2019 KIA SORENTO — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 419 complaints · 2 recalls
Most-reported system: ENGINE (123 complaints · 29.4%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 10
  • Fires 19
  • Injuries 16
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 2018 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution ENGINE appears in 123 of 419 owner complaints (29.4%) in this vehicle snapshot. ENGINE: 123 complaints, 29.4% of reports ENGINE 123 · 29.4% · 1 crash reports 6 fire reports POWER TRAIN: 41 complaints, 9.8% of reports POWER TRAIN 41 · 9.8% · 1 fire reports STRUCTURE: 35 complaints, 8.3% of reports STRUCTURE 35 · 8.3% EXTERIOR LIGHTING: 18 complaints, 4.3% of reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING 18 · 4.3% ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 17 complaints, 4.1% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 17 · 4.1% · 4 fire reports FUEL SYSTEM: 17 complaints, 4.1% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 17 · 4.1% · 1 crash reports 2 fire reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 12 complaints, 2.9% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 12 · 2.9% · 1 crash reports VISIBILITY: 12 complaints, 2.9% of reports VISIBILITY 12 · 2.9% STEERING: 10 complaints, 2.4% of reports STEERING 10 · 2.4% · 1 crash reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 166 complaints, 39.6% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 166 · 39.6% · 3 crash reports 6 fire reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
ENGINE 123 29.4% 1 crashes · 6 fires
POWER TRAIN 41 9.8% 0 crashes · 1 fires
STRUCTURE 35 8.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 18 4.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 17 4.1% 0 crashes · 4 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 17 4.1% 1 crashes · 2 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 12 2.9% 1 crashes · 0 fires
VISIBILITY 12 2.9% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 10 2.4% 1 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 166 39.6% 3 crashes · 6 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Jul 2018; the first recall shown was reported in Sep 2022. 2018-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2018-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2019-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2019-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2019-Q3: 12 owner reports 12 2019-Q4: 15 owner reports 15 2020-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2020-Q2: 11 owner reports 11 2020-Q3: 7 owner reports 7 2020-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2021-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2021-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2021-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2021-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 2022-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2022-Q2: 7 owner reports 7 2022-Q3: 10 owner reports 10 2022-Q4: 11 owner reports 11 2023-Q1: 12 owner reports 12 2023-Q2: 18 owner reports 18 2023-Q3: 10 owner reports 10 2023-Q4: 18 owner reports 18 2024-Q1: 18 owner reports 18 2024-Q2: 15 owner reports 15 2024-Q3: 50 owner reports 50 2024-Q4: 24 owner reports 24 2025-Q1: 21 owner reports 21 2025-Q2: 14 owner reports 14 2025-Q3: 27 owner reports 27 2025-Q4: 25 owner reports 25 2026-Q1: 30 owner reports 30 2026-Q2: 18 owner reports 18 2026-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 Owner reports Jul 2018 Jul 2026 Recall campaign 22V703000 ◆ Recall campaign 22V703000 Recall campaign 23V639000 ◆ Recall campaign 23V639000 Investigation DP22003 ● Investigation DP22003
  • Campaign 23V639000 was reported 161 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2018-Q3 Owner reports 3
2018-Q4 Owner reports 2
2019-Q1 Owner reports 3
2019-Q2 Owner reports 6
2019-Q3 Owner reports 12
2019-Q4 Owner reports 15
2020-Q1 Owner reports 6
2020-Q2 Owner reports 11
2020-Q3 Owner reports 7
2020-Q4 Owner reports 4
2021-Q1 Owner reports 2
2021-Q2 Owner reports 1
2021-Q3 Owner reports 5
2021-Q4 Owner reports 6
2022-Q1 Owner reports 3
2022-Q2 Owner reports 7
2022-Q3 Owner reports 10
2022-Q4 Owner reports 11
2023-Q1 Owner reports 12
2023-Q2 Owner reports 18
2023-Q3 Owner reports 10
2023-Q4 Owner reports 18
2024-Q1 Owner reports 18
2024-Q2 Owner reports 15
2024-Q3 Owner reports 50
2024-Q4 Owner reports 24
2025-Q1 Owner reports 21
2025-Q2 Owner reports 14
2025-Q3 Owner reports 27
2025-Q4 Owner reports 25
2026-Q1 Owner reports 30
2026-Q2 Owner reports 18
2026-Q3 Owner reports 5
Recall campaign 1 22V703000
Recall campaign 1 23V639000
Defect investigation 1 DP22003
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (2)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 22V703000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    A fire while parked or driving can increase the risk of injury.
    Remedy:
    Owners are advised to park outside and away from structures until the recall repair is complete. Dealers will inspect the vehicle, and, as necessary, replace the fuse and/or tow hitch harness module, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 11, 2023. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC249.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 23V639000

    Report date
    Component:
    BACK OVER PREVENTION
    Consequence:
    A rearview camera that does not display an image can reduce the driver's rear view, increasing the risk of a crash.
    Remedy:
    Dealers will inspect the rearview camera and add additional water proofing to the camera harness, or replace the camera as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 8, 2024. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC282.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-08-21
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 419 complaints · page 1 of 17

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources