2023 Kia Sorento Phev problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Wheels (1) · Vehicle Speed Control (1) · Steering (1)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Kia Sorento Phev model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
Safety recalls (2)
Back Over Prevention: Sensing System: Camera 2023-08-31 · campaign 23V610000 · 144,979 vehicles
Defect: Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2022-2023 Sorento, Sorento Hybrid, and Sorento Plug-in Hybrid (PHEV) vehicles. The mounting clips for the rearview camera may break, which can cause the rearview camera image not to appear properly on the display. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."
Risk: A rearview camera that does not properly display an image can reduce the driver's rear view, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will inspect and replace the rearview camera housing, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed October 27, 2023. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC280.
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.
Service bulletins (50)
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.
Visibility/Wiper 2026-08-28 · TSB_CLI049_R2 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
technical service bulletin: partial repair – electrical a/c compressor - 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 regarding the partial repair of the air
Structure:body 2026-06-04 · TSB_BOD336 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
technical service bulletin: key and cylinder set replacement - this bulletin provides information to replace the driver’s door lock and trunk lid key cylinders on some 2019-2024my kia vehicles listed below. on affected vehicles, the stored key code may not correspond to the mechanical key profile, w
Structure:body 2026-06-03 · WTY043_TSB · Warranty Program/Extension
technical service bulletin: warranty extension campaign: rear rh door curtain inspection / replacement (wty043) - this bulletin provides information associated with the ‘warranty extension program’ (wty043) inspect and, if necessary replace the rear rh door curtain on certain 2023 - 2026my sorento h
Electrical System 2026-05-28 · TSB_ELE422 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
technical service bulletin: infotainment system software update using update.kia.com - this bulletin provides information and service procedures for updating the infotainment systems on applicable kia vehicles using the kia navigation updater available at update.kia.com. the software update may impr
Structure:body 2026-05-23 · WTY043_REIMB · Warranty Program/Extension
warranty extension campaign: reimbursement form (wty043) - this document is a reimbursement request form that was mailed with the customer letter advising them to submit the form if they had paid for repairs for this same matter prior to the warranty extension campaign program launch.
Structure:body 2026-05-23 · WTY043_OWNR · Warranty Program/Extension
warranty extension campaign: owner notification (wty043) - this document is the owner notification advising that kia is extending the new vehicle limited warranty coverage, to all owners, for certain repairs related to the rear right-hand (rh) door curtain in certain 2023-2026 my sorento hybrid (hev
Showing the 6 most recent of 50 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2025-12-03 · Unknown Or Other“while driving my 2023 sorento plug-in hybrid a msg appeared that charging stopped check cable. when you stop the car and try to drive it will not go into any gear, msg says shifting conditions not met and unplug vehicle to start and the wheels are locked up (e-brake) and needs a tow truck with dollies in order to load. this happened in the middle o…”
2024-12-21 · Fuel/Propulsion System“when trying to accelerate from a standing stop, there is a one or two second delay, once the accelerator pedal is depressed, before the car moves. extremely dangerous when pulling out into traffic. i had it back to the dealership to address this problem but they found nothing wrong. i guarantee you , the problem continues to exist. …”
2024-12-11 · Power Train“1. first incident occurred on 10/29/24. my wife pulled into driveway and placed car into park. when she shifted to reverse, the transmission didn't respond and the car revved to a very high rpm when she took foot off of brake, no foot on gas. unable to shift it to go forward or backward. she then turned car off, back on, and was able to reverse…”
2024-06-24 · Wheels“the wheels provided with the new vehicle are not the correct wheels for the car. on page 639 of the owners manual: "2023 sorento phev om 10.pdf" section 9 "specifications, consumer information and reporting safety defects", page 6. the paragraph with title tires and wheels, has two tables; "for hybrid vehicle" and "for plug-in hybrid vehicle". t…”
2024-02-16 · Steering · 50,000 mi“the contact owns a 2023 kia sorento. the contact stated that while operating the vehicle, there was an abnormal squeaking sound coming from the steering column. additionally, the steering wheel felt tight while turning in either direction. the vehicle was taken to the local dealer who was unable to duplicate the failure. the vehicle was not repaire…”
2023-08-28 · Vehicle Speed Control“we were driving on the highway at about 65 mph. without warning, the vehicle suddenly started to struggle and slowed to about 40 mph. we were able to safely pull over, but we were in an acceleration lane merging onto another highway and didn't feel safe due to the sudden deceleration. this is a plug-in hybrid. we have driven at 65+ mph on long rid…”
2023-08-03 · Unknown Or Other“yesterday i was driving and i heard an explosion above my head. i smelled smoke and heard glass rattling. i was shocked but held it together to cross 3 lanes of traffic on the freeway and safely get onto the break down area. i got out of the car, went to the passenger side and looked on top of the car. the glass on the sunroof was exploded upwa…”
2022-11-17 · Unknown Or Other“i was sold a new car with open recall. the recall was announced on september 21, 2022 and the vehicle was sold to me as new on october 12, 2022 without any disclosure regarding the recall. vehicle sold as new not used.…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.