general problems of the 2016 Kia Motor Sorento - part 1

To whom it may concern, I am submitting a formal safety complaint regarding my kia Sorento and a recurring brake light failure that poses a serious risk to my safety and the safety of my children. After every single oil change, without exception, my brake lights stop functioning properly. This has happened repeatedly and consistently. Most recently, immediately after an oil change, both brake lights went out. I replaced the bulbs, but the issue did not resolve. Instead, the lights are now stuck on continuously, which strongly suggests a failure related to the brake light switch or associated electrical components—not normal wear and tear. This pattern is extremely concerning. The fact that the failure occurs every time the vehicle is serviced indicates either a defect in the design or a component that is highly susceptible to failure during routine maintenance. Brake lights are a fundamental safety feature. When they fail, other drivers are not alerted when I am slowing down or stopping, putting me, my children, and everyone around me at risk of a serious rear-end collision. I understand that brake light switch failures have been a known issue in kia vehicles in the past, including recalls for similar defects. Given the repeated nature of this problem and the safety implications, I do not believe I should be responsible for the cost of repairs for what appears to be a known or recurring defect. I am requesting that this issue be formally investigated and that kia be required to repair or replace the faulty brake light switch and any related components at no cost to me. Additionally, I ask that this matter be reviewed to determine whether further action, including a broader recall or service campaign, is necessary to protect other drivers. This is an ongoing and dangerous issue that has now occurred multiple times. I should not have to worry that a routine oil change will leave my vehicle unsafe to drive. I urge you to take this complaint seriously and act quic.

All tail lights of SUV go in an out randomly.

The contact owns a 2016 kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving at 50 mph and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle speed decreased. The contact was able to pull into a parking lot safely. The contact attempted to restart the vehicle, but the vehicle failed to restart as intended. An independent mechanic and a dealer were contacted. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the engine starter needed to be replaced. The vehicle was then towed to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 83,000.

Vehicle: 2016 kia Sorento, VIN [xxx] incident date: November 13, 2025 incident location: durham, nc (3828 guess rd) cause of loss: engine fire, confirmed by durham fire department report (incident #253663) as "originated from under the hood. " technical narrative & symptoms (critical for liability): I am filing this complaint to report a catastrophic vehicle fire that I believe is directly linked to multiple acknowledged manufacturing defects that create a fire risk in kia vehicles. Abs/traction control light warning (direct fire risk symptom): immediately prior to the loss, the abs and traction control warning lights were constantly illuminated. This is a known precursor symptom for the defective hydraulic electronic control unit (hecu) or abs module short-circuit, which has been cited in numerous kia fire recalls (e. G. , NHTSA 20v019, 20v519). The fire's origin under the hood is consistent with this component failure. Prior engine failures (systemic defect history): this vehicle has a history of catastrophic manufacturing defects: the engine assembly was replaced in 2023 due to the known theta ii rod bearing failure. The knock sensor was replaced in September 2025 as part of the ksds product improvement campaign, demonstrating the vehicle was still under active service for critical engine monitoring defects just weeks before the fire. Potential tow hitch wiring fire risk: the vehicle was fully engulfed, but the fire may also be linked to the defect cited in NHTSA recall 22v703 (tow hitch wiring harness short circuit, which also poses a fire risk). I require a full investigation into this defect leading to compensation for the total loss of the vehicle and consequential damages. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

The car was running as normal and then randomly it started kind of rough and seemed like maybe just cold. But I had my mechanic take a look, and he said that when he started it, which was the next day that it made a loud knocking sound upon start. On the 30th I had it towed out to west hills kia in bremerton. And they reported back that the engine needed full repair. I only owned this car one year and before me it was reportedly well maintained. I maintained it well also! kia is denying all recall, but it’s a 2016 kia Sorento. It’s within the one or two years that the recall doesn’t cover??? the brake lights also work and always one of them is not working. It is not exclusively one or the other but the bulbs keep burning out. I need to know what to do to get this engine fixed, and it should fall under the bad engines that kia’s have!.

