UNKNOWN. My engine light comes on often. When I had my oil changed the professional indicated that my car is burning oil. When reviewing online, it appears that this is a common issue for Kia Sorento and specifically the engine that is installed in my 2015.
2015 Kia Sorento engine complaints
Page 3 of 13: complaints 41 to 70 of 367, newest first, as owners wrote them.
The oil pump quit and Kia had a service bulletin that indicated that the oil pumps were defective and 10 years or 180k they would repair. Not may case.
My car started shaking and making knocking sounds, pulled over and turned it off, tried to turn it back on and it shut off, had it towed to a family/friend mechanic he says my engine needs to be replaced. I’ve never had issues up until now.
Kia had a class action lawsuit for rod bearing failure. The settlement appears to require a KSDS (knock sensor) software update. This was a 'Product improvement campaign', which would extend the warranty to 15yr 150k miles. Kia mailed the letter to a previous address, failing to notify the owner. This should have been a recall. Engine has seized, warranty claim denied. Estimated repair over $9,000. Kia failed to notify owner of the defect, only sending one letter, to a bad address. Kia is dodging it's responsibility, the warranty claim is denied. This reeks. Looking up on their website for recall information, it says 0 incomplete campaigns for vin number.
September 2024, the engine cooling fan began staying on after shutting off the vehicle, and October 2024, we began to hear unusual engine noises and a bubbling sound from behind the dashboard. November 2024, we began to see intermittent poor performance with the HVAC system, and then on [XXX], the temperature gauge climbed to H. We called Matthews Kia of Greece, 4321 W Ridge Rd, Rochester, NY 14626, and brought the vehicle in on 11/15/2024. Matthews Kia had the vehicle from 11/15 to 11/29/2024. They reported performing a coolant pressure test and block test but found no signs of a coolant leak. They opened a tech line case under warranty extension WTY039, and they were told to release the vehicle. Matthews Kia informed us that the coolant reservoir appeared to have “an odor of alcohol” and some contamination, so we paid for a coolant flush at 140,438 miles (previous coolant flush was completed at 127,057 miles). We drove the vehicle for two more weeks. During that time, the check engine light turned on, and the temperature gauge would rise to H and then slowly descend back to standard operating position. We returned the vehicle to Matthews Kia on 12/13/2024, with 141,266 miles. They reported not being able to identify the source of overheating, and they indicated that the vehicle did not meet qualifications for the extended warranty under TSB #254. Matthews Kia suggested replacing the thermostat. This was replaced, and motor oil and coolant were topped off on 1/3/2025 with 141,280 miles. Within ten miles of leaving Matthews Kia on 1/3/2025, the check engine light came back on. During the following week, HVAC system also stopped blowing hot air and would frequently only blow cold air. The temperature gauge began rising to the H mark repeatedly on short trips (7-10 miles). We spoke with Matthews Kia on 1/16/2025, and returned the vehicle to them for further evaluation. The service dept at the dealer said they have no explanation and cannot diagnose the problem. FORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMA
Coolant and oil are mixing. Coolant was over flowing from the reservoir. High oil consumption. Oil was just topped off about 1000 miles ago and is very low on the dipstick now. Coolant mixing with oil seems like the issue the 2016-17 3.3 V6s are experiencing with the stripped head bolts. HEAD GASKET/ENGINE FAILURE is imminent. Extend the warranty to all 3.3 liters not just 2016 and 2017 (15 years/180,000).
I don’t know why, but I keep losing oil somewhere. I do my oil changes on time regularly and they said it’s burning oil fast and that that’s an issue with all Kia.
Engine seized up. Apparently it is common with Kia engines
Was driving on the freeway and vehicle shut off doing 70 miles per hour. Had to pull over in the dark on the side of the freeway and car would not start. Has never had any problems with this before. I drive it to work and back everyday and no issues. It was very scary to sit on the side of the freeway for over two hours and 50 miles from home in the dark. I had to car the car towed to our home cost me almost 200.00. Mechanic looked at it and believes it is an engine failure. There are metal shavings in the oil. I can not drive my car it is in my driveway and will not stay on. Never had anything like this happen before. It is a 2015 with 106,000 miles.
March of 2022 the engine stalled out and found out due to coolant leaking from head gasget area. Put new engine in and July 2024 the new engine started stalling and knocking. No warning lights. In middle of busy traffic and died. Rod bearings failed and metal shavings appeared in engine. Need another engine but can't afford it. Dealership said its manufacturer problem. I know other kia engines were covered under the problem with rod bearing but ours wasn't. This should be included
My engine is using excessive amounts of oil. I am having to fill the engine with oil in between my 3000-mile oil changes. No oil is leaking in my driveway. I just started an oil consumption test with a dealer and after driving it 1000 miles I brought it back to them as they asked, and the engine oil level had dropped by almost 4 qt. But after making some calls with KIA regional they said they my car wouldn't have the engine replaced due to it not being in the recall. KIA knows there is a problem with their engines and will not fix the problem.
