2017 Kia Sorento: multiple warning lights

Filed Jan 30, 2026 · Engine · OH · fire

Daughter was driving home from getting her kids from daycare and said she couldn’t see behind her from smoke and her boyfriend told her the car was on fire and she said the engine light came on and then all the lights came on and it started smoking more and a lady pulled over and told them get out because the car was on fire and 911 was called and she got out and got kids in the lady’s car and called me at work and I left and got there and the fire department was hosing down the car for about 45 minutes. They finally got the fire out which was contained under the car engine and Insurnace checked it out and gave me the estimate that was uploaded and told me that it was a mechanical failure from the engine so they won’t cover anything and I have to put a new engine in it because it has a big hole in it underneath. I am not even sure if they really looked at it because they told me they will give it back to me and I can’t afford to have it looked at. I had a warranty but was told it would be totaled out because a fire is a total loss and the warranty said even though I had coverage the day it caught on fire they won’t cover because they said the claim had to be placed before it got canceled which makes no sense to me but them and insurance said because there are recalls on engines for other same models of my car that Kia should have to make a recall for it since the engine is what caused the fire. I still have a payment on the car and waiting for them to get it back to my house and not sure when that will happen because it snowed and they keeps saying they can’t tow it back to my house. But I feel if other 3.3l engines within 2017 Kia Sorento then there needs to be a recall. I don’t see how there are absolutely no recalls on a car. I have yet to find a car that does not have a recall especially Kia’s and I have 2 of them and my other one has several recalls on it. Then magically this specific one that’s catches fire has no recall on it.

Filed Mar 6, 2024 · Engine · NC

January 14, 2024. I was driving on the highway, up a mountain, when the engine abruptly failed. All dashboard lights came on, including the check engine light. My safety, and the safety of those driving near me, was put at risk because of the sudden decrease in speed. When the car was inspected by a Kia dealership, they confirmed it needed a new engine, but that the engine was not covered, even though there is a long history of these engines failing and needing replacement.

Filed Feb 21, 2024 · Engine · MO

[XXX], traveling for the holidays, my 2017 Kia Sorento broke down. All dash lights came on, black smoke out exhaust. Only issue I had prior to this breakdown was excess oil use. $150 tow to Bengston Tire & Service in Salina, KS. They diagnosed cylinder misfires, spark-plug disintegration & recommended to take it to a Kia Dealership to be looked at, as they said it likely required an entire engine replacement. After a $440 tow, it was looked at by the Kia Dealership of Manhattan, KS, who ultimately did state that my vehicle would require a $7k engine replacement. The said I did not qualify for the 10 year/100k warranty since I was a 2nd owner. Since I still owed on my loan, I decided it was not worth putting the time/funds to fix. I had it towed home for $800. After searching online for hours with my VIN to search recalls, my Sorento did not show up in any recalls, class action suites, etc. During all of this I had to rent a car, which in total from [XXX], when I purchased a new vehicle, I spent $1,530 in total rental fees. It wasn't until I was researching that I found out about the KSDS sensor that many other Kia owners were having installed to assist in the prevention of a situation that my Kia had put me in 12/2023. Kia had never sent me any information on this and the Kia dealership never told me about this, nor offered to help in ANY way with another vehicle that likely should be added to the engine failure recall, as all my symptoms fit the bill. Oakes Kia of Kansas City, MO also told me previously that the excess engine oil consumption was normal, and just part of having a GDI Engine. I sold my Kia for $5k to a buyer who could fix it up. The KBB value of my Sorento was $14,000, as besides the engine failure the rest of the vehicle was in amazing condition with no other issues. I have lost a significant amount of money with this loss that I believe could've been easily prevented or at least better prevented by the manufacturer. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA),

Filed Dec 18, 2023 · Transmission · TX

We bought this vehicle on September 23, 2023 It had 72,935 miles. On October 15, 2003 After three weeks of having it, the check engine light came on. We took it a mechanic to diagnose the problem, he said it was the intake camshaft position sensor. We had it replaced o, and the engine light disappeared. We though that was the end of it but no. About a month later (mid November) the check engine light came on again, We contacted a local mechanic who said it might be the crankshaft or the time chain, he was supposed to call back with an estimate, but he didn't. We continued to drive it while trying to figure out what to do next, and two weeks later, on Dec 6 while driving home after picking my son from school, I heard a laud rattle noise, the vehicle slowed down, I though it was going to die completely, many lights on the dashboard came on, I don't remember which ones, (only the battery light) I knew it should not be the battery since we had just bought one brand new. Anyway, I pulled over to the side of road. I turned it off. After a minute or so, I turned it on again, and was able to make it home. The loud noise continued so turned on the hazard lights on and slowly drove it home. I was not that far. Next Saturday I had it towed to a mechanic we trust and he said the engine had plain failed and that it would be better to replace it. We decided to have it towed back to us. We made an appointment with a Kia dealership to have them confirm what our mechanic said, but they gave us an appointment until January 22, 2024 In the mean time it just sitting there in our garage. We know it had two previous owners. From the Carfax report we know it was serviced regularly. I don't think a vehicle with only 73,000 miles should have a failing engine.

