2016 Kia Sorento problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Engine (528) · Power Train (104) · Structure:body (91)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Kia Sorento model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
427 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (8)
Trailer Hitches 2022-09-19 · campaign 22V703000 · 70,887 vehicles ⚠ PARK OUTSIDE
Defect: Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2016-2022 Sorento, 2021-2022 Sorento Hybrid (HEV), 2022-2023 Sorento Plug-In Hybrid (PHEV), and 2017-2022 Sportage vehicles equipped with a tow hitch harness installed as original equipment, or purchased as an accessory through a Kia dealership. Debris and moisture accumulation on the tow hitch harness module printed circuit board (PCB) may cause an electrical short, which can result in a fire.
Risk: A fire while parked or driving can increase the risk of injury.
Fix: Owners are advised to park outside and away from structures until the recall repair is complete. Dealers will inspect the vehicle, and, as necessary, replace the fuse and/or tow hitch harness module, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 11, 2023. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC249.
Power Train:automatic Transmission:lever And Linkage:column Shift 2022-08-10 · campaign 22V612000 · 28,065 vehicles
Defect: Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2016 Sedona and Sorento vehicles. The vehicles may have been manufactured with faulty automatic transmission shift lever assembly components, preventing the shift lever from locking, which can allow the vehicle to rollaway.
Risk: A vehicle rollaway increases the risk of a crash and injury.
Fix: Dealers will inspect and replace the automatic transmission shift lever assembly components, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed October 7, 2022. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC246.
Engine 2018-12-19 · campaign 18V907000 · 71,653 vehicles
Defect: Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2011-2017 Optima, 2012-2017 Sorento and 2011-2018 Sportage vehicles that previously received an engine replacement under recall number 17V-224, warranty, or the Knock Sensor Detection System (KSDS) Product Improvement Campaign. The high pressure fuel pipe that connects to the fuel pump outlet may have been damaged, misaligned or improperly torqued during the engine replacement procedure, possibly causing a fuel leak.
Risk: A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source can increase the risk of a fire.
Fix: Kia has notified owners, and dealers will inspect and replace the fuel pipe, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began January 17, 2019. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC172.
Trailer Hitches 2016-11-30 · campaign 16V862000 · 10,212 vehicles
Defect: Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 Sorento vehicles manufactured October 27, 2014, to August 25, 2016, and 2017 Sportage vehicles manufactured December 10, 2015, to August 26, 2016. The affected vehicles are equipped with an accessory trailer hitch wiring harness that, due to a malfunction of the tow hitch module, may result in the trailer brake lights being constantly illuminated. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Veh
Risk: If the trailer brake lights stay illuminated while being used, other drivers may be confused, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Kia will notify owners, and dealers will replace the trailer tow hitch harness, free of charge. The recall began January 18, 2017. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC142.
Seats 2016-10-24 · campaign 16V770000 · 1,408 vehicles
Defect: Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain model year 2016 Kia Sorento vehicles manufactured March 3, 2016 to March 21, 2016. The driver's seatback frame may have been produced with inadequate weld joints and, as a result, the seatback may not function as designed in the event of a rear-end collision.
Risk: In the event of a crash, the driver seatback frame could break and fail to restrain a seat occupant, increasing the risk of injury.
Fix: Kia will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the welds and replace the driver seatback frame, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on December 9, 2016. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC140.
Suspension:rear 2016-06-29 · campaign 16V480000 · 7,901 vehicles
Defect: Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain model year 2016 Sorento vehicles. A component of the rear suspension may not be properly welded.
Risk: The improper weld may break, affecting the rear suspension alignment, thereby increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Kia will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the welds at the rear suspension cross-member, replacing the rear cross-member assembly, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began July 27, 2016. Owners may contact Kia Customer Service Department at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC137.
Seat Belts:front:buckle Assembly 2015-07-14 · campaign 15V446000 · 2,587 vehicles
Defect: Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain model year 2016 Kia Sorento vehicles manufactured October 23, 2014, to December 10, 2014. The affected vehicles have a front passenger seat belt whose buckle latch assembly may prevent the front passenger from fastening the seat belt.
Risk: If the front passenger seat belt cannot be latched, an occupant sitting in the front passenger seat has an increased risk of injury in the event of a crash.
Fix: Kia will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger seat belt buckle cover, free of charge. The recall began on August 18, 2015. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC123.
Vehicle Speed Control:accelerator Pedal 2015-02-13 · campaign 15V089000 · 12,361 vehicles
Defect: Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain model year 2016 Sorento vehicles manufactured October 27, 2014, to January 29, 2015. Due to an improperly soldered component in the accelerator pedal assembly, the driver may not be able to accelerate the vehicle.
Risk: If the vehicle is unable to be accelerated, there is an increased risk of a crash.
Fix: Kia will notify owners, and dealers will replace the accelerator assembly, free of charge. The recall began on February 19, 2015. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC115.
