2011 Kia Sorento: sudden unintended acceleration

Filed Oct 26, 2015 · Airbags, Electrical · 98,000 miles · GA · 3 injuries

2011 kia sorento airbag light came on out the blue. Took to dealership was advised either defective passanger airbag or the sensor for passenger seat. Would have to pay $$$ to put on diagnostic. Car jerks forward when switching gears. Also, car just accelerated by itself.. Put the car in park and it jerks forward. Its jerks so hard I could get whiplash.like the car doesn't want to stop.scarriest thing ever. I am really concerned how sometimes I don't even have to press the brake to put in gear. Last, went to change headlight, rightside extremely jot and could hear boiling like something cooking.

Filed Dec 12, 2014 · Acceleration, Body · 48,084 miles · OH · crash · 1 injury

While driving on light, new snow my car had suddenly skidded slightly, no over-correcting, I simply got the car back in control when the car suddenly shot forward, steering wheel seized and started racing down the opposite side of the street into the embankment! I had pulled the car to the left and had the brakes pushed all the way down (and both feet including all my weight on them) until my car crashed completely into a tree! The tires were still spinning when the car stopped and my feet were on the brakes! It was also hard to get the car out of drive and into park --- when I was able to push the car into park I quickly took the keys out. The 2011 kia sorento and sudden acceleration seems to be a problem and should seriously be looked into. Yes, I was injured and thankfully a tree stopped the vehicle and no one else was hurt!

Filed Sep 13, 2013 · Transmission · 44,000 miles · TX

2 days ago while driving heard loud sound, whoa, could not determine what caused it. This morning in my garage started for daily drive, when I put car from park to reverse was loud clunk sound. Put back in park did this 3 or 4 times loud clunking with jolting seem to lunge forward. Violent sound and feel. No warning lights are illuminated.my husband got in car, he experienced the same. I called kia service, they told me to call roadside for tow. He told me then it would be a 1 day job. He seemed familiar what I described. Towed to dealer, they called me later of course they could not replicate the problem. We explained over the phone it has to be something due to loud sounds, clunking metal sound, could not put in gear. They kept the car over night, to try again in the morning, they are contacting kia manufacturing for advice. Now I am reading all these complaints, some sound exactly like my experienced. I have no recall letter or notifications. From kia losing faith in kia and afraid to drive this vehicle.

Filed Sep 11, 2013 · Acceleration, Engine · 52,000 miles · OR

Started vehicle 7am. Shifted from p to r. Engine revved on its own. Shifted back to p. Observed clunk sound from transmission. Shifted back to r and observed clunk sound. Reversed to street. Shifted to d. Vehicle accelerated on its own without depression accelerator to 20 MPH. Pulled over. Shifted to p. Turned off ignition. Restarted vehicle. Clunk sound or sudden acceleration not observed.

Filed Jun 1, 2013 · Acceleration · 42,000 miles · TX

I was driving with the cruise control set at 70 and suddenly the car accelerated on its own (sounded as if someone had floored the gas pedal). I tapped the brake and when I looked at the dash multiple indicator lights were lit. After tapping the brake the engine continued to run but the accelerator would not work. I came to a stop on the shoulder- at this point the engine oil pressure light and engine malfunction lights were illuminated. I turned the car off. Tried to restart after few minutes and it would not start. A few minutes later it did start but sounded bad. I contacted kia and was told to have vehicle towed to dealership and a regional kia rep would investigate my vehicle (what that means, I don't know quite yet).