The red steering wheel with an exclamation point pops up on the dashboard and instantly I lose power steering the wheel gets really hard, it went out as I was making a turn and I almost hit the truck . I had to yank the wheel really hard to control the steering, then had to pull over turn the truck off then back on to reset the problem. This have been going on mildly for a few years now has gotten to its worst.

My headlights flicker when the left turn signal is used. I have taken this vehicle to the dealership previously for headlight flickering issues. I have owned it since 2019. When the lights flicker at night driving at highway speeds, it is dangerous for me and other drivers around me. The ray skillman kia dealer has confirmed these issues and offered fixes that have not lasted. The most recent flickering did not come with warnings or messages prior to malfunctioning.

Vehicle stuck in park. Able to use emergency procedure to drive. Repair of fault would have cost 1600. 00 if not covered by my extended warranty. There is a similar recall for not requiring brake to be applied before the shifter can select a gear. This is caused by the bcm body control module. I believe that most of these units are failure prone and they control a number of functions that are related to safety.

This scenerio happened and fire resulted with total loss. Fuel system, gasoline: delivery: hoses, lines/piping, and fittings recall date 2018-12-18 recall no. 18v907000 Kia Motors America (kia) is recalling certain 2011-2017 optima, 2012-2017 Sorento and 2011-2018 sportage vehicles that previously received an engine replacement under recall number 17v-224, warranty, or the knock sensor detection system (ksds) product improvement campaign. The high pressure fuel pipe that connects to the fuel pump outlet may have been damaged, misaligned or improperly torqued during the engine replacement procedure, possibly causing a fuel leak. Hide details recall consequence a fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source can increase the risk of a fire. Recall action kia has notified owners, and dealers will inspect and replace the fuel pipe, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began January 17, 2019. Owners may contact kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is sc172.

While I am driving it can be jerking anytime and also the slippery light come on the dashboard. Sometimes the engine light come on too.

Engine blew. Getting on interstate, vehicle blew when accelerating on interstate and died right before getting on. Could have been very dangerous if it had made it on the interstate itself. No warning lights or indication ther was a problem. It was maintained regularly. It had 125000 miles on it. A/c fan quit working due to electrical issues. Drivers side brake light blew several times. It was life changing and not for the good. There have also been a few other minor problems.

The instrument cluster blacks out in the middle of a drive or will not come on when initially started. Seems to work when it wants to. Yes, vehicle is available for inspection and we have a video of this defect. Yes, this is a safety issue because no other warning lights or warning system can work. Sometimes the speedometer shows 60mph while sitting still or 0mph while driving. This glitch makes it impossible to verify the speed, if lights and signals are working, airbags active, etc the dealership was advised but nothing done and was told no recalls so can't help without having to come out of pocket. At first it would flicker and get lines like a broken tv screen. We bought car in 2023 about 6 months in is when flickering started. It stopped for awhile. It is on more than off but presents a safety issue for my 18 yr old daughter who it was purchased for.

I am financing a 2016 kia sorrento from the burns Ford of york by here pay here of south carolina I had the car for less than two weeks and the car would not go in park and sometimes it would not come out of park . I am trying to find all recalls that have been fixed on the car before VIN# [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

The rear camera on my 2016 kia Sorento no longer works. Over the past year, the camera images have been getting blurry and smaller. Now, there is no indication or warning of cars or people behind my vehicle, which is a safety concern. I found online that there is a recall on the rear camera for this model, but the dealership claims they haven't been informed. I'm worried about the safety risks this presents.

Unknown.

The shift interlock system stopped allowing the car to come out of park however the vehicle would still roll when in park, have to do a manual override to take it out of park but it will hesitate on the highway. I have had too many near miss accidents with this vehicle. Especially due to my break lights working intermittently although they've been replaced. I'm not sure if it's electrical (my locks would randomly lock and unlock) or due to the shifting gear.

My car is completely in good working order but I want to send it to tyro and they say I have a problem with it sc249f tow hh inspect/replace +fuse: dio (NHTSA #22v703).

