What 1,516 owners told NHTSA about the 2011 Kia Sorento Phev

The contact owned a 2011 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that, upon reaching her destination and turning the vehicle off, she smelled smoke in the interior of the vehicle. She then observed flames jutting up from underneath the driver's side seat, prompting her to evacuate immediately. Within minutes, the vehicle was completely engulfed in flames following what the contact described as an explosion. Local emergency services arrived and were able to extinguish the flames, later determining that faulty vehicle components caused the fire without human intervention. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a tow yard and deemed a total loss by the contact's insurance provider. A fire report was filed. A police report was not filed, but injuries were reported. The contact suffered various minor burns to her hands but did not seek medical attention, choosing instead to attend to her injuries herself at home. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V652000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic); the VIN was included, and parts were available. However, the contact stated that previous attempts to schedule the vehicle for repair had failed due to parts availability and a months-long waiting list. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, a case was opened, and a third-party engineer was sent to examine the vehicle, but a final report had yet to be provided to the contact. The failure mileage was 223,000.

NHTSA ODI 11644899

I was approaching a stoplight, applying my brakes ahead of time, got down around 45 mph and then the brakes locked up suddenly and took me across the road into a guardrail. Thankfully no other car was involved. The speed limit is 55 mph on that road and I was still a ways away from the stoplight. I was never notified of the recalls on the vehicle.

NHTSA ODI 11636857

The contact owned a 2011 Kia Sorento. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V652000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated while reversing out of the garage, there was smoke coming from underneath the hood. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was out of the garage. The contact stated that the turned off the vehicle and opened the hood. The contact stated that there was a significant amount of black smoke coming out of the engine compartment. The contact stated that he attempted to disconnect the positive battery thermal but was unable to do so. The contact stated that he applied a fire extinguisher to the engine compartment; however the smoke persisted and the vehicle caught on fire. The contact stated that the fire then extended to the entire vehicle. The fire department extinguished the fire. The contact stated that the vehicle had burned to the ground and remained at the residence. The vehicle was totaled. A fire department report was filed. No police report was filed. There was no injury sustained. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V652000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic). The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 70,000.

NHTSA ODI 11563493

The contact owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V652000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulics) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact stated he heard noises coming from the engine compartment. The contact stated everyone exited the vehicle and the vehicle was on fire. The fire and police department arrived on the scene. A police and fire report was filed. There were no injuries. The vehicle was taken to a tow yard. The vehicle was deemed a total loss by the insurance adjuster. The dealer was made aware of the failure but confirmed that parts were not yet available. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown. VIN Tool Confirms Parts Not Yet Available.

NHTSA ODI 11557071

The contact owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V652000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic) however, the part to do the repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had experienced a failure. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH he saw smoke coming from under the hood. The contact stopped the vehicle and opened the hood. The contact stated that flames were coming from the passenger side front near the starter motor. The contact extinguished the flames with a hand-held fire extinguisher. The contact had the vehicle towed to an independent mechanic. The mechanic diagnosed the vehicle and replaced the battery, the battery cables, and the hoses. The vehicle had been repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000. VIN tool confirms parts not yet available.

NHTSA ODI 11556633

2011 KIA SORENTO EX 3.5 ENGINE SPORT UTILITY VEHICLE HAS RANDOMLY CHANGED IN THE WAY ITS FEELS SAFE WITH ROUGH INSTABILITY IN MY SUSPENSION COMPONENTS.MY BRAKES FAILED WHILE DRIVING ON A RANDOM BASIS AS WELL AS WHEN CAR IS PARKED WILL RANDOMLY CLICK IN MY GEAR SHIFT MECHANISM AND WILL FAIL TO LOCK WHEN CAR IS PARKED AND SHUT OFF IT WILL CLICK WHEN BRAKES ARE DEPRESSED.MY FRONT LIGHTS HAVE DIMMED AND BOTH BRAKE LIGHTS HAVE BURNED OUT CONSISTENTLY AS WELL AS MY STEERING WHEEL HAS FAILED WITH ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS RANDOMLY.CAR HORN IS INOPERABLE AND MY CRUISE CONTROL STOP FUNCTIONING. MY ALTERNATOR BURNED OUT ON ME AND MY CAR HAS HISTORIAL PROOF OF CONSISTENT MAINTENANCE WITH CAR FAX REPORT IN HAND .MY GAS MILAGE HAS SINCE DECREASED. MY SUSPENSION FEELS UNSAFE TO DRIVE AND REALLY BAD ON BUMPS AND AVERAGE ROAD CONDITIONS ARE ALSO VERY UNPLEASANT SO I HAVE PARKED IT UNTIL IT'S FIXED FOR ACTIVE RECALLS AND OTHER POTENTIAL MANUFACTURER DEFECTS