Filed Nov 19, 2012 · Acceleration · 25,000 miles · PA · crash · 2 injuries

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 kia sorento. The contact stated that while depressing the brakes and reversing from a residential driveway at approximately 5 MPH, the vehicle suddenly accelerated into a busy street without warning. The vehicle abnormally accelerated to approximately 70 MPH and came to a stop after crashing into another vehicle. The police were contacted and a report was filed. The driver sustained minor injuries to various parts of her body and later was transported to the hospital. The driver of the second vehicle was transported to the hospital via ambulance for treatment of unknown injuries. The vehicle was later towed to an independent mechanic and was pending an investigation. The manufacturer was contacted and advised the contact that once the vehicle was repaired, they would perform a warranty check. The failure and current mileages were approximately 25,000. Updated 12/21/12*lj updated 1/9/2013

Filed Nov 2, 2012 · Electrical, Suspension · 22,000 miles · PA

This is my wife's vehicle, but given the issue she is afraid to drive it..... Driving up hill with my foot on the gas pedal at 50 MPH. My vehicle lost power ( as if I slammed on the brake ) my body went forward and was stopped by the seatbelt. My head whipped downward. Then the vehicle surged forward. My head and body slapped back into the seat. It was so abrupt and violently. It will scare you to death. This has happened to many times over the last year to count. I have tried to document the events in a journal because the dealer has been able to duplicate it only once. Some days it can happen up to 3 times a day for weeks on end. Some times I can duplicate it driving up hill and sometimes nothing. The worst times are when merging into traffic or when someone is following to close behind me. My fear is that I will hurt another motorist or a passenger in my vehicle. A term called " limp mode " has been said to me. Where the transmission shifts to a hi gear to protect it from damage. My vehicle still does this at least once every other day. I have been to the dealer 14 times. The tranny was replaced a year ago and a backfire code was found recently. A computer software update that didn't help was the last thing done in over a year, unless you count paying for rental vehicles doing something. There is also a suspension/steering issue. A hard pulling left/right and bump steer. The vehicle will pull the steering wheel out of your hand in turns and veers as it hits bumps.

Filed Sep 13, 2012 · Acceleration · KY

2011 kia sorento. Consumer states unintended acceleration *tgw the consumer stated as he was driving down his driveway, he began to slow down, as he approached the road. There was a slight shifting motion and the vehicle suddenly accelerated to the max of 8000 RPM's. He depressed the brake, but the vehicle continued to move, so he placed the transmission in neutral and turned off the engine. He then re-started the engine and everything seemed normal. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. However, they were unable to duplicate the incident.

Filed Jun 13, 2012 · Transmission · 25,500 miles · NC

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 kia sorento. The contact stated that while driving 20 MPH, the vehicle started to jerk and lunge forward. The contact mentioned that the vehicle shifted from drive to neutral independently. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure who did not offer any assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 25,500.

Filed Apr 19, 2012 · 3,500 miles · FL

My sorento will hesitate to move when the accelerator is pressed and then suddenly lurch forward with full acceleration for a brief time. This is an erratic problem. Dealers response is to wait until it become consistent -- my response, I may be dead before that time. Customer service response is driver error. My response is that I have driven for decades many different model and age vehicles and have logged in appx 2 million safe miles. My experience with the kia is my first problem with such an issue. Kia denies any problem with the sudden acceleration issue, however a google search turns up numerous similar issues. I have noted that this problem has occurred only when making left hand turns so far.

Filed Jan 3, 2012 · Acceleration · 3,000 miles · NC

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 kia sorento. The contact stated that the vehicle hesitated while attempting to accelerate. The contact mentioned that once the vehicle responded, the vehicle lunged forward abnormally. The vehicle was taken to the dealer several times. The dealer was unable to duplicate the failure, but replaced the accelerator pedal assembly as a temporary remedy. The remedy failed to repair the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure who lodged a complaint and advised the contact that they would contact him at a later date. The vehicle was not further repaired. The failure mileage was 3,000 and the current mileage was 15,000. The consumer has since traded the vehicle. Updated 02/01/12

Filed Nov 30, 2011 · Engine · 5,000 miles · NY

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 kia sorento. The contact stated that while driving 30 MPH, the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact also stated that the vehicle suddenly accelerated upon restarting. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer on several occasions and they were unable to diagnose the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, but could not offer any assistance without having a diagnosed failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 5,000 and the current mileage was 22,000.