Body Problems of Kia Motor Sorento - part 1

Paint is peeling.

See all problems of the 2019 Kia Motor Sorento 🔎.

I am the original, single owner of a 2016 kia Sorento in snow white pearl. My vehicle currently has approximately 96,000 miles on it. Roughly one year ago, the factory paint began catastrophically peeling, flaking, and deteriorating in large sheets on the roof and near the passenger-side door. This damage is not the result of environmental wear, stone chips, or poor maintenance. It is a documented, widespread manufacturing defect—specifically, a factory primer-adhesion failure (delamination)—that uniquely impacts kia and Hyundai vehicles painted in this specific snow white pearl finish. I contacted kia consumer care to resolve this issue and was assigned case number 26409995. Despite my status as a loyal, original owner of a vehicle under 100,000 miles, kia issued a blanket denial of assistance. Kia is well aware of this systemic manufacturing defect, as their sister company Hyundai has previously extended paint warranties to 10+ years for identical white paint delamination issues. Kia’s refusal to remedy this known defect constitutes unfair and deceptive consumer business practices under California law. My vehicle specifically features kia’s "snow white pearl", which is widely documented to have a latent factory defect. The core issue stems from an original chemical failure where the white base paint layer did not properly bond or fuse to the factory primer layer. Over time, exposure to atmospheric heat, rain, or vibration causes the top layers to completely delaminate and flake off in massive chunks, often exposing the bare gray primer underneath. When multiple panels peel, it presents a safety hazard if paint flakes off into the vision of drivers behind me.

See all problems of the 2016 Kia Motor Sorento 🔎.

About a minute into my drive, I heard an explosion. I looked back thinking something happened to my twin toddlers and saw nothing. I heard the sound of glass cracking and looked up to see the front glass of my moonroof shattered. I pulled over to safety and closed the sun cover for the moonroof before any more glass could fall into the car in fear of my toddlers getting injured. The car itself had been on for maybe 5 minutes prior to driving away from my house.

See all problems of the 2025 Kia Motor Sorento 🔎.

The front bumper grill to this Sorento model, among others, has a major design flaw that causes the radiator to be highly vulnerable to debris. A rock struck and punctured my radiator causing it to aggressively spray engine coolant, eventually leading to my engine overheating. I found this incident to be an extremely odd and rare situation considering I was only driving on paved suburban roads. After some further investigation online, it appears there are several other customers across the country that have encountered this same issue. Many even displaying tutorials on how they have rigged their kias with reinforced plastic grates to protect their radiators from further damage. Really? this is what consumers are being forced to do in 2026 to protect their front radiators on a modern vehicle? these damages occur way too easily on normal city roads and not on rough terrain (despite my xline model specifically being marketed as a rugged outdoor vehicle). This easily avoidable design flaw is due to the large openings in the front grill. I have driven thousands of miles across the country in far less rugged vehicles, including many years in "rocky" colorado, and have never experienced a radiator being so easily pierced by debris. Kia customers are being footed the bill for these costly repairs as this is not considered a "factory defect" when in fact it is. Not to mention this can cause catastrophic damages to the engine in some cases. This is malpractice and kia should be held accountable. My vehicle is currently being held at a kia service center near where the incident took place and awaiting an assessment from my insurance claim specialist. Luckily no one was hurt during this incident, I just had to get my wife and newborn child an uber to the nearest hotel while I waited 2hrs on a tow truck.

See all problems of the 2024 Kia Motor Sorento 🔎.

Just bought this from a private seller last week and was driving to work. The engine suddenly caught fire and the car essentially exploded and melted.

See all problems of the 2011 Kia Motor Sorento 🔎.

2015 kia Sorento fire on the 7th I was drive lost brakes and steering and as soon as I stop to get out to check the whole truck went up in flames.

See all problems of the 2015 Kia Motor Sorento 🔎.

Passenger door failed to open three times since purchase. Tried locking/unlocking door from inside, outside and with key fob. Dealership looked at it in may 2026 and I reported it again because it happened two more times since. They couldn't duplicate it the first time and said it was to intermittent for the service manager to talk to me when I went in for an oil change. The lane keeping feature constantly hunts left ant right going down the road and feels unsafe around curves. The dealership took it on a short drive and said nothing was wrong and said they would not check the calibration. The right side of the driver display that has the map and radio goes out sometimes sitting still and at times driving down the road. Has happened at least 14 times. The screen goes blank and then has to reboot/initialize before it is usable.

Opening car door and whole handle fell off.

