CSR

Kia · NHTSA safety record

2025 Kia Sorento

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

Owners have filed 74 safety complaints about the 2025 Kia Sorento with the US government. Of those, 6 describe a crash, 4 people were injured and no death is recorded. 3 recall campaigns are open against it, covering the electrical system and the engine and its cooling.

The most complained-about system is the electrical system, named in 21 complaints, 28% of the total. The typical failure was reported at 4,000 miles, the median across the 9 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files · Covers November 2024 to September 2026 · How this is counted

What is on file

74 complaints on file

74

Complaints

6

Describe a crash

0

Mention fire

4

People injured

0

Deaths

A complaint is an unverified account by the person who filed it, not a finding of fault. One complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts them.

A recall is the manufacturer conceding a defect, and the repair is free. Whether one covers your particular car is a question only its VIN can answer, because a campaign covers a production range rather than a model year.

Which system owners named

Complaints naming each system
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 21 · 28%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 20 · 27%
ENGINE 19 · 26%
POWER TRAIN 19 · 26%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 8 · 11%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 7 · 9%
SERVICE BRAKES 5 · 7%
VISIBILITY/WIPER 5 · 7%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 4 · 5%
AIR BAGS 3 · 4%
BACK OVER PREVENTION 3 · 4%
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 2 · 3%
0 12 23

Red marks a system with a recall campaign against it. One complaint can name several systems, so these add up to more than 74.

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them

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

44 33 22 11
24 25 26

This is the year the complaint was filed, not the year the failure happened. The range runs from 2024 to 2026, the last of them a part year, which is why its column is drawn faint.

Crash test ratings

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program

NHTSA crashes a car into a barrier and a pole and measures what happens to the dummies inside. This is what it awarded the 2025 Kia SORENTO, and it is a separate question from what owners report going wrong later.

Test SUV AWD SUV FWD
Overall
Frontal crash
Frontal, driver
Frontal, passenger
Side crash
Side barrier
Side pole
Rollover
Chance of rollover 15.9% 15.9%
Stability control standard Forward collision warning standard Lane departure warning standard

A rating belongs to a tested body style and drivetrain, not to the model as a whole, which is why more than one is listed. A dash means NHTSA did not rate that test for this vehicle.

Recall campaigns

3 on file

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

In owners’ own words

Quoted from the complaint file

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.

AIR BAGS

1 injured · crash · towed

Knee airbags deployed in my car accident and have severe injuries on bilateral legs bruises that damage my nerves and veins.

NHTSA complaint 11766271. 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.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
VEHICLE: 2025 Kia Sorento (VIN: [XXX]) KIA CORPORATE CASE #: XXX SAFETY DEFECT DESCRIPTION: The central ccNC infotainment display screen suffers from recurring, thermal-induced flickering and complete blackouts while driving and parking. When the screen blackouts, the FMVSS 111 federally mandated Backup Camera, navigation, and critical vehicle safety displays are completely lost, posing an immediate collision and safety hazard. EXTENSIVE SERVICE & REPAIR HISTORY (2 FAILED DEALER VISITS): 1. VISIT #1 (XXX - Healey Kia, Newburgh NY): Reported intermittent display flickering and blackout. Dealer claimed unable to duplicate on quick drive and requested video proof. 2. EVIDENCE DOCUMENTATION:

NHTSA complaint 11760338, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

STRUCTURE:BODY
About a minute into my drive, I heard an explosion. I looked back thinking something happened to my twin toddlers and saw nothing. I heard the sound of glass cracking and looked up to see the front glass of my moonroof shattered. I pulled over to safety and closed the sun cover for the moonroof before any more glass could fall into the car in fear of my toddlers getting injured. The car itself had been on for maybe 5 minutes prior to driving away from my house.

NHTSA complaint 11760144. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

56,000 miles

The contact owns a 2025 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving approximately 75 MPH, the rear windshield wiper was moving with the switch turned off. The contact turned the rear windshield wiper to high, then low, and the wiper finally turned off. The contact continued driving and the vehicle suddenly stalled, and the message Press Button to Start Engine message was displayed. The vehicle continued to coast in neutral, and then decelerated to approximately 65 MPH. The contact pressed the start button and the accelerator pedal, and the vehicle failed to move immediately. The contact stated that after several attempts, the engine revved as needed. The contact stated that while

NHTSA complaint 11758432, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
During highway trips the info cluster starts chiming and a coffee cup light comes on the dash saying I should consider taking a break! This happens frequently and is distracting as I need to look down from the road to access what the warning is. I'm being told now that it is not able to be disabled. It's distracting and there's no way I would have bought the car with such a distraction during highway driving.

NHTSA complaint 11758296. 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.

Compare

Other years of the Kia Sorento

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2026 5 2 —
2024 41 2 —
2023 120 3 —
2022 189 6 —
2021 250 4 —
2020 136 1 1
2019 428 2 —
2018 254 3 1
2017 804 4 —
2016 1,252 8 —
2015 750 3 —
2014 987 6 1
2013 981 5 —
2012 880 5 —
2011 1,518 7 —

Other 2025 Kia models

Every Kia on this site — 181 vehicles.

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. How many repair attempts it takes, and how long you have to file, is set by the state you bought in and by nothing on this page.

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