2025 Kia Sorento Phev problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Power Train (3) · Electrical System (2) · Service Brakes (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 (3)
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.
Fuel System, Gasoline:delivery:hoses, Lines/Piping, And Fittings 2024-12-10 · campaign 24V920000 · 1,385 vehicles
Defect: Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2025 Sorento Plug-In Hybrid vehicles. During a crash, the steering rack may damage the fuel line, which can result in a fuel leak.
Risk: A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source can increase the risk of a fire.
Fix: Dealers will install a cover around the fuel line, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 10, 2025. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC328.
Service bulletins (18)
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 18 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-10-09 · Unknown Or Other“traveling on 6 lane divided highway at highway speed no traffic ahead for approximately 10 car lengths collision warnings fcs activated steered/swerved and braked. 2. returned from kia dealership assured it should not happen again, 289 miles later driving 6 lane divided highway clear ahead warnings cuts power. crash at highway speed. kia dealer st…”
2026-09-27 · Power Train“a check engine coolant system light came on, so i took the car to the local kia dealership in downtown la. they checked the battery coolant level and found it was completely empty and recommended i check for leaks. i later took the vehicle to kia of irvine for an inspection, and they found a rock had entered through the front grille and punctured…”
2026-09-08 · Service Brakes“multiple active faults, 12 active dtc codes, which have disabled the abs, esc and airbag communication lines, the dealer we took the car to refused to perform a full diagnostic and repair. i have been in contact with kia corporate and they have consistently said that cannot make a dealer perform service. the dealer where we purchased the vehicle c…”
2026-09-08 · Unknown Or Other“warning message check hybrid system, first incident driving on the road car gave warning message 10 mins later car went in limp mode in the middle of road and did not allow me too move (took to dealership they had the car for four days ,they reported no codes was found )2. second incident driving on highway and car gave warning message shortly af…”
2026-08-13 · Power Train · 30,000 mi“the contact owns a 2025 kia sorento. the contact stated that while driving approximately 75 mph, the vehicle lost drive power. the vehicle decelerated and was coasted over to the side of the road. the contact stated that several unknown warning lights flashed on the instrument panel while the vehicle was decelerating. while on the side of the road,…”
2026-08-08 · Fuel/Propulsion System“i am writing to report a safety concern with my 2025 kia sorento plug-in hybrid. on multiple occasions, after starting the vehicle, the instrument panel appears normal, but the vehicle does not enter the ready state. the ready indicator does not illuminate and the vehicle will not shift into drive or reverse. the vehicle will however, unfortunatel…”
2026-08-07 · Fuel System, Gasoline“the contact owns a 2025 kia sorento. the contact stated that on two occasions while driving 70 mph, the vehicle lost automotive power and the message "hybrid system failure" was displayed. the vehicle was pulled over to the side of the road, turned off, and restarted, but the failure persisted, and the vehicle failed to accelerate above 20 mph. the…”
2026-07-23 · Unknown Or Other“on [xxx], at approximately [xxx], i attempted to replace a flat tire on my 2025 kia sorento while the vehicle was parked on a flat, firm paved surface. i used the factory-supplied emergency scissor jack, rated at 1,200 kg or 2,645.5 lbs. and placed it at the designated factory pinch-weld jacking point. the plugin hybrid kia sorrento has a curb weig…”
2026-07-06 · Electrical System“hybrid control unit failure was the fault that came up on the screen. 3rd time within 3 months now. the hcu was just replaced a week ago at the kia dealership and the vehicle is only 1 year old. this left my wife stranded on the side of a busy highway in 100 degree temps over the 4th of july holiday.…”
2026-07-06 · Unknown Or Other“1st incident: vehicle was unable to accelerate when attempting to speed up on freeway entrance ramp- high rpms while continuing to decelerate and eventually vehicle would not move at all anymore. the driver assist system continued to activate the brakes due to high rpms even though the vehicle could not accelerate. very unsafe driving conditions on…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.