Kia Sorento Hybrid loss of power problems

Filed Nov 9, 2026 · Acceleration, Engine · CA

FAILED COMPONENT: Fuel rail pressure sensor (DTC P019100), 2025 Kia Sorento. Dealer (Kia of Glendale) replaced it XXX; the original part should be with the dealer or Kia. I have both repair orders and videos of two incidents. SAFETY RISK: On XXX, climbing a hill on [XXX], the car would not exceed ~14 mph. 5-10 minutes later, entering the freeway, it would not exceed ~12 mph. On XXX recurred: the car lurched, dropped from ~20 mph, surged to ~33 mph, then lost speed to 0. My wife pulled over and it shut off once stopped. Shortly after, it lost power on a hill and regained it with a lurch. Both on video. No crash, fire or injury. REPRODUCED/CONFIRMED BY DEALER: Not at first. I brought it in XXX and was told XXX that a 50-mile test drive found nothing, but the repair order shows 26,319 in and 26,321 out: 2 miles. It failed again XXX and was towed in. The dealer then pulled P019100 and replaced the sensor. That repair order says a road test was done but gives no distance (26,594 in, 26,602 out: 8 miles total). OTHER INSPECTIONS: Kia America consumer affairs reviewed my complaint and paperwork. No police or insurance involvement. WARNING LAMPS: None. No lights or messages appeared before or during any failure. The first symptom was sudden loss of acceleration on XXX. I am filing so the federal safety agency has this on record, including the gap between the claimed 50-mile test and the documented 2 miles, whether or not the repair resolves the defect. I am concerned that the same fault could affect other Sorento owners, because the sensor failed without any dashboard warning and left the car unable to maintain highway speed. The first dealer visit also failed to catch it, which suggests the problem may be hard to reproduce in a short test. I am asking the federal safety agency to review this report alongside any other complaints about fuel rail pressure sensor failures on this model. My wife stopped driving our son in it after the incident. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Nov 6, 2026 · Acceleration, Fuel system · TN

I purchased the vehicle on XXX. The day I purchased the vehicle, it lost power and went into a limp mode approx 1-2 miles from the dealership. I called the dealership and they picked me up and drove the car back to their lot. They kept the vehicle for approx. 5 days. The dealership said the car did not show any error codes. I got the car back & drove it without problems until the evening of XXX I was on the interstate at 11:45 pm and the car decelerated without warning going into limp mode again. VERY SCARY and unsafe being on the interstate and the car decelerating without warning. I had the car towed to a Kia dealership. They said it was the high pressure fuel pump & they replaced it. I received the car back on XXX. On XXX while I was driving home from work, the car had the same symptoms & decelerated without warning on the Hwy and went into a limp mode. The car had to be towed again back to the dealership. The service center called me on XXX and said the car had a bad high pressure rail sensor. I told the dealership, I do not want the car back as I feel it is unsafe. I found a contact number for the previous owner of this vehicle. She also verified the car decelerated on her while driving on [XXX] (dangerous road) and went into limp mode without warning. The previous owner said the dealership said the car had a manufacturer defect in 4 fuel injectors which they replaced, but it took weeks. The previous owner said she is older and did not feel safe after that so she traded the vehicle in. So, this vehicle has been towed 3 times (would've been a fourth had I not been so close to the dealership the first time). The only dashboard warning showing is "park with engine on to charge battery". Three of the four times, a different issue has been found with fuel system failures. I am not taking the car back, but I want to have this documented in case someone else takes control of the car and has continued problems. The car is not safe! INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U

