KnownCarProblems2011 Kia Sorento Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 1,520 complaints with NHTSA about the 2011 Kia Sorento, most often about the engine (21% of complaints, typically around 98,000 miles). It is the most complained-about Sorento model year since 2000 and has 7 recalls.
⚠ Safety advisory1 recall for this car came with a park-outside warning. See below and check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Most common 2011 Kia Sorento problems
Engine
316 complaints · 21%Half of these problems showed up before 98,000 miles. Parts named most often: engine, exhaust system.
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. While traveling approximately 40 MPH, there was a loud noise coming from the front of the vehicle. Also, the contact mentioned that smoke emitted from the engine compartment. Upon pulling the vehicle over, it was further noticed that the engine compartment was on fire. The vehicle…
Vehicle started by losing power on take-off. Later violent jerking/shifting over 30 MPH. I have taken the vehicle to both dealer and personal mechanic. Crank and cam sensors were replaced. Issue is not resolved. The vehicle sometimes shuts off upon take-off. Sometimes it immediately starts again, other times I have to…
Body and structure
268 complaints · 18%Half of these problems showed up before 89,000 miles. Parts named most often: body.
Can't open doors using exterior handles on 3 of the four doors, only able to open from inside. Locks work fine. The three doors that don't work are the driver door, front passenger, and rear door on driver side. This SUV is only 4 years old. This should not be happening on a vehicle less than 5 years old.
On january, 29th, 2015 the front passenger side outside door handle refused to work. On january, 30th, 2015 the rear passenger outside door handle broke off. On may 24th, 2015 the driver door outside handle refused to work.
Transmission
265 complaints · 17%Half of these problems showed up before 34,000 miles. Parts named most often: automatic transmission, driveline.
After stopping to paying bridge toll, heard a loud grinding noise which sounded like something feel out from underneath the our 2011 Kia Sorento. From that point on the vehicle would only coast. This could have caused a major accident as 3 lanes of traffic were merging and luckily there was a parking lot just before…
While traveling down the road the axle and transmission suddenly went out. This caused vehicle to come to a sudden abrupt stop. This could have caused a fatal accident if traveling at a higher rate of speed or on an interstate. When the problem occurred, you had no power to the vehicle and it could not even coast to…
Electrical
246 complaints · 16%Half of these problems showed up before 88,000 miles. Parts named most often: instrument cluster/panel, alternator/generator/regulator.
Kia Sorento infrequent and unpredictable loss of power during moderate acceleration. During certain conditions, which have included moderate uphill climbs, highway driving and city under 50mph and at moderate acceleration, the vehicle will suddenly loose power, fail to upshift when needed, or show no signs of power…
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that she attempted to reverse however, the shifter could not be moved for over 30 minutes. In addition, the radio would sporadically power on independently and drain the battery. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but the technician was unable to diagnose the…
Other or unspecified
214 complaints · 14%Half of these problems showed up before 91,500 miles.
Can't open doors using exterior handles on 3 of the four doors, only able to open from inside. Locks work fine. The three doors that don't work are the driver door, front passenger, and rear door on driver side. This SUV is only 4 years old. This should not be happening on a vehicle less than 5 years old.
The driver's side back door would not open from the outside. Only the inside. Now a few days later, the driver's door is doing the same thing. Not opening from the outside, only the inside.
Air bags
183 complaints · 12%Half of these problems showed up before 95,500 miles. Parts named most often: frontal.
My air bag light is on so we hooked up the scanner and it threw the code b1346 for the clock spring which seems to be a problem with alot of other's as well.I think their should be a recall and I will be calling Kia and complaining
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that the air bag lights remained illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 95,223.
Brakes
132 complaints · 9%Half of these problems showed up before 69,000 miles. Parts named most often: antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip, foundation components, disc.
I was driving the vehicle at low speed when the brakes started coming on by themselves. The traction control light came on as the vehicle stopped 6 times within a couple of hundred feet. I could feel the anti lock brakes working as the vehicle would stop, then the brakes would release and I would start moving again…
Kia Sorento 2011 ESC dbs lights on dashboard and either cannot get out of park or when trying to shut vehicle down will get stuck in between neutral and drive, I shut down car but obviously cannot take keys out, wait a few minutes restart in neutral and sometimes I can get it in or out of park. Sometimes this is done…
Lights
105 complaints · 7%Half of these problems showed up before 96,000 miles. Parts named most often: headlights, brake lights.
