2011 Kia Sorento Engine
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
Complaint Timeline
Chronological view of owner reports
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while driving approximately 65 MPH, the vehicle started to lose motive power. The contact depressed the accelerator pedal, but the vehicle failed to respond. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact coasted off the roadway, stopped the vehicle, and shifted to park(P). The contact turned off the vehicle and waited for five minutes before restarting the vehicle and continued driving. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer or independent mechanic to be diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The contact researched online and related the failure to Manufacturer Communication: SC106 (Engine Control Module). The failure mileage was approximately 107,000.
Was driving on highway doing 85 and all sudden no warning no lights no nothing my car started loosing power and dropped speed as I'm trying to give it gas it is loosing speed almost caused me to wreck got to side of highway and it just died and the are saying my engine needs replaced had no warning
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the engine made an abnormal knocking sound. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact was able to drive to the residence. The vehicle was taken to an unknown dealer, where it was diagnosed that the rod bearing had failed, and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 152,250.
The engine will not turn over. It was leaking oil. We refilled the oil. Then it stopped running. We had to tow it to our home. All maintenance and regular scheduled repairs were kept up to date.
On 4 l’âne Highway travelling the 70 miles per hour speed limit. My car felt like it ran over something in the road - there was a big jolt and my car shook. It was the engine / transmission slipping. There was NO WARNING. Very SCARY and DANGEROUS especially at 70 miles per hour. Immediately the CHECK Engine light illuminated. This engine / transmission problem is all over the Internet for the 2011 Kia Sorento. Kia has not taken responsibility for the issue with this year’s model. Yes - it has been duplicated e we hen i was driving around town - same jolt. The service center has stated that the engine / transmission is probably failing. Not fair for a consumer who takes good care of their car and my car is in very good condition.
When vehicle slows down to a stop, the engine fails. No check engine light is illuminating. Have taken it to a Kia dealer who does not know what is wrong with it. The car is still available for inspection. The vehicle has done it several times. The Kia dealer said it was unsafe to drive and so they have kept it. Kia is unwilling to look further because the mileage is 4,000 over warranty. There are several recalls for this problem yet, Kia states that they are not for my VIN number therefore I don't qualify. The recalls are for my year, make and model of my vehicle.
This vehicle has a antifreeze in oil tank and the gasket is going. the dealer said this was fine when they sold it to us and it is not fine. i would like this fixed and i paid over 10 thousand for this car. they said they changed the oil and the 2 weeks after i got i had an oil change and it was mixed with antifreeze in the oil pan
Timing chain tensioner is defective and should be recalled. On cold start ups, the engine has a really loud rattling noise for a few seconds and goes away. Has been recalled on other Kia models except for the Kia Sorento why Kia chooses not to include the Kia Sorento should be of concern. Kia should be held responsible for their mistake. I have called the dealership and they do not take responsibility.
The engine seized and needed to be replaced. The cost would be $11000 and there was only ONE available in the entire country. We were given $100 for the car. The KIA Corporation knew that this engine was defective and did not recall it or warn us that the engine could seize while driving or catch fire causing catastrophic injuries.
My car is going to kill me. It stalls while driving or sitting at lights. Sometimes while I’m driving it surges and bucks and jerks. I’m really concerned with the stalling issues almost got rear ended 2 days ago. I drive on the northway and can’t afford this car stalling while driving I’ll be killed.
When you check oil, the dip stick shows no oil. I have had the oil changed several times and after about a week the dip stick shows no oil. There is no oil leak coming from under car or from looking at engine under hood. Also, when I start the car, a big plume of smoke comes out of the muffler, but then no smoke. I scheduled an appointment for Kia Dealership about 6 months ago and they said they could not find a problem.
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that when the vehicle was started, the vehicle started shaking. The contact turned off the vehicle and noticed there was oil leaking from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who stated that the oil seal needed to be replaced. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed and the contact was informed that the oil switch needed to be replaced. The contact was also informed that the VIN was not under recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 90,000.
The vehicle stalls and I lose all power while driving. This starts with interior dash lights flashing and going off along with radio and all other lights. This also has happened while sitting in running car. I have replaced two alternators and 3 batteries. Please help.
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while her husband was driving at 55 MPH, the vehicle caught on fire without any warning. The contact's husband was able to pull over safely and the fire department was able to extinguish the fire. A report was filed with both the police and the fire department. No one was injured. The vehicle was towed to Doug Auto Motor for diagnosis and they stated the rod broke through the engine and caused the oil to leak into the engine. The vehicle was not repairable. The dealer was contacted, and they stated that they were aware of the failure but there was no recall. The manufacturer was contacted, and they also confirmed that there was no recall for the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.
Driving the vehicle on a two lane road at approximately 50 mph (steady cruise state), the vehicle experienced bump or jump in the powertrain (shutter). I immediately lost power to continue at the desired speed (engine missing or lack of power). I slowly tipped into the throttle, but the vehicle was not responding as expected. I put the vehicle in neutral and slightly revved the engine to see if the engine would run normal without load, and it would increase in RPM, but not smoothly. I let the engine return to idle and the engine stalled. I lost my power steering and power brakes and had to muscle the vehicle into a parking lot where I was able to bring the vehicle to a stop and put it into Park. While this event took place the engine or vehicle warning lamp was on the instrument cluster. I got out of the vehicle and looked under hood to see if I could see any obvious signs of an issue and found nothing. I then restarted the vehicle after having the key in the off position. It started and seems to rev up normal. I put the vehicle in drive and cautiously drove the vehicle to my home (about 3 miles). There is no sign of the issue and no lights on the dash. This is not a condition I would want my wife or daughters to encounter, as it produced no warning leading up to the event. The loss of power steering and brakes makes the vehicle difficult to maneuver in a safe manner. It's difficult to trust this vehicle now. The mileage is 92K.
