general problems of the 2015 Kia Motor Sorento - part 1

Shift arm gear stuck- unable to shift from park to drive to neutral, reverse, etc.

I was driving down a very busy road and with no warning my car lost power. It would turn over but not start back up. I was stuck in the middle of a busy road way causing traffic’s to back up. I had to call the police to sit behind me so I wouldn’t get hit from behind.

Oil pressure sensor and leaking oil. Also paint peeling off badly. Snow pearl white. I purchased extended warranty and dealer never fixed anything.

Paint randomly flys off the vehicle while driving. There are many documented issues with this white pearl coat on my year of vehicle where the paint did not adhere correctly to the base coat.

White vehicle paint is peeling. Was told by dealer it's a known issue and is awaiting defect with paint manufacturer.

The car is snow white pearl and the paint is delaminating from the car in a large area and is growing. There was no impact or damage to the affected area. This is on the exterior of the car on the passenger side pillar next to the windshield. This seems to be happen to a lot of kia/hyundais in that are white.

September 2024, the engine cooling fan began staying on after shutting off the vehicle, and October 2024, we began to hear unusual engine noises and a bubbling sound from behind the dashboard. November 2024, we began to see intermittent poor performance with the hvac system, and then on [xxx], the temperature gauge climbed to h. We called matthews kia of greece, 4321 w ridge rd, rochester, NY 14626, and brought the vehicle in on 11/15/2024. Matthews kia had the vehicle from 11/15 to 11/29/2024. They reported performing a coolant pressure test and block test but found no signs of a coolant leak. They opened a tech line case under warranty extension wty039, and they were told to release the vehicle. Matthews kia informed us that the coolant reservoir appeared to have “an odor of alcohol” and some contamination, so we paid for a coolant flush at 140,438 miles (previous coolant flush was completed at 127,057 miles). We drove the vehicle for two more weeks. During that time, the check engine light turned on, and the temperature gauge would rise to h and then slowly descend back to standard operating position. We returned the vehicle to matthews kia on 12/13/2024, with 141,266 miles. They reported not being able to identify the source of overheating, and they indicated that the vehicle did not meet qualifications for the extended warranty under TSB #254. Matthews kia suggested replacing the thermostat. This was replaced, and motor oil and coolant were topped off on 1/3/2025 with 141,280 miles. Within ten miles of leaving matthews kia on 1/3/2025, the check engine light came back on. During the following week, hvac system also stopped blowing hot air and would frequently only blow cold air. The temperature gauge began rising to the h mark repeatedly on short trips (7-10 miles). We spoke with matthews kia on 1/16/2025, and returned the vehicle to them for further evaluation. The service dept at the dealer said they have no explanation and cannot diagnose the problem. Formation redacted pursuant to the freedom of informa.

The paint is peeling on the hood, a post and roof of the vehicle.

Problem: exploding panoramic sunroof in kia Sorento 2015 I was driving on a smooth, paved two-lane road in a rural area. No cars were nearby (thankfully). Car internal temp: 64. Outside external temp: 64 (I specifically made note of this because I thought a temperature differential could explain the explosion, but my car has a digital readout of both temperatures, and they matched exactly. ) sunroof was closed at the time, and I was not trying to open/close it. When the sunroof exploded, I heard a deafening, "exploding" sound. Initially, I thought my car had been shot by a bullet, based on the sound. The loud noise caused me to swerve and quickly brake. Fortunately, there were no vehicles nearby with which I could collide due to my erratic reaction. I pulled to the side of the road and got out to look. Initially, I did not see any damage, but eventually, I climbed onto my seat and saw my sunroof had exploded up and outwards (indicating nothing had entered the car from the outside). Photo available. I was on a road which bisects two agricultural fields (no nearby objects could have fallen or been thrown on my sunroof to cause damage. ) the cause remains unknown, but I can rule out foreign objects hitting my car and temperature differential. I drove the car to the kia dealer and left it there for a week to have it repaired by kia representatives. Repair invoice available. No other representatives inspected the car. There was no warning of anything - no lights, no message, no bell, just a sudden, incredibly loud noise. My canvas sun shield was closed at the time, and this prevented glass from making contact with my body, but there was a great deal of glass on the top of the sun shield.

Front doors are able to be open while the car is in gear and being driven, even after automatic doors locked when putting in gear. My grandson grabbed the handle and opened it and almost fell out while I was driving.

Bought a 2015 kia Sorento that is pearl white. Got the car without any knowledge of the pearl white issues. For a beautiful color it is the worst paint job I have ever seen a manufacturer put out. The paint code is steadily flaking off and I'm finding new spots what seems to be daily now. My 2003 tahoe paint job is holding up better than what my 2015 kia paint job is. Kia needs to fix their crappy paint job it's hard to enjoy this color when it's flaking and won't even stay intact.