While driving my 2015 Kia Sedona, was at a stop sign and began making a left turn. Half way thru the intersecion the vehicle just stopped running. I managed to get half off the 2-lane road, blocking half off the road with traffic coming both ways. I was there approximately 45 before the tow truck came to tow the car to the mechanic's shop where he confirmed the problem was a common problem with the 2015 Kia Sedona. There was absolutely no warning that the vehicle was going to become incapacitated, no warning lights or messages prior to the failure.
I was driving and it started to make a knocking noise thays when i saw the engine light come on then my car turned off. I took it to autozone and 2 sensors are bad. I went to pep boys and they said that it needs a engine replacement and it falls under the tsd dates. I called my Kia dealership and they said that they don't see any recalls on my vehicle.
What component or system failed or malfunctioned? The engine began leaking hot air bubbles into the cooling system, causing hot coolant to leak into the harness and parts of the car. Is it available for inspection upon request? No, the manufacturer has responded that it does not cover the warranty because it is in another country, although the brand is present there. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? When heating the system there is a risk of burst hoses or catastrophic damage to the systems when driving and therefore risk of explosion or fire. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by an independent dealer or service center? Yes, through an independent service center in the country where the vehicle is currently located. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? Mechanical technicians state that it is a factory defect. Were there warning lights, messages or other symptoms of the problem before the failure and when did they first appear? No warnings, just hot coolant splashing onto the engine. Kia Sorento is a family vehicle, which we could not enjoy due to engine failures. Considering the timely maintenance, the brand must respond for the risk we ran by driving a vehicle with a catastrophic engine failure.
In 2020, we started noticing the smell of engine coolant and the continuous running of the engine fan after shutting the engine off. The temperature gage never indicated any issue. We took the vehicle to the dealer to address the issue. Upon inspecting the vehicle, it was determined that there was a failure of one of the engine block bolts, which cause the coolant to seep in to the engine block. The dealer stated the engine needed to be rebuilt, because the bock was not salvageable. We then contacted Kia to question the failure and were told that the repair was not covered, because of the milage on the vehicle. In 2024 we received a recall notice, which stated they were now taking responsibility for the repairs and all we needed to do was submit documents showing the repairs were made. We did so, two months ago, however after submitting the documents Kia has not given us a reimbursement or provided updates on the status of our claim.
With regular maintenance, at 138,000 miles my engine has a crack in the block and an inner oil leak that hadn't been previously detected during oil changes, which may have been a result of the check engine light that read camshaft issues just before it happened. All the other recalls and problems these kia engines have had I'm sure I'm not the only one with this issue.
The engine cut off while driving. The mechanic said the motor seized and needs $8k in repairs. Kia said I missed a software update that is needed in order to be eligible for an extended warranty and they denied the repairs. I never received notice that a software update was needed.
The contact owns a 2015 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while driving approximately 55 MPH, the brakes locked up, the steering seized, and the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that there were several unknown warning lights illuminated. The contact was barely able to pull off the highway. The contact was not able to restart the vehicle. The contact had the vehicle towed to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the engine had seized and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 106,000.
I previously reported an engine complained submitted on 9/14/2023, ID 11544548. My engine started knocking while I was driving on a major highway without any warning lights or indications. a claim to Kia was made as I was told by the Kia dealership I would need engine replacement however Kia offered no explanation as to why the engine failed nor any explanation or seemed to care one bit that I was on a major highway and this occurred without any warnings whatsoever. I understand there is current recall for some v4 engines of the sorento model I had and I firmly believe the 3.3L v6 engines should be investigated.
The engine started to sound weird and stopped in the middle of the road that couldve created an accident should there have been other vehicle iw as pregnant at that time We contacted kia and they wouldnt change the engine since we didnt replace the knock sensor but we never received the mail and they confirmed thag mail was not sent to us.
There is oil leaking into my coolant. I had it flushed, hoping it was just a fluke. Then noticed there was more oil getting into my coolant. I had the vehicle inspected again and they stated it was probably a blown head gasket, or a cracked head.
Ongoing issue with coolant mixing in the oil causing overheating in the engine. I believe this a safety risk as driving the vehicle for longer than 30 minutes causes the engine temperature to rise dramatically and risks complete engine failure, potentially when driving at speed. Vehicle has not been examined by a dealer. We've just become aware this is apparently due to Kia's known soft block issue.
