Tl* the contact owns a 2012 kia sorento. The contact stated that when the vehicle was started, there was smoke coming from the rear of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to greenway kia of rivergate, 1536 gallatin pike n, madison, tn 37115, but was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact mentioned the dealer only completed an oil change. The contact also stated that while driving, a very bad knocking noise occurred that was coming from the engine. The vehicle was towed back to the same dealer and was diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired due to the repair fees. The contact mentioned that the vehicle was just purchased sometime in february from the same dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.
2012 Kia Sorento engine complaints
Page 7 of 17: complaints 161 to 190 of 475, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Vehicle was in motion when the engine failed on a major highway. Replaced engine 2-3 years ago for the same reason, turned into local kia dealership and they refuse to replace the engine saying its not covered under warranty. The dealership is refusing to do a full inspection of the engine. Contacted kia consumer affairs and they're also refusing to let dealership perform a full inspection of the engine to determine cause of failure. Vehicle has been at monroeville kia since 06/12/2020 and they have been extremely poor in keeping us updated of progress or not. Kia recall number sc147 the federal safety agency number 17v224000
When me and my husband purchased the SUV used in 2016 from a huyndai dealer that is local, there has always been a sensor lit that we had no clue what it was. We were never told anything about it, they told us the vehicle was in good condition that it was inspected and everything. We took the SUV to kia in 2019 to have the oil changed, and had them check the motor to see if they could explain why we were going thru oil weekly. While we were there the service person told us that the ocs mat does not function that it needs replaced and that is what that sensor is for which we would have not known and the dealer that sold it to us never told us anything. I figured it was a weight sensor for a child as I am not an expert on the safety of vehicles.... Also, we were told that when the dealer sold us the vehicle as is that they never had a safety inspection done prior to put it on the lot. The last documented safety inspection on the vehicle was done when it was sold brand new when the first original owner bought it from the kia lot I believe in another state. Kia told me that they have to do the safety inspection before selling it on the lot because a non kia dealer sold us the vehicle. I did contact california state about my complaints and was told there was nothing that I can do to prove I didn't cause it but I have never been in any accident in the SUV that would cause the airbags to go off..... I am driving daily with my children in the car without working airbags. I cannot afford to replace the ocs mat and I believe I shouldn't have to. Also, we have had issues with our gasket that we had to get fixed, we are constantly going thru oil and we only drive it around town. We are having to add oil in it every week so the engine does not blow. We now have a vacuum leak in the gasket.
I own a 2012 kia sorento. While driving at various speeds, the vehicle loss motive power and stalled without warning. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The vehicle has not been repaired. The failure mileage was 150000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 kia sorento. The contact stated that while driving 45 MPH, there was an abnormal sound coming from the engine. The vehicle stalled and shutoff with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated that there were children in the vehicle. The vehicle was pulled to the side of the roadway and was towed to the manahawkin kia dealer, located at: 270 nj-72, manahawkin, nj 08050, where it was diagnosed that the engine seized and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated that there was no recall on the VIN. The contact was referred to the federal safety agency. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 93,000.
My kia sorento 2012 engine suddenly caught fire while driving on a major desert highway which my insurance upon inspection determined it was caused by a piston rod piercing the engine which although other kia models are part of a recall and class action lawsuit, my VIN was not included.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 kia sorento. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle loss motive power and stalled without warning. The vehicle was towed to dutch miller kia located at 335 mccorkle ave, charleston, wv 25303 however, the mechanic was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 200,000.
Vehicle unexpectedly will intensely jerk and immediately locks up the driving controls as the engine stalls and starts to seize causing the vehicle to stop while driving on highways, and restraining from any acceleration, steering, or power use.
Tl* the contact owns 2012 kia sorento. The contact stated that while driving at 50 MPH, the oil level warning light illuminated. The contact pulled over and turned off and restarted the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle shuddered while idling. The vehicle was taken to smith chevrolet inc (1911 eastern ave, gallipolis, oh 45631) to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the engine bearings were defective. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact referenced the federal safety agency campaign number: 17v224000 (engine and engine cooling) as a possible solution however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the federal safety agency hotline to file a complaint. The failure mileage was approximately 102,000.