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. While driving 30 MPH, the air bag warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer (jim ellis Kia of kennesaw, 1221 auto park drive northwest, kennesaw, ga 30144) where it was diagnosed that the clockspring needed replacement. The contact stated that the…
Headlight low beam bulbs are burning out at the rate of one (1) to two (2) weeks. The left bulb burned out a couple of years ago. Approximately a month ago both of the low beam bulbs burned out at night when my wife was driving home from church. She almost wrecked before she turned the lights on high beam. Since then…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2011 Kia Sorento recalls
Engine
Risk: A fire increases the risk of injury.
Fix: Dealers will install knock sensor detection system (ksds) software and replace the engine as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed february 9, 2024. Owners may contact kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is sc291.
Full defect summary
Kia america, inc. (kia) is recalling certain 2011 sorento vehicles. An engine compartment fire can occur while driving.
Brakes: control unit/module
Risk: An engine compartment fire while parked or driving can increase the risk of injury.
Fix: Owners are advised to park outside and away from structures until the recall repair is complete. Dealers will replace the hecu fuse, free of charge. Interim notification letters, notifying owners of the safety risk, were mailed november 14, 2023. Owner notification letters were mailed march 29, 2024 through june 18, 2024. Owners may contact kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is sc284.
Full defect summary
Kia america, inc. (kia) is recalling certain 2010-2019 borrego, 2014-2016 cadenza, 2010-2013 forte, forte koup, sportage, 2015-2018 k900, 2011-2015 optima, 2011-2013 optima hybrid, soul, 2012-2017 rio, 2011-2014 sorento, and 2010-2011 rondo vehicles. The hydraulic electronic control unit (hecu) may experience an electrical short, which can result in an engine compartment fire while parked or driving.
Transmission: automatic transmission
Risk: Without requiring the brake to be pressed, the vehicle may be unintentionally shifted out of park, allowing it to roll, which may result in a crash.
Fix: Kia will notify owners, and dealers will replace the brake-shift interlock mechanism, free of charge. The recall began on november 9, 2015. Owners may contact kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is sc124.
Full defect summary
Kia motors america (kia) is recalling certain model year 2011-2013 kia sorento vehicles manufactured october 19, 2009, to january 31, 2013. In the affected vehicles, if excessive force is applied to the gear shift lever, the brake-shift interlock mechanism may chip or crack allowing the transmission being able to be shifted out of "park" without the brakes being depressed. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard (fmvss) number 114, "theft protection."
Lights: switch
Risk: Failure to illuminate the stop lamps during braking or inability to disengage the cruise control could increase the risk of a crash. Additionally, when the ignition is in the 'on' position, the transmission shifter may be able to be moved out of park without first applying the brake. This may lead to unintentional movement of the car which may increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: Kia will send an interim notification to owners in may 2013. When parts are available, owners will receive a second notification and dealers will replace the stop lamp switch, free of charge. Owners may contact kia at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's recall campaign number is sc098.
Full defect summary
Kia motors corporation (kia) is recalling certain model year 2007-2010 rondo, model year 2007-2011 sedona, sorento and sportage, model year 2010-2011 soul, model year 2008-2011 optima, model year 2010 forte, model year 2007-2009 amanti, and model year 2009 borrego vehicles. Originally, in april 2013, kia recalled 623,658 model year 2007-2010 rondo and sportage, model year 2007-2011 sorento, model year 2007 sedona, model year 2010-2011 soul, and model year 2011 optima vehicles. In september 2013, kia informed the agency that it was adding an additional 356,719 vehicles to this campaign. The total number of vehicles being recalled is now 980,377. In the affected vehicles, the stop lamp switch may malfunction. A malfunctioning stop lamp switch may cause the brake lights to not illuminate when the brake pedal is depressed or may cause an inability to deactivate the cruise control by depressi
Transmission: driveshaft
Risk: Damage to the transmission may cause loss of motive power, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the right side output gear and intermediate shaft free of charge. The safety recall is expected to begin during may 2011. Owners may contact kia at 1-800-333-4542.
