What 181 owners told NHTSA about the 2022 Kia Sorento Plug-in Hybrid

The vehicle began misfiring while driving on the highway. The check engine light turned on. The vehicle shook violently when the gas pedal was pressed. The vehicle was unable to accelerate and required the driver to pull over on the side of the highway. This issue has presented itself several times since the original incident. After multiple visits to the dealer, the issue has NOT been resolved. The check engine light has been caused by code P0301 (misfire cylinder 1) as well as P0304 (misfire cylinder 4). Spark plugs and ignition coils have been replaced by the dealer, but the issue still persists. Forcing the vehicle to pull over and being unable to accelerate on the highway is risk to the driver's safety as well as the safety of other vehicles on the road. The vehicle also now struggles to start and begins misfiring when left off overnight and started cold.

NHTSA ODI 11610947

10/19/2022 – Vehicle stuck in drive and would not shift out of drive. Vehicle towed to the dealer and not touched for a day and a half. Dealer found walnut lodged in shifter column which was preventing the shifter from going into park. Dealer also performed software update on vehicle. 10/21/2022 – Picked up vehicle and it was shifting very hard through every gear, returned to the dealer for further repairs. 10/26/2022 – Picked up vehicle again and performance improved but it still shifted hard and lurched when coming to a stop and when going in reverse. Dealer stated that they had retrained the transmission and performed another software update related to the transmission. I told them that I was driving out of town tomorrow morning for 10 days and that this was the only vehicle I could take and asked if they could provide a rental. Dealer stated that the current issues would not cause any long-term damage and that I could bring it back when I got back in town and that they would take care of it then. 11/17/2022 – Returned vehicle to dealer to correct the previous issues, they said that they did another software update and that it is shifting properly. Performance has improved but the vehicle would still lurch when going into reverse and occasionally when coming to a stop. 12/22/2022 – Returned vehicle for scheduled maintenance and safety recall for the transmission. Another software update was performed and transmission has been working without issue so far. 4/18/2024 - When driving while accelerating we experience a significant loss of power and it will not accelerate as normal. I can have the pedal nearly to the floor and it will barely move. When this occurs you can see the @ symbol flashing on the dash but no other warning lights or indicators. This is the 6th time this happened since February of this year and it has happened 3 times while on the on ramp to the freeway. This has continues to occur at least 3 times a week every week.

NHTSA ODI 11600568

My 2022 Kia Sorento has 18K miles on it and in Feb 2024 the first incident of this issue occurred. I will be accelerating or driving through traffic (coming on and off the gas), the car will lurch several times, and then the gas pedal will stop working and the car loses all acceleration. No engine light or warning comes on. The car remains on, but it won't accelerate. I have to restart the car one or more times to get the acceleration to reengage. Since Feb 2024 it has happened 4 times, most recently on May 7, 2024. On these occasions I was driving 5-10mph, 30mph, 40mph, and once at 60mph. I have had all other required maintenance performed, checks performed, etc. I have taken it to the dealer where I leased the vehicle twice. They have not been able to replicate the issue. I'm not sure what this means, "is it available for inspection upon request" but if someone wanted to inspect it, absolutely it's available.  The car completely stops accelerating, foot to the floor on the gas pedal and no acceleration happens. This happened to me on 4 separate occasions at 5-10mph, 30mph, 40mph, and once at 60mph at exactly the busiest and heavily trafficked highway in my area that has accidents on a daily basis. It's extremely dangerous.  I have taken the car in twice, am scheduled for a third visit. They've kept it for multiple days both times and haven't been able to replicate the issue.  The vehicle/component has NOT been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others There were no other warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure. The engine light does not come on. No other warning signs of symptoms before this started happening or before each failure. The first issue happened on Feb 6, 2024, then again on March 22, 2024, then again on March 23, 2024, then again on May 7, 2024.

NHTSA ODI 11587602

I was driving on the highway when my car suddenly lost all power. I tried to brake, but the pedal went straight to the floor several times with no pressure. The car finally slowed down, and I believe the ABS kicked in, causing a jerky stop. I managed to pull over, but the engine was barely idling and seemed on the verge of stalling. This was a very dangerous situation. Not only did losing power on the highway put me at risk, but I also had to wait on the side of the road at night in the rain with traffic whizzing by. When I initially checked for the problem, I noticed a strong smell of gasoline and exhaust fumes, with no other indications of failure. Check engine light is now on, and there was a warning failure but i can not recall what it said.

NHTSA ODI 11582501

Engine shaking P03400

NHTSA ODI 11556353

What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? Engine Control System - yes, it is. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? Check engine light came on, the car start shaking really hard, and there was a loss of power. Kia has said the car isn't safe to drive. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? No, not yet. Kia dealers are saying it'll be 3-4 months before they can inspect it to figure out what is wrong. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? The check engine light came on at the time the failure occurred. Codes are P219FF and P030400 both are tied to the Powertrain.

