31 complaints reported

2012 Kia Sorento Electrical System

Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.

Reports
31
Crashes
0
Fires
3
Injuries
0

Complaint Timeline

Chronological view of owner reports

Nov 2014

WHILE DRIVING MY CAR ON 4 DIFFERENT OCCASIONS MY VEHICLE HAS SHUT OFF WHILE IN MOTION. THE CAR LOCKS OUT AND I HAVE NO CONTROL OF IT. I HAVE TAKEN THE VEHICLE 3 DIFFERENT TIMES TO THE DEALER. THE DEALER IS UNABLE TO DUPLICATE THE REASON FOR THE SHUTDOWN. THIS IS MY FAMILY CAR WHERE 3 SMALL CHILDREN ARE TRANSPORTED IN AND I AM SCARED THAT THIS ISSUE COULD POTENTIALLY CAUSE BODILY INJURY OR DEATH TO MYSELF, MY FAMILY OR THE PUBLIC. WHEN THE VEHICLE SHUTS OFF THERE IS NO ADVANCE WARNING. IN ONE OCCASION A VEHICLE HAD TO SWERVE TO PREVENT FROM COLLIDING INTO ME. THE DEALER HAS SIMPLY SAID THAT THEY ARE UNABLE TO FIX A PROBLEM THEY HAVE NO CODES ON. KIA MADE A RECOMMENDATION TO CHANGE THE BATTERY AND ALTERNATOR TO SEE IF THAT WILL SOLVE THE ISSUE, BUT ARE UNSURE WHAT THE SOURCE OF THE PROBLEM IS. *TR

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2012 KIA SORENTO, Manufacturer: Kia America, Inc.
Incident: Jan 2013
May 2014

INCIDENT #1: I WAS DRIVING THE VEHICLE EAST BOUND ON A ST IN THE DOWNTOWN SAN DIEGO AREA, APPROACHING FRONT STREET (EXACT STREET INTERSECTION UNKNOWN). I WAS IN THE CENTER LANE WHEN THE CAR, WITHOUT ANY WARNING OF IMMINENT FAILURE (NOT EVEN AN ODD NOISE OR ELECTRICAL GLITCH BEFOREHAND) JUST COMPLETELY SHUT OFF AND STOPPED ABRUPTLY. I HAD NO WAY TO EVEN MOVE THE STEERING WHEEL TO TRY TO MOVE OUT OF THE WAY. I PLACED THE VEHICLE IN PARK, TURNED ON MY WARNING LIGHTS, TURNED OFF THE IGNITION AND THEN TRIED TO RE-START THE VEHICLE. IT RESTARTED WITHOUT ANY COMPLICATION AS IF NOTHING HAPPENED. INCIDENT #2: ON 05/13/2014, AFTER APPROXIMATELY 6 WEEKS OR 550 MILES OF USE (MY PERSONAL ESTIMATE), THE SAME THING HAPPENED AGAIN. THIS TIME, I WAS DRIVING WEST BOUND ON CEDAR STREET IN DOWNTOWN SAN DIEGO, AT APPROXIMATELY 15-20 MPH (DECREASING SPEED TO STOP AT A LIGHT) WHEN AT THE CORNER OF 5TH STREET AND CEDAR ST., THE CAR SHUT OFF COMPLETELY AGAIN WITHOUT WARNING OR ANY PRIOR INDICATION OF IMMINENT FAILURE. I WAS ABLE TO VEER THE CAR OFF TO THE SIDE A BIT BECAUSE OF THE MOMENTUM AND ANGLE OF THE STREET BUT COULD NOT MOVE THE STEERING WHEEL MUCH. I PLACED THE CAR IN PARK, TURNED ON MY WARNING SIGNALS, AND TURNED OF THE IGNITION. I THEN SHIFTED THE VEHICLE TO NEUTRAL THEN BACK TO PARK, AND THEN TRIED TO TURN ON THE CAR AGAIN AND IT DID WITHOUT ANY PROBLEMS. THE FOLLOWING DAY, I TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE KIA DEALERSHIP SERVICE DEPARTMENT. THEY TOLD ME THEY RAN DIAGNOSTICS AND WERE NOT ABLE TO IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM AND THAT THEY WERE NOT ABLE TO DUPLICATE THE CONCERN. THEIR ONLY RECOMMENDATION WAS TO TAKE THE CAR IN IF IT HAPPENS AGAIN. *TR

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2012 KIA SORENTO, Manufacturer: Kia America, Inc.
Incident: Mar 2014
Oct 2012

WHILE ATTEMPTING TO START THE VEHICLE IT WOULD NOT START. THE 2012 SORENTO HAS A PUSH BUTTON START. THE ISSUE STARTED THE DAY WE PURCHASED THE VEHICLE AND IT SEEMS LIKE IT IS A REPEATED ISSUE. THE KIA DEALER IN OMAHA NEBRASKA REPLACED THE SWITCH TWICE AND THE DEALER IN FAIRVIEW HTS, IL HAS REPLACED THE SAME PART AT LEAST THREE TIMES. I'M THINKING LEMON. IT IS CURRENTLY AT THE DEALER IN FAIRVIEW HTS, IL FOR THE SAME ISSUE AGAIN. *TR

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2012 KIA SORENTO, Manufacturer: Kia America, Inc.
Incident: Oct 2012
Mar 2012

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 KIA SORENTO. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE STALLED. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO SUCCESSFULLY RESTART THE VEHICLE AFTER NUMEROUS ATTEMPTS. THE VEHICLE WAS THEN TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER AND THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE FAILURE MAY BE RELATED TO THE ELECTRONIC SYSTEM. THE DEALER STATED THAT THE KEY MIGHT HAVE DISCONNECTED FROM THE VEHICLE AND CAUSED THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS IN THE PROCESS OF HAVING THE KEY SYNCHRONIZED WITH THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 6,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2012 KIA SORENTO, Manufacturer: Kia America, Inc.
Incident: Mar 2012
Mar 2012

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 KIA SORENTO. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE PUSH START FEATURE DID NOT PROPERLY FUNCTION AND WOULD NOT TURN THE VEHICLE OFF. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER AND THE DEALER DISCONNECTED THE IGNITION FROM UNDER THE HOOD, BUT HAD NOT BEEN ABLE TO REPAIR THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 38. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2012 KIA SORENTO, Manufacturer: Kia America, Inc.
Incident: Dec 2012
Feb 2012

AFTER PARKING THE CAR FOR 72 HOURS AT AN AIRPORT, UPON RETURN THE CAR STARTED NORMALLY, BUT THE WARNING LIGHT SHOWING A BATTERY APPEARED. WHILE DRIVING HOME, APPROX 8 MILES, THE CAR'S DASH FLASHED MORE WARNING SYMBOLS... ANTIBRAKES, AIRBAG, ETC AND THE WIPERS BEGAN TO SLOW. I PULLED OVER AS THE VEHICLE LOST POWER AND STALLED. I USED KIA'S ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE TO GET A TOW TO THE DEALERSHIP. ON 2/13/2012 THE DEALERSHIP REPLACED THE ALTERNATOR AT NO CHARGE. THIS REPAIR, NECESSARY ON THIS 2012 KIA SORENTO, OCCURRED AT 6,607 MILES. *TR

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2012 KIA SORENTO, Manufacturer: Kia America, Inc.
Incident: Oct 2012

Trend Over Time

Complaints by year

Quick Summary

The 2012 Kia Sorento has 31 Electrical System complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.