The check engine light came on in our Sorento so we took it to a local mechanic. They changed the oil and said the car was good to go on May 13. Less than a mile from the mechanic, on a busy street the car became unresponsive. Suddenly there was no way to accelerate or slow down and steering was incredibly difficult. Managed to coast to the middle of a busy parking lot but the car shut down completely before I could park in a space and I ended up partially blocking the lot entrance and several parked cars before we could get the car towed back to our mechanic. The mechanic reported to us that other Kias had experienced similar issues and we should check with the dealership for recalls. The car was towed to Oakes Kia Dealership on June 3 and they said the car needed a new engine. Having an engine with only 90,000 miles on it shut down without warning is an obvious and incredibly serious safety risk to drivers and others on the road. In a highway situation, this would have likely caused a serious accident.
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while her husband was driving 50 MPH, the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, but the mechanic could not duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but informed the contact that there was no recall associated with the VIN. The failure mileage was approximately 110,000.
The contact owned a 2011 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while pulling into the parking lot at work at approximately 3 MPH, there was what seemed to be steam coming from the engine. The contact stated there was actually smoke and ash which was on the driver's side of the hood. There were no warning lights. The contact exited the vehicle safely. Immediately after exiting the vehicle it was engulfed in flame and was destroyed. The fire department extinguished the fire. The police department was on the scene and conducted a report. The vehicle was towed to the wrecking yard. The contact fell at the time of the explosion. There were smoke ventilation and cuts on the right arm along with bruises from the contact. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 90,000
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact called the local dealer but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.
The contact's significant other owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the engine was making abnormal rattling and knocking sounds. There was no warning light illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated that the failure would occur upon starting the vehicle. The vehicle was taken an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the timing belt had failed and advised the contact to not drive the vehicle. The vehicle was taken back to the residence. The vehicle was then towed to another independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the rod bearings had failed and had released metal shavings in the engine oil, which caused the engine failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact associated the failure with Kia Independent Recall Campaign Number: SC147. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that they could not assist as his significant other had failed to complete a Knock Sensor Detection System (KSDS) software update; however, a notification was never received regarding the software update. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.
The Engine as while driving down road locked up on me causing the vehicle to stop running. From my understanding this type of engine has had issues in past and was under a class action lawsuit that also included Hyundai. Now Kia has responded saying my vehicle vin number isn't part of the theta engine recall. Which baffles me.
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. The contact stated when she first started the vehicle in the morning, while seated in the vehicle she started to smell fumes inside the vehicle; however, after the vehicle had warmed up the fume’s odor went away. After transporting her children to school, while driving back to her residence at approximately 25 - 30 MPH, she noticed that there was smoke coming from the front and the rear of the vehicle. A passing motorist then informed her that the rear bumper of the vehicle was on fire. The Fire Department was contacted and arrived on the scene to extinguish the fire. The State Police also arrived on the scene. A fire report and police report were filed. There were no injuries reported. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic but was not yet diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 150,000.
The engine on my 2011 Kia Sorento has failed and the mechanic at the Kia dealership told me it was because of the rod bearings. My car was serviced at the Kia dealership in April 2021 and apparently 2 weeks later an ECU update recall was placed on my vehicle. I did not receive anything notifying me of this update. In November of 2021 my engine started making a loud noise and then failed to turn on. The mechanic at the Kia dealership told me had I had the sensor updated prior to the noise starting it would have alerted us to the rod bearings causing damage but since the update had never happened the rod bearings caused my engine to fail. According to the dealership I should be covered under the recall but Kia headquarters are denying to cover it since I am over my mileage warranty. I have tried for the last month to get a supervisor to return my call at the Kia headquarters and no one will speak to me or call me back. I have been without a vehicle since November 22, 2021 and no resolution since no one will call me back.
Unknown. I have been having oil loss since 2018 and have extensively reported the issue to my local kia dealership where I receive certain. I was instructed to do an oil consumption test that the service department later had no idea what that would have done. Twice the engine has nearly ran out of oil with no warning and I have to regularly monitor the oil level between service. At times it is very low. If I accelerate too quickly it smokes white smoke and smells of burning oil. This is a safety issue if I am merging into traffic and I am unable to accelerate fast enough to not cause an accident. This has been an ongoing issue with this vehicle.
IVE HAD TWO ENGINES FAIL ON THIS CAR BOTH THE SAME CONNECTING ROD ISSUE YET MY CAR IS NOT INCLUDED IN RECALL SO MY FIRST ENGING COST ME 6,000 DOLLERS THE SECOND I HAVE REPACED YET IT SITTING IN THE DRIVEWAY DROVE IT ONLY 3800 MILES SAME ISSUE BEARING ARE GONE DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO EXCEPT MAYBE GET A LAWYER CAR IS A LEMON
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Quick Summary
The 2011 Kia Sorento has 171 Engine complaints on file. 2 crashes have been reported. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.