A few weeks ago my sunroof began with out warning began to malfunction. It stopped closing all the way . When finally close I noticed the right rear side of the roof not closing all the way. I've noticed the bracket that holds up the glass roof to the track was broken. I took the car back to my car dealership, gerald kia of matteson. They told me that it was my fault because the tracks wasn't greased. Something that I wasn't at first purchased a car brand new. So they told me that consider an outside influence ira it would not be covered under a factory warranty. The reason I am filling this is because of hearing about some roofs , exploding , and this could be a situation similar to that.

Paint is peeling on the roof of my kia by the windshield. No incident has happened this is a manufacturer defect. . My car has never been involved in a car accident. No incidents.

See all problems of the 2018 Kia Motor Sorento 🔎.

My 2014 kia Sorento is having a paint issue and I know their is a class action law suite to get repaired. The only complaint I have is the white pearl paint is chipping off the front of the roof and on the left and right sides of the windshield . I would like to see if my car qualifies to get these areas repainted.

See all problems of the 2014 Kia Motor Sorento 🔎.

About 1 month ago, I noticed on the hood, several areas (10-12) of bubbling and peeling of the paint. On the side upright panel next to the windshield on the passenger side, there is a big area of peeling and bubbling paint. Paint is called snow white pearl. On the driver side panel above the handle, there is more bubbling of the paint. There are several other areas all over the car that is bubbling up and will peel soon. This will start to rust very soon. It was inspected by the local dealer and confirmed. This should not happen to any car. I was told it was defective paint/sealer from manufacturer. I am on restricted income and can not afford to pay for this repainting of my car.

The paint is peeling off the roof and front of vehicle. The car is (2019) out of the 3\36 warranty and the dealer says there is nothing they can do to help me. I asked the service writer if this is a common problem with these vehicles. His comment was what color is your car (it is white) he said the white cars are having a major problem with paint peeling.

After purchasing from carmax 6 months later the paint above the windshield is peeling off in huge chunks. The color is snow pearl white. Having large chunks of solid paint flying around can decrease visibility for both the driver of the vehicle and others should the pieces go on the windshield obstructing full view, this is a safety issue. I have called carmax and have not heard back - it has been a month. There was no warning, no noted bubbling of paint or paint rising up in any areas.

The exterior paint on my 2016 kia Sorento (snow white pearl, paint code swp) is peeling off in large chunks across multiple panels. The clear coat is delaminating and lifting in sheets from the surface, exposing bare metal underneath which is now actively rusting. This is consistent with a known defect documented in hundreds of complaints about 2013-2016 kia Sorentos in snow white pearl (swp). I have photographic documentation showing significant progression of this damage over the past few months. The vehicle has not been inspected by a dealer or manufacturer regarding this issue. No warning was given prior to the paint failure — it began suddenly and has spread rapidly. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. Additionally, the gear shift randomly locks in park without warning, leaving me unable to operate the vehicle. This has occurred on multiple occasions and presents a direct safety risk as it strands me without notice. No warning lights or messages appeared prior to the shift lock engaging. The dashboard is also cracking in multiple locations, including near the airbag housing, which may present an additional safety concern.

Paint peeled off.

My 2008 kia Sorento parked inside a garage for 2 days, not running, not idling, without the key in the ignition, all of a sudden cut fire by itself, consuming the entire engine compartment and part of the front seat, and also caused substantial damage to the the garage. Filed a claim with kia which denied responsibilities. The incident occurred in December 26, 2025, and was waiting for kia decision before further action.

See all problems of the 2008 Kia Motor Sorento 🔎.

On Dec 1, 2025 we were driving down the freeway at approx 70 mph when we heard a loud bang. At first, we thought a tire had blown but that wasn't the case. We started hearing more road and wind noise from above the shade screen. We were close to our kia dealership so we went directly there. The sunroof glass about the driver and front passenger seats had a large hole and the glass around it was shattered. No object was found. Additionally, we didn't see any road debris kicked up before the loud bang nor we were near any overpass.

See all problems of the 2022 Kia Motor Sorento 🔎.

Paint peeling issues with the snow white paint.

The paint is peeling terrible. Has not been inspected by anyone.

