The contact owns a 2008 Kia Sorrento. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, the passenger’s side air bag warning light illuminated and remained illuminated. The contact stated that the failure also occurred with the driver's side air bag. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer or independent mechanic. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The contact had researched online and related the failure to the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 11V473000 (Air Bags). The failure mileage was approximately 201,000.
2008 Kia Sorento airbags problems
66 complaints (30% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 42,000. 10 crashes reported.
- owner complaints
- 66
- of this car's complaints
- 30%
- typical mileage
- 42,000
- crashes
- 10
- recalls
- 1
Which part fails
- Frontal13
- Frontal: sensor/control module6
At what mileage
Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.
0k-25k
25k-50k
50k-75k
75k-100k
100k-125k
125k-150k
150k-175k
175k-200k
200k+
Kia Sorento airbags problems in other years
Specific symptoms reported on the 2008 Kia Sorento airbags
Phrases found in the owners' own descriptions, so one complaint can mention several symptoms.
Related recalls
Air bags: frontal: sensor/control module-inactive
- What is wrong
- Kia is recalling certain model year 2007-2008 sorento passenger cars manufactured from june 15, 2006 through november 27, 2007. The front passenger air bag may be turned off when an adult is in the passenger seat. The front passenger air bag is designed to be turned off in limited circumstances including when children and small adults are seated in the front passenger seat, there is a child restraint in that seat or the seat is not occupied. The vehicle's occupant classification system (ocs), which classifies the occupant in the front passenger seat, may misclassify an adult passenger as a child or child seat and improperly turn off the passenger side air bag. When the air bag is deactivated the "passenger air bag off" light will illuminate on the center instrument panel.
- Risk
- The passenger side air bag is turned off when the ocs misclassifies an adult passenger. With the front passenger airbag off, the front passenger will not have the protection of the passenger air bags in some frontal collisions, thus increasing the risk of occupant injury.
- Remedy
- Kia will update the programming in the sorento ocs control module at no charge. The recall remedy is currently available under service campaign sc076. Owners may contact kia customer service at 1‑800‑333‑4542.
Recall number 11V473000 · Recall details
Related investigations
Air Bag Occupant Classification System
The Sorento's front passenger air bag may be turned off when an adult is seated in the passenger seat. The front passenger air bag is designed to be turned off in limited circumstances including when children and small adults are seated in the front passenger seat, there is a child restraint in that seat, or the seat is not occupied.But the Sorento has misclassified adults sitting in the passenger seat.This causes the passenger side frontal air bag to deactivate and the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light to illuminate. On May 12, 2009, Kia launched a Technical Service Bulletin campaign (SC076) to address this problem, installing upgraded occupant classification system (OCS) software in vehicles built prior to the 11/27/2007 production date. ODI and Kia identified 908 owner reports and 927 warranty claims related to this OCS issue.Kia also reported one crash where the passenger frontal air bag did not deploy in a frontal crash due to misclassification.Testing of Sorento vehicles built prior to December 2007 shows that misclassification can occur.As of April 2011, Kia reports that approx. 46,000 of the 57,228 vehicles have been upgraded with the revised software.On September 6, 2011, Kia submitted a defect notice and will recall the affected vehicles that have not been upgraded.Owner notification is scheduled to start in late-September 2011.The recall will upgrade the OCS software.Accordingly the investigation is closed.
EA09017
Air bag ocs
Kia reports that for vehicles built prior to the software update of 11/27/2007, the vehicles can improperly classify an adult as a child restraint seat and thus illuminate the airbag off warning light and suppress the frontal passenger airbag.on may 12, 2009, kia launched a technical service bulletin (sb076) campaign to re-flash all vehicles built prior to the 11/27/2007 production date.kia also believes that intermittent occupant movement and out of position seating contributed to the high number of complaints.905 of the 947 complaints and 1,014 of the 1,107 warranty claims were associated with the 57,228 vehicles built prior to the 11/27/2007 production date.there was one frontal passenger airbag non-deployment crash that resulted in one minor injury of a belted adult passenger occupant.this preliminary evolution is being upgraded to an engineering analysis (ea09-017) to further assess this issue for all my2007-2008 sorento vehicles built prior to the 11/27/2007 production date.