NHTSA ODI 11395866

MY KIA WAS BEING DETAILS, THE PERSON DETAILING THE VEHICLE GOT INTO THE VEHICLE. HE PUSHED THE START BUTTON DIDN'T START THE VEHICLE. HE STARTED IT BY INSERTING THE FOB IN THE CONSOLE. THE VEHICLE STARTED AT HIGH RPMS, DRIVER HAD HIS FOOT ON THE BRAKE, PLACED THE CAR INTO REVERSE AND THE CAR EXITED THE GARAGE AT A HIGH RATE OF SPEED, DRIVER APPLIED BOTH FEET ON THE BRAKES THE BRAKES DID NOT WORK HE TRIED TO STEER THE VEHICLE AWAY FROM THE CREEK THE STEERING DID NOT WORK.. THE VEHICLE DID STOP AFTER IT CRASHED INTO THE CREEK THAT WAS NEAR THE BUSINESS. THE DRIVER SUSTAINED INJURY TO HIS HEAD WHEN HE TRIED TO EXIT THE VEHICLE AFTER IT ENTERED THE CREEK. VEHICLE WAS PULLED FROM THE CREEK. DRIVER DID SEEK MEDICAL ATTENTION AT A LOCAL HOSPITAL.

NHTSA ODI 11074522

I BOUGHT MY 2011 KIA SORENTO PREOWNED CERTIFIED CAR ON 12/07/2012, THE NEXT EVENING 12/08/2012 I WAS DRIVING HOME FROM TOWN AND ABOUT ONE BLOCK BEFORE I GOT TO MY RESIDENCE I HEARD A NOISE LIKE SOMETHING HIT THE BOTTOM OF THE CAR. I THEN TURNED INTO MY DRIVEWAY AND AS I BEGAN TO COME TO A STOP I REALIZED I HAD NO BRAKES IN TURN HITTING ANOTHER PERSONS CAR THAT WAS PARKED IN MY DRIVEWAY. 911 WAS CALLED BECAUSE MY SON AND MYSELF WERE INJURED, AS THE FIRE DEPARTMENT INSPECTED THE CAR HE FOUND ON THE DRIVERS FRONT WHEEL THAT MOST OF THE BRAKE HAD FALLEN APART, THE BRAKE FLUID WAS LOW ALSO, LATER ONE OF THE BRAKE PADS WAS FOUND ON THE ROAD NOT FAR FROM MY DRIVEWAY NONE OF THE OTHER MISSING PARTS WERE FOUND. I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO TALK TO KIA AND THEY DON'T SEEM TO CARE NOR HAVE THEY TRIED TO RECTIFY THE PROBLEM AFTER A SOLID MONTH. TODAY WHEN I WAS LOOKING UP A PHONE # FOR YET ANOTHER KIA DEPT I FOUND THAT THERE WAS A RECALL FOR 2011 KIA SORENTO FOR THE EXACT SAME THING WITH MY CAR. KIA'S "PREOWNED CERTIFIED" PROGRAM GUARANTEES THAT THE CAR WENT THROUGH A 150 POINT INSPECTION BRAKES BEING A TOP PRIORITY. ALL THEY WILL SAY IS THEY CAN FIX MY SMASHED CAR AND THAT'S IT, I WAS LEAD BELIEVE I WAS BUYING A "CERTIFIED 150 POINT INSPECTED" CAR WHICH WAS NOT THE CASE. THE CAR IS NOT SAFE I WANT WHAT I WAS TOLD I WAS BUYING. THANK YOU *TR

