CSR

Kia · NHTSA safety record

2025 Kia Sorento

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

69

Complaints

5

Crashes

0

Fires

3

Injuries

0

Deaths

Owners of the 2025 Kia Sorento have filed 69 safety complaints with NHTSA between November 2024 and August 2026. The most complained-about system is the electrical system, named in 19 of them (28%). The typical failure was reported at 2,800 miles, the median across the 8 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

NHTSA has issued 3 recalls covering this vehicle.

Recalls (3)

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: INSTRUMENT CLUSTER/PANEL

26V046000 · January 27, 2026

The defect
Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2025 Kia K4, 2025-2026 Sorento, Sorento Hybrid, Sorento Plug-In Hybrid Electric (PHEV), 2026 Sportage, Sportage Hybrid, Sportage PHEV, K5, EV9, Carnival, and Carnival Hybrid vehicles. Due to a software error, the instrument panel display may fail. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) numbers 101, "Controls and Displays" and 138, "Tire Pressure Monitoring System."
The risk
An instrument panel display that fails to show critical safety information, such as the speedometer, tire pressure, or warning lights, increases the risk of a crash.
The remedy
The instrument panel display software will be updated over-the-air (OTA) or by a dealer, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed March 26, 2026. Owners may contact Kia Customer Service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC361. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will become searchable on NHTSA.gov on February 9, 2026.

Kia America, Inc. · up to 42,677 vehicles across all model years covered

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:CRITICAL FASTENERS

25V548000 · August 25, 2025

The defect
Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2025 K4 and Sorento vehicles. The connecting rod bolts in the engine may have been improperly tightened, which can cause a loss of drive power.
The risk
A loss of drive power increases the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will replace the sub engine assembly, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed September 12, 2025. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC349.

Kia America, Inc. · up to 30 vehicles across all model years covered

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:BODY CONTROL MODULE:SOFTWARE

25V006000 · January 13, 2025

The defect
Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2024-2025 Sorento, 2025 Sorento Hybrid, and 2025 Sorento Plug-In Hybrid vehicles. A software error in the Body Domain Control Unit (BDC) may cause a loss of low beam headlights and taillights. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."
The risk
A loss of headlights and taillights can reduce visibility, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will update the BDC software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed February 21, 2025. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC331.

Kia America, Inc. · up to 74,469 vehicles across all model years covered

What owners report

Complaints naming each system. One complaint can name several, so these add up to more than 69.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 19 28%
POWER TRAIN 19 28%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 19 28%
ENGINE 18 26%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 8 12%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 7 10%
SERVICE BRAKES 5 7%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 4 6%
VISIBILITY/WIPER 3 4%
AIR BAGS 2 3%
BACK OVER PREVENTION 2 3%
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 2 3%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2025 at 39.

2024 2025 2026
2024 to 2026, the last of them a part year

In owners' own words

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

AIR BAGS

1 injured · crash · towed

Hit a deer going 80, airbags did not deploy and car did not attempt to brake

NHTSA complaint 11709732. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

1 injured · crash · towed

My wife was slowly pulling into a parking spot at kohls and the car lunged like the gas pedal was pressed all the way down and hit parking pole in spot . I googled to see if this was an issue reports and found information on this not actual recall but reports on this issue . Kia has done nothing with this case

NHTSA complaint 11717627. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING

1 injured

I was stopped at a red light. The light turned green, the vehicle in front of me was easily 4 car lengths ahead at this point into the intersection, I then slowly began to accelerate, my car gave me a false collision warning even though there was no car or hazard in front of me, then I brake checked me (initiated my brakes and slammed on them). This could’ve easily caused the car behind me to hit me and fortunately it didn’t. It did however cause me whiplash, very dangerous. I’ve since turned collision warning off all together

NHTSA complaint 11744310. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES

crash · towed · 65 miles

The contact leased a 2025 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving, the vehicle failed to increase over 20 MPH. The 20 MPH limited message was displayed. The brake pedal was hard to depress. The driver pulled over and called the salesman at the dealer, who discussed red flags. The contact turned the vehicle off and restarted. While driving 45 MPH, turning left, the brake pedal was applied, but the brakes violently pumped upwards for about nine car lengths. The vehicle eventually slowed down. The speed decreased from 40 MPH to 20 MPH, and he crashed into a Toyota Corolla stopped at the light. There was an unknown abnormal warning sound detected. There were no reported injuries,

NHTSA complaint 11626826, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
The dashboard has a screen display. I couldn’t see my fuel tank information. Every time I would use my turn signal a large green circle would take over the screen. Followed by loss of the screen, meaning no speedometer, rpm, etc. As the problem continued the speedometer started displaying incorrect numbers. Saying I was going 70 miles an hour when I was actually going about 55. Gage for fuel and heat (notifying if car is overheating, was lost for the entirety of my drive).

NHTSA complaint 11757326. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
The engine sputters several times in a single trip, and is available upon request. The engine sputtered and the vehicle stopped in the middle of the road as I was trying to cross 2 lanes of traffic. It has sputtered so bad, I almost rear ended the vehicle in front of me. Yes, the dealership confirmed via text on 7/13/2026. The dealership confirmed it occurred then insisted on my picking up the vehicle despite of that. No effort to fix or determine why that was happening. I was told “the vehicle is learning how I drive, the road was bumpy, and the manufacturer would need more than to cover it” The dealerships invoice to the manufacturer stated “no sputtering” even after acknowledging in

NHTSA complaint 11754281, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN
The transmission is not shifting gears correctly. The engine revs loudly and hesitates for a few seconds before shifting. There were no warning lamps. The vehicle has not been inspected yet. This causes a dangerous situation when driving and accelerating in traffic.

NHTSA complaint 11747831. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
My sunroof exploded.

NHTSA complaint 11746296. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

WHEELS
I was going to Villa Toscana homestead , and in that road there a big hole and made my tire explode . No light on homestead road to be able to see the big hole.

NHTSA complaint 11743455. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Kia Sorento

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2024 36 2
2023 114 3
2022 185 6
2021 236 4
2020 131 1 1
2019 419 2
2018 248 3 1
2017 795 4
2016 1,242 8
2015 747 3
2014 982 6 1
2013 979 5
2012 876 5
2011 1,517 7

Other 2025 Kia models

Every Kia on this site — 176 vehicles, 208 recall campaigns and 1 open investigation .

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. What each state asks for , read from the statutes.

Where these numbers come from

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

Compiled and maintained by
Independent developer and analyst