general problems of the 2023 Kia Motor Sorento - part 1

Subject: request for review of potentially related electrical overheating – kia Sorento hvac harness recall sc351 / NHTSA 25v649 I am requesting that NHTSA review an electrical overheating issue involving my kia Sorento and consider whether it could be related to the existing hvac blower-motor resistor harness recall, sc351 / NHTSA 25v649. My vehicle experienced overheating at a terminal on the main relay in the under-hood fuse box. The overheating spread to and melted part of the fuse box. Kia inspected the vehicle in person and informed me that the overheated relay terminal belongs to a different circuit from the hvac resistor harness involved in the recall. I understand kia's position that these are separate circuits. However, I have not received a detailed technical explanation identifying the root cause of the relay terminal overheating or explaining the basis for ruling out any relationship to the recalled wiring defect. Kia has offered approximately $2,200 toward an estimated $3,900 repair through a goodwill program, leaving me responsible for approximately $1,700. I am concerned about both the safety implications of the electrical overheating and whether the problem could be related to a known wiring-harness defect. I am not asserting that the recalled hvac harness definitively caused the damage. I am asking NHTSA to consider whether this incident warrants further review, whether similar failures have been reported by other kia Sorento owners, and whether the existing recall adequately addresses the relevant safety defect. I can provide the vehicle identification information, recall information, photographs of the damage, kia's written communications, and the repair estimate. Thank you for reviewing this potential safety concern.

On multiple occasions, my 2023 kia Sorento has experienced an intermittent failure where numerous dashboard warning lights and alerts illuminate and the engine will not start. During the failure, the brake pedal becomes very stiff and the vehicle cannot be shifted out of park. The problem is unpredictable and has left the vehicle disabled. The vehicle was taken to a kia dealership for diagnosis. The dealer initially stated that the battery was not properly secured and was moving around, possibly contacting nearby electrical components. They told me the issue had been repaired. However, when I returned to pick up the vehicle, the exact same failure occurred again in the dealership parking lot before I was able to leave. The warning lights came on and, after the vehicle was turned off, it would not restart. The dealer has therefore been able to directly observe the repeated failure. The exact component causing the malfunction is still unknown. I am concerned that this may be an electrical or grounding issue and that the vehicle could become disabled unexpectedly while in use.

All of the adas you have listed stop working on my car. I will be driving my car, stop at a red light, drive through, or just driving down the road and it starts throwing sensors. It won’t even show the mph I’m driving and some times the steering wheel locks up, as does the car itself. I can’t shift gears, move the vehicle, or anything until leaving the vehicle alone for a while and coming back to it. I have proof of multiple repairs, call ins to kia, and even a request for buy back which was denied on the vehicle.

Vehicle component affected: electrical system / hvac / blower motor resistor incident description: while operating my 2023 kia Sorento, the hvac system suddenly suffered a complete failure, causing all airflow to cease instantly. A subsequent professional diagnostic inspection by an authorized kia dealership revealed that the contacts at the blower motor resistor were severely burnt, causing the blower motor relay to burn out. This failure presents two critical safety and fire hazards: fire risk: the physical burning and overheating of electrical components and wiring within the dashboard assembly create an active fire hazard in the passenger cabin. Loss of visibility: the sudden, complete loss of the climate control system severely compromises passenger safety by preventing the vehicle from defogging or defrosting the windshield during inclement weather, presenting an immediate crash hazard. This exact failure mechanism matches the description of kia safety recall sc351 (NHTSA campaign 25v649) word-for-word. However, kia has stated that my specific VIN is excluded from the current recall population. Because this identical safety defect is actively manifesting outside of kia's restricted recall range, I am requesting that the NHTSA investigate an expansion of sc351 to include all affected 2023 kia Sorento vehicles to mitigate the risk of electrical fires and sudden visibility loss. 06/29/26 experienced symptoms inspected and diagnosed on 07/01/26 at jt kia (killian road) columbia, south carolina.