NHTSA ODI 10492038

I BOUGHT MY 2011 KIA SORENTO PREOWNED CERTIFIED CAR ON 12/07/2012, THE NEXT EVENING 12/08/2012 I WAS DRIVING HOME FROM TOWN AND ABOUT ONE BLOCK BEFORE I GOT TO MY RESIDENCE I HEARD A NOISE LIKE SOMETHING HIT THE BOTTOM OF THE CAR. I THEN TURNED INTO MY DRIVEWAY AND AS I BEGAN TO COME TO A STOP I REALIZED I HAD NO BRAKES IN TURN HITTING ANOTHER PERSONS CAR THAT WAS PARKED IN MY DRIVEWAY. 911 WAS CALLED BECAUSE MY SON AND MYSELF WERE INJURED, AS THE FIRE DEPARTMENT INSPECTED THE CAR HE FOUND ON THE DRIVERS FRONT WHEEL THAT MOST OF THE BRAKE HAD FALLEN APART, THE BRAKE FLUID WAS LOW ALSO, LATER ONE OF THE BRAKE PADS WAS FOUND ON THE ROAD NOT FAR FROM MY DRIVEWAY NONE OF THE OTHER MISSING PARTS WERE FOUND. I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO TALK TO KIA AND THEY DON'T SEEM TO CARE NOR HAVE THEY TRIED TO RECTIFY THE PROBLEM AFTER A SOLID MONTH. TODAY WHEN I WAS LOOKING UP A PHONE # FOR YET ANOTHER KIA DEPT I FOUND THAT THERE WAS A RECALL FOR 2011 KIA SORENTO FOR THE EXACT SAME THING WITH MY CAR. KIA'S "PREOWNED CERTIFIED" PROGRAM GUARANTEES THAT THE CAR WENT THROUGH A 150 POINT INSPECTION BRAKES BEING A TOP PRIORITY. ALL THEY WILL SAY IS THEY CAN FIX MY SMASHED CAR AND THATS IT, I WAS LEAD BELIEVE I WAS BUYING A "CERTIFIED 150 POINT INSPECTED" CAR WHICH WAS NOT THE CASE. THE CAR IS NOT SAFE I WANT WHAT I WAS TOLD I WAS BUYING. THANK YOU *TR

NHTSA ODI 10492039

MY HUSBAND WAS ON PRIVATE PROPERTY. HE GOT IN THE CAR, PUT THE CAR IN REVERSE AND BACKED UP. HE HEARD A LOUD POP. HE PUT THE CAR IN DRIVE, AND HIS FOOT WAS STILL ON THE BRAKE. THE CAR BEGAN TO ACCELERATE ON ITS OWN WITH HIS FOOT ON THE BRAKE UNTIL THE VEHICLE GOT UP TO 60 MILES PER HOUR. TRYING NOT TO HIT THE HOUSE, OR THE PERSON OUTSIDE OF THE PROPERTY HE MANEUVERED THE CAR INTO THE BACK YARD. THE CAR WAS STEADILY PICKING UP SPEED AND HIS FOOT WAS ON THE BRAKE THE ENTIRE TIME. HE COULD NOT GET THE GEAR TO SHIFT OR THE BRAKES TO WORK. THE VEHICLE STRUCK A TREE AND THAT IMPEDED THE MOVEMENT OF THE VEHICLE. HE TURNED THE CAR OFF AND GOT OUT OF IT. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10470459

ON JAN 12,2011 I WAS COMING DOWN MY DRIVEWAY. I TRIED TO APPLY BRAKES AND IT FELT LIKE THEY WEREN'T WORKING. THE DRIVEWAY WAS ICE COVERED SO I JUST THOUGHT IT WAS THE ICY ROADS. THE CAR WOULD NOT SLOW DOWN OR STOP. THE CAR WAS SLIDING TOWARDS THE EDGE OF THE HILL, I TURNED THE STEERING WHEEL TO TRY TO AVOID GOING OVER THE HILL AND THE TAIL OF THE CAR WENT OVER AND THEN WE ROLLED. IT ROLLED PROBABLY TWICE AND CAME TO REST ON ITS TOP. THIS WAS THE SECOND TIME THAT I HAD FELT THAT THE BRAKES WERE NOT WORKING PROPERLY. AFTER THE WRECK I SAW THERE WAS A RECALL ON THIS CAR AND THEN I THOUGHT, MAYBE IT WASN'T MY IMAGINATION AFTER ALL. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10378451