NHTSA ODI 11550880

1)Transmission keeps slipping on a car that is one year old. Typically it’s from a park>drive or park>reverse but it also happens while accelerating. The worse instance so far has been while I was pulling across an intersection and my gas pedal was to the floor and the car just froze like it was in neutral… rpms went up but car “disengaged” and I had to let off the gas and try again and it engaged. This was a HUGE safety issue as cars were coming at me and I was stuck. I have take the car to KIA FOUR times for this issue and they keep telling me that if there was an issue there would be a check engine light on and they can’t do anything. 2) Adaptive cruise control and lane assist functions keep randomly stopping and have to be reset. 3) Rotors are crap. I have had to to have them turned twice in the first year of ownership and they are making a squealing sound now for a 3rd time. There are tons of complaints about this online and Kia fails to consider it a warranty issue. 4) Two pieces of the car have randomly flown off… Kia says there are no known defects so they won’t help. A piece of windshield cowl came off at highway speeds and a rear axle plastic guard/cover came off and dragged for awhile before I had to zip tie it up…. Again normal highway driving, no off road- no excuse for this to be falling apart and flying off where it can cause harm to other drivers.

NHTSA ODI 11548659

I was driving on the highway last night again and my 2022 Kia Sorento SX Prestige AWD lost engine power and the check engine light immediately came on. The truck would intensely vibrate when I tried to push the gas to get over to the highway shoulder. This was extremely unsafe on a highway but I was able to pull over to the shoulder and stop the car and turn it off. When I turned it on, the check engine light remains on and vibrations persist. Even after waiting and multiple restarts. This was the fourth event of this engine issue in the past 6 months. With the same engine power loss and crazy vibrations. The three previous times, the engine light goes off after the first restart and truck drives normal. I even brought it into the dealer and they used the engine diagnostic device that showed no code so they say there’s nothing they can do. But now it’s the following morning, engine light remains on and car is shaking still. I have recordings of this event now bc Napleton Kia of Elmhurst is not believing me. As a traveling healthcare worker, my vehicle is my primary resource. The truck barely has 17k miles on it and all maintenance and care is on point. To shell out over $60k for a ‘top of the line’ SUV that could’ve just ended my life on the expressway is extremely terrifying and disappointing. I urge the NHTSA to please look into these engine issues before someone’s life is ended because of it.

NHTSA ODI 11547494

I backed a boat trailer into the lake to load a boat. I had the car in Park and had the engine running and the driver side door open about half way. After about 2 minutes I was standing behind the vehicle cranking the boat onto the trailer. The car came out of park without notice and no one in the vehicle. It went into reverse and was driving into the lake. I was nearly runover by the vehicle but got to the side. The open driver side door caught the dock and slowed the vehicle down enough for me to get in the vehicle and step on the brake. I was able to drive the vehicle out but water was over the rear tire. The driver side door is a complete loss. If the door did not catch the dock to slow it down I could have been trapped under the vehicle and drowned or the car fully submerged in the lake. Dealer was contacted. Insurance claim filed.

NHTSA ODI 11546591

Transmission keeps lurching between gears. Going from park to drive or park to reverse causes a lurch before it shifts and from what I would guess is when it goes from 1st to 2nd it also lurches/shudders. Took to dealer and service advisor said he felt it (it’s intermittent) but his transmission guy said there was nothing wrong and that he couldn’t reproduce my complaint. Kia dealer did a “reset” and nothing changed. 2nd issue is the lane assist randomly stops working and has to be turned off and sometimes the whole car needs to be turned off and turned back on for it to work again. Dealer also “reset” this system which did not fix anything. I have an appointment to take it back to the dealer, but I feel like they are gaslighting customers and there should be some awareness on these issues. My car is one year old and my rotors have also already failed and had to be turned…. There is a quality issue.

NHTSA ODI 11543058

First off, Kia states that if there is not an illuminated check engine light, they cannot do anything for me …. I will post a photo of the instrument cluster if I can find where to do it. This issue has been going on for a couple months and it is steadily getting worse as time goes by there’s no rhyme or reason to why it does it just get in the car and start driving. You may make it 2 miles. You may make it 100 miles, but when it wants to it just turns itself off totally no power whatsoever coasting down the highway with nothing. Transmission is clunky as hell as well. Mostly all in low speeds like in traffic.

NHTSA ODI 11542455

The contact owns a 2022 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power. The contact stated that the accelerator pedal was depressed however, the vehicle failed to respond. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact pulled off the roadway and turned off and restarted the vehicle and the vehicle resumed normal operation. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The contact researched online and related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V760000 (Power Train) however, the VIN was not included. The failure mileage was approximately 20,000.