Filed Aug 17, 2026 · Engine · SC

This report concerns a repeating loss of power in the 2025 Kia Sorrento-Hybrid that forces the engine into "limp-mode". This issue has occurred when traveling at speeds exceeding 55mph on highway as well as when accelerating to merge into traffic. The vehicle does not flash any warning lights on the dashboard and shuts down in the middle of traffic which presents a serious safety issue for oncoming traffic as the vehicle must coast to the side of the road. This has occurred multiple times and twice I have had the vehicle towed to the dealership. Initially a fuel pressure sensor was replaced and the second time the dealership indicated they could not find any relatable cause. Since that time there have been two additional occurances that I have had. I believe the issues are related to either a fuel pressure sensor or a sudden loss of power within the EV system that causes the vehicle to protect itself by enetering into the limp-mode. I have discovered a short term resolution is to disconnect the 12-V battery and let the car sit for 30 minutes to clear the system codes, but sitting on a busy roadway and the loss of power at speed is a serious safety issue. I have spoken to other owners who have experienced similar issues so this appears to be a wider spread issue.

Filed Jul 9, 2026 · Engine · 11,000 miles · AZ

The contact owns a 2025 Kia Sorento Hybrid. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 55 MPH, the vehicle suddenly decelerated and failed to exceed 35 MPH before stalling and losing power. Emergency services were contacted and assisted with pushing the vehicle to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to a dealer, who held the vehicle for two days but had not diagnosed the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 11,000.

Filed Jun 17, 2026 · Fuel system · GA

My 2025 Kia Sorento Hybrid, with approximately 20,000 miles, has experienced a sudden loss of power and entered a limp-mode condition twice within two days. During both incidents, the vehicle would not accelerate normally and was unable to maintain expected traffic speed, creating a significant safety hazard. No warning lights, warning messages, or check-engine light appeared before or during either event. After the incidents, no OBD-II diagnostic trouble codes were present. Stopping and starting the vehicle restored normal operation temporarily, but the problem reoccurred. The sudden and unexplained loss of propulsion without any warning or stored fault codes increases the risk of a crash, particularly when merging, passing, or driving in traffic.

Filed Mar 8, 2026 · Transmission · TX

While travelling in the center lane of the highway, the vehicle experienced a sudden loss of power and could not maintain speed. Vehicle could not go faster than approximately 20 miles per hour. Managed to exit highway off ramp by driving approximately 20 miles per hour as there was not a shoulder to exit the lane of traffic in that particular area. The hybrid battery voltage went very low. After exiting highway turned off vehicle and turned back on again, was able to drive normally to the dealership service center. Dealership found code history of fuel rail pressure sensor, cleared code and test drove and stated not able to duplicate concern at this time. 2025 Kia Sorento Hybrid mileage is 14250 miles

Filed Mar 2, 2026 · Acceleration, Engine · MA

The vehicle experiences a sudden and complete loss of power while driving. Specifically, the vehicle loses the ability to accelerate. During these incidents, the battery indicator shows critically low battery levels despite there being sufficient gasoline in the vehicle. The exact component causing the malfunction has not been identified by the dealership, as they report no diagnostic codes are present. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. This issue has occurred multiple times while driving on highways at speeds where surrounding traffic is traveling approximately 55 mph or higher. This has also happened while pulling out into traffic, causing near misses of an accident. When the malfunction occurs, the vehicle rapidly loses acceleration capability and slows down to approximately 20 mph. This creates a dangerous speed differential between my vehicle and surrounding traffic. It becomes extremely difficult to safely maneuver into the breakdown lane due to the inability to accelerate. This situation creates a significant risk of rear-end collision or multi-vehicle accident. The dealership has been unable to reproduce the issue during service visits. However, the vehicle has been brought in multiple times for this same concern. The dealership has stated that no diagnostic trouble codes are stored, and therefore they cannot identify or repair the root cause. I have multiple videos documenting the issue occurring while driving. The vehicle has been inspected multiple times by the authorized Kia dealership service department. This issue has been occurring since July of 2025. Video Link: [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Feb 11, 2026 · Electrical, Transmission · WA