All lights came on the dashboard including the check engine light and I could not accelerate. I had to pull over and turn car off and on to get it to accelerate. It poses a very serious threat as you can not accelerate at all and can be rearended. Kia has fixed the throttle twice and have told me 2 other times they can not replicate the issue. It clears out by the time I am able to bring it to the dealership. This issues has happened 4 times starting at 9,000 miles and most recently at 21,000 miles.

2023 kia Sorento rear camera mounting bracket broke. There was are recall sc280 in 2023. Rear camera recently fell out of housing unit and is hanging. Still under warranty, dealership and kia America refusing to cover and pay for issue. Want a new housing unit and brackets because it is similar to recall noticed.

Screen not responding properly.

I am writing to report a mechanical failure with my kia vehicle that occurred on January 19, 2026. While stopped at a red light, my vehicle suddenly shut off and would not restart. Although the electrical lights came on, the engine would not turn over. Because my car was stuck in the middle of the intersection blocking traffic, I had to call 911 for assistance. When the police arrived, the officer attempted to jump-start the vehicle, but it still would not start. A tow truck was then called to remove the vehicle from the roadway. I paid $290 out of pocket to have the vehicle towed to a nearby repair shop. After diagnosing the issue, the shop determined that the starter had completely failed. I purchased the vehicle on may 15, 2023. At the time of the failure, the vehicle had just exceeded the 60,000-mile warranty, leaving me responsible for the repair. I paid approximately $500 out of pocket to replace the starter. Given the short time between purchasing the vehicle and the failure of the starter, I believe this may indicate a defective component.

Upon starting the vehicle, it flashed several warning lights that were not on the day before. Including popping codes up on the infotainment system and urging me to schedule a service with kia. Upon looking up the codes it states hvac issue, when calling to dealership to schedule a service for it (while it is still barely under warranty) they let me know it might not be covered. That’s when I found out there is a recall only for certain VIN #’s for the exact same issue. My car won’t even drive because the electrical system is being affected. Windshield wipers going crazy, lights not working, ac/heat not working, the emergency braking system braking out of nowhere, the lane departure pulling the wheel while driving without cause. I don’t even feel safe driving the vehicle anymore. Kia needs to have a recall on this that alerts the vehicles owners because I had no clue that there was a potential fire hazard due to faulty wiring.

Was driving on dallas north toll way when my vehicle lost acceleration. Had to pull over and engine started smoking and lit a flame under the hood. Car is now at clay cooley kia in irving, TX. Car has been there for over two weeks and I still have no answers or information regarding the plan to fix it. Major dealership delay and all they keep saying is “waiting on a kia engineer to come out but we don't have a date. ”.

Since fall of 2025, my 2023 kia Sorento has repeatedly been in the shop for multiple issues. Most notably, a completely wrecked steering column. This issue was fixed after being in the shop for 12 days. Then in December, I started noticing the shift would lock while in park. I would need to open the top plate and stick an item down into the shifter to emergency release in order to drive. Then all of the electrical components began to state they were no longer working. No cameras, no lane assistance, no forward collision warning, etc etc. Beyond that, all automatic locks, windows and my trunk stopped working. I was locked out of my vehicle in January in CT with my son. My vehicle has now been at a kia dealership for 5 months awaiting the part to fix my car. All of these problems have been confirmed by their technicians. I continue to pay my $600 a month vehicle payment, as well as insurance as kia consumer refuses to assist in any way and does not have any answer as to when my vehicle will be fixed. I do not have a vehicle that will fit my family due to this issue. I have asked them to buy back my vehicle, as it is clearly a lemon, but they state I have waited too long to request the buy back under lemon law in CT. Never did I think it would be acceptable to be unable to fix a customers unsafe vehicle and refuse to to do anything to help for 5 months at this time and no end in sight. I also have videos it says are too large to send.

The contact owns a 2023 kia Sorento. The contact stated that while attempting to activate the hvac system, there was an abnormal burning plastic odor inside the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was to an independent mechanic who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the blower motor relay had short circuited and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired; however, the contact performed a repair based on guidance from the mechanic. The contact stated that the vehicle was repaired, but the failure with the blower motor relay reoccurred. The contact recently received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 25v649000 (electrical system, visibility). The contact related the failures to the recall. The contact called a local dealer and was advised that the remedy was not available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 48,000.

