4 complaints reported

2020 Kia Sorento POWER TRAIN,ENGINE

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

Reports
4
Crashes
0
Fires
0
Injuries
0

Complaint Timeline

Chronological view of owner reports

Oct 2026

Car is in shop 3rd time 2020 sorento with 2.4l thete ii gdi engine. In May e went in p1326 code of death, knocking and blinking light. They put a band aid on. Back in September more issues, oil gasket valve cover and 4 spark plugs. Another bandaid, westarted seeing oil, I thought we were nuts because it was just fixed. Check engine light cane on, read 4th spark plug shot that they put in on 9/25. Tatvfirst rried sating 300 for plug and done. Then day after head mechanic says we need a new engine but all receipts not available. They're not filing a claim for an engine, these engine are blowing up and failing everywhere they just haven't gotten to year 2020 yet in law suits or settlements. When p1326 originally happened we were on the highway and it just decellateared and loud knock! Luckily we were okay and got over fast. With each issue car was immediately brought back to the Kia dealer, the sane dealer I bought the car new off lot in 2020.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 KIA SORENTO, Manufacturer: Kia America, Inc.
Incident: Jul 2026
Feb 2026

I bought a Kia 2020 from Long Lewis 3 days after i got it the check engine light come on, I called and told them, then around the 5th day black smut started covering the back of the suv, and i was smelling a burnt oi; and antifreeze smell, took it to a shop and they pulled the codes and one code was P045600 and another was P074100 then airbag codes, not even a month it started jerking they told me to bring it in so i did, he said they cleared the codes and was gonna fixed the evap, i asked about the torch converter and he said that must've been a code from the history but it wasn't, it did have a history of the code though, and i asked about the black smut on back of the vehicle he said nothing they can do about that and said fixing the evap may fix it, but sometimes it smells like it's on fire, and jerks

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 KIA SORENTO, Manufacturer: Kia America, Inc.
Incident: Jan 2026
Aug 2025

Kia Sorento has a well documented engine failure. The issue starts with the vehicle consuming engine oil. Subsequently the connecting rod bearings fail resulting in severe engine failure. This happens even with regular oil change maintenance. I experienced that with this vehicle. Kia was contacted but said this vehicle's vin did not fall under the list of affected vehicles in their class action lawsuit

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 KIA SORENTO, Manufacturer: Kia America, Inc.
Incident: Aug 2025
Feb 2021

I HAVE A 2020 SORENTO THAT HAS ~9,000 MILES ON IT. I WAS DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY WHEN THE ENGINE OVERHEAT CHIME STARTED GOING OFF AND THE TEMPERATURE GAUGE WENT HOT. I PULLED OVER AND CALLED FOR HELP, THEN TRIED TO GO A SMIDGE FURTHER UP THE ROAD. WITHIN 200 YARDS IT CHIMED AGAIN AND THE TEMP WENT HOT. PUT AN ENTIRE JUG OF COOLANT IN AND MY RESCUE DRIVER INFORMED ME THAT THERE WAS A TRAIL OF COOLANT POURING OUT BEHIND ME. THERE IS NO VISIBLE DAMAGE TO THE UNDERSIDE OF THE VEHICLE OR FROM LOOKING AT THE ENGINE WITH THE HOOD UP. WE WERE TOLD THAT DUE TO THE WEATHER (MIDDLE TN) KIA ROADSIDE DOESN'T HAVE ANY TOW TRUCK DRIVERS AVAILABLE, AND NEITHER DID MY INSURANCE COMPANY. A LOCAL TOWING COMPANY IS RETRIEVING MY VEHICLE TOMORROW AND TAKING IT TO THE KIA DEALERSHIP THAT I PURCHASED FROM.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 KIA SORENTO, Manufacturer: Kia America, Inc.
Incident: Feb 2021

Trend Over Time

Complaints by year

Quick Summary

The 2020 Kia Sorento has 4 POWER TRAIN,ENGINE complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.