1. I'm not sure what component or system malfunctioned. The dealership has said something different every time it's had to be taken in. The first time they said it could have been the dip stick. The second time they said they didn't know but did an update to the car's system. Last week, was the third time we've had to take it in and they said they are doing an oil change and replacing the air intake hose assy, GDI fuel pump, High pressure fuel pump, valve cover assy, oil filter and oil but didn't say if this would fix the issue. 2. We have loss confidence in this car's safety and reliability and the dealership's ability to repair it. It's been in the shop multiple times and continues to fail. The issue with the vehicle is that when we got a warning the power to the car shuts off. It doesn't allow you to do anything with the gas pedal no matter what speed you are going. We have experienced this multiple times on city streets and the highway. The potential for an accident is very high when the car does this. 3. We have taken it to the dealership and they don't know what's wrong with it. I created a case with Kia and have not heard back from a case manager at all. 4. The vehicle has only been inspected by the dealership and no one else. They have contacted Kia corporate for solutions via messaging but this is the third time the car has just loss power while we are driving. 5. There were some warning signs like check hybrid batter system on the dashboard. The kia Access app allow shows diagnostic alerts like ADAS_DRV. I have attached some photos and some of the documentation we have. There have been multiple dates but I put the first date that the car broke down. Other dates include (1/28/26 and 2/6/26).

Filed Feb 6, 2026 · Acceleration · CA

I was driving onto a busy intersection from a parking lot. When I went to pull into traffic, the truck wouldnt go, it lost power and we coasted into oncoming traffic , I coasted right , and the dash flashed limited mode max speed 20 mph in yellow lights. The peddle was on the floor at that point. We had kids in the car and it was going 17 mpr in 55 mph cars on us swerving around us. I coasted at 17 mpr downgrade 2 miles before I could get a place to pull over. I turned it off and sat for a while. Turned it back on and it had power again. We made it to the house, I towed it to KIA next day, they claim no codes went off and nothing wrong with it. Cars that lose power entering freeways without warning tells me there is something seriously wrong. No problem prior. I leased it new. It has 5000 miles. Its been at kia since mid-december 2025. I contacted corporate and they said it doesn't trigger their warranty and they are done with it. I was told to bring it back when it happens again. I wont risk my life or others with this unrepaired truck. I worry for my family and others. We could of been killed.

Filed Feb 4, 2026 · Electrical, Engine · OR

Incident #1: Car suddenly and without warning had complete loss of power, with gas engine shutting off and only using battery power. Car was traveling at 45mph in morning traffic. Pedal was pushed to the floor, but car would only go a maximum of 20mph. Warning dash lights then appeared saying "Hybrid Malfunction/Pull Over Immediately/Turn off car". I was able to pull off road and turn off car and then turn back on. Car ran normally the 2 miles back home. Incident #2: 2 days later, while driving my kids to school the car again, suddenly and without warning had complete loss of power, with gas engine shutting off and only using battery power. Again, warning dash lights: "Check Hybrid System. Stop Safely!". I did so and car ran normally back to my house (distance approx: 2.5 miles). I immediately called KIA of Beaverton and they said to have it towed right away. Once at dealer, they were unable to diagnose any issues and said that no codes showed up, but also said that the car "deleted codes". Car was in shop for 2 days and determined "car operates as designed." I picked up the car. Incident #3: 7 days later, with kids in the car, again car had complete power loss with no warning. Warning lights again told of "Check Hybrid System. Stop Safely!" Pulled over (in heavy Friday rush hour traffic) and turned off car. Turned on again, but this time car drove for less than a quarter mile before complete power loss happened again with all warning lights. This time we took video of the car not having power, all the warning lights etc. as evidence. We turned off the car and upon turning it on, it instantly had no power. We pulled car over and had to park it that night at a local business for towing. Car was towed again to Beaverton KIA. Again, dealer said they were not able to replicate problem after driving 250 miles on it. Insisted we pick up car, despite numerous comm's saying how unsafe we felt taking it. Dealer claimed KIA told them to remove .5 Qt of oil.