Filed Oct 9, 2023 · Engine · KY

The engine malfunctioned, it is available for inspection upon request. My family of four was traveling in the vehicle at 80 mph down I-65 when the malfunction occurred. No warning lights came on, the vehicle began to slow to 60mph and would not accelerate when pressing the gas. When the gas was pressed the entire vehicle began to shake, still no warning lights. Thankfully we were 1 mile from exit 71. I pressed the gas one last time, at this point we are coasting off the exit at 25 mph, that is when all the lights came on in the dash. We were able to safely park on the side of the road and the car died and would not restart. This all happened in less than a minute. Mine and my family's safety were 100% at risk. When my mechanic looked at the vehicle, he said it was lucky that the car did not catch fire. The entire base of the engine was melted, and all the oil was gone from the engine. My mechanic advised me to take the vehicle back to where I bought it, Car Town KIA in Nicholasville KY. They had in place an extended warranty on the engine due to a rod failure but have now told me that the engine will not be covered to be replaced.

Filed Jul 29, 2023 · Electrical · NJ

UNKNOWN 2017 KIA Sorento v6 XL July 29, 2023 @3am - Parking lights were found to be on. Upon checking, the vehicle was locked. The FOB was used to unlock the doors and I turned the light control switch from Auto to OFF. This turned off all lights and I locked all doors using the FOB. What triggered this event? Concern for battery draining will be an eventual result if this is not investigated?

Filed Sep 8, 2022 · Lights · VA

Headlight Switch is faulty when in Auto. Lights shut off randomly while driving at night and when your car is parked and turned off all the lights will come on and drain your battery. I have had the lights shut off on me a dozen times roughly and had to replace a $300 battery because of the lights turning on and draining it. I have been stuck in bad situations with the battery dead and driving down dark roads at night when headlight failure occurs. I see hundreds of complaints from others online. I cannot understand how this safety hazard has not be addressed or corrected by KIA.

Filed Aug 15, 2022 · Engine · TX

The KIA turned off while driving in traffic going to Louisiana. It just turned off while I was slowing down. The vehicle turned back on a few minutes later and continued to Louisiana. The steering wheel locked up while in Baton Rouge, LA and the red warning light came on after that. There were no warning lights prior to the vehicle turning off while driving nor when the power steering locked up. I took it to O’Reilly’s Auto Parts to have them put some power steering fluid in it. They could not do it because apparently it has an electric power steering system. The car would not start after that. All the warning lights came on. The rep at O'Reilly's said that since it is electrical, I would need to take it to the dealership because I should not be having these issues since I only had the vehicle for almost 3 months. The codes that came on when the rep put the machine on were: battery, starter, alternator, power steering. The oil had been changed on Tuesday, 08.09.2022. I already had to buy 2 tires as the tire shop stated the inside of the tires were already going bald. Which should not be happening either. The vehicle was left in Baton Rouge, LA as it was not drivable to return to Houston, Texas. I am going to make arrangements with CARMAX to tow the vehicle to their location in Baton Rouge, LA. According to CARMAX, there were no known issues when the vehicle was purchased nor were there any recalls. If there were no known issues, why am I having these issues now?

Filed Jan 5, 2022 · Electrical, Engine · NC · fire

I was leaving my cousins apartment complex when the vehicle stalled. I attempted to try to start the vehicle again but it would not turn over. All the lights in the vehicle were on and the radio was still playing so it did not appear to be the battery. I attempted to try and start the vehicle again and noticed gray smoke coming from under the hood. I then began to smell something burning, so I exited the vehicle and popped the hood. I then noticed a fire coming from the engine behind the air filter componet. About 10 seconds later I heard a pop and took off running to a safer location and called 911. The fire then began to grow bigger and the whole front of the vehicle was in flames. The fire department responded and put the fire out. There were no warning lights that came on. If I had not exited the vehicle when I did I probably would have been severly burnt as the whole front windshield shattered and the dash was melted and front seats were burnt.

Filed Dec 20, 2020 · Electrical, Lights · FL

Headlights initially were just flickering on occasion now headlights are turning off while driving. Sometimes they go back on and sometimes they don't. Warning ⚠️ comes on and dash display also indicates a headlamp issue. Sometimes turning them on and off helps.been gradually getting worse. Now all lights will not turn on including brights. Horn also not working. Has happened multiple times at night on busy city streets.

Filed Jul 9, 2019 · Engine · 29,000 miles · NJ · fire

While exiting a highway, heard a noise. Steering became difficult. Engine stalled, all warning lights lit up. Smoke seen in rearview mirrors. Came to a stop and discovered a fire under the engine. Car was engulfed within 7 minutes. Total loss, nothing left.

Filed Mar 26, 2019 · Driver assistance, Engine · 30,000 miles · CA

On 3/24/2019, our 2017 kia sorrento with 30k miles on completely shut down on the freeway. All lights went on and off, the car shook from side to side and the car shut down we lost steering and power brakes while we were going 70mph on the freeway. Luckily we were able to get to the side of the freeway. This happened 2 more times and then we had the car towed to a dealership for service. This could have easily caused a life threatening car accident and we no longer feel safe driving this kia. Now the service dealer is not able to replicate this incident which has happened to others we are reading about so then the dealership says, "no issue." this car has been recalled for this exact issue (although not our VIN apparently). This is our first and last experience with the kia - very disappointing. We bought the top of the line kia because it was rated so highly for safety but now we are not even comfortable driving it. My children were in the car and lives could have been lost.