Vehicle: 2016 kia Sorento ex VIN: [xxx] current mileage: approximately 67,000 component: paint/body (exterior finish) my 2016 kia Sorento (snow white pearl / pearl white) has developed premature, multi-panel paint failure. Flaking began appearing on the roof rail area above the front doors in late summer 2025, followed by flaking on the hood, and later bubbling on the rear driver-side door. Flakes recovered from the ground beneath the vehicle have consistently been approximately the size of a 50-cent piece. At the manufacturer's request, three independent, licensed California collision repair facilities inspected the vehicle. All three independently identified a paint adhesion or chemical bonding failure, not ordinary wear. One shop's written estimate states verbatim that "the sealer did not chemically bond when basecoat was applied. " another states it cannot warranty a repair unless affected panels are stripped to bare metal and fully refinished. Repair estimates to properly address the condition range from approximately $9,000 to $17,000. Kia has already acknowledged this as a defect meriting manufacturer assistance, having extended a goodwill offer covering partial repainting costs. I am filing this report to document a paint system manufacturing defect, consistent with a pattern reported by other kia Sorento owners and referenced in at least one prior kia service bulletin (sa166) addressing paint peeling on Sorento door panels. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

The paint on the car is peeling off down to the metal of the car.

See all problems of the 2013 Kia Motor Sorento 🔎.

I have the pearl white paint on this vehicle. It is peeling off the car.

I now believe I've had a lemon. Since I purchased my car in 2016 they have been trying to diagnose a smell from the exhaust and started replacing parts, this was in miami. Then for a few years in vegas the car spent months at the dealership trying to fix a burning oil issue which I've been told there is a known problem with the turbo still isn't fixed. From the first year I had paint peeling on my snow white pearl color which has numerous forums about kia/Hyundai paint issues especially with my color. I had them repaint the hood which took twice after the bad job the first time. I saw little bumps in the paint which I thought was over-spray from that incident and now I have peeling from one of those spots which is how they form from what I read. My car is 2016 but only has 65k miles. The spot now is getting bigger by the week, the rain isn't helping. There are other spots around the edges and a big spot on the roof and others I've already filled in with a paint pen which looks ugly. If you see my car, inside and out it looks pretty close to new from the way I've taken care of the car. The paint started in August of 2016 but most recently 2025. The engine issues were day one but most recently 2024 they fixed a cylinder that got a hole in it after consuming all the oil and it seems to be headed down that path with the remedy they are offering at kia. The engine and paint should be convered under a class action lawsuit or recall to hold them accountable and fix the issues.

The trim on my vehicle will not stay snapped down.

Paint is falling off in large sheets could be a safety issue, been reported to the dealership, and no warning. I feel this is a real safety issue because it comes off in large sheets could cause and issue on the highways for flying debris.

The paint is peeling really bad . It's been peeling and rusting horribly.

The snow white pearl paint color is peeling off my entire car, compromising the vehicle since the metal is no longer being protected. I took it into a kia dealership and they acknowledged the paint defect but said they can’t do anything about it even though they know that there is a manufacture defect with this specific paint color. There was no warning, my car is parked in the garage and so it’s not even exposed to the elements all the time and the paint just started peeling. This paint color has a known defect for not adhering to the primer and kia won’t do anything about it.

Front panel of panoramic sunroof shattered while driving on interstate 90 at approx 65mpg. Sunroof was fully closed. Exploded on its own with no outside influence. Conditions were clear and dry. Sounded like a gun shot and glass was flying everywhere. Fortunately shade was closed with no glass entering passenger compartment. Could have resulted in injuries or accident if glass entered the driving inside area.

See all problems of the 2023 Kia Motor Sorento 🔎.

Paint peeling everywhere an innocent burning excessive oil.

2019 kia Sorento white pearl paint began peeling. Spoke with kia dealership about issue due to sister company Hyundai having the same issue which resulted in an extended warranty. I began communication with dealership on June 2, 2025. During this time, it had been told that other kia white pearl paint has been defective, but nothing has been done on kia's side as of now. My dealership has "attempted" to get a goodwill coverage due to paint warranty expired after 36 months of the vehicle which was in 2022. I have been put back and forth and not given specific answers on how to move forward with getting my car fix for a manufacturing/defective paint error. I have also priced out other body shops and the price estimate was over $2500. I am frustrated as I do not believe I should have to take care of an error based on kia's issue.

All my paint is chipping on my vehicle. I can't even go to the car wash and wash my car cause the paint comes off. It is snow white pearl paint. I needed to have half my car painted now the other side is doing the same thing.

I have a white pearl 2016 Sorento and paint started peeling around windshield. Now paint is peeling all over. Recently had windy day and sheets of paint are laying on ground. I take care of my car and this is embarrassing. Kia should be embarrassed as well. Not good for sales I’m sure.

Case number 25530365 discussed with vanguard kia. Paint not adhering. Flakes off when washing by hand.

I have a 2019 kia Sorento that the paint is pealing all the way down to the metal on the roof and the hood of the car. I am past my 3 year 36k mile warranty and I've been to the dealership and they have told me there is nothing they can do for me. I have taken care of my car and kept up with all the maintenance.