2012 Kia Sorento: key fob or push-button start problems

Filed May 6, 2024 · Brakes · 120,000 miles · NC

The contact owns a 2012 Kia Sorento. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 23V652000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic). The contact stated that while the vehicle was turned off and the key fob was inserted, the vehicle failed to start. The contact stated that he observed a clanking noise coming from the engine compartment. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.

Filed Sep 6, 2016 · Engine · 44,516 miles · MA

My car shut off while driving on the highway (doing about 70mph) back in the summer of 2013. Luckily, there was no traffic so I was able to coast over to the side of the highway to restart my car (push button start). They said it was the crankshaft sensor. On august 7, 2014 (44,516k), 8 oil changes using synthetic oil and kia oil filters (2 generic), my engine was making a fluttering noise and then a knocking noise.end result, they said I neglected my car and needed a new engine. Kia motors outright refused to fix my car under the warranty. Even when proof of oil changes was done. I had no warning whatsoever. No smoke of any kind coming from the tailpipe, not sluggish, no warning lights, nothing. Kia motors never fixed my car. It sat dead in my driveway for over 15 months. I finally wrote a letter to the owner of the dealership back on june 3, 2015 and she contacted me in october and said that, "if anyone has pull with kia, it's me, I own the dealership, and they won't even talk to me about your car." she ended up replacing my engine with a used one, got it all ready for inspection and put newer tires on it so that it would pass inspection and offered to pay for half the cost ($4200, I paid $2100). This is a very big problem. I am hearing of more and more people having the exact same issue I did. Even one person who stated all of their vehicles maintenance was done through the dealership and kia motors still refused to fix their car under the warranty. Something needs to be done about this. Let's not wait until god forbid someone gets killed because of this issue.

Filed Jan 15, 2015 · Electrical · 36,120 miles · NY

I was driving at 55 MPH when my battery light came on. Within several minutes every warning symbol light began to light up. My radio eventually shut down and the front dash lighting went out. I got off the highway and was able to drive for another couple of miles, but the engine power was dwindling. I eventually lost acceleration and power brakes and steering. My car has a push button start and I was unable to shut it off. The engine was running very roughly. I was unable to shift the car into park- only drive or neutral and could not get my flashers to come on. After 5-7 minutes, the car finally died and I could shift it into park and the hazard lights came on. I had my car towed to a kia dealership and was told the following business day that my battery was completely dead and would have to be replaced before anything else could be checked. After the battery was replaced I was told the alternator was working fine. I am concerned about this incident as it created a very dangerous situation.

Filed Oct 26, 2014 · Transmission · 28,000 miles · OH · crash · 1 injury

My 10-year old son, without my knowledge, was playing in our 2012 kia sorento one sunday afternoon. It's the pushbutton start type and he didn't have the key fob. That was in the house. Regardless, without the car started and without his foot on the brake, he was able to shift the vehicle out of park and into neutral. Because the sorento was parked on an incline, it began to coast backward down the driveway. Our son tried to put the SUV back into park. Because it was moving, he was unable to do this. So, in a panic, he jumped out of the truck and tried to stop it by getting behind it and trying to slow it down. He was unsuccessful and ended up being crushed between the sorento and a tree in the yard. This resulted in a huge laceration in his knee, serious bruising to his lungs, 4 cracked ribs and a cracked pelvis. He spent nearly 3 weeks in the hospital including 10 days in the pediatric intensive care unit at children?s hospital. After the incident, I tried to recreate what happened. I was able to shift in and out of park without much force at all. This is without a key fob in the car, without the car being on, without my foot on the brake, and with the driver?s side door open. Our son was very seriously injured, but this could have been much worse.

Filed Jan 7, 2014 · Electrical, Engine · 11,600 miles · CA

On 12-25-2013, noticed that the side market lights remained on for several hours after the engine was shut off. Couple of days later, car wouldn't start after pushing on the key-less entry push button start. Car finally started after several push button attempts. Next day the car wouldn't stop after pushing on the key-less entry stop button. Engine finally turned off after several attempts by playing with the gear shift knob and driving around the neighborhood. "unable to stop the engine by pushing on the key-less entry push button stop" problem continued, so it was taken to the dealership. The dealership couldn't duplicate the problem, so the car was returned to us w/o a fix. Tomorrow I will be contacting kia main offices regarding this problem.

Filed Oct 19, 2012 · Electrical · 10,321 miles · IL

While attempting to start the vehicle it would not start. The 2012 sorento has a push button start. The issue started the day we purchased the vehicle and it seems like it is a repeated issue. The kia dealer in omaha nebraska replaced the switch twice and the dealer in fairview hts, il has replaced the same part at least three times. I'm thinking lemon. It is currently at the dealer in fairview hts, il for the same issue again.