Full defect summary
Kia is recalling certain model year 2011 sorento 2wd vehicles equipped with automatic transmissions and 2.4l engines manufactured from the start of production through may 22, 2010. The intermediate shaft may suffer from noise and excessive wear due to a misalignment of the intermediate shaft with the right side output gear. Continuing to drive the vehicle in this condition leads to the development of a whirring/whining noise and can eventually cause damage to the automatic transmission.
Brakes: caliper
Risk: As a result, brake fluid will leak, followed by illumination of the malfunction indicator light indicating the brake fluid level is low and should be checked, then a soft or spongy brake pedal feel, and if not serviced, reduced braking power which could increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will inspect the rear calipers and replace it if necessary free of charge. The safety recall began on december 10, 2010. Owners may contact kia consumer assistance center at 1-800-333-4542.
Full defect summary
Kia is recalling certain model year 2011 sorento vehicles manufactured from september 14, 2010, through october 4, 2010. Some of the rear brake calipers may not have been properly machined.
Electrical: wiring
Risk: When the lights are illuminated under certain conditions, an electrical short may occur that can result in a fire.
Fix: Dealers will replace the wiring harnesses for the lights in the kia soul vehicle's advanced lighting speakers, and the wiring harness for the kia sorento vehicle's interior accent illumination. This service will be performed free of charge. The safety recall began on september 13, 2010. Owners may contact kia consumer assistance center at 1-800-333-4542.
Full defect summary
Kia is recalling certain model year 2010 soul and model year 2011 sorento vehicles manufactured from september 7, 2009 through july 30, 2010. A limited number of wiring harnesses supplied by jci and used for the lighting in the kia soul vehicle's advanced lighting speakers, located in the front door trim panels, and the kia sorento vehicle's interior accent illumination, located in the front and rear door trim panels, may have been improperly soldered.
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
Hyundai and kia ABS module fires
Summary
The office of defects investigation (odi) has received eight hyundai motor america (hyundai) and eight kia america, inc. (kia) part 573 recall reports between 2016 and 2023. The combined 16 safety recalls all involve the antilock braking system (ABS) modules or hydraulic electronic control units (hecu) manufactured by the equipment supplier mando. The part 573 recall reports contain varying defect descriptions and differing remedy descriptions for the same or similar equipment supplied by mando. Safety recalls included in this audit query (aq) review include: hyundai recalls 20v-520, 20v-543, 21v-161, 21v-160, 21v-303, 22v-056, 22v-810, and 23v-651. Kia recalls 16v-815, 20v-518, 20v-519, 21v
Loss of motive power
Summary
The national highway traffic safety administration (NHTSA) received a letter dated july 13, 2022, petitioning the agency to initiate a safety defect investigation into loss of motive power allegations attributed to oil drain pan assembly failures on certain hyundai motor america, inc. And kia america, inc. Vehicles spanning model years (my) 2005-2021. The petitioners cited examples of complaints indicating that the subject vehicles were experiencing rapid loss of engine oil due to oil drain plug back outs, resulting in loss of motive power and/or catastrophic engine damage. Additional complaints were provided which alleged that the oil drain pans lack sufficient structural integrity and are
Engine fires
Summary
On march 29, 2019, the office of defects investigation (odi) opened two preliminary evaluations (pe19-003 on hyundai and pe19-004 on kia) to broadly investigate incidents of non-crash fires (regardless of origin or operational status of the vehicle) on various model year hyundai and kia vehicles.â during the pe investigations, hyundai and kia issued several recalls to address vehicle fires, including those due to engine failures involving various engine types.â the remedies for the engine failure recalls typically involve engine inspection (to detect existing damage), and if necessary, engine replacement.â additionally, both manufacturers have been installing an engine control software modif
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
Headlight failure
Summary
