Cruise Control problems of the 2011 Kia Motor Sorento

The control option functions on the steering wheel fail. Cruise control, radio, and phone buttons all have failed.

Very rough start in the morning or after sitting off for over 2 hours. After 30 seconds engine noise reduced dramatically. Steering control malfunction sometimes. Making up dow button act erraticaly along cruise control and radio control. Bluetooth connection sound quality very poor.

While driving back from oregon to idaho I was in cruise control going approximately 67mph and the vehicle lost power. I pressed on the gas and nothing so I disabled the cruise control and again attempted to press on the gas and it continued to lose power so I pulled onto the side of the road. Turned the car off and tried to start it again and it would not start. It had been to the mechanic that week to be checked out and when it was towed back the mechanic reported it had blown two cylinders.

After our purchase of the vehicle, the cancel button would get stuck at the top of the button. Therefore not being able to turn off the cruise control system completely. Without the brake switch it could cause the cruise control to not disengage.

This is the most recent and serious electric issue; I do not know the exact dates of earlier issues. I believe all these electric issues are related. Issues began in 2010 after the purchase of the car. Was taken to the dealer for electrical issue and they repaired lose cluster array. Other electric issues from 2011-2013: when turning left the downhill brake control indicator would light would come on and prevent the car being put into park, the headlights flicker when car is at a stop, driver side low beam headlight frequently burns out. December 2013-January 2014: all dash indicator lights malfunctioned (no warning lights/gauges, including fuel, speed, turn signals, low fuel indicator, etc. ). Dealer found the factory cluster array to be faulty. The dealer replaced the cluster with a new one. I am reporting the following: I was traveling 65mph and turned the cruise control off, the abs warning, downhill brake control, electronic stability control indicator and 4wd auto lock lights all illuminated. The car was operating normally. Today, all of these lights came, stayed on, then went off. Upon driving, the electronic stability control light came on and the car downshifted as I was driving. All other of indicator lights noted came back on. I am taking my car back to the dealer tomorrow. Many other kia owners are reporting almost identical issues. This most recent incident occurred when I was traveling at a high rate of speed and follows a serious of electrical issues I have had since I owned my car, new from the dealer. Something is wrong at the manufacturing level that needs to be addressed before someone is killed.

I was driving with the cruise control set at 70 and suddenly the car accelerated on its own (sounded as if someone had floored the gas pedal). I tapped the brake and when I looked at the dash multiple indicator lights were lit. After tapping the brake the engine continued to run but the accelerator would not work. I came to a stop on the shoulder- at this point the engine oil pressure light and engine malfunction lights were illuminated. I turned the car off. Tried to restart after few minutes and it would not start. A few minutes later it did start but sounded bad. I contacted kia and was told to have vehicle towed to dealership and a regional kia rep would investigate my vehicle (what that means, I don't know quite yet).

On 9/19/2012 at 12:17 pm I took a frantic call from my wife. She had just stopped to fill up with gas, got back on the interstate and set the cruise control at around 75 mph. Shortly afterwards the front end started shaking and the vehicle started to lose speed. She shut off the cruise and was looking for a place to pull over when the vehicle started to accelerate on its own. It was already going over 80 mph when she called. I told her to stand on the brakes-no effect. I told her to put her foot on the brake and to push and hold the start button for 10 seconds-nothing (that is the override to get the car started when the brake switch malfunctions-we had just had it replaced at the dealership 2 weeks prior). I told her to shift it into neutral-the shifter is locked in drive. I told her to shift to a lower gear-it won't move. After 4 minutes the car was going over 85 mph-I told her to hang up & call 911 as she could tell them where she was much better than I could. A few minutes later I received a call from the highway patrol-they had 2 cruisers on the interstate with her trying to clear traffic ahead of her. I asked if they could get a cruiser ahead of her and let her nose up behind it and then use the cruiser to stop her. Evidently they didn't like that idea or it is against policy because they never did try that. The dispatcher had to hang up to concentrate on the situation at hand. I now had the dispatcher's number so I could call her back. At one point I called back and suggested that she engage the cruise control and try to slow the car with it. My wife does not remember ever trying this. This went on for about 45 minutes at speeds up to 119 mph. At the end one of the officers told her to put her left foot on the brake and pull up on the accelerator with her right foot at the same time. She went from over 100 mph to under 50 mph instantly, let go of the pedals.

The date above is the first date there was a indication of a problem. The actual speed of travel has varied. The issue is random and has affected most systems at one time or the other. It has normally been a headache more than safety always going away after shutting the car down and restarting. To me it became a safety issue when about two months ago I heard a loud bang like I hit something and then my rpms increased and the transmission would not shift out of the lower gears. I pulled into a safe parking area, shut the car down and called the dealer. After restarting the car the problem went away, just as it has every time no matter what system has been affected. The issues have ranged from a cruise control refusing to activate, the cruise control having erratic behavior (often kicking in the passing gear when not required), total electronic panel shutdown (including radio), to doors locking on their own when open, to headlights not being turned off when they should have been after 2-30 seconds. The transmission issue has been the most serious. The car should have already been serviced under a similar recall. I have noted similar complaints including a similar transmission compliant on kia forums. Kia itself refused to give the go ahead for a computer reset/upgrade. My dealer did this on his own for me after I made it clear this has gone too far. A personal conversation with kia was negative and was nothing short of talking in circles. I understand the issue of trying to traced random problems, but not the failure to start an investigation into, for instance, possible computer shielding issues making outside interference a possibility. It remains to be seen if the computer update works, but it is a issue when a transmission shuts totally or partly down. The dealer has never been able to verify my complaints.

Cruise control broken for 3rd time. Cruise control does not work, has already had cruise control switch replaced once. Taking into dealer for third time and ironically, the day we picked 2011 kia Sorento up to have the cruise control fixed for the second time, it did not work with dealer stating "could not duplicate customer's concern. " what if we all did our job that way? is this site, paid for by us citizens, just for blogging or does the national highway traffic and safety administration have any teeth? its about time for a recall on the 2011 kia Sorento for transmission, sudden acceleration, cruise control, steering - pulling to the right, and other problems the 2011 kia Sorento has that are dangers to the public at large.

Vehicle pulls to the right and has since day one. Dealer states "we cant duplicate your concern", yet when we picked up the vehicle (from the cruise control breaking, the vehicle again pulled to the right. We did not say much after until reading about dozens of other vehicle owner whom experience the same problem. When will the national highway transportation and safety administration do something about it?.