Oct 17, 2015Electrical systemFire
HEATED SEAT ELEMENT ON DRIVERS SIDE STARTED ON FIRE. CAUSED DRIVER TO BE BURNT. HEATED SEAT HAD BEEN TURNED ON FOR ABOUT 2 MINUTES. CAR WAS IN MOTION ON CITY STREET.
NHTSA ODI 10783067
Home · 2011 Kia Sorento Phev · Complaints
What 1,516 owners told NHTSA about the 2011 Kia Sorento Phev
These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.
All (1,516)Crash / fire / injury (107)Engine (284)Body & structure (268)Transmission & drivetrain (265)Electrical system (246)Airbags (182)Brakes (130)Lights (102)Speed control (63)Suspension (56)Steering (53)
27 of 1,516 complaints match · Electrical system · crash/fire/injury only · clear filters · page 2 of 2
Mar 13, 2015Electrical systemEngineFire
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 KIA SORENTO. WHILE TRAVELING APPROXIMATELY 40 MPH, THERE WAS A LOUD NOISE COMING FROM THE FRONT OF THE VEHICLE. ALSO, THE CONTACT MENTIONED THAT SMOKE EMITTED FROM THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT. UPON PULLING THE VEHICLE OVER, IT WAS FURTHER NOTICED THAT THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT WAS ON FIRE. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC, WHO DIAGNOSED THAT A ROD FRACTURED INTO THE ENGINE AFFECTING THE OTHER COMPONENTS CAUSED A FIRE. ALSO, THE MECHANIC DIAGNOSED THAT THE PISTONS MAY NEED TO BE REPLACED BUT FURTHER EXTENSIVE DIAGNOSIS WAS REQUIRED TO REPAIR THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT WAS NOT INCLUDED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 10V388000 (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM). THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 102,000.
NHTSA ODI 10694186
Working with the data? Download all 1,516 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 14, 2026
How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2011 Kia Sorento Phev verdict →