Table 1 shows one common equipment related problems of the 2020 Kia Motor Sorento.
| Problem Category | Number of Problems |
|---|---|
| Equipment problems |
Component/system affected: unknown – suspected fuel system or related component due to strong gasoline odor. Vehicle is available for inspection upon request. What happened: there is a strong gasoline odor specifically at the front driver’s side wheel well/tire area. The odor is also noticeable under the hood. The smell is present while the vehicle is parked (I had to move it out of the garage) and after driving. No visible fuel leaks or puddles have been observed under the vehicle. Safety risk: gasoline fumes create a potential fire hazard and pose a risk of accident. The odor is now also noticeable inside the vehicle, which increases concern for occupant safety. Confirmation by service centers: the problem has been reproduced and confirmed by independent service centers. Two separate auto mechanic shops inspected the vehicle and both confirmed smelling gasoline, but neither could identify the source of the odor or any mechanical defect. Inspections by others: the vehicle has been inspected by two independent mechanics only. It has not yet been inspected by the manufacturer, police, or insurance representatives. Warning lamps or symptoms: no warning lights or dashboard messages have appeared. The only symptom is a persistent gasoline odor. Timeline: the odor was first noticed on 02/19/2026 and has continued since that date. Vehicle information: 2020 kia Sorento VIN: [xxx] mileage: approximately 87,438 miles used for local commuting to work and school. Vehicle is garage-kept and receives regular maintenance at certified auto mechanic shops. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).
To the office of defects investigation, I am submitting this formal complaint regarding NHTSA recall 22v703000 (kia recall sc249) involving my 2020 kia Sorento (VIN: [xxx] ). This recall identifies a fire risk due to a potential electrical short in the tow hitch harness module. The recall notice specifically warns that a vehicle fire may occur while parked or driving. After receiving the recall notification, we made multiple attempts to schedule the required repair with pompano kia, the authorized dealership in our area. Despite repeated efforts, we were not provided with a confirmed repair appointment, and the recall remained incomplete. On [1-19-2026], before the recall remedy was performed, the vehicle caught fire while being driven on a highway in florida. The vehicle became fully engulfed and was declared a total loss. Law enforcement and/or fire services responded. The incident appears consistent with the fire risk described in the recall. Following the incident, we visited the dealership to report the fire and the unresolved recall. We were told the matter would be reviewed and that we would receive a follow-up call. No follow-up was received. Attempts to contact the dealership through publicly listed email addresses resulted in delivery failure notices. According to NHTSA records, this recall affects tens of thousands of vehicles nationwide. We are concerned about: • timeliness and availability of recall repairs • dealership accessibility and communication • risk to consumers when recall remedies are not completed before failure occurs we also attempted to consult several attorneys regarding this incident. We were advised that due to the volume of recall-related fire cases involving this manufacturer, representation may not be feasible unless severe bodily injury is involved. This further raises concern about the scale and seriousness of the issue. We respectfully request that NHTSA review: • whether recall 22v703000 is being remedied information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information.
I was driving my vehicle and all the sudden all the lights on my dashboard came on, I am going to try and remember exactly which ones came on. The engine malfunction light, the abs light, the battery light, the eps light, the oil light, there were more lights that came on but I don't know the exact name of it. Then I heard a pop, smoke pouring through the vents, this all happened within 30 seconds. I quickly pulled into a driveway, there was a flame coming from beneath the hood. I ran up to the person's house. I was ringing the doorbell, they instantly seen what was happening. The male owner of the home came running out with a fire extinguisher and put out the flame. I kept up with all the maintenance of my vehicle, oil changes, making sure everything was up to date. All the oil had poured out of the vehicle some a little on the road around the same time the lights came on and I heard the pop and in the rest in the driveway. I didn't know what to do so I called kia to report it, then I called triple a and they refused to tow it. I called a random tow truck driver who was kind enough to tow it back to my house. The person at kia told me to tow it home and they would send out an inspector, I'm still waiting for a response. My vehicle only has 75,000 miles on it and nothing was wrong with it. I've never had a car just start on fire before. This is so upsetting because I am a single mother of 3 children, with a single income. I am an rn and it is my only transportation to and from work. I truly hope someone rectified this situation.