Large paint chips on hood and passenger door frame near windshield. Smaller paint chips along hood. Looks almost like an eggshell cracking and just started happening in the last couple of months.

I was on the highway with my family, when we started to smell smoke,and the car began to slow down I proceeded to get off the highway to pull over to the side the of the road oil light came on and some more signal came on . So my son told me to open the hood it was dark so I could not find the latch so he bent his head down and that’s when he seen fire he told everyone to get out the car. !,,,and we got away from the car that’s when the whole car blew up. Very dramatic night in which I had my grand babies,the fire fighter believes it was electric all,my insurance I missed my payment day. . So I had no insurance and I have no car.

Low beams have completely gone out and will not work. High beams and all other lights work fine. Car burns oil regularly. 2 quarts every 2 weeks is required now ro operate the car. I have only had the car since 2020.

I am unable to open the right rear door of my 2015 kia Sorento from the outside. The child safety lock is engaged and thus I am unable to open that door from the inside. All other doors work correctly. This information has been confirmed by a kia dealer service department.

Paint peeling/rapid delamination (bubbling) on 2015 kia Sorento (snow white pearl color) on front passenger pilar and center roof. Great condition, 109,000 easy miles. Large chunk of paint came off today 10/31. Cost - estimate 10/2023 $5000. Why is this allowed? obviously kia has errors in the painting process - too many people with same complaint - seems only for snow white pearl. These cars are not worth it.

The paint is delamanating and flaking cause value to drop daily. A 2015 should not have this issue, Toyota recalled for the same issues. It start with a very small spot and has incresed daily in size and new spots are appearing daily.

Paint is peeling. Snow white pearl.

On thurs 8/24/23 approx. 5/5:30 I was driving home on highway 290 and my kai Sorento 2015 just quit. No warning of any kind it just quit. I had no steering so had to hang on tightly to the wheel. It was rush hour and I was on a highway doing speed limit of 55. How I and anyone behind me was not in a serious serious accident is unbelievable. The car would not start again and has not started since. Had to be towed home. Since it is the weekend I haven't been able to have it towed to a shop. This is a very serious problem to have nothing wrong and no warning at all and your vehicle just quits in the middle of rush hour doing 55mph. I can't believe there is no recall abt this issue. Looking on the internet I am not the only one that has had this very dangerous problem. The vehicle is available for inspection. Posted 8/26/23.

As I was driving my grandchildren I heard a banging sound in the engine. I checked for warning lights, and none were showing. I drove the car to a reputable mechanic who after listening to the sound told me that driving the car was not safe. I had the car towed to the kia service department in anderson, SC. To have a kia mechanic assess the engine. My biggest concern is that no warning lights came on. I shudder to think what might have happened if I had been in the middle lane of an interstate with my grandchildren when the engine failed. Kia said the engine is not under warranty; which is true. However, with the warning lights not coming on I believe replacement of an engine should be considered. We have been loyal kia patrons but at this point I am not comfortable purchasing another kia. Currently the dealership says it will 8 -9 week before the engine could be replaced. According to the mechanic we spoke to they only replace two engines a day which means we are without a car and having to rent one on our own.

The paint just above my windshield at the center is bubbled up and stater peeling and is now rusting. It is also peeling on my drivers door just above the window. The paint color is pearl white.

My engine for this 2015 kia Sorento failed on 6/1/2023. This can put others at risk because kia continues to know that their theta ii engines can fail and have not done enough to prevent this problem. Additionally, there are not enough kia technicians available to diagnose engine failures in a timely manner. I have been waiting 3 weeks and my car has yet to be diagnosed. Kia should not be allowed to continue selling any models that have the theta ii engines until they properly support individuals that have been affected by this problem.

The contact owns a 2015 kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 50 - 55 mph, there was a popping sound detected. The vehicle spontaneously caught fire. The contact was able to pull over. The contact detected smoke underneath the hood. The contact called 911 but the fire was extinguished. The check engine warning light illuminated. A police report was filed. The fire department was on the scene. There were no reported injuries, crash, or air bag deployment. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 155, 565. The contact mentioned the engine was previously replaced at approximately 85,000 miles.

Our kia has problems with the camshaft sensor and when we described the issues we were having to our dealer he immediately said it was the camshaft sensor and apparently there are a lot of issues with this model with the sensor. Our car kept on stalling and when my husband was stopped at a red light yesterday the car wouldn't start and was a safety concern for him, luckily he wasn't hit from behind just made a lot of other drivers mad. I believe kia knows about this problem but hasn't acknowledged it yet. When we left it with the dealer he said parts are on backorder but you could drive the car if you want, we feel that is so unsafe and total disregard for his safety. I'm hoping someone could look into this and the total disregard of the dealership for advising us to keep driving this unsafe vehicle until they can repair it for us. The car started having issues a week ago, it wouldn't start, then it was fine until last Saturday night and the engine light came on. So when we were bringing it to the dealership to have a look at it, it stalled again at the red light. We feel this could have been a serious issue had the other vehicles behind is not stopped and hit us while in the car. Also the repair mechanic automatically knew the issue so obviously it's not the first car in there with this problem.

