What 416 owners told NHTSA about the 2019 Kia Sorento Plug-in Hybrid

I BEGAN SMELLING BURNT PLASTIC AND MY BATTERY LIGHT CAME ON IN MY DASHBOARD. SHORTLY AFTER, ALL THE WARNING LIGHTS CAME ON IN MY DASHBOARD (ENGINE, ABS, TRACTION CONTROL, ETC). MY VEHICHLE WOUND UP DYING COMPLETELY ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. I BROUGHT IT TO THE KIA DEALERSHIP. THEY INFORMED ME THAT ALL OF THE INTERNAL WIRING WAS BURNT BEYOND RECOGNITION. THEY WERE UNABLE TO TELL WHERE THE PROBLEM STARTED OR ENDED. THEY ALSO MENTIONED THAT I WAS FORTUNATE THAT THE VEHICLE DIED WHEN IT DID BECAUSE SOME OF THE BURNT WIRE WAS AN INCH AWAY FROM MY FUEL LINE AND COULD HAVE CAUSED MY VEHICLE TO EXPLODE IF IT WAS RUNNING ANY LONGER. THE END RESULT OF DAMAGES THAT NEEDED TO BE REPAIRED INCLUDE A NEW ALTERNATOR, BATTERY, ENGINE HARNESS, O2 SENSOR TO NAME A FEW. ULTIMATELY THEY CLAIMED WARRANTY DIDN'T COVER AN "ACT OF GOD" SO MY INSURANCE WAS FORCED TO COVER THE COST OF THE DAMAGE.

NHTSA ODI 11389438

ON 7/25/2020, MY 2019 KIA SORENTO HAD COMPLETE BRAKE FAILURE, FOR THE THIRD TIME IN 4 MONTHS. I TOOK MY SORENTO TO MY DEALERSHIP SERVICE DEPARTMENT WHERE I WAS TOLD THAT THE PROBLEM WAS A "DEFORMED BOOSTER BRAKES VACUUM HOSE"WHICH THEY REPLACED (2 DAYS IN THE SHOP MARCH 23RD TOO MUCH 25TH). ON JULY 13, 2020 IT HAPPENED AGAIN AND THE CAR WAS BACK AT THE DEALERSHIP SERVICE DEPARTMENT, FOR THE SECOND TIME. A WEEK LATER(JULY 25TH) THEY CALL TO ME TO PICK UP THE CAR. THE SERVICE MANAGER INFORMED ME THAT THEY HAD REPLACE THE HOST WITH AN UPDATED VACUUM HOSE, AND THAT KIA COOPERATION ENGINEERS WERE AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM. ON SATURDAY 5 DAYS AFTER HAVING THE VEHICLE BACK FROM THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT, THE BRAKES FAILED AGAIN COMPLETELY WHILE I WAS DRIVING, WHICH RESULTED IN A ACCIDENT. MY INSURANCE COMPANY IS CALLING IT A TOTAL LOST. MY CAR IS A LEASE WITH 9,800 MILES ONLY.I HAVE HAD THE CAR FOR 1 YEAR ONLY. MY WAS NOT THE ONLY KIA SORENTO BROUGHT BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP WITH THE SAME PROBLEM. WHAT SHOULD I DO?

NHTSA ODI 11343232

ON AUGUST 25, 2019, WHILE DRIVING HOME TO NEW YORK, MY WIFE SAT IN THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT AND MY DAUGHTER SAT IN THE SECOND ROW SEAT BEHIND MY WIFE, I STOPPED AT A REST STOP FOR GASOLINE AT ABOUT 12:15 PM AS I PULLED INTO THE AREA WITH MY FOOT ON THE BREAK TO SLOW DOWN, THE CAR SURGED FORWARD AND I PRESSED HARD TO STOP THE CAR. IT STOPPED. ON THE SAME DAY, AT 4:17 PM, I PULLED INTO A SUNOCO GAS STATION. WITH MY FOOT ON THE BREAK AS I PULLED INTO THE STATION, THE CAR SURGED, I PRESSED HARD AND THE CAR SLOWED DOWN. I SLOWLY PULLED AROUND THE TWO OCCUPIED PUMPS AND PULLED BEHIND THE OTHER PUMPS. (TIME-4:19PM) A CAR WAS AT THE FIRST PUMP AND A MAN WAS STANDING AT HIS GAS TANK PUMPING GAS. WITH MY FOOT ON THE BREAK, I SLOWLY MOVED BEHIND HIS CAR AT ABOUT 2 MPH AND THE CAR ACCELERATED. I PUSHED HARD ON THE BREAK. THE CAR CONTINUED TO ACCELERATE AND HIT THE PROTECTIVE BARRIER SURROUNDING THE GAS PUMP. BOTH FRONT AIR BAGS DEPLOYED. FORTUNATELY, NO ONE WAS INJURED. THE CAR WAS TOWED. MY INSURANCE COMPANY, ALLSTATE DECLARED THE CAR 'TOTALED.' INCLUDED IN A SERVICE WAS A RECALL FOR A COMPUTER MECHANISM C/S: SA387 UM TCU LOGIC IMPROVEMENT DTC P0741. KIA TOLD ME IT WAS RELATED TO THE TRANSMISSION. DID THIS RECALL REPLACEMENT CONTRIBUTE TO THE ACCIDENT? I TOLD KIA CENTRAL ALSO THAT THE FCA (FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE ASSIST) DID NOT ENGAGE ON AUGUST 16. DID THIS MALFUNCTION CONTRIBUTE TO THE ACCIDENT? THESE CONCERNS WERE NEVER ADDRESSED OR INVESTIGATED BY KIA MOTORS. NUMEROUS CALLS TO KIA CENTRAL AND TO KIA CONSUMER ASSISTANCE CENTER WERE ATTEMPTED WITHOUT RESOLUTION AND MOST TIMES IGNORED. ON SEPTEMBER 24, KIA FROM CENTRAL CALLED ME TO INFORM ME THAT THE CASE WAS CLOSED. KIA DID NOT EVALUATE THE CAR OR AMELIORATE THE SITUATION. KIA NEEDS TO INVESTIGATE THE 2019 KIA SORRENTO FOR MALFUNCTIONING PERFORMANCE. PEOPLE COULD GET SERIOUSLY INJURED OR DIE! *JS

NHTSA ODI 11278855

MY KIA SORENTO 2019 HAS BEEN ACTING WEIRD FOR A WHILE. I HAD TALKED TO THE SERVICE GUYS AND I WAS TOLD ALL IS FINE. HERE ARE SOME OF THE MAJOR ISSUES: 1. THE CAR HAS AN ISSUE OF ACCELERATION. ONCE IT REACHES 45MPH IT BECOMES NOISY AND IT FEELS LIKE THE ENGINE IS ABOUT TO EXPLODE. THE ANSWER FROM THE SERVICE GUYS:" IT IS NORMAL." 2. THE BRAKES: IT TAKES TOO MUCH TIME TO STOP. SO, EVEN IF I KEEP MY DISTANCE FROM THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME, I ALWAYS STRUGGLE TO STOP AT THE SAFE DISTANCE AT THE STOP SIGN OR LIGHTS. THE ANSWER FROM THE SERVICE GUYS: 'NO PROBLEM WITH THE BRAKES.' 3. AFTER DRIVING FOR AN HOUR OR SO, THE MOTOR OVERHEATS SIGNIFICANTLY. 4. FINALLY, THE CAR ROLLED BACK FROM THE PARKING LOT (WHILE ON THE PARK MODE ) AND INJURED TWO PEOPLE, AND DAMAGED ANOTHER CAR.

NHTSA ODI 11233153