NHTSA ODI 11539933

Vehicle lost power on the highway without warning. I would hit the gas but nothing would happen. Turned the car off and on a few times and after a few minutes it worked but every light on the dashboard came on. Took it to dealership who said the transmission lost contact with power steering and hybrid system. They reset the code but then 4 days after I got it back, every light on the dash lit up again and it was very jerky as I drove it. Seems like it’s the same issue as the recall from late 2022 even though online it says my car isn’t one of the ones affected when I enter my VIN.

NHTSA ODI 11538874

Received "Stop Vehicle Immediately" warning on 5/11/23. Notified Destination KIA service department on 5/12/23 and was advised that if the check engine light was not on, that I shouldn't bring vehicle in. Destination KIA scheduled recall service for 07/09/23. On 5/13/23, vehicle lost all power, on highway, and rolled to a stop. Vehicle stopped on a bridge, with no shoulder, and in a travel lane. Myself and three occupants were placed in substantial risk of being struck by other vehicles. Vehicle was diagnosed at Destination KIA and determined this was a result of transmission failure.

NHTSA ODI 11529007

Failures with power train around 12,000 miles. Code P1C2D03. Engine jumps gears and may require full transmission replacement. Upon research, there are at least nine other separate complaints of the same issue under 12,000 miles. Car was brought in a month earlier to have the front camera replaced due to a latent defect in the sensor causing forward assist to erroneously lock the brakes while driving. As an aerospace/automotive quality engineer, I am appalled that there isn't a major recall on this vehicle for powertrain failures under 12,000 miles. https://www.carcomplaints.com/Kia/Sorento/2022/transmission/transmission_failed.shtml 12/27/22 – At around 12,000 miles the SUV wouldn't accelerate while driving 20mph to 40mph. Also, it wouldn't get out of 1st gear off the line. On its 3rd transmission in 2 months. 8/4/22 - Kia Sorento is 5 months old, with 2017 miles locally driven, and this is the third time the transmission has failed me while driving. 2/21/22 - Transmission failed at 1561 miles. It would accelerate to 3000rpm, do the 1-2 shift then bang back to 1st gear. https://www.kia-forums.com/threads/transmission-recall-updated-information.360349/ 4/2/23 - Waiting to hear whether I’ll need a new transmission on my SX Prestige 2022 Sorento. 8000 miles on the clock and it started struggling to change out of first. 5/4/22 - same with my 2021 Sorento 11,582 miles, been at the dealers since last Thursday night (4/28/22). This is what’s on my Kia app…Code P1C2D03. (1) Powertrain 5/8/22 - Same milage basically here at 10,400mi for my failure. Transmission was not rebuilt for me FYI. It was a brand new transmission from factory shipped in. 5/10/22 - Check engine code was P1C2D03. I have had the car 15months, and not even 25k yet. Mine is 2021 SX 2.5Turbo AWD https://sorentoforums.com/threads/2021-kia-sorento-transmission-light-wont-move.149/ 5/10/22 - Mine is the same code P1C2D03 and they tell me they've never seen this code before. I have 8500 miles on it.

NHTSA ODI 11527309

When accelerating onto a highway from a stop the vehicle hesitated to the point that a collision with cross traffic was imminent. This has happened 5-6 times in the year we have owned the vehicle. It is not predictable and mechanics have not been able to duplicate the problem. This happened a week ago and we were able to see the Electronic Stability Control indicator light flash on and off as the hesitation occurred. We have had the KIA dealership in Joplin, MO try to troubleshoot the problem but to no avail. The dealership has installed other transmission-related updates but none have fixed this problem. We are unable to report this on the KIA website due to glitches on the site such as "invalid VIN" or "session has timed out". The Sorento "Features and Functions Guide", page 44, comments that "aggressive acceleration maneuvers" may cause a "slight time lag" due to clutch overheating in cars with Dual Clutch Transmission. The incidents we have experienced have been associated with what we would consider to be normal acceleration needs.

NHTSA ODI 11518302

Loss of power while shifting gears for roughly 3 seconds between each gear change causing check engine light to illuminate. No issues detected by Kia diagnostic check in Kia Access app. Believed to be a similar issue as stated in recall 22V760000 regarding power train, but has yet to result in a complete loss of power.

NHTSA ODI 11515045

The contact owns a 2022 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle was jerking and was losing motive power while at a stop light. The vehicle was able to restart, and no warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where an unknown software update was completed. The vehicle was repaired; however, the contact stated that the failure recurred and the gauges on the instrument panel were failing to display and that the auto START/STOP function and the downhill brake control were activating and deactivating independently while driving on flat surfaces. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, where the failure could not be duplicated. The contact then stated that when she was shifting the gear into drive(D) the vehicle started reversing, and while shifting into park(P), the vehicle moved forward. Additionally, the contact stated two unknown warning lights had illuminated intermittently and that while driving at approximately 50 MPH, the Forward Collision Avoidance Emergency Automatic Braking activated independently and caused the vehicle to swerve. The vehicle was then taken to Kia of Valencia (24095 Creekside Rd, Santa Clarita, CA 91355) where it was diagnosed that the Lo-Jack system needed to be removed; however, after the removal the contact stated that the failure recurred. The contact was awaiting another service appointment for additional diagnostic test and repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The approximate failure mileage was 13,882.