While driving on the parkway, the vehicle would not accelerate and would stall. After pulling over, vehicle would restart but repeated the pattern. Made it to advanced auto who ran codes and had the camshaft modulator changed. Vehicle made it back onto parkway. 40 miles from home, the vehicle began to shake, loose power, made loud sound and died. Towed home. Mechanic said out of oil but I had oil changed less than 1000 miles ago when vehicle purchased. New codes showed crankshaft position sensor. Changed part. Replaced starter and a new battery. Still nothing. Stating probable engine failure. I've only owned this vehicle for 2 months!.

I am having an issue with my kia headlights when on dim. The lights are so dim I am afraid to drive the car at night because I am scared I will hit a person, animal or object. I am replacing light bulbs frequently. Cars are flashing their lights at me (when I need to drive at night) because of the dimness. I took my car to a kia dealer and they could not diagnosis the problem. They advised to replace the entire headlight assembly with a cost of $2,600. 00. I am on social security and can't afford to have the repair made. I have read a lot of complaints of other kia lighting issues. I feel a recall should be made immediately due to the seriousness of the issue.

I purchased a used 2016 kia Sorento during the used vehicle rise in pricing back in 2021. I owned a 2012 Hyundai sonata (which also required an engine replacement), but I my grandmother's car died, and I needed a better vehicle for a new job. June 16th I was driving with my daughter at around 9am and suddenly the vehicle started to shake and loss of power with the radio system beeping all dash lights flashing "engine system component" and check engine light remained on. (very similar to how my sonata died before engine replacement). I pulled over got the vehicle towed to my house due to it being a weekend and unable to reach a shop. I have a code reader, which I read the codes. Upon getting it to the dealer they said it was the cam shaft phaser and new spark plugs, costing about $4800. As a single mother and one income I need a vehicle to survive (and still owing over $6,000) and pay my bills. Now here I am September 15, and I get an "engine system component" and check engine light back on. Now I have read so many similar issues on kia blogs and nothing is being done to fix these issue and I am stuck with a vehicle that I still owe money on and overpaid because of covid, and continues to break down. I'm disgusted with kia as they could care less.

The contact owns a 2016 kia Sorento. The contact stated while driving 60 mph, the vehicle lost motive power. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle failed to restart and was towed to the contact’s place of employment. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 98,000. The VIN was not available.

The problem started after a quick stop at a convenient store on the way to work. After starting the engine the vehicle would not shift from park. I was able to bypass this after a quick internet search by removing a small cover near the stick shut and a small straw to bypass the shift control. I've had the car twice at the mechanics without a diagnosis as to a possible cause and was able to have the mechanic permanently disabled the shift lock but was warned the vehicle could be shifted to drive or neutral at any time and moved with a key. About a month later I found myself without headlights and shortly after this without wiper controls. Another visit to my mechanic would this time show the problems, shift lock, headlights and wipers were all from a faulty pcm. My mechanic has shipped my pcm out twice for repair but both time only caused the replacement part to blow. It's not suggested they use the dealer to further repair the problem. I've been 3 weeks without my vehicle and it's another week before the earliest availability from my local dealer. I'm only hoping now it's not a long backorder to gets the parts necessary to fix my vehicle. I have also read this has been a common problem and costly repair with other 2016 kia Sorento owners.

My 2016 kia seronto was fine wasn’t throwing any codes not even the code that tells me my oil is low. But always kept it changed and maintained never had a problem with it only the code that says 02 sensor then I started having an exhaust leak near my engine it was getting so hot to the point it was catching my carpet inside my car on fire so I had to pull up the carpet that never bother me or made an issue for the car I was driving and it started knocking like a rod knock I check the oil and there’s oil in it with no metal shavings or a creamy color to it. Car still starts gets louder when the rpms go up so I’m just a bit confused to what happened when I kept my oil changed and my car never warned me of any problems and only thru a code for the O2 sensor I seen the recall for different kia for the rod knock sensor detection so could that have happened to my kia since it just messed up without any time of warning please let me know at 8289251610.

I keep having problems with the brake lights and all of the back lights, have fixed or replaced them 7 to 8 times in the last 2 years, and my passenger door will not lock, know another person that has a kia that has the same problem.