The car's paint has been peeling off. I purchased the vehicle when it had 49,000 on it in 2020. A few months later I noticed some chipping on the hood and above the front window. I called kia and they said there was no recall. More and more paint had chipped and today I was at the dealership for service no paint chip on my door and when I got home a big chunk of paint was missing. I did not notice it before leaving the dealership because my door was open for me to sit in. The paint is snow white pearl. The 2014 Sorento was recalled for this and the paint on the 2015 is chipping in the same areas. It is evident that something is clearly wrong with this paint. I have seen other kia Sorentos in my area with the snow white paint and they also had paint chipping in the same areas. Please help. I love my vehicle but this is making my kia look horrible.

2015 kia Sorento lx has large pieces of paint chipping off from the driver and passenger side pillars (between front and side windows). It started as a few small areas, but now when it rains large pieces of paint blow off and stick to the drivers side & passenger side window while I'm driving. I've seen many other kia's with the same snow white pearl color which have the same area of paint chipped. Is this an issue which is covered by kia since it is so common? I have a new spot starting to chip on the passenger side door (added to the attached pics). This started about a year ago with a few small chips, but the pieces that come off now are getting larger. We had a full week of rain last week and I can see many large areas which are ready to come off and will do so next time I drive, esp in the rain. If the hood starts chipping and large paint chips were to blow on my front window during the rain that could be a big issue.

Unknown my issue is paint delamination. I own a 2015 kia Sorento, color is pearl white. I understand that this type of factory paint defect is not uncommon with a 2015 kia Sorento, especially with the color being pearl white. Here is a description and timeline of my paint delamination: sept 2022, I noticed a relatively small paint chip (1" x 4" long) on the drivers side pillar. Very unusual but I didn't overthink this paint peeling scar. Feb 2023, on the same pillar, the delamination enlarged to 4" x 10" and I became fully aware of this factory defect. A few weeks later, Feb 2023, I noticed paint had chipped off and peeled off the roof , located directly above the windshield. Now I'm considering a visit to my kia dealership, in west covina, to show them my car. I'm totally confused and worried about the paint condition of my car. In late March 2023, I noticed a small paint chip on the passenger side pillar. I touched it gently and the paint delamination in this area did what it does. It easily peeled off with the slightest touch. Now, I'm convinced that I need to discuss this factory defect with kia. A week later, April 2023, while washing my car the water pressure from my garden hose literally peeled off enormous amounts of paint from the defected areas. In fact, some paint chipping started on the hood. I also noticed paint blisters and bubbles on the side doors. Those blisters will soon peel off with wind or water. I will download pictures of the delamination infested car. This is undoubtedly a factory defect issue. Any car company that values their product and their reputation would own (admit) the obvious facts regarding the paint defect issues and recall the Sorentos (pearl white). Honor and product integrity is a basic characteristic for a major automobile company like kia. My dad is a kia owner, myself and my grandson are kia Sorento owners. I trust that my complaint will not fall on deaf ears.

Paint is peeling.

My friend was driving my car this am and an unknown driver ran the stop sign on a side street off from stuyvesant and hit my vehicle my friend proceeded to get out my vehicle to exchange ins with the other driver as she declined my friend tried contacting me numberous times by facetime and phone when I finally answered the facetime she snapped a picture of the back of her vehicle as she was proceeding to leave I told my friend I will contact the police department to do a report because we have her license plate number and car as well.

I was told to submit a claim with you all by others facing the same issue with paint. I have had this car for nearly 3 years and am missing more and more paint every day. It’s missing on the hood as long as driver pillar. Kia told me there’s nothing they can do. I see kia’s like mine all the time with the same issue.

Unknown.

The paint is peeling off of my car all the way to the metal in multiple places. Causing rusting.

My 2015 kia Sorento at around 90,000 miles started getting areas where the paint is bubbling. At 98,975 miles after a hard rain (no hail) a large spot of paint peeled off on the passenger side pillar around window. It is also starting on hood and above windshield. The color of my is snow white pearl. I have reported it to kia and have a case # [xxx]. They are not responding to my emails. August 29. 2022 is the date of the major peeling. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

The vehicle is leaking water inside the car cabin. The front passenger and driver side are soaked with water. If the air conditioner comes on, it sounds like I’m boiling water. It also fogs the windows from the inside.

Kia’s ignition on older models is insufficient with standards. They are refusing to do anything about the fact that there is not an immobilizer on the ignition and the vehicle can be stolen with a usb. A recall needs to be made so that they are required to install a fix for those that own kia models affected. If there is a different agency this should be reported to please respond so I may contact them.