To whom it may concern, I had a horrible experience with my 2020 kia Sorento and I can't seem to get anyone to respond to me. This very upsetting. My VIN number is [xxx] , my vehicle only had 75,000 miles on it. I kept up with all maintenance, oil changes, checking oil on a regular basis, checking all fluids, including antifreeze, brake fluid as well. I was driving on a clear day, no snow, no rain, no traffic, country road. I was going about 35 mph and all of the sudden every light that I could possibly think of came on my dashboard, within 30 seconds of that I heard a very loud pop and smoke barreled in through my vents. Obviously the smoke made it a struggle to breathe and definitely is not good for mine or my children lungs. I immediately pulled into the first driveway I seen. This took 5 seconds from the loud pop and the smoke through the vents, actually not even 5 seconds. I jump out of my car and see a fire under my hood. I immediately run up to the house of the driveway I pulled in. Fortunately, the man of the home, seen what was happening, ran to his garage, got a fire extinguisher and put the fire out. I look under the car. I seen something very shiny lying on the ground, right under where the fire was. It was piston cylinder piece this explains the pop, the fire and nearly every fluid that was in my car now on the ground. Oil, antifreeze and brake fluid were all now spilled in this man's driveway. I called kia and reported the incident, they stated there were no recalls on my vehicle, according to the VIN number. They also stated the year 2020 did not have recalls, like the years leading up to 2019, stopping at 2020 and then resuming at 2021. Elizabeth from kia America corp made promises she didn’t keep by stating they would tow my car to kia dealership and give me a rental. She promised to make it right and was caught lying, she never contacted the dealership. Elizabeth’s phone number [xxx] . Please help me, my kids and I need a vehicle. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (.
I wanted to add to a previous claim I had already submitted, I found an item that had fallen out of my engine, I don't know if I can submit a picture on here but I will try.
I have placed below what I have sent to kia company.
Oil pressure light would come on and off, dealer said was probably the sensor got it replaced. Came back on the night I picked it back up.
The car the engine wast the oil in 1 week that every weeks it has problem in the ring of the engine , we just buy the car they tell us it has it had guarantee talking to the bank and the where I buy the car it don't show . It has a bad smell of wet and burnt oil . .
My 2020 kia Sorento engine light came on and not able to accelerate more than 40 mph. The code when I went to an auto repair shop says knock signal range/ performance. I had it reset by the mechanic and the engine light still on. The engine is also eating through oil very fast. We have to fill the car with oil frequently in between oil changes.
Driving down the highway normal conditions at 60 mph and sunroof exploded out. Very loud noise and pulled off of highway . Found sunroof was shattered. No cars were around at the time and nothing hit the roof to cause it .
The contact owned a 2020 kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact noticed smoke coming from the vehicle. The contact stated the fuse box located on the driver's side had caught on fire. The vehicle was extinguished by the fire department. A fire report was filed, and a fire report number was provided; however, the cause of the failure was not yet determined. A police report was filed and provided to the contact. The dealer was not contacted. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 22v703000(trailer hitches). The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was destroyed. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000. Parts distribution disconnect.
I was at a stop sign waiting for my turn to go and I got hit from behind.
While driving on a paved highway, very light traffic in the early afternoon at approximately 65 miles per hour the sunroof on my vehicle suddenly and violently exploded spraying shards of glass everywhere. The "explosion" caused me to veer from the roadway and momentarily lose control of the vehicle. My safety as well as my 2 (two) passengers were placed at risk. Damage to my vehicle is substantial and both of my passengers complained of bits of glass in their eyes.
This morning, I had the software upgrade patch applied to my 2020 kia Sorento that was supposed to fix the potential theft issue. After that service appointment, I started a 2 hour road trip. We stopped for gas and when we went into the store, I noticed that my car was not sounding the horn when I hit the key fob twice like normal. I went back to the car and saw that the car was in fact not locked. I was able to lock the car manually, but had I not paid attention, someone could have snuck into my unlocked car. Later in the roadtrip, I needed to clean my windshield using wiperfluid and wipers. I sprayed the wiper fluid, but to my surprise the windshield wipers did not activate. I tried all the settings on the stick to activate the wipers, but they did not activate. I was driving 70mph on a highway and could not see. This was a huge safety problem. Luckily this was momentary as the speed cleared the wiper fluid. But had it been raining, I would not have been able to see which is unsafe for me, my passengers and those around me. Third, I noticed that my headlights were not working as expected. The auto setting did not seem to be activating as normal. After playing with it, it appears that the auto and off settings on the lights seem to be switched. This is unsafe because drivers rely on that auto setting to turn the lights on when it is necessary. They may think the lights are on when they are not and are not able to be seen by other drivers. By the time I realized these things, the service department at the dealership was already closed. I have tried to leave them a voicemail, but their phone is not set up to accept that. I have sent an email and will be calling them as soon as they reopen on Monday. There are no warning messages to tell the drive about these issues.