My engine started knocking when I got off the highway and stopped to make a left turn. I got to work and waited a few hours then checked the oil. I found the oil was low and added more, I turned the vehicle on and still heard the knocking. I have been having a lot of issues with keeping oil in my vehicle, there are no leaks, drips or anything on the ground. I have noticed water like liquid dripping from around the exhaust just rear of the oil pan and frame and my rpms drop when from about 800 to less the 500 when stationary. I keep up with all the oil changes with the kia dealership in my town, did what recalls were requested by kia. My vehicle has approximately 143,800 miles. I checked for any recalls and found my VIN number was unrelated to any.
While driving on a four lane highway, the car's engine just cuts off on its own while I was in traffic. All of the lights on the dashboard come on. I put my flashers on and it allowed me to restart and drive and it did it again. The third time I started it, I turned off on a less crowed road to get to another stretch of road and drove very slowing for about 10 miles to get it home. I could smell something coming from under the hood and I didn't park it in the garage. The smell was strong and the hood very hot to the touch. I didn't want to chance it catching on fire. What should I do? I keep the oil changed and had it done on 6/22/2020.
Driving on the thru-way going 65 MPH when my vehicle jerked forward suddenly. I was able to pull over, vehicle lost control of steering and brakes and completely just 'shut off' on me with no fore-warning. Called aaa, tech. Could visibly see a belt which had ripped out of engine and was dangling under vehicle. I then had vehicle repaired- a new belt was installed , a brand new alternator, new brakes, oil change. 3 weeks after this event, I was again driving on the thru- way in almost the same exact location and this happened again. . My vehicle just went dead, this time slowing down and dying. Called aaa , they serviced me off the thru-way (thru-way division) and upon having vehicle looked at my choice shop.. I was told that my vehicle had completely seized (was now totally dead) and was non- repairable without a new engine. Also told that my vehicle had little oil even though I had only 3 weeks prior gotten an oil change and car repairman could not report any physical issues with oil connections, ie. Gasket leak, drain plug, seal issues. Due to the amount of monies I have spent from day 1 on this vehicle, my experiences and the lemon the vehicle has proven to be, I find this incredibly unsettling and know that there were issues going on with this vehicle prior to it going onto the road that should have been repaired and were not due to no fault of my own. Aside from these issues, in past there were several other problems related to the locks and windows locking on there own while vehicle in motion and fuses related to this as well as the vehicle shocking me when opening drivers side door handle which is incredibly unsafe! I request that someone please look into the recall withholding which has come to light with kia and my vehicle qualifying for these recalls as kia has told me that they are unwilling to assist me financially as well as west herr.
The vehicle, a 2012 kia sorento with 95719 miles, is up to date on all recalls as it is regularly serviced at the dealership. While entering a busy highway on 6/13/2020, and accelerating past 45mph, the engine stalled. The check engine and battery lights came on, making it seem like the car wasn't even started. We were able to pull the vehicle off to the shoulder, put it into park, and tried to start it again. The car acted like normal on starting (starter turned, power was available) for everything but the engine turning on. We called a tow truck and the family mechanic. The alternator and battery were fine, no error codes were detected on the can bus reader instrument, so everything seemed normal on the computer. After numerous attempts to start the vehicle in park, the vehicle was able to start in neutral. This is a potentially deadly stalling fault for a vehicle to have on any roadway.
I had my car serviced on 3/13/2020. I had a cracked valve cover gasket. I drove my car on 3/15/2020 to my dad's house. It was parked in my dad's driveway and turned off. About 15-20 minutes later it was on fire. The fire was on top of the hood over the engine area. Within minutes the whole front half of the car was an inferno.