NHTSA ODI 11503990

Dear. NHTSA Good morning, Yesterday I filed a complaint regarding 2022 Kia Sorento Car Problems regarding recall issues. This morning, I received a response from NHTSA saying that NHTSA cannot help with this matter. My complaint is about serious car issues which concernts 2 recall issues. Kia America took my car for repair on 12/20/22 and today is 01/27/23 Until today, Kia American is not responding about my car. Kindly re-review my complaint and help advise. My case information is as below. Request #[XXX] Re: Kia Customer Care Case#[XXX] Thank you for your help. Best regards, [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11503971

Dear. NHTSA I owned a 2022 Kia Sorento and my vehicle had serious issues. I have attached Complaint Letter as a PDF file. Kindly review and advise your help. Thank you so much. Best regards, [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11503798

There was a complete loss of motive power. Myself and my passenger were on a busy 5 lane road approaching a busy intersection when the check engine light came on as well as a "Stop Safely Immediately" message and an audible chime sound. Then the car lost power. I was in the middle lane and had no way nor time to pull over safely before the vehicle lost power. Thank goodness I was slowing down for a stop light. This was the first time I had received any warnings, messages or other symptoms. The vehicle was towed to the dealership. They tell me that the recall number 22V760 is not the reason for the incident, but they do not know what the problem is. They have now had my vehicle for 43 days and still do not know what is wrong with it. I just completed a letter to KIA Consumer affairs as a written demand for a refund. I am calling them and filing a complaint online tomorrow.

NHTSA ODI 11502522

The contact owns a 2022 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while driving at an unknown speed, he heard abnormal sounds coming from the vehicle. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact continued driving to his destination. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer where a software upgrade on the transmission was performed. The vehicle was repaired but continued to experience the failure. The contact then received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V760000 (Power Train). The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer and had the recall repair completed. The contact stated that the failure persisted. The contact took the vehicle back to the dealer, but the mechanic was unable to duplicate the failure. The contact continued to experience the failure. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 5,000.

NHTSA ODI 11499956

There was a complete loss of motive power. Myself and my passenger were on a busy 5 lane road approaching a busy intersection when the check engine light came on as well as a "stop safely immediately" message and an audible chime sound. Then the car lost power. I was in the middle lane and had no way nor time to pull over safely. Thank goodness I was slowing down for a stop light. This was the first time I had received any warnings, messages or other symptoms. The vehicle was towed into my KIA Dealership. They have had the car since December 6th and have not been able to tell me what is wrong. Before I received my recall letter, I had researched where other people have had the same issue and that KIA was recalling over 65,000 Kia's for this problem. KIA has run diagnostics on the vehicle but claims it is not due to this issue. Then on December 27th I received a safety recall for this very same issue stating that this notice applies to my vehicle and had my VIN number on it. The dealership has been waiting for KIA to diagnose the problem and have no idea when I can have my vehicle back. After demanding a loaner vehicle from KIA, two weeks later, I was finally given a Hertz rental car that is not comparable to my vehicle and which I have to pay $14.99 daily for insurance that KIA would not pay for.

NHTSA ODI 11499327

The contact owns a 2022 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while driving 50 MPH, the vehicle stalled inadvertently. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact was able to veer to the side of the road. The contact was able to restart the vehicle and continued driving. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where an unknown software update was completed; however, the failure reoccurred while driving 20 MPH. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where the same software update was completed; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact later received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V760000 (Power Train), which she related to the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was filed. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ODI 11499163

This has happened to this car 2 times already. First when the vehicle only had 12k miles, an MIL showed up. Took it to the dealer and they said they could not find any DTC codes in there. When they gave it back to me the MIL light was off... Surprisingly. 2nd time, 16k miles, the transmission gear was slipping some of the gears and we have never taken this vehicle to off road. The MIL light came back on and also a message saying "Transmission system error! Check transmission oil immediately". After this message came to the dashboard , the transmission started to fail and like going into limp mode - could not drive this vehicle over 20mph. Fortunately , this issue happened during the day so I took my kia 2022 Sorento AWD to the dealer. Now my vehicle is there for 4 days now and they dont know what is really going on with it. They are now talking with the headquarters Engineers to see if they can figure this out but so far nothing yet. The dealer still have my vehicle trying to figure this out.

NHTSA ODI 11494763