Service bulletins (275)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Exterior Lighting 2026-09-25 · SC330_OWNR_301 · Service Campaign
voluntary service campaign: owner renotification (sc330 flight 301) - this document is the owner renotification advising that kia is conducting a voluntary service campaign to replace the multi-function switch knob with improved parts on certain 2016-2018 my sorento vehicles.
Visibility/Wiper 2026-06-16 · WTY031_TSB_R2 · Warranty Program/Extension
technical service bulletin: warranty extension campaign: multifunction switch repair (wty031) - this bulletin has been revised to include additional information. new/revised sections of this bulletin are indicated by a black bar in the margin area. this bulletin provides information associated with
Structure:body 2026-06-08 · CS2312_TSB_R2 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
technical service bulletin: customer satisfaction: theft deterrent ignition cylinder protector and decal installation (cs2312) - this bulletin has been revised to include additional information. new/revised sections of this bulletin are indicated by a black bar in the margin area. this bulletin prov
Engine 2026-04-04 · SC340_TSB_R5 · Emissions
voluntary emissions service campaign: theta ii 2.4l gdi emissions: ecm logic improvement (sc340 revision 5) - this bulletin has been revised to include additional information. new/revised sections of this bulletin are indicated by a black bar in the margin area. this bulletin provides information to
Engine 2026-03-18 · WTY026_TSB_R2 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
technical service bulletin: warranty extension campaign: oil pressure switch (ops) replacement (wty026 revision 2) - this bulletin has been revised to include additional information. new/revised sections of this bulletin are indicated by a black bar in the margin area. this bulletin provides informa
Engine 2026-03-06 · SC340_TSB_R4 · Emissions
technical service bulletin: voluntary emissions service campaign: theta ii 2.4l gdi emission secm logic improvement (sc340 rev 4) - this bulletin has been revised to include additional information. new/revised sections of this bulletin are indicated by a black bar in the margin area. this bulletin p
Showing the 6 most recent of 275 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-10-28 · Suspension · 93,000 mi“the contact owns a 2016 kia sorento. the contact stated that while driving 30 mph, the vehicle made an abnormal cranking and popping sound. upon researching the failure online, the contact learned that the vehicle was unsafe to drive. the contact associated the failure with nhtsa campaign number: 16v480000 (suspension); however, the vin was not inc…”
2026-10-26 · Fuel/Propulsion System · 🔥 fire“vehicle caught on fire when driving, putting my mother's life and her passenger at risk. my mother is an elderly deaf woman, but was able to pull over in time for fire department to help contain fire. there were no warning lamps or messages of any problems with car, the car started smoking (smoke also entered cabin) and they pulled over where there…”
2026-10-26 · Unknown Or Other“the dash is split all over the soft padded dash from the heat started with 1 small split grew larger and all over the dash even with a windshield shade and dash mat heat cracks could affect the passenger side dash airbag brought the vehicle new has just over 40000 mi photo enclosed show just a few cracks the whole dash is affected…”
2026-10-26 · Steering“the steering binds/ sticks at the 12 o’clock position on the highway, requiring sudden extra physical force to break free, which causes the vehicle to oversteer left to right. for record, auffenberg kia verified a steering torque measurement of 7.3 nm (failure limit: 4.5 nm) per tsb cha060, but denied warranty repair under wty023 solely because the…”
2026-10-20 · Fuel System, Gasoline · 79,000 mi“the contact owns a 2016 kia sorento. the contact stated that while driving at 65 mph, there was an abnormally strong fuel odor inside the vehicle. the contact stated that while the vehicle was at the dealer for a scheduled service, the contact requested that the dealer inspect the issue. the vehicle was diagnosed with a low-pressure fuel pump failu…”
2026-10-20 · Engine And Engine Cooling · 148,764 mi“the contact owns a 2016 kia sorento. the contact stated that there was coolant intrusion into the engine. the failure was associated with technical service bulletin: 253 (rev 1, wty035 - warranty extension program). the contact stated that the issue was caused by a failure of the iron screws on the engine. the dealer was contacted and stated that t…”
2026-10-20 · Engine“i am the original owner of a 2016 kia sorento and have lived at my original registration address since purchasing the vehicle. the engine suddenly and catastrophically failed/seized due to internal rod bearing failure. the local kia dealership is denying the recall engine replacement because the ksds (knock sensor detection system) software update …”
2026-10-18 · Unknown Or Other“zubie plug-in obd device for gps tracking and health monitoring of cars. it was triggering an airbag light on the dash which meant in the event of a crash the airbags would not be deployed. my local kia dealer investigated and found the plug in zubie device was triggering the airbag light in the dash. i contacted zubie and they said they knew about…”
2026-10-06 · Air Bags“dear kia america customer care team, thank you for your response regarding case number while i understand that my vehicle is technically outside the standard factory warranty period, i am formally requesting a managerial review of this decision. this is not a request for a cosmetic repair, but a critical safety concern regarding a life-saving co…”
2026-10-02 · Power Train“transmission failure at 99,000 miles replaced by dealer under warranty …”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.