My car has been giving me problems for about three months now and we’ve changed about four or five parts on the engine/transmission and it’s still acting up. We’ve called the Kia dealership several times to alleviate the problem but they are giving us the runaround about the three recalls that pulled up for the 2015 Kia Sorrento and they saying that we have to pay $150 for diagnostic per recall, which I don’t understand that if it’s not our fault then they should cover the diagnostic and the recall. We’ve contacted them on several occasions about the situation with my brake lights being on after I turn my car off and they stay on until my battery is almost dead. They don’t want to fix the HECU I believe the electric short that Kia have been experiencing. This car is the worst car I’ve ever had. I’ve never had to experience anything close to what I’m experiencing with Kia. They are an absolute disgrace it’s almost like they’re trying to pocket diagnostic money for themselves because there’s no way I have to pay almost $500 for three recalls, that’s no fault of our own. If I had the money to get another car, I would. They told us that we can trade it in if we come with a higher down payment, but I’m not able to do that right now so I’m just trying to get my car fixed until I’m able to do so. Please help us get our car fixed and the recalls serviced because Andrew at Kia Country of Savannah sounds like he’s irritated because we’re trying to get down to the bottom of them getting the recalls done. It’s like he’s just telling us anything to try to avoid doing the recalls. They also stated that when the car was dropped off, they didn’t find anything pertaining to the recalls whether y’all find anything or not you know that there are recalls for that particular car just fix it. Please help. We are not gonna stop until the car is fixed. I’m gonna keep reaching out. I’m gonna keep calling up there to see when it can be done because it’s costing us money that we don’t have.
The car started shaking, it slowed down and stopped and all the lights on the dashboard came on and there was a loud sound and I turned the car off. I called towing, got my car back and took it back to the dealership. At the dealership they checked the car and called the warranty company who sent an inspector... The Ethos group told me that there were some errors in the report and that they still couldn't give me information, after two weeks the dealership called me and told me the warranty denied the claim. The denial claim said it was the coolant hoses that caused the engine problem and overheating, but I bought the car from the dealership when it had 85,063 miles on it and it hadn't even passed the year when the engine blown off and the car had 100,381 miles and has regular maintenance at the dealer. Before any lights came on on the dashboard it started shaking and slowing down and all the lights were on... how can they said the car overheated but no light of warning?
We were driving our car and it all of a sudden just stopped working. We luckily were able to pull over before it stopped completely, no noise, jerk motion or anything the engine just stopped. We had it towed to a mechanic who said our engine blew. It only had 140,000 miles on it but the repair/replacement we were quoted would have cost us more than the vehicle was even worth so we ended up having the car junked.
2015 kia sorento 3.3 GDI engine out of know where the car stalled on a hwy engine now knocks loudly was told it has to be completley replaced no warning or anything kia is saying its going to be 11k to fix
My car died when I stopped. No warning lights, no warning whatsoever. I had to push my car out of traffic. I was able to start it again after a couple minutes but immediately a knocking sound started. I was encouraged to get an oil analysis by my mechanic friend in which it states my oil is fine and describes the metal found in the oil and where it likely came from.
See attached document for complaint
1. The engine seized and lost total power at 74,795 miles due to faulty rod bearings manufactured by KIA and due to metal shavings left within the engine compartments. Yes, I have the vehicle in my possession. It is stored at my apartment garage and it is available for inspection. 2. I was driving my vehicle on the highway prior to sudden engine seizure and loss of power. The check engine light appeared for the first time on [XXX]. I immediately took my vehicle to my mechanic (same day on [XXX]) where it seized and lost complete power on the road. It had to be pushed into the mechanic's garage by hand. Total loss of power of my vehicle could have resulted in a catastrophic accident and injuries to myself and others. I could have lost control of the vehicle and I could have been rear-ended or side-swiped at a high speed on the highway or the street. Additionally, my vehicle was recalled due to a faulty HECU/ABS Module, which could have resulted in engine fire and it was recalled due to increased theft risk because my vehicle was manufactured without an engine immobilizer. KIA did not notify me of any recalls nor did they notify me of their self-proclaimed and self-manufactured KSDS and "Product Improvement Campaign - P11802". KIA Corp (Irvine, CA) only provided a SAMPLE letter on 11.13.23. 3. Yes, the defect was confirmed by my mechanic, KIA Corp, and by the Grand KIA dealership in Thornton, Colorado. 4. Yes, the vehicle was inspected by the Grand KIA dealership in Thornton, Colorado. Grand KIA confirmed that there was no rotation of the crankshaft and no power or codes detected upon scanning the engine. Grand KIA confirmed that the engine failure was due to their faulty rod bearings, but denied engine replacement because I did not upgrade my engine with their KSDS/"Product Improvement Campaign", although they upgraded my car with the KSDS upon diagnosis to cover up. Grand KIA stated that engine seizure is not a safety issue. 5. Yes, check engine light. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF IN
Coolant leak, due to stripped head bolts.
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