My heated seats stopped working when my new engine was installed and I took it to the dealership and they never fix it and charged me 200. 00 and then my air and heat keeps coming on and off then I got my new engine installed.

We were driving on the NJ turnpike on 2/8/24 with a speed of around 70 miles per hour. We started to see a small amount of white smoke coming from under the hood and at the same time the truck started to slow down by itself unexpectedly and then started to jerk back and forth. No indicators showed up on the dashboard. The speed reduced quickly and hitting the gas pedal did nothing to accelerate our speed. The white smoke started to increase and it became difficult to see. We then saw the temperature gauge go all the way up to hot out of nowhere. There were vehicles all around us and the passengers in the car started to yell to try to get to the shoulder. We had to maneuver very quickly through traffic with the car continuing to jerk at a very slow speed, which was very scary and dangerous. We were finally able to slowly get over to the shoulder. We turned off the truck. When we opened the hood, white smoke was everywhere coming from the engine and the coolant in the plastic receptacle was bubbling. The coolant looked like it was about to explode and the driver got burned trying to remove the cap. There was significant heat coming from the engine. The coolant then drained out of the receptacle. When we tried to start the truck again it would not start. We spend hours trying to get a tow to a shop in NJ miles from where we live in NY. Several days later, the mechanic in NJ took a look at the car and he reported this week that the head gasket is blown and that we need a new engine. We plan to tow the truck back to NY to kia where we have the car serviced normally to have it looked at.

My engine blew with no light to indicate there was even a problem with the engine.

Knock sensor goes bad. Car does not receive fuel to engine. Cuts off while driving and will not accelerate over 20 mph.

A lot of oil in the floor. Oil pressure sensor fail lock of all doors are crazy (lock and unlock so many times).

Car got caught on fire while driving with my 5kids.

Car ran fine until we stopped for gas, went to get back on the highway when the car wouldn't accelerate >25mphs,almost got hit from this. The car was then towed to the near by kia dealership and they found that it was a compression issue with a known issue in the engine and now we need a new engine or scrap the car. Kia is not willing to fix their horrible product and has told us to just suffer.

Aug. 5, 2023: CA steering wheel locked when trying to change lanes. Managed to turn left but went over the curb. It drove well when going straight but could not turn steering wheel. Glad I didn't go on the freeway. Managed to stop but didn't turn off car due to too hot outside. Called towing, then a family member told me to turn car off, hesitant due to weather, too hot. It worked. Towtrk driver checked under hood and saw no problem. I then drove to dealership and left it there to diagnose. It is till in shop 6wks. It is the steering wheel wiring I am told. Now waiting for a part. Maybe this week. Love the kia but it did me wrong. Cannot trust it anymore. That is too bad it is an awesome vehicle to me except for the problem. Warning came on as incident happened. Manufacturer personnel inspected. Happy no accident just fear of not being able to manage steering easily. I drive a curvy and high altitude road. That really scares me n for any passangers.

After I got the for my car. I took my carto a mechanic. He ran several test and concluded that my car has an electrical problem.

Shift lock does not come out of park. Started September 2022. Excessive oil burning 2 quarts a month( every 500 miles) started June 2022 low oil light does not turn on ever electrical issues. Locks turn on and of every time I open door. Check engine light is always on. Since I bought the car. Kia tried fixing but it didn't help. Now have engine failure.

I was traveling on the interstate, I heard a slight tapping noise, after about 5 miles, there was no warning light indicators, the car just died, I lost all power, there were no brakes, I was able to get pulled off the highway to the warning track that helped slow the vehicle down, smoke was coming from under the hood & into the cabin, then I saw flames, at about 20mph I knew I had to get out so I put it in park & it finally stopped. I had just enough time to grab my purse & suitcase out of the back & it was in engulfed in flames immediately. I had just had the car serviced 1 month prior for oil change & anti theft recall but was advised that recall wasn't being done at this time. The engine light had came on the day before I took it in for the oil change, they reset it stating it was a co2 sensor & if it came back on to let them know. It did not. It has been reported to my insurance& deemed total loss, I filed a claim with kia & have not heard back, the kia service dept. Where it was taken said there was nothing they can do, that it will have to be investigated by insurance.