tried to get back. It didn't matter whether the headlight switch was on, off or auto, it would still flash all lights & seatbelt light w/clicking from relay. On the way home, while driving a rural road, the lights again started blinking on & off causing me to hit a metal pole a drainage ditch thru farmer's fence into his field. Accident pushed metal bumper (behind bumper cover) back about 12", tore the entire front end &lights from car & bent hood back 1 1/2 feet and buckled it upward - all of this without ever deploying the airbag. These problems are prevalent in this car as I have read, but I now have a vehicle which despite it's damage will now duplicate the lights going on & off every time the car is turned on. Have contacted kia corp in hopes that they will want to use my car to get to the cause of this issue & finally correct it. As a mechanic I very well understand the need to be able to duplicate problem to find cause . . . . . Kia now has no excuse.
After jump starting the 2nd battery installed by kia in 5 years 4 months 21 days on my kia Sorento, the air bag warning light came on and stayed on. I took it to my dealer and asked if this meant that my air bags would not work, they said they thought that might be the case so I had them look at it. I was told that the air bag module assy needed to be replaced at 37,697 miles at the cost of $864. 45 and of course my car was 4 months and 21 days out of warranty. It seems to me that something this critical for safety should never go out and certainly be covered under warranty this close to 5 years. My stop lamp switch went out 10/11/2011, 8,031 miles and was fixed under warranty and then on 4/1/2013 it was recalled. I hope they do not wait this long for the airbag module to be recalled and I would hope they would also reimburse for the replacement that I have paid for. I notice that I am not the only person with this complaint regarding the airbag problem on the 2011 kia Sorento.
The contact owns a 2011 kia Sorento. While driving 60-70 mph, the contact attempted to switch lanes due to construction on the highway and crashed into the preceding vehicle. The air bags failed to deploy. The front passenger sustained fractures on her ribs, nose, cervix, and pelvic bone. The rear passenger sustained right optical bone and sinus bone fractures. The contact sustained a right leg injury, hip fracture, and spinal injuries. Medical attention was required for the contact and the two passengers. A police report was filed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 79,000.
2011 kia Sorento airbag light came on out the blue. Took to dealership was advised either defective passanger airbag or the sensor for passenger seat. Would have to pay $$$ to put on diagnostic. Car jerks forward when switching gears. Also, car just accelerated by itself. . Put the car in park and it jerks forward. Its jerks so hard I could get whiplash. Like the car doesn't want to stop. Scarriest thing ever. I am really concerned how sometimes I don't even have to press the brake to put in gear. Last, went to change headlight, rightside extremely jot and could hear boiling like something cooking.