The office of defects investigation (odi) opened this preliminary evaluation (pe) based on seventy-four vehicle owner questionnaires (voqs) reporting headlight failures on model year (my) 2011-2013 kia sorento vehicles.in its response to odi's june 25, 2020, information request letter (portions of which were submitted under request for confidentiality), kia motor america (kia) provided design details of the headlight system showing that each headlight circuit is independently powered by the smart junction box (sjb), a power control module. Kia claimed that the design minimizes the chance of both headlights failing simultaneously due to a headlight connector defect, a component located downst
Non-crash vehicle fires
Summary
During this preliminary evaluation (pe), the office of defects investigation (odi) assessed the scope, frequency and potential safety-related consequences of non-crash vehicle fires caused by both engine failures and failures of other vehicle systems/components in model year (my) 2011-2014 kia optima, my 2011-2014 kia sorento and my 2010-2015 kia soul vehicles equipped with theta II, gamma, nu and lambda II engines (approximately 1.7 million vehicles). Odi also reviewed field and other data on other kia vehicles (approximately 3.6 million additional vehicles) equipped with the same engines used in the above-mentioned vehicles.as a result of this pe, kia has issued NHTSA recalls 20v-750 and 2
Non-crash vehicle fires
Summary
In a letter dated june 11, 2018, the center for auto safety (cas) petitioned the national highway traffic safety administration (NHTSA) to initiate a safety defect investigation into non-collision related fires on model year (my) 2011-2014 kia optima and sorento, and hyundai sonata and santa fe vehicles. In a letter dated july 24, 2018, cas requested that my 2010-2015 kia soul vehicles be added to the petition. Cas stated that there is a higher number of complaints to NHTSA regarding non-crash fires on these vehicles compared to other similar vehicles. The office of defects investigation (odi) had already opened recall queries (rq17-003 and rq17-004) on all kia and hyundai vehicles equipped
Panoramic glass sunroof breakage
Summary
The investigation focused on spontaneous breakage (fracture) of the panoramic sunroof (sunroof) on my 2011-2013 kia sorento vehicles. The sunroof is constructed of tempered glass (often referred to as ?safety glass?), which, when broken, crumbles into granular chunks rather than splintering into jagged shards. The failure summary above shows NHTSA reports identified by the office of defects investigation (odi), and reports submitted by kia from start of production of the subject my 2011-2013 kia sorento through october 8, 2019, the date of odi's last request for kia data.reports of sunroof failures typically occurred while the vehicle was in motion and often described a loud noise when the f
Panoramic sunroof breakage
Summary
On october 21, 2013 the office of defects investigation (odi) opened pe13-035 in order to further examine claims that the sunroof would spontaneously break on 2011-2013 kia sorento vehicles.the majority of these claims occurred while the vehicle was in motion.glass shattering while driving may distract the driver, and the resulting glass particles which enter the passenger compartment may injure occupants.to date, odi has received a total of 26 reports of sunroof breakage on the subject vehicles. Of those, 24 occurred while the vehicle was in motion.there were also four (4) injury incident reports for minor cuts/scratches. Kia submitted a total of 123 field incidents related to sunroof break
Transmission intermediate driveshaft
Summary
On april 25, 2011, kia motors corporation submitted a defect notification letter to NHTSA regarding a transmission intermediate driveshaft condition in approximately 12,690 model year (my) 2011 kia sorento 2-wheel drive vehicles equipped with automatic transmissions and 2.4l engines (NHTSA recall no. 11v-258).the recall addresses a defect with the external shape of the engine block which can prevent the intermediate shaft bearing bracket from mating evenly with the engine block.this can cause a misalignment of the intermediate shaft with the right side output gear.resulting damage could cause a loss of motive power.additionally, on april 27, 2011, hyundai motor company submitted a defect not
Questions about the 2011 Kia Sorento
- What are the most common problems with the 2011 Kia Sorento?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: engine (316 complaints, typically around 98,000 miles); body and structure (268 complaints, typically around 89,000 miles); transmission (265 complaints, typically around 34,000 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2011 Kia Sorento have?
- 7 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from December 21, 2023 (engine). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2011 a bad year for the Kia Sorento?
- It is the most complained-about Sorento model year since 2000, with 1,520 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.