2009 Kia Sorento: check engine light

Filed Jan 16, 2026 · Brakes, Electrical · IL

The contact owns a 2009 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the check engine, ESC, and ABS warning lights were illuminated. Upon speaking with other independent mechanics, the contact was informed that the failure was likely linked to moisture that might have entered the ABS module. Upon investigation, the contact discovered the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 20V088000 (Electrical System, Service Brakes, Hydraulic); which the contact associated with the failure. The dealer was notified of the failure, and the contact was informed that the vehicle was already serviced under recall prior to owning the vehicle. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was unknown.

Filed Jun 4, 2025 · Electrical, Engine · NY

My check engine light is on. It has been on for over 2 or more years. Nobody knows what the codes mean. My timing chain needs to be replaced. My tires are constantly leaking. My battery has been replaced 2 times, and I still cannot start my vehicle even when I get a jump. The interior light when you open the car door, has fallen and is hanging. When I open the back door, the light does not come on so I cannot see what is in the trunk. The handles on both sides of the rear doors are broken and the doors do not open. I have not been able to get my vehicle inspected because of the check engine light and the timing chain. I took it to get inspected last April when it was due and I was told it could not be inspected because of the check engine light. This all went on when I was living in Upstate NY I am now in Suffolk County Long Island.

Filed Apr 26, 2023 · Brakes, Electrical · 185,000 miles · GA

The contact owns a 2009 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while her daughter was driving approximately 15 MPH, she activated the windshield wipers and the radio, and the vehicle started to stall. The contact stated that her daughter saw the TPMS, and check engine warning lights were illuminated. The contact's daughter drove the vehicle back to the residence. The contact’s husband attempted to duplicate the failure by letting the vehicle idle and then shifted to reverse (R), and the instrument cluster gauges started to function erratically. The contact shifted the vehicle to drive(D) and depressed the accelerator pedal however, the vehicle failed to respond. The contact stated he shifted to park(P) and turned off the vehicle; when the vehicle was restarted, all vehicle functionality had returned. The contact stated that the failure had occurred a year prior. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that an electrical relay needed to be replaced. The contact stated that a similar electrical relay had been previously replaced; however, the battery drained due to the defective relay. The vehicle had not been repaired. The contact stated that the failure was related to the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 20V088000 (Electrical System, Service Brakes, Hydraulic). The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 185,000.

Filed Aug 20, 2021 · Airbags, Brakes · 140,000 miles · TX

The contact owns a 2009 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while driving out of the driveway, the warning message "ASC-OFF" appeared on the instrument panel and the vehicle inadvertently stalled. The contact stated as she turned off the vehicle, she was able to restart the vehicle and parked in the driveway. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The contact stated that the failure had been reoccurring and several warning lights including the ASC warning light, check engine warning light, and air bag passenger warning light were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who informed the contact that the VIN was included in the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 20V088000 (Electrical System, Service Brakes, Hydraulic). The contact stated that the recall repair was completed, however, the ASC warning light, the check engine warning light, and the passenger’s side air bag warning light remained illuminated. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 140,000.

Filed Jul 13, 2019 · Driver assistance, Engine · 141,000 miles · GA

Vehicle was traveling at 65 MPH and the ESC light came on slowing the vehicle to 30 MPH on the highway. We were almost hit from behind. This is happening 2-3 times a day. Vehicle has to be turned off and restarted every time. This is a life threatening incident waiting to happen. Taken to dealer no recall. Vehicle was in motion every time the ESC/engine light came on.

Filed Jun 29, 2016 · Acceleration, Engine · 42,000 miles · KY

Tl* the contact owns a 2009 kia sorento. While driving approximately 67 MPH, the check engine light illuminated and the vehicle lost power. The contact stated that the mileage dropped from 67 MPH to approximately 30 MPH. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the throttle pedal assembly shorted out. The throttle pedal was replaced, but the failure recurred multiple times. The contact referenced a recall on the 2016 model (the federal safety agency campaign number: 15v089000); however, the VIN was not included. The approximate failure mileage was 42,000. Updated 09/29/16*lj

Filed Oct 5, 2015 · Driver assistance, Electrical · 29,804 miles · NJ

Shortly after buying SUV in 2009 we experienced "querky" stuff like doors relocking, dome light s coming on, back hatch unlocking all this happening on their own!! I kept telling the dealership at oil changes! They kept ignoring it all! Nov 1, 2009 kia electric system service bulletin #282603 (ts b-044) issued. September the check engine and ESC off lights started coming on together, SUV immediately decends to 15-20 MPH! You can't give it gas, only rpms rise high! Gas is eaten up! Coast to side, sit a few to 20 minutes. Maybe both or ESC off light(s) go out and you proceed. Have noticed a buck feeling before light(s) are coming on at times. Check engine lights may stay on for a while or not. Habitually erratic when lights come on, can be every mile to several miles! Last week SUV with out these lights started running real rough at idle and driving. To the point of reving over 2000 rpms but acted like being held back! I have been reluctant to drive it much in fear of the advancing issues and hurting the power train! At idle range is 300 ' 1,800+ rpms, mechanic witnessed the varying rpms when code 1611 (time out:ECM,PCM,TCM issue) came up on snap-on's code reader. Suv has baby miles of 29,884 now 30,004 today. All SUV's on forums are over 50,000 miles! ~ low idle kia calls for tps replacement ~ september 7, 2011. My SUV throws p1295/p2135/p2106 codes listed in this! Calls for the ECM be reprogramed using the gds (global diagnostic system). Ref: 044 bulletin. Driving you can feel the engine slow down to almost stalling but catches itself and keeps running. 1st time this happened I was doing 55mph and found I was slowing real fast with traffic coming up behind me. I now have to ride with 4 way flashers to be safe! Chk eng on when key is turned on at times now. Towed 1x, drive a mile sit minutes repeat'd 8x. Issues are progressing!

