2011 KIA SORENTO Complaints

Driving the vehicle on a two lane road at approximately 50 mph (steady cruise state), the vehicle experienced bump or jump in the powertrain (shutter). I immediately lost power to continue at the desired speed (engine missing or lack of power). I slowly tipped into the throttle, but the vehicle was not responding as expected. I put the vehicle in neutral and slightly revved the engine to see if the engine would run normal without load, and it would increase in RPM, but not smoothly. I let the engine return to idle and the engine stalled. I lost my power steering and power brakes and had to muscle the vehicle into a parking lot where I was able to bring the vehicle to a stop and put it into Park. While this event took place the engine or vehicle warning lamp was on the instrument cluster. I got out of the vehicle and looked under hood to see if I could see any obvious signs of an issue and found nothing. I then restarted the vehicle after having the key in the off position. It started and seems to rev up normal. I put the vehicle in drive and cautiously drove the vehicle to my home (about 3 miles). There is no sign of the issue and no lights on the dash. This is not a condition I would want my wife or daughters to encounter, as it produced no warning leading up to the event. The loss of power steering and brakes makes the vehicle difficult to maneuver in a safe manner. It's difficult to trust this vehicle now. The mileage is 92K.

The check engine light came on in our Sorento so we took it to a local mechanic. They changed the oil and said the car was good to go on May 13. Less than a mile from the mechanic, on a busy street the car became unresponsive. Suddenly there was no way to accelerate or slow down and steering was incredibly difficult. Managed to coast to the middle of a busy parking lot but the car shut down completely before I could park in a space and I ended up partially blocking the lot entrance and several parked cars before we could get the car towed back to our mechanic. The mechanic reported to us that other Kias had experienced similar issues and we should check with the dealership for recalls. The car was towed to Oakes Kia Dealership on June 3 and they said the car needed a new engine. Having an engine with only 90,000 miles on it shut down without warning is an obvious and incredibly serious safety risk to drivers and others on the road. In a highway situation, this would have likely caused a serious accident.

While driving engine will die unexpectedly & jerk the car, sometimes it will immediately start up on it’s own, sometimes don’t. Has done this several times in the last few months that I’m afraid to drive it. So it’s sitting, while I’m still making payments.

My car experienced high engine oil consumption at 198,000 miles approximately. Yesterday at 210,000 miles approximately, blew a big ring of smoke and lost compression or the ability to move. When I pulled up to a stoplight, I also lost the ability to start it back up

The car intermittently smells like burning rubber after being driven. This has been an ongoing and unresolved issue for about a year, and is of serious concern to me. The car has approximately 130k miles, and is in excellent condition otherwise. Two mechanics have tried to troubleshoot this issue without being able to find the problem. I have tried to eliminate certain potential causes i.e. turning the air or heat off, etc., but it does not affect it. The car does not read "hot". No warning lights come on. There are no signs of leaking fluids, etc. as my garage floor is clean. With Kia having a history of some engines catching fire, it is of even greater concern, although my particular vehicle does not appear to have a recall for that issue.

My car is going to kill me. It stalls while driving or sitting at lights. Sometimes while I’m driving it surges and bucks and jerks. I’m really concerned with the stalling issues almost got rear ended 2 days ago. I drive on the northway and can’t afford this car stalling while driving I’ll be killed.

Headlights either blink on and off or turn off for about 5 seconds and then will go back on. It also will blink when using the directional. It does this while driving and parked. Also, the horn has just stopped working.

The contact owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving at 60 MPH, an abnormal clunking sound had emitted from the vehicle. The contact then heard parts falling out of the engine as white smoke began to release from the vehicle's hood. The check engine warning light was also illuminated on the instrument panel as the contact pulled over. The contact lifted that hood and saw flames coming from undeath the vehicle. The contact immediately shut the hood as smoke continued to discharge from the vehicle. The fire department arrived at the scene; however, the fire had dissolved on its own. The contact had the vehicle towed to an independent mechanic and was informed that a rod had blown in the engine resulting in engine failure. The vehicle was then towed to the dealer and was initially informed that her vehicle would be repaired under an extended warranty; however, the manufacturer later denied the warranty extension since she failed to have a manufacturer campaign performed on the vehicle. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 98,000.

The Engine as while driving down road locked up on me causing the vehicle to stop running. From my understanding this type of engine has had issues in past and was under a class action lawsuit that also included Hyundai. Now Kia has responded saying my vehicle vin number isn't part of the theta engine recall. Which baffles me.

Was driving and came to a red light. Then proceeded to get on the highway when all of a sudden it got 65 mph then off of a sudden lost power and rpms would go past 3000. Had to pull over and shut the SUV off and turn back on and drive 30 mph all the way home. Did I mention I almost got hit by a semi and not to mention my child was in the freaking car!!! Plz kia help