The car is accelerating without anyone pressing down on the gas, not accelerating when our foot is on the gas, jerking unexplainably and the emergency brake warning is coming on when it has not been employed.

Even though the dealership reports that safety recall 23v610 / sc280 for the mounting clip replacement was completed on 2/16/24, my rearview camera has just fell out of its housing, hanging by its wires, with the mounting clips laying broken in my driveway. My rearview camera is currently unusable; its taped up so that it is not just swinging by the wires. When I contacted my dealership, they are pretty sure they can get this work covered under the warranty, but they are not sure. And my VIN# is currently not pulling up any "active recalls". Either the clips they used to replace the previous clips were also bad, or the dealership didnt actually complete the work as reported.

The vehicle intermittently fails to start in two different situations. First, when the auto stop/start system shuts the engine off while the vehicle is stopped anywhere, the engine sometimes refuses to restart, leaving the vehicle immobilized. Second, there are occasions when I park the vehicle, turn it off normally, and upon returning, the engine will refuse to start.

Check engine light on. Rear defrost doesn't work. Auto stop/start not working. Cruise control not working. Vehicle shuts off sometimes at stand still and have to put in neutral or park and push start button. Engine looses power while driving. Check rear cross traffic, check tire pressure monitoring system, check lane departure warning system, check speed limit system, check lane keeping assist, check forward safety system lights are cycling on the front screen and warning ?? signs pinging. Vehicle has been inspected 3 times at a local kia dealership. 1st in 4/2025, 2nd 6/2025 3rd time 10/2025. Module was replaced and 2 days later same issue so vehicle will be going back a 4th time. No warnings before issues started. Sometimes it does it for hours and sometimes it's back to normal.

On 8 occasions, while driving on a highway, the emergency lights started to flash out of no where and the driver could not accelerate. The driver had to find a way to pull over and turn the car off and then restart the car. The car was taken in 3 times and checks were run but no codes showed up. The third time the car was brought in, the mechanic agreed to drive it until the problem could be reproduced. The car was driven for 70 miles but it could not be reproduced. The mechanics were informed that it happened every 300-500 miles and the car had not been driven enough. The mechanics said it was running as designed. Our safety and everyone on the road was put at risk if we could not get over to a shoulder.

Vehicles instrument cluster goes black at times ( speedometer, tach and all exterior lights and turn signals are inoperative during this time) I took it to the dealership and they said they couldn’t duplicate the problem.

Was driving up a hill when the 'auto-off' light started flashing on the driver display. Car would not accelerate above 20mph. At the top of the hill, I switched gears to neutral and the car began operating as expected; however, the same behavior occurred again at the next hill. Pulled over and restarted the car. Car worked as expected after restart. This is dangerous. I was taking my daughter to school in morning rush hour traffic. We live in a very hilly area and I'm terrified to drive the car. I dropped it off at the dealership almost 2 weeks ago and they have yet to identify the issue. I do see similar complaints on this site so I'm hoping that you are investigating.

All safety features disabled, srs light turns on, vehicle shuts off when driving, guage cluster is inop doesn’t show speed.

What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? I was driving and the car completely shut down- I could not use my brakes or accelerate. I had to pull along the road in ongoing traffic to coast to a stop. I lost all control. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? I was in traffic and the cars behind me had to slow down immediately, I could not speed up or even brake to come to a stop. Others around me as well as myself were in danger. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? they reviewed and said they scanned it and did a drive test and could not find the cause. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? yes, it was seen at the kia dealer I bought it from. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? as soon as the vehicle lost power there was a warning sign on the dash that showed "limit" with a half circle emblem.