PE09034
What 2008 Kia Sorento owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
I bought my sorento used and the airbag light is lit on the front dash in both where the guages are and under the stereo. It doesnt matter if someone is in the seat or not. I found that there was a recall years ago so when i called Kia they told me that my vehicle had been repaired and I told them it must not have been or the repair didnt work. They then told me the date of repair. Crazy thing is they were saying it had been repaired a year before the recall was announced. I said really. Knowing Kia aint gonna pay for a repair that hadnt been part of a recall yet. Now with the newest recall its saying the brakelights might not come on when applied. But with my Sorento the brakelights wont turn off. No matter what you do even when you take the key out and lock the doors, the brakelights remain on. Right when this started the ESC OFF light on the dash came on. The brakelights stayed on so much it apparently fried my battery. I got another battery and replaced the brakelight switch and started it up and it immediately wont idle correctly. It had idle fine before the brakelight issue.
The contact owns a 2008 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that the air bag warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that she contacted an independent mechanic who advised her that she needed a new OCS seat mat. The contact stated that she then contacted the dealer who advised her that there was a recall for the failure she was experiencing, however the VIN was not included in the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 11V473000 (Air Bags). The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 136,000.
Driver airbag light has been on a year I keep checking for recalls but none are shown. What is my next step afraid bag will not work if needed.
My 2008 kia Sorento has a faulty passenger air bag, or air bag sensor. The ‘passenger air bag off’ light has been on since I purchased this car from a dealership in January of 2019. This jeopardizes the safety of my passengers because if the sensor or software is faulty, the airbags won’t deploy when needed. The vehicle was inspected by an independent mechanic, but I plan to take it to a dealership as well, it is available to be inspected upon request. I have called kia consumer affairs twice because there was a recall for this same passenger airbag issue in Kia Sorentos manufactured from 2007-2009 (SC067), but the first time they told me there was nothing I could do because the VIN wasn’t listed as affected. The second time I called to get more information, they put me on hold and then hung up on me so I do not know how to progress when kia is refusing to address my concern. I have to drive on the highway frequently and I am very worried about having a faulty airbag system. Thank you for your time!
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 kia sorento. The contact stated that the air bags warning light was illuminated. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with the federal safety agency campaign number: 11v473000 (air bags) however, the VIN was not included. The vehicle was taken to daytona kia (510 n nova rd, daytona beach, fl 32114, (386)252-7000) where the dealer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 97,000.
Air bag sensor light stays on. Computer code indicates that there is a defect with the sensor. Air bags will not be engaged due to the sensor malfunction.
Driver side airbag light remains on, passenger side seems operational. In motion on highway, during the same trip interior lights, except manual push lights and dashboard, do not automatically turn on
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 kia sorento. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the air bag warning light illuminated and remained on for both the passenger's and driver's seats. The dealer first team kia (4834a bridge rd, suffolk, va 23435, (757) 320-1088) stated that there were no recalls on the vehicle pertaining to the air bags. The dealer offered no assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had not been contacted. The failure mileage was 155,000.
Tl* the contact owned a 2008 kia sorento. The contact stated that he fell asleep while driving about 54 MPH. Upon realizing what happened, the vehicle was steered off the road, into a grassy ditch, to avoid other vehicles. As the driver tried to re-enter the road, the vehicle rolled over a couple of times from east to west on opposite sides of the road and damaged the front driver's side of the vehicle. The air bags did not deploy. A police report was filed. The driver sustained skin loss from lacerations on his leg and neck. The neck injury was caused by the seat belt's shoulder strap. The contact was treated by the emergency vehicle team at the roadside. The vehicle was totaled and was towed to a tow yard. The dealer and the manufacturer were not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 145,000.
Questions about the 2008 Kia Sorento airbags
Does the 2008 Kia Sorento have airbags problems?
Owners have filed 66 complaints about the airbags of the 2008 Kia Sorento, 30% of all its complaints, more than any other problem.
At what mileage do 2008 Kia Sorento airbags problems start?
The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 42,000 miles.
Was there a recall on the 2008 Kia Sorento airbags?
Yes, 1 recall: 11V473000. Check your VIN to see if your car still needs the free repair.
What year does the Kia Sorento have bad airbags?
The Kia Sorento model years with the most airbags complaints are 2011 (183 complaints), 2012 (81 complaints) and 2008 (66 complaints).
Other 2008 Kia Sorento problems
Driver assistance 44Engine 43Electrical 32Acceleration 28Brakes 27Transmission 23Lights 13Suspension 6Fuel system 5Steering 5Tires 5Body 2Visibility 2Wheels 2Seat belts 1Seats 1
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2008 Kia Sorento?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history