The contact owns a 2020 kia Sorento. The contact stated that on multiple occasions while driving at various speeds, a burning odor was witnessed in the cabin. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 22v703000 (trailer hitches), however, the part to complete the repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The VIN tool confirmed parts are unavailable.
The contact owns a 2020 kia Sorento. The contact stated that he recently purchased the vehicle and was made aware of NHTSA campaign number: 22v703000 (trailer hitches) upon purchase. The contact stated that the dealer provided the recall information however, the dealer did not inform the owner of when the parts were to become available. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that the parts were not available. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.
The forward collision warning system went off and instantly brought my vehicle to a stop in the middle of the interstate and traffic, causing me to be rear-ended. I was at least one car length if not more behind the person ahead of me.
Made a right turn wasn't going over 20mph wheel locked system went dead hit a parked car and my car flipped don't know why.
Friday 12/16 car was being driven at 55 mph on a rural road with no traffic around it when the panoramic sunroof exploded. Very loud boom and my wife thought she had a blow out. Immediately pulled over to check the vehicle. No tire or body damage was found until she looked on top of the vehicle. Total back panel of the sunroof (over the back seat area) had shattered and appeared to be raising up in the middle of the glass. She had no other options so she drove the car on home. As she drove home glass fell down onto the sunshade as the glass came apart. I have reported the incident to kia consumer assistance and power kia of salem where we bought the vehicle but neither are responding to my request for them to fix the problem through the warranty program. Car only has a little more than 20,000 miles on it. Dealer service manager says he has never heard of such a problem but it only takes a google search to see that this happens often. Very dangerous if that sunshade had been open and I think this needs to be looked into.
The contact owns a 2020 kia Sorento. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 22v703000 (trailer hitches) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
The contact owns a 2020 kia Sorento. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 22v703000 (trailer hitches) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that the battery drained quickly after not driving the vehicle for several days. The dealer was made aware of the failure but confirmed that parts were not yet available. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000. Parts distribution disconnect.
The contact owns a 2020 kia Sorento. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 22v703000 (trailer hitches) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
My problem is the "emergency" key on the key fob. I've never had the problems with other fobs that I've had with this one. The other day I was in a food store and had my keys in my jacket pocket and I must have leaned forward and all of a sudden my horn started blowing fiercely. I heard it when it started because I was in the store and about 100 feet from my car. Several times I've accidently depressed the rear hatch button and it would go up. I feel these fobs are a great hazard because you may not be close enough to hear the horn, or notice when your rear hatch goes up. People could walk by and steal whatever you have in the back. I'm always worried when I leave my vehicle in a parking lot.
The contact owns a 2020 kia Sorento. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 22v703000 (trailer hitches) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.
The contact owns a 2020 kia Sorento. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 22v703000 (trailer hitches); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.
The contact owns a 2020 kia Sorento. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 22v703000 (trailer hitches) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
Driving back from vacation from California to texas we smelled smoke and then within minutes of trying to pull over from highway the car was on fire. Got burt on my face and hand,second degree burn.
Unknown. There is a rattling noise coming from behind the steering wheel. I have it on video on 2 different occasions. I took my vehicle to a kia dealer and had it looked at they cannot figure out the issue or hear it. It comes and goes and happens when I accelerate. I spoke to kia customer service and they advised me to make a complaint on here.
I am currently making very expensive car payments for this car and was not informed this car was on recall. I pay 375 every other week. And I have been having electricitial issues. I was seeing about some short of reimbursement.
I was driving on my way to work and suddenly I heard a boom and the car turn off, all the warning signs came on, no power steering while I’m driving at 45 mph. Few seconds later the car turns on by itself. All this while I was driving. I was so scared. There was other vehicles around me, I was afraid to hit them or them to hit me.
My daughter's father was involved in a car accident on 12/17/2020, his vehicle fully engulfed resulting in his death.
The moon roof is not closing. When trying to close it, it makes clicking noises and goes slow to close but then just goes half way of less and opens all the way up. The inside cover is the only thing that closes. I’ve checked to see if any debris is stuck but nothing is there and I cannot close the window at all.
I really dont remember the driver impacted the front door area of my vehicle.
I bought a brand new kia Sorento. After about 7000 miles I noticed chunks of rubber missing from my tires. I called khumo they told me to take it to kia. I took it to my dealer and they did nothing. Now I have 20000 miles on my vehicle and the same tires are cupping. This is going to end up with someone dying and I do not want to be that person.