What 978 owners told NHTSA about the 2014 Kia Sorento Plug-in Hybrid

VEHICLE ONLY STARTS IN NEUTRAL. REFUSES TO GO INTO PARK. ABS SEEMS LIKE IT'S ALWAYS ON BUT THE LIGHT ISN'T. HAD THE CAR CHECKED FOR ENGINE RECALL AND THEY SAID IT WAS FINE. NEVER ANY MAJOR ISSUES WITH CAR UNTIL THE PAST YEAR. HAVE REPLACED BRAKES AND WHEEL SENSOR AND DOES NOIR FIX PROBLEM. THE VEHICLE IS HARD TO SWITCH BETWEEN PARK, NEUTRAL, DRIVE AND REVERSE. AFRAID OF A MALFUNCTION THAT COULD CAUSE AN ACCIDENT. NOTHING SHOWS ON COMPUTER WHEN RAN. HAVE TO PRESS HARD IN PARK TO KEEP CAR FROM MOVING ON ITS OWN. RANDOMLY JUST SHUTS DOWN AND WON'T START UNLESS YOU MOVE THE STEERING WHEEL. VEHICLE DOESN'T WANT TO STOP ON A DRY ROAD WITH BRAND NEW BRAKES INSTALLED.

NHTSA ODI 11130678

POWER STEERING FAILED TWICE WHILE VEHICLE WAS IN OPERATION AT APX. 60 MPH.

NHTSA ODI 11110575

WHENEVER I START THE VEHICLE AND TURN THE STEERING I AM HEARING A CLUNKING NOISE.RECENTLY WHENEVER I TURN THE STEERING WHILE DRIVING I AM HEARING THIS SOUND. IT WAS STATED IN THE APRIL 2018 ISSUE OF CONSUMER REPORTS THAT THE 2014-2016 KIA SOUL HAS THE SAME PROBLEM

NHTSA ODI 11080401

AIR BAG FLASHING ON AND OFF , STERELING HAS A NOISE CLICKING

NHTSA ODI 11067130

1ST OCCURRENCE: ON JULY 10, 2017, AT ABOUT 11:30 A.M., I MADE A LEFT TURN ON A CITY STREET IN LAS CRUCES, NM, WHICH TOOK ME THROUGH AN UNDERPASS. IT WAS A 'WIDE' TURN AND I WAS PROBABLY MOVING AT ABOUT 25 MPH. ABOUT HALF WAY THROUGH THE TURN I LOST POWER STEERING AND BY BRUTE FORCE, WAS ABLE TO TURN MY CAR AND AVOID THE WALL OF THE UNDERPASS. HAD THERE BEEN ANOTHER CAR TO MY RIGHT, I WOULD MOST LIKELY HAVE HIT IT ON THE DRIVER SIDE. I BROUGHT MY SORENTO TO A STOP AND WAS ABLE TO RESTART THE ENGINE. I AM UNSURE WHICH CAME FIRST, THE LOSS OF POWER STEERING OR THE ENGINE STOPPING. LATER THAT DAY, I TOOK THE CAR TO THE LOCAL KIA SERVICE FACILITY WHERE NO PROBLEM(S) COULD BE FOUND. I WAS THE SOLE OCCUPANT OF MY SORENTO AT THE TIME OF THIS FIRST INCIDENT. 2ND OCCURRENCE: ON JULY 27, 2017, AT ABOUT 2:00 P.M., I MADE A RIGHT TURN ON A CITY STREET IN LAS CRUCES, NM. IMMEDIATELY AFTER COMPLETING THE TURN AND JUST BEGINNING TO MOVE STRAIGHT AHEAD AT ABOUT 30 MPH, I ONCE AGAIN LOST MY POWER STEERING. FORTUNATELY THERE WERE NO OTHER CARS IN CLOSE PROXIMITY AND I WAS ABLE TO COAST INTO A PARKING LOT, ONCE AGAIN USING BRUTE FORCE TO STEER. THE ENGINE WAS NOT RUNNING WHEN I BROUGH MY SORENTO TO A STOP, BUT I WAS ABLE TO RESTART AND DROVE DIRECTLY TO THE SAME KIA SERVICE FACILITY. NO PROBLEMS COULD BE FOUND THIS TIME EITHER. THOUGH I AM NOT 100 PERCENT CERTAIN, I BELIEVE THE LOSS OF ENGINE POWER PRECEDED THE LOSS OF POWER STEERING. MY WIFE WAS WITH ME WHEN THIS INCIDENT OCCURRED.