1. First incident occurred on 10/29/24. My wife pulled into driveway and placed car into park. When she shifted to reverse, the transmission didn't respond and the car revved to a very high rpm when she took foot off of brake, no foot on gas. Unable to shift it to go forward or backward. She then turned car off, back on, and was able to reverse it. This situation occurred numerous times. 2. Sometimes, after this happened, she'd place it into drive, and the vehicle would only crawl (<5 mph) forward and not accelerate, though gas pedal was touching the floor of car. She'd place it back into park (in traffic!), shut it off, then restart it. 3. Sometimes she would place it into reverse, the dashboard would show it in r, and the vehicle would be silent and non-reactive (no back-up beep). 4. She would place it into drive, the engine would do nothing for a few seconds, and suddenly drop into gear with a loud thud. 11/11/24 took car to kia, they said nothing was wrong. 5. On 11/29/24, she placed the car into park, loaded passengers, and tried to place the car into reverse and nothing happened. The vehicle would not move forward or backward. The dashboard indicated that it was in d, the gear shift dial indicated it was in d, but nothing happened. Car was then turned off in drive. Drive indicator ("d") was lit up on dash, gear shift dial had "d" still illuminated too. Tried to restart, dash said to put car into park to start. Car would not go into park. When flatbed tow truck arrived (6 hours later) the battery was fully discharged the tow truck driver was able to charge the battery with a portable charger sufficiently to start the car (if it would have been in park), but was still unable to get the transmission to respond. The dealership claims that they can find nothing wrong and kia won't acknowledge any issue. We have multiple videos of the issues and witnesses. There are numerous reports on reddit of similar issues with kia 2023 Sorento phevs.

While driving vehicle looses throttle power, goes into limb mode. Does not throw any codes. Turn the car off then back on and drives fine for a little bit. Has happened numerous times. Multiple trips to the dealership but since no codes pop up nothing can be fixed. Major safety issue!!!!.

The vehicle was purchased new. From day one, there were issues. When it was delivered from the factory, it was discovered to be partly unpainted. This raised quality concerns. So far, the most serious has been that the motor blower failed at approximately 29,700 miles. This resulted in the vehicle filling with noxious fumes. It then had to be abandoned on the side of the highway. This led to a fire dispatch and later urgent care visits. Prior to towing, it was discovered that the ac was not working and the engine coolant reservoir was at ~ 1/4 of the minimum line. Ultimately, the vehicle was towed to king kia. They held the vehicle for 2 weeks. They drove the vehicle 16 miles. However, they did not diagnose the problem. The only action that they took was to refill the engine coolant reservoir. Prior to pick-up, we notified the kia customer service escalation case manager in writing that the vehicle had not been fixed and continued to represent a safety risk to our family. They took no further action. After pick-up, the vehicle was driven approximately 35 miles before the smoke started to fill the engine cabin. It was taken to two independent mechanics along the side of the highway. One was vienna auto care and the other was jiffy lube auto care. Both identified that the motor blower resistor had likely failed. The jlac manager also identified white material on the engine manifold believed to be engine coolant. All was documented in writing. The vehicle was towed back to king kia. Prior to towing, the jlac manager told us that melted motor blower casing was highly toxic. (later, the kia case manager informed us that he would admit that our family was put at risk by being told to pick-up the unfixed vehicle. ) he also told us that if the motor blower failed then it likely was not an isolated case. This time, the motor blower failure was reproduced. However, the engine coolant issue has yet to be resolved. We are now being instructed to pick-up the car again.

I bought a 2023 kia Sorento sx with 11 miles on the vehicle in June of 2023, on 7/17/23, within a month and a half of driving it, it would lose all power and would not respond to excelleration, whereby coasting to the side of the road. All warning lights would come on, 3 codes popped up, one of which is the malfunction of the engine. I would turn it off and back on to reset the computer and it would drive. I took it to my local kia service department and they cleared off the codes and couldn't recreate or duplicate the problem. On 8/23/23 I experienced the exact same experience the same scenario, but this time I could barely pull over it had loss of power and I was about to drive through an intersection. Took it back to service they performed a complete check without success they kept it for 2 weeks to try and duplicate the problem, wasn't fixed. The 3rd time on 5/06/24, same problem, they still don't know what causes the car to lose power. I am concerned that the car will cause a fatality to myself, my family, or to another motorist. This car is not safe to drive because the computer systems shut down while driving and it is sporadic and unnerving when it happens.