Vehicle shut down while stopped at a red light and the engine began smoking. Towed to the dealership (kia country if savannah) where they had 14 other 2012 kia sorento waiting for new engines. Major catastrophic engine failure. Slug in the engine even though there has been routine oil changes. Claimed the engine wasn't getting oil but oil had been changed the day before with no reported issues.
I have a 2012 kia sorento. I had issues with a recall when the dealer used a probe to look for metal shavings in my motor. Car started burning oil. After 4 months of arguing with the dealer, kia finally replaced the motor in january 2018. Now on 3/9/2020 I am 4 hours away from home. I smell gas and then my car burst into flames. Kia has a recall on "certain" 2012 kia sorento's however my VIN is not one. If that is the case then why did mine catch fire.
Vehicle I burning oil(not leaking) and kia dealer and kia headquarters in california have diagnosed the problem and acknowledged this problem. However, their policy is not to replace the engine until the engine blows (must show the proper fault code). It is smoking and the burning smell has been there for 3+ months. Returned to dealer 3 wks ago and was told the same. I'm told the engine has a lifetime warranty, but that won't matter if the car catches fire and then my insurance has to pay, not kia. This is unacceptable. Multiple r.o.'s on problem with rick case kia at gwinnett place in duluth, ga. 770‑476‑2800
The vehicle died while driving and would not start. Vehicle towed to a local mechanic where it was discovered the engine had seized. Vehicle maintenance was up to date and the last oil change in the vehicle took place just 15 days before the engine seized. There were no warnings, no sounds, no dash board warning lights before the breakdown. Car simply died.
My car has been having strange intermittent engine troubles & symptoms. (the first symptoms appeared in september 2019) it started with the accelerater going out on the highway over about 50 MPH once or twice randomly. About a month later it did it again. And then this time it also stalled at a stop sign. Other times it feels like the car engine hiccups. It will lose power and come back on within a half second. And then continue as if nothing happened for another month. Recently the symptoms are happening more often. It is terrifying. I can't drive on the highway because I am so scared. At this point, these symptoms have now taken place numerous times and it doesn't matter what speed - when in motion up to 60-70 MPH, around 30 MPH, at a stop sign, when I was trying to turn left, etc. I have taken it to a mechanic several times since the first symptom. And I have taken it to a kia service location. All have said the car seems to be running great and there are no codes showing up or engine lights coming on. They cannot see anything wrong with the car unless the symptoms appear. I have seen some articles online about a recall for kia's of my year with the same symptoms, but this recall is not on my VIN? I am honestly so upset because I loved this car. I have been looking for a new car, but I really just wanted to get this fixed. I do believe my car is affected by the other recall, but why isnt it showing up? What do I do? This car is putting my life and other peoples lives in danger. I have a lot of travel coming up and I don't know what to do. I need a safe car and I am terrified to drive right now. Can you please help me?
My car is starting to rattle on cold starts only. It now has 142000 and still has the issue. I took my car to summit place kia and they said my car doesn't fall under technical bulletin 140 even though it falls under the engine type and manufacture date. I do routine maintenance with records and they said I missed the replacement window because I bought the car used. After reading multiple other complaints they have had the same issue then complete engine failure. When will kia take responsibility and replace the engines that they manufactured incorrectly? I have been dealing with kia since june of 2018 to help resolve this issue because 140 describes the issue to the exact problem and the sound provided matches the same issue I have. Bulletin 140 describes what needs to be fixed and how it needs to be fixed but kia wont replace the defective problem and wont take responsibility for it
Driving to work this past tuesday 12/24/2019, while driving my car did this jerk move and then all the electrical signs popped up I couldn't brake or steer my stirring wheel .its as if my car locked up on me. Luckily I was able to turn off a side road avoiding on coming traffic. And but the car in park. I was stuck for 2 hours. My check engine light was the only light that stayed on. I couldn't start the car at all. Luckily I called my cousin to see if she could try and give me a jump too see if it worked. In which it did I then took my vehicle up to auto zone where they out it on the diagnostic machine. Where my battery and alternator were fine. It was very scary for this vehicle to have shut off on me like this I am just glad I was not on the highway or it could have been a really bad outcome for me. The upload option isn't allowing me to upload the video or my picture from the say it occured.
