2017 KIA SORENTO Complaints

Engine burns oil excessively and Kia has this marked as a known issue. The oil is leaking inside the engine around the pistons and into the combustion chamber. Because the engine is direct injection, it now has to go through a combustion cleaning every time this happens at $700 a pop plus diagnostics which makes it over $900 every time this happens. Happens so often that it won't even get to the milage for an actual oil change to be due. Kia refuses to do anything until the connecting rod or connecting rod bearing fails and I have a complete engine failure. I feel like that is very dangerous and could cause serious harm to myself or others if I have an engine failure and cause an accident.

I came to this website because it was suggested to me to look for a recall. While there is an active recall with my car, the interesting part to me is the fact that the issues I'm having with my car match a recall for the same model as mine, just a different spec. To me that seems odd, I'd have the same type issues... I was wondering how to get this examined.

The contact owns a 2017 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that three days after purchasing the vehicle, the contact checked the oil level and noticed that the oil level was two quarts low. The contact checked the oil constantly after one thousand miles and noticed that the oil level was low. The vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. Most recently, while the contact was driving at slow speeds, the vehicle jerked, and the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended while depressing the accelerator pedal. The contact was attempting to overtake a US Postal Service truck when the vehicle failed to accelerate and stalled. The contact was able to coast to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with knock sensor failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 110,000.

On July 25th when I started my car , 2017 Kia Sorento, to leave work, it made a horrible knocking noise when it was starting, but once it started the noise stopped, no alert lights came on, so I drove it home 7 miles and parked it for the weekend. When my husband and I took it out again on Monday, July 28th, we had driven under 10 miles and gotten up to 70 miles an hour on the toll/express road, the check engine light started flashing as the power produced by the engine drastically declined and acceleration seemed capped or limited. We were able to safely exit the toll road without causing or being involved in an accident. We drove it 6 more miles home and parked it. A week later we had it toed to a Kia mechanic who confirmed that the engine had been using oil, had metal shavings in the oil and the rod bearing had failed. The engine would have to be replaced. Once the engine was replaced, it was determined that the turbo had also failed on the impeller side and would have to be replaced. We did not take it to a dealer. We had both components replaced by a Kia mechanic at our own cost.

It’s been a month since I did an oil change. However, while I was driving the car, I heard a noise like the engine had no oil in it. I stopped and after 15 minutes I checked the engine for oil when I discovered that the engine was empty. I then checked for a leak and there is no leak detected. I took it to a Valvoline to get an oil change. This is when I discovered that the engine is burning the oil. This is most likely to happen due to a manufacturing problem. I am submitting this complaint and would like to have an investigation done on that matter because it is a safety concern when a car keeps burning oil without any leak detection.

The contact owns a 2017 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while turning the steering wheel in either direction, the steering wheel was sticking and notchy while attempting to return the steering wheel to center. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who diagnosed that the power steering motor was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 21,083.

The contact owns a 2017 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving 25-29 MPH uphill and approaching a stop sign, the vehicle began sputtering and struggling to accelerate. While at the stop sign, the vehicle started idling roughly with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and was diagnosed and determined that the cylinders were filling with oil due to a gasket failure. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The failure caused the catalytic converter to be corrupted and needed to be replaced. The dealer informed the contact that there was a Class Action Lawsuit for the issue, and there was an Extended Warranty coverage for the failure; however, because a specific fault code was not retrieved, the vehicle would not qualify for the repair, unless the engine seized. The contact was advised not to add oil to the engine to prevent the engine from seizing and to get the repair covered. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and referred the contact to the dealer for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 95,500.

Engine seized with zero warning lights, cautions, check engine lights, or low/high indicators. It started knocking and was driven 3 miles to our mechanic who said it was a failed engine. I called the Kia dealer who recommended I tow or drive it to the dealer. ~3 miles from our house, less than a mile from the dealer the car lost all power. We had it towed. The service manager chastised me for not towing but also told me irregardless of how it arrived that the engine was no longer functional. It is out of warranty w/ 143,000 miles but without any indication of a problem how was I supposed to mitigate any risk. From the start of the knocking until the engine failed it was less than 6 miles. The mechanic had to put 3 quarts of oil in the car and it still failed on the way to the dealer. I get regular oil changes and have never been told it’s running low on oil. I’m asking that somebody please look into this issue. Thank you. R/ Aaron

This 2017 Kia Sorento with the 3.3L V6 Lambda II engine appears to have had possible rod bearing failure or connecting rod failure. This vehicle has 107,987 miles on it when the incident happened. 2 hours into a drive on the highway, the car began to sound like it had a possible exhaust leak, however this was followed shorty by knocking which prompted us to pull over and just as we made the shoulder as the engine quit and began to smoke heavily. Went to quickly open the hood and the smoke died down in about a minute. Most likely due to the oil hitting the exhaust from the hole the rod left in the block. There were no oil lights or other indications that anything was going to happen prior to this. The vehicle has been maintained meticulously with all maintenance items. This vehicle is available for inspection. Let me know if this needs to happen prior to KIA getting ahold of it. Our entire family was in the car (5 people including our dog) and we were at highway speeds when this happened. Fortunately we were able to get over just before the engine blew. Also fortunate enough to open the hood fast enough to get it cool before it started a fire. We are going to take it to the dealer for inspection, however both the dealership and Kia Customer Care said this is not currently under any warranty for engine failure. I have yet to inspect myself to take pictures from under the car, so no inspection has been thoroughly performed. As previously stated, there was no warning lights, the car did sound like it started to have an exhaust leak no more than a minute or two before the knocking started.

On 8/16/2025 my 2017 Kia Sorento experienced major engine failure which resulted in loss of power and severe engine misfiring. I submitted a warranty claim with full maintenance documentation to Kia cooperation but was denied coverage on 8/27/2025. This denial is improper because 1.The engine type is covered under recalls and/or the Kia Engine Class Action Settlement, which extends coverage to 15 years / 150,000 miles and my vehicle currently has 94423. 2.I complied with all maintenance requirements and have already provided numerous records. 3.Engine failure presents a serious safety hazard and has been widely reported.