KnownCarProblems2006 Kia Sorento Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 242 complaints with NHTSA about the 2006 Kia Sorento, most often about the engine (35% of complaints, typically around 85,000 miles). It is 13th of 24 Sorento model years by number of complaints and has 1 recall.
Most common 2006 Kia Sorento problems
Engine
85 complaints · 35%Half of these problems showed up before 85,000 miles. Parts named most often: engine, cooling system, exhaust system.
The same thing has happened three times now. Driving down the road and all of a sudden the brake lights come on, check engine light comes on and now you have no power steering. When popping your hood, you find the two of the three belts have come off and the cam stabilizer pulley has either broke off and the car is no…
The crankshaft bolt sheared off, causing the harmonic balancer to fail. The engine stalled and I coasted to safety. This happened on the interstate at 75mph. Kia is aware of this and should be held liable.
Lights
56 complaints · 23%Half of these problems showed up before 50,000 miles. Parts named most often: brake lights, headlights, tail lights.
The contact owns a 2006 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving 60 MPH, the headlights would flicker and he constantly had to replace the light bulbs. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer, who did not provide an actual diagnosis as to what was causing the failure and advised the contact to only use…
We have repeatedly replaced low beam headlights. Have tried various brands to no avail. Tried replacing one at a time/ both at same time with no luck. Same result in that they burn out within a couple days to a couple months. Shortly after purchasing vehicle, the dome light for the door does not work. Decided to…
Electrical
53 complaints · 22%Half of these problems showed up before 78,000 miles. Parts named most often: wiring.
2006 Kia Sorento complaint: engine , steering, electrical system , exterior lighting ,throttle position sensor I am changing the head lights every 4-5 month and I think it needs to be looked at. Was driving 35 MPH when the engine light and brake light came on with no warning. And just last week 2/2/2014 the engine…
Engine light came on- brought to dealer- told leak in pressure line to power steering. They fixed but still faulty sensor light remains on for check engine- told 230$ to fix faulty sensor on gas/air mixture or my catalytic converter would wear out.
Transmission
35 complaints · 14%Half of these problems showed up before 79,000 miles. Parts named most often: clutch assembly, automatic transmission, driveline, manual transmission.
25 minute drive to town. Squealing sound. Pulled over, the crank shaft pulley was so loose that the bolt could be hand tightened. Mechanic said pin fell out and bolt sheered. May need new engine. Could have destroyed the crank shaft. Also have transmission hesitation, the 4x4 low light on dash goes on and the…
The crankshaft bolt sheared off, causing the harmonic balancer to fail. The engine stalled and I coasted to safety. This happened on the interstate at 75mph. Kia is aware of this and should be held liable.
Steering
33 complaints · 14%Half of these problems showed up before 92,500 miles.
Tl contact owns a 2006 Kia Sorento and stated the propeller shaft for the four wheel drive continued to fail on the vehicle. The dealer replaced the front drive shaft and road tested the vehicle. Within the next month, the vehicle was taken back to the shop for the same failure. The front drive shaft was replaced a…
Driving on highway when heard a pop and power steering went out and battery and brake light came on. Had it towed to auto repair shop to find out the crank shaft pulley bolt had broken off into the engine. Auto repair shop unable to get bolt out since it broke off into engine. Only way to repair was a new engine which…
Brakes
23 complaints · 10%Half of these problems showed up before 75,000 miles. Parts named most often: foundation components, antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip.
After doing preventive maintenance replacing timing belt at 60k the drive pulley bolt loosened (after three hours of driving) and the drive pulley popped off the shear pin, loosing control to the steering, breaks that are run by the serpentine belt . Mechanic was able to reconnect drive pulley, pin and bolt to crank…
Kia Sorento 2006. Crank shaft bolt sheared off. Total control of vehicle lost. Can not drive vehicle. Contacted Kia motors who stated they know this happens. Exact words of person on phone were "you should have replaced the crank shaft bolt with an upgraded model". As I am a private owner and never got any information…
Air bags
19 complaints · 8%Half of these problems showed up before 89,000 miles. Parts named most often: side/window.
I was driving on the highway and the brake light & battery light came on . The engine sounded rough , when I went to pull of the highway , I had no power steering
The contact owns a 2006 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that the passenger air bag light illuminated while the front passenger seat was occupied. The vehicle was taken to have a diagnostic performed which located the failure at occupant classification system. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer advised that…
Fuel system
12 complaints · 5%Half of these problems showed up before 105,000 miles. Parts named most often: storage.
Constant strong raw gas odor inside vehicle and near exterior rear of vehicle while ignition off and after ignition engaged. No exterior leaks present. Poor gas mileage.
I was dropping my son off at daycare. I attempted turn left and my battery, brake, and check engine light came on. My steering also went out. I turned off the car and turned back it on. Car was fine until I tried to turn, same thing happened again. I turned the car off and walked my son the rest of the way to daycare.…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2006 Kia Sorento recalls
Lights: switch
Risk: Any of these malfunctions, alone or in combination, may lead to a crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the stop lamp switch free of charge. The recall began on june 17, 2009. Owners may contact kia's consumer assistance center at 1-800-333-4542.
Full defect summary
Huyndai-kia is recalling 139,844 my 2006-2007- sedona, sportage, sorento and my rondo and amanti vehicles. The stop lamp switch in the affected vehicles may malfunction. A malfunctioning stop lamp switch may cause the brake lights to not illuminate when the brake pedal is depressed or may cause the brake lights to remain illuminated when the brake pedal is released. A stop lamp switch malfunction may also affect the operation of the brake-transmission shift interlock feature so the transmission shifter would not be able to be shifted out of the park position. It may also cause the electronic stability control (ESC) malfunction light to illuminate, and it may not deactivate the cruise control when the brake pedal is depressed.
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which recalls are still open on your car.
NHTSA defect investigations
Throttle control system vulnerabilities
Summary
The office of defects investigation (odi) of the national highway traffic safety administration (NHTSA) received a petition letter dated october 10, 2021, requesting an investigation of possible defects in the electronic throttle control (etc) system on certain kia vehicles resulting in the opening of dp21-003. Accordingly, model year (my) 2005-2016 kia optima/k5, my 2006-2015 kia sorento, my 2007-2016 hyundai elantra, my 2007-2016 hyundai santa fe, my 2006-2015 hyundai sonatas are all part of the subject population. The petition was originally filed as a vehicle owner questionnaire that can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under reference (odi) number 11439675.on november 12, 2021, odi opened defec
Questions about the 2006 Kia Sorento
- What are the most common problems with the 2006 Kia Sorento?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: engine (85 complaints, typically around 85,000 miles); lights (56 complaints, typically around 50,000 miles); electrical (53 complaints, typically around 78,000 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2006 Kia Sorento have?
- 1 recall listed by NHTSA, the latest from April 17, 2009 (lights). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2006 a bad year for the Kia Sorento?
- It is 13th of 24 Sorento model years by number of complaints, with 242 complaints. Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, so popular years collect more of them, and the newest years have had less time to.