NHTSA ODI 11011995

I WAS DRIVING 70 MPH DOWN HIGHWAY WHEN CAR SHUTDOWN AND STERLING LOCKED, UNABLE TO CONTROL VEHICLE. COME TO FIND OUT NEXT FEW DAYS IT WAS THE ACCELATOR THAT CAUSED IT. I HAD NO CONTROL AND ALMOST GOT KILLED BY A 18 WHEELER DRIVING IN NEXT LANE.

NHTSA ODI 10874211

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2014 KIA SORENTO. WHEN THE CONTACT ATTEMPTED TO ACCELERATE, THE VEHICLE JOLTED THREE TIMES BEFORE ACCELERATING. THE FAILURE RECURRED THREE TIMES WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A LOCAL DEALER WHO INSPECTED THE VEHICLE AND FOUND NO FAILURES. THE FAILURE RECURRED ON A DIFFERENT DAY. ON ANOTHER OCCASION, WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 15 MPH, THE VEHICLE LOST STEERING AND BRAKING ABILITY. AS A RESULT, THE VEHICLE DROVE INTO A DITCH. THE BRAKE AND STEERING ABILITY RETURNED AND THE CONTACT DROVE TO ANOTHER LOCAL DEALER WHO WAS ALSO UNABLE TO FIND THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURES. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURES AND FOLLOWED UP WITH THE DEALERS, BUT THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURES WAS NOT DETERMINED. THE CONTACT WAS TOLD TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE UNTIL THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 41,000.

NHTSA ODI 10863467

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2014 KIA SORENTO. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT 5 MPH AND MAKING A LEFT TURN INTO THE PARKING LOT TO PARK THE VEHICLE, THE STEERING WHEEL AND THE BRAKES FAILED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A DEALER BUT WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 35,000.

NHTSA ODI 10845984

I PRESSED ON MY BRAKES TO AVOID HITTING THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME. THE CAR VEERED LEFT AND STARTED TO SWERVE. IT STARTED SPINNING OUT OF CONTROL.

NHTSA ODI 10746169

AUG 5 2014 WAS DRIVING HOME ENGINE JUST STOPPED, WHICH MAKES BRAKING AND STEERING VERY DIFFICULT. GOT ENGINE STARTED AFTER A FEW TRIES ,DROVE HOME WITHOUT FURTHER INCIDENT. CALLED KIA, HAD TOWED TO LOCAL DEALER. DEALER COULD NOT FIND ANY CODES OR PROBLEMS. MILEAGE 9500. ON JAN 7 2015 CAR WOULD NOT START IN PARKING LOT AT WORK. MANAGED TO GET STARTED, DROVE 500 YARDS AND ENGINE QUIT AT A STOP LIGHT. RESTARTED ENGINE, STARTED UP A HILL AND AFTER 500 YARDS OR SO ENGINE QUIT AGAIN. RESTARTED AGAIN CONTINUED HOME WITHOUT INCIDENT. ON JAN 7 2015 LEFT WORK, ENGINE QUIT AGAIN. RESTARTED AND CONTINUED ON. AFTER 8 MILES ENGINE QUIT WHILE TRAVELING UP A SLOPE ON SNOW COVERED ROAD. CAR SLID BACKWARDS INTO A DITCH. RESTARTED AGAIN, PULLED THE CAR FROM DITCH, CONTINUED ON. AFTER A MILE, ENGINE QUIT AGAIN. RESTARTED AND CONTINUED HOME WITHOUT INCIDENT . MILEAGE 14000. CALLED KIA UPON ARRIVING HOME. THEY ARRANGED A LOANER CAR FOR US AND WE TOOK SORENTO TO LOCAL DEALER AGAIN. DEALER PUT 30 MILES ON CAR WITHOUT INCIDENT AND CHECKED COMPUTER FOR CODES. NONE FOUND. KIA ENGINEERING INSTRUCTED THEM TO CHECK ALL GROUNDS. NO PROBLEMS FOUND. KIA ENGINEERING IS CURRENTLY SENDING A DATA RECORDER TO DEALER FOR INSTALLATION ON CAR FOR 30 DAYS TO MONITOR SYSTEMS. HOPEFULLY WE WILL HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM SO DATA RECORDER CAN PICK UP THE PROBLEM. ONLY PROBLEM IS WE ARE SCARED TO DRIVE THE CAR FOR FEAR OF A MAJOR ACCIDENT. KIA DOES NOT SEEM CONCERNED AT ALL ABOUT OUR WELL BEING OR ANYONE ELSE'S SHOULD WE BE IN OR CAUSE AN ACCIDENT. KIA ACTUALLY TOLD US THEY WERE NOT WORRIED ABOUT HYPOTHETICAL SITUATIONS. MIND YOU WE LIVE IN NORTHWEST PA. THE WEATHER IS LESS THAN HOSPITABLE MUCH OF THE TIME DURING THE WINTER MONTHS. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10678699