Filed Jul 29, 2015 · Driver assistance · 115,250 miles · PA

Almost a year ago, I was driving on the turnpike with a posted 65 MPH when my check engine light goes on and the ESC off light lights up on the dash. I started losing acceleration and couldn't go above 40 MPH. I immediately pulled over and contacted the garage. They told me to turn the car off and restart it. The ESC off light went out and I was able to accelerate normally but, the check engine light stayed on for 2 more days. Everything was fine until 8 months later when my check engine light and ESC off light lit up again and I couldn't accelerate past 40 MPH. However, this time I had to pull over - turn off the car - restart my car( 6 times) to turn off the ESC off light!!! Twice this july the same situation happened and I took it in for service. Of course all lights were out at the time. There were error codes on the computer but while conversing with the technicians they believe it's a faulty gas pedal/accelerator and not tire/brake sensor codes. I was given a quote of $350 for replacement however this is a real safety issue and I feel the consumer shouldn't be responsible for correcting this problem and it should be a recall issue. My particular case has happened 3 times in less than a year. Obviously, there are many other consumers having the same defect issue. It's not safe if your only means of transportation can only accelerate to 40 MPH on a dangerous road traveled by commuters and big rigs going as high as 80 MPH or more. This is an accident waiting to happen! Kia is playing with peoples lives here. Please investigate kia and the electronic stability issue...obviously it's not stable. Ma 10/8 updated 3/22/2016*js updated 12/13/2017

Filed May 12, 2015 · Acceleration, Driver assistance · 66,000 miles · FL

Esc off sensor and check engine light comes on when starting vehicle or when in motion/driving. Esc off illuminates followed by complete loss of acceleration. While driving at 30 MPH to 70 MPH light appears and quickly looses lack of throttle acceleration powr. I've had this happen (10 plus times) since I bought this vehicle in 2012 pre-owned from kia dealership in cape coral,fl. Tonight 5/12/15 I was heading on highway and stopped 3 times every 2 to 4 miles (lost power) in the middle of traffic.. Finally,vehicle came back on more for about 10 miles, while on the highway going 65 to 70 mphs vehicle showed ESC off light and lost acceleration then power... No accident just swerved alot..

Filed Sep 24, 2013 · Transmission · NY

Recently brought my 2009 kia sorento to the dealer on 9/9/13. The vehicle was banging into gear (whether reverse or drive) and it was sluggish when attempting to drive. It was very scary trying to make a left turn while crossing over oncoming traffic as the car was not going anywhere when trying to drive. The check engine light also came on. My check engine light somehow was not on when they took possession of the vehicle.the dealership told me they couldn't duplicate the problem. Then sent me on my way with no recommendations. Now a week later, 9/17/13, I called the dealer and reported the same incident as before. They told me to drive it to them and keep the car running. The check engine light was on again. As the tech at the dealer took possession of my vehicle, you can hear it bang into gear and hear the RPM's racing as they drove forward. The tech advised that the check engine codes were stored history codes. They are to do with the transmission. This time kia advises to replace the transmission. Meanwhile, the transmission was replaced december of 2011. Kia still has my truck as I am afraid to drive it. I have a call into kia customer service regional office. This has been an ongoing problem from early on. I had brought the vehicle in on numerous occasions and the dealership would tell me they couldn't duplicate my problem. This is a safety issue! When you put the car into gear, there is a loud banging sound (sounds like you were rear ended). Then when you apply the gas pedal to go forward, the car goes nowhere. The rpms race and you are barely moving. At other times, when you slow down in traffic or are stopped at a light, and attempt to drive, you barely move as the RPM's are racing. This problem needs to be addressed! It is a safety issue!!

Filed May 17, 2013 · Driver assistance · 76,800 miles · IN

I was driving along a state highway when my car suddenly lost power. "ESC off" lite up on the dash as did an anti lock brake light. I was able to coast to a safe place on the side of the road. I shut the car off and tried to restart it twice with no return of the power. The engine would run but did not respond to the accelerator. I shut the car off and called for a tow. When they arrived 45 mins later he started the car and it worked fine except the engine light was on. I was then able to drive the car home. I had a mechanic check the car and was told all he could find was a code that indicated there had been some problem with the ESC and that that problem had shut the gas off to the engine. He reset the system and everything seemed fine for 5 days or about 260 miles. Then it occurred again in a situation of increased traffic. I was again able to safely get off the road and after waiting about 10 mins was able to restart the car and drive home. I am very concerned that if this occurred at a higher speed I would end up in an accident. I have an appointment with the kia dealer next week, but will be driving on the interstate to get my car to them. It appears there have been others with the same problem. Please advise me if you are investigating this problem.

Filed Apr 16, 2013 · Driver assistance · 44,450 miles · WA

When merging onto the interstate (increasing speed from 25mph and up) vehicle suddenly stops and doesn't allow me to accelerate and the ESC off illuminates on the dash as well as the check engine light. In order to operate the vehicle I have to move off of the hwy into the emergency lane, put on my flashers, turn off the vehicle, restart the vehicle, and press the ESC off button. The vehicle then starts and I slowly merge back onto the hwy cautious not to accelerate too quickly as the entire process would occur again. This is extremely dangerous as it occurs when an increase in speed is needed and it needs to be addressed. I have taken my vehicle in to the kia dealership, they 'tightened some wires" and literally the next day it occurred again.