As I was driving the car it suddenly lost power… then all warning and sensor lights came on in the dash. I pulled the car over and restarted and the engine turned on but would not engage to drive. It was stuck. Multiple engine and transmission warning codes appeared on my kia app for the car. Kia’s response to resolve has been non existent. I am fearful for my safety if this happens again. It’s the second time.

Engine light came on and I don’t have 30,000 miles on my car. The service tech informed me that they’ve seen this and kia had not issued a recall.

Battery draining on new car after new battery replacement.

I was driving down the highway when my vehicle shut off with no warning and the parking break engaged. I was stuck in the travel lane with cars flying by me going 50 plus mph. My vehicle has 7000 miles on it. According to kia the hybrid battery failed and they don’t know why. Kia has been no help and as far as I know they are not looking into this issue. Upon further research there has been multiple instances where this hybrid model has just shut down while the vehicle is moving and kia has been unable to resolve the issue. Myself and my children could have been severely injured or killed. They need to get to the bottom of what is causing these hybrid batteries to fail on brand new vehicles.

The usb ports disconnect intermittently cause maps and phone calls to disconnect temporarily. Sometimes not connecting again until I turn off and on the car.

Twice while driving on the highway the engine power went off and all the safety lights flash and I could not accelerate. I was able to pull over in neutral and restart the engine. When taken in for inspection, no problems were found. It happened again in June after the 7500 mile inspection on may 9th. This issue is life threatening as it could easily cause a fatal crash if I was not in the right lane, on flat ground, with a shoulder. There was no warning light.

My vehicle died inthe middle of an extremely busy four lane road. A light came on that said to turn the car off immediately. The engine light and battery light flashed on. It sounds like the engine recall for the 22 and 21 hybrid Sorento’s. I had to have the vehicle towed to the dealership, it is only 7 mos old.

The contact owns a 2023 kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, several warning lights and messages would flash on the instrument panel. The contact would be forced to pull over and restart the vehcile due to the intermittent failure. The vehicle had been taken to the dealer on multiple occasions; however, the dealer had been unable to diagnose the cause of the failure. The manufacturer had also been notified of the failure and a claim had been filed. The vehicle had yet to be repaired and remained in the possession of the dealer. The failure mileage was approximately 2,000.

The contact owns a 2023 kia Sorento. The contact stated that the engine start/stop feature was malfunctioning. The contact stated that while at a complete stop, the engine start/stop system caused the vehicle to restart, and then to stall, nearly causing a crash. The battery warning light was illuminated and the message "shift to park to start vehicle" was displayed. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring intermittently. The vehicle was taken to the dealer however, the failure could not be duplicated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 1,200.

I purchased a new 2023 kia Sorento in February 2023 from ken garff kia avondale. Since shortly after purchase, the vehicle has experienced repeated electrical and mechanical failures that substantially impair safety. In July 2023, the vehicle began displaying flashing lights, dashboard error messages, and system malfunctions while driving, despite no collision or visible damage. The air conditioning system malfunctioned and blew hot air even when turned off. The dealership stated a front sensor was “damaged” and not warranty-covered, despite no visible damage, and verbally indicated that many other customers were experiencing similar issues. Repairs took nearly four months, during which kia corporate engineers were involved. The issue persisted despite repairs. In December 2024, the vehicle began displaying repeated transmission system error warnings, often within the first 5–10 minutes of driving, causing significant loss of speed and drivability. After multiple service visits, the vehicle required a full transmission replacement in July/August 2025 under warranty. Despite this repair, the same transmission errors returned in December 2025. More critically, the vehicle then experienced multiple sudden and complete electrical shutdowns without warning, including: shutting off entirely while stopped at a red light, requiring a jump start all screens going black and the vehicle failing to restart restarting only after being left parked for several minutes these events occurred without any battery or system warning indicators and created a serious safety risk, including risk of being stranded or disabled in traffic. The issues have been documented with photos, videos, repair records, and written communications. Due to the ongoing and dangerous nature of these failures, I am reporting this as a vehicle safety defect.