2025 Kia Sorento Hybrid problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Power Train (14) · Engine (6) · Fuel/Propulsion System (5)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Kia Sorento Hybrid model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
Safety recalls (2)
Electrical System: Instrument Cluster/Panel 2026-01-26 · campaign 26V046000 · 42,677 vehicles
Defect: Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2025 Kia K4, 2025-2026 Sorento, Sorento Hybrid, Sorento Plug-In Hybrid Electric (PHEV), 2026 Sportage, Sportage Hybrid, Sportage PHEV, K5, EV9, Carnival, and Carnival Hybrid vehicles. Due to a software error, the instrument panel display may fail. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) numbers 101, "Controls and Displays" and 138, "Tire Pressure Monitoring System."
Risk: An instrument panel display that fails to show critical safety information, such as the speedometer, tire pressure, or warning lights, increases the risk of a crash.
Fix: The instrument panel display software will be updated over-the-air (OTA) or by a dealer, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed March 26, 2026. Owners may contact Kia Customer Service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC361. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will become searchable on NHTSA.gov on February 9, 2026.
Electrical System:body Control Module:software 2025-01-13 · campaign 25V006000 · 74,469 vehicles
Defect: Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2024-2025 Sorento, 2025 Sorento Hybrid, and 2025 Sorento Plug-In Hybrid vehicles. A software error in the Body Domain Control Unit (BDC) may cause a loss of low beam headlights and taillights. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."
Risk: A loss of headlights and taillights can reduce visibility, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will update the BDC software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed February 21, 2025. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC331.
Service bulletins (28)
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 2026-06-03 · 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
Structure:body 2026-05-20 · WTY043_QA · Warranty Program/Extension
warranty extension campaign: question and answer (wty043) - this document is the question and answer guide containing the most frequently asked questions regarding the warranty extension campaign wty043.
Showing the 6 most recent of 28 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-10-23 · Engine · 28,448 mi“the contact owns a 2025 kia sorento. the contact stated that while driving 75 mph, the vehicle experienced a slight loss of automotive power and the vehicle decelerated to 35 mph. the vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed, and the contact was informed that the failure was not duplicated. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. …”
2026-10-13 · Power Train“xxx - 9:35am est: lost acceleration power while driving on interstate, hybrid battery rapidly depleted forcing gas engine to engage at high rpms in effort to maintain speed and charge hybrid battery. decelerated from 65mph to roughly 40 mph within 1 mile of traveling distance, resulting in maneuvering of car over to right hand shoulder to park in t…”
2026-10-13 · Vehicle Speed Control“i am submitting this complaint to report two separate incidents involving a sudden and significant loss of acceleration in my vehicle while merging onto the freeway. these incidents created dangerous driving conditions and placed both myself and my children at risk. first incident – july 2026 in july 2026, my vehicle experienced a sudden loss of a…”
2026-09-25 · Unknown Or Other“while driving in our kia sorento 2025 on xxx, completely secluded from any other traffic or road hazards, the sunroof exploded outward. the explosion was very loud and startled my wife, who was driving, almost causing a single-car accident. this is the second time this has happened in our family, and kia is refusing to acknowledge any issue and won…”
2026-09-11 · Unknown Or Other“while driving in a 55mph highway, i lost all accelerative power in my kia sorento hybrid, driving my speed down to 25mph with vehicles behind me and no shoulder to pull onto. when i put my foot on the accelerator, the rmps on the dash would go all the way up 3000-4000 rpms, but there wasn't even a revving sound, and the car would not accelerate. lu…”
2026-09-02 · Visibility/Wiper“the central ccnc infotainment display screen on my 2025 kia sorento hybrid intermittently and now permanently failed (blank/black screen). this total display blackout completely disables the backup camera system (fmvss 111 non-compliance) and critical vehicle setting controls. the issue first began while under the 36,000-mile factory warranty (docu…”
2026-08-30 · Power Train“my 2025 kia sorento hybrid sx-prestige has repeated issues with the engine and drive train. on december 30th, 2025 it was diagnosed with a blocked breather hose sensor, causing the check engine light to come on. on july 1, 2026, the car rapidly decelerated while driving on the highway (limp mode), creating an unsafe condition, with an alert to ch…”
2026-08-17 · Engine“this report concerns a repeating loss of power in the 2025 kia sorrento-hybrid that forces the engine into "limp-mode". this issue has occurred when traveling at speeds exceeding 55mph on highway as well as when accelerating to merge into traffic. the vehicle does not flash any warning lights on the dashboard and shuts down in the middle of traffic…”
2026-08-09 · Unknown Or Other“my rear windshield exploded out when back door was closed…”
2026-07-17 · Power Train · 16,386 mi“the contact owns a 2025 kia sorento. the contact stated that while driving approximately 75 mph, the vehicle lost automotive power and failed to exceed 30 mph. the contact pulled over to the side of the road to avoid other vehicles. no warning lights were illuminated. the vehicle was towed to a dealer to be diagnosed; however, the cause of the fail…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.