While driving the engine seized up leaving the vehicle without power. Had to coast car to the shoulder of road and was later removed by a tow truck. Was traveling north on state highway 83 in monroe county ga.
The car had emissions issues, attempted to repair, after installing all new parts ourselves still was showing emission code, looked up if there was a recall, and there was a safety recall on the engine due to poor machining can cause the engine to seize and cause operator to loose control. Contacted kia and they towed the vehicle to a local dealership in kingston ny. Originally claimed they would replace the engine and two other recalls. Two days later received a call from the kia dealer stating that they would not change the engine due to the fact the emissions light was on and that we had worked on the car. The emissions code is unrelated to the issue of the recall. The car is still with the original owner. Do they still have to do the engine replacement regardless of us attempting the emission issue? Her 16 year old daughter was going be the one driving the vehicle- we are concerned that the car is unsafe due to the recall they are refusing to repair
Complete engine failure of the kia sorento. Took the vehicle in for normal oil change and investigation of a noise coming from the front of the vehicle. When technician drove the car on a city street, the engine completely died on the road. Technician pulled off to side of the road and had it taken back to shop. When investigating, found that there was no oil in the engine. No low engine oil pressure or check engine light was present.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 kia sorento. While driving 65 MPH, the contact heard an abnormal noise and the vehicle began to decelerate on its own. The contact parked on the side of the road and turned off the ignition. When the vehicle was restarted, multiple unknown warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who stated that the bearing was fractured and the engine needed to be replaced. The contact associated the failure with the federal safety agency campaign number: 17v224000 (engine and engine cooling). The vehicle was not repaired. The contact called ron bouchard's kia (located at 488 old union turnpike, lancaster, ma 01523, (978) 345-1800) and informed them of the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 167,000.
I drive kia sorrento 2012, its at 117,000 miles. For the last 6000 miles my car has started burning through abnormally high amounts of oil. It doesn't give any warning signs and the low oil warning light never comes on. For my last 3 services which were in june, august and november, all well before I was due for oil change, I was told that there was next to none oil left in my car. On nov 16th, while I was driving on a freeway my car without giving me any warning or indication that oil was running low, decelerated from 60mph to 30mph and the check engine sign started flashing. I pulled aside and got it towed to a nearby car auto repair shop. I was told that there was next to none oil in my car and because it had been running without any oil my engine was all damaged. I was told that my kia needed engine replacement. I was also told that the mechanic didn't find any leaks or other reasons why oil might be getting consumed so quickly. I searched online about why I might be having this problem and found that many other kia owners across america are experiencing same problems with abnormally high amount of oil consumption. Since then I have been trying to get in touch with kia corporate to see if they might be able to help me figure out what has been happening but I have been unsuccessful.
My car stopped running when I was driving it. It just stop moving. I have to push it off the road. I hear some noise in the engine when I start it.
While driving the vehicle in normal highway traffic the engine completely seized and the vehicle turned off in the middle of the highway. The car was in motion in normal traffic. The steering wheel became extremely tough to turn and maneuver. Hazard lights were turned on while streering with much dificulty toward the side of the highway. The car would not turn on. The car was towed to a kia dealer in san juan, puerto rico. They have denied the recall under kia recall sc147. This seems to be a dangerous accountability error on the dealer.
Had two motors replaced. The catalytic converter crumbled when mechanics replaced motor now want to charge me 3000 why would this crumble and should be replaced as engine probabaly damaged it may have even caught fire and didn't know
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 kia sorento. The contact stated that the engine stalled and the check engine warning indicator illuminated. The contact was able to coast to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence and later towed to an independent mechanic. It was diagnosed that oil was in the engine, which caused it to seize. The mechanic stated that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer and was not repaired. The VIN was included in the federal safety agency campaign number: 17v224000 (engine and engine cooling). The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 140,000.
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