2012 Kia Sorento: steering wheel locks up

Filed Jun 14, 2026 · Fuel system · TX · fire

On June 6, 2026, while driving home, the vehicle suddenly began smelling strongly of gasoline and burnt rubber. Within seconds, thick black smoke became visible in the side mirrors, followed immediately by white smoke pouring from the front hood and into the passenger cabin through the air vents. ​As I attempted to pull over to safety, the vehicle completely stopped responding. The brakes failed to operate, the engine stalled, and the steering wheel locked completely. We were barely able to bring the vehicle to a stop. Immediately upon exiting, visible flames erupted from underneath the driver's side of the vehicle and out of the front hood. The engine compartment and motor burnt completely.The safety of the driver and front passenger was put at extreme risk of death or severe injury. Because the brakes and steering locked up simultaneously while the cabin filled with smoke, we almost lost the ability to safely exit a moving vehicle that was actively catching fire. Furthermore, at no moment prior to or during the failure did any warning lamps, check engine lights, or diagnostic messages illuminate on the dashboard. There was absolutely zero advance warning from the vehicle's safety systems.The fire originated from a catastrophic fuel system failure, specifically matching the known issues of the high-pressure fuel pump leak.The vehicle is a total loss and is currently located at a tow yard. It is fully available for inspection upon request.Local police responded to the scene and generated an incident log number. A corporate claim has been opened directly with KIA but as of today, no inspector from the manufacturer or insurance has been sent out.

Filed Oct 26, 2019 · Engine · 144,566 miles · GA

My 2012 kia sorento lx has 144,566 miles on it and has been maintained regularly since I purchased it in july 2018. In october 2019, my vehicle was in motion going roughly 40 MPH when the vehicle suddenly lost power. The engine began knocking and the steering wheel locked up. Upon coasting the vehicle into a nearby parking lot and attempting to start it, the vehicle began making an intense knocking noise coming from the engine. The vehicle had trouble maintaining power and continuously cut off, even after putting in a new battery and alternator. Upon checking the vehicle to see if it would throw any codes, it threw a "misfire in cylinder 2" code. Upon having the car inspected, I was told that it will need a new rod in the engine. This car has under 150,000 miles and has been maintained meticulously, but randomly threw a rod as I was driving down the road. After doing further research, it became apparent that 2012-2018 kia sorentos have been recalled for this exact problem; my 2012 sorento, however, is not covered under the recall according to a VIN check.

Filed Jun 6, 2019 · Engine · 104,000 miles · CA

While driving at approximately 45 MPH the car turned off with the brakes and steering wheel locking. Luckily I was able to coast down the small hill to the side of the road. This incident took place on a two-lane city road. I had two passengers in my car at the time. The vehicle was towed to a local dealership with the diagnosis of engine failure (seizing). The vehicle was just picked from service the day before and there was no indication or warning that I would experience any safety issues.

Filed Nov 26, 2018 · Brakes, Engine · 132,000 miles · PA

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 kia sorento. While driving 70 MPH, the steering wheel seized without warning. The brake pedal was depressed, but took an extended amount of time to stop the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the engine seized due to a lack of engine oil. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be repaired or replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. Murray kia (located at 1402 west ridge pike, conshohocken, pa 19428, (610) 279-3020) was informed of the failure. The vehicle was not included in the federal safety agency campaign number: 17v224000 (engine and engine cooling). The manufacturer was not contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 132,000.

Filed Sep 29, 2018 · Electrical, Engine · 154,601 miles · TX · fire

This kia sorento caught fire while being driven. The driver reported that the steering locked up and she could see smoke and a flame coming from the engine. She left the vehicle unharmed however the experience was frightening. The front end of the vehicle was engulfed in flames and the car is now a total loss. The car was purchased from dallas auto auction by mas motors in dallas tx. The original owner was kia of arlington.

Filed Apr 4, 2018 · Engine · 60,000 miles · PA

My kia sorento died by the side of the road ' stalling repeatedly while I was driving and, of course, steering wheel locks up ' and was told eventually that the engine seized up. They had to replace engine (at my cost, of course) as warranty not considered valid by lack of enough maintenance records.

Filed Apr 22, 2016 · 61,000 miles · NY

When driving at low speeds, rough idling between gears the car stalled as I was driving under 30 MPH and dashboard lights all came on, steering wheel locked up, couldn't turn onto side street unbeknownst to me so I was driving into oncoming traffic. When idling at a red light, the car stalls and all dashboard lights turn on. Vehicle won't move after stalling. Have to put it in park, shut vehicle off and restart vehicle. Been to dealership twice for this, ran diagnostics, can't find anything wrong

Filed Mar 26, 2014 · Engine, Transmission · 41,500 miles · NJ

My 2012 kia sorento completely stalled in a parking lot. I had just gotten off the highway(speeds of 55-60) pulled into my jobs parking lot and all the lights electronics stayed on but the brakes locked up, the steering wheel locked up and the car would not drive. Put the car in park after a few minutes and it turned on fine. Now its at the dealer and they can not duplicate the problem and the car is driving fine. They claim no codes on diagnostics and see nothing wrong with the car after test driving it. There were no repairs done on the car because nothing could be found. This is a major issue and a worrisome one. Lets get on kia about this to solve the issue.

Filed Mar 25, 2014 · Engine, Steering · 24,000 miles · AZ

The first time I was driving at 35-45 MPH and slowed to turn and my engine spontaneously stalled and steering wheel locked up. Luckily, no one was around me so I braked, and restarted the engine and car seemed to reboot fine. Today, it happened again except I was driving at a much slower speed, 15 MPH. I was ready to take a turn and the wheel locked up in the turned position (but not fully turned) and the engine stalled. I braked the car again and restarted the engine in the middle of an intersection. This is completely dangerous for all passengers of the car and everyone who's driving around me!

Filed Dec 19, 2013 · Engine, Steering · 44,000 miles · CA

I was driving on the freeway, there was a lot of traffic so we weren't driving very fast, and the car just shut off, the engine light went on and the steering wheel locked. I was able to put on my hazard lights and then I turned the car off and tried restarting it. The car started without any problems and drove normal after that.