Home · 2022 Kia Sorento Plug-in Hybrid · Complaints

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

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 (181)Crash / fire / injury (8)Transmission & drivetrain (59)Engine (50)Electrical system (27)Brakes (17)Visibility & wipers (16)Fuel system (14)Speed control (14)Steering (10)Driver assistance (8)Trailer Hitches (5)

59 of 181 complaints match · Transmission & drivetrain · clear filters · page 3 of 3

Nov 22, 2022Transmission & drivetrainElectrical system

Vehicle's rpm goes up but the vehicle does not move and then goes back into shift or shifts into neutral without manually doing it. It stalls and refusing to shift while driving, coasting or at stoplight/sign. It unpredictable when it's going to happen, Have almost gotten hit from being since it looks like I'm going and the car is not. No lights come on and I have reached out to numerous Kia services and keep getting runaround. I was told that there was no recall and looked it up and there is. Power window and reverse camera continue to not function correctly either. This care is dangerous to drive!

NHTSA ODI 11494553

Nov 6, 2022Transmission & drivetrainEngine

Transmission will not shift or rev to high for next gear then will drop back to correct rpm an shift. Car will stall out or not shift.Problem has been duplicated at dealer. Was at dealership with no correction available at time KIA Engr. advised no call back. Engine light stayed on would not reset at all dealer plus was told transmission replacements is only correction .Car had10K on it less then year.

NHTSA ODI 11492502

Nov 4, 2022Transmission & drivetrainBrakesDriver assistance

I got a Kia Sorento 2022 in May of 2022. I was very happy with the car but I noticed an issue with brakes within a few weeks. The brakes would feel as if it grind on the road when pushed down on a sudden stop. A little over 5 months and I was due for an oil change, I was informed there was a recall on the transmission system and it just needed to be updated, I was shocked I was not informed, nor did I see a recall online. I figured I would mention the brake issue. Upon getting the car back I was told the brake issue was due to "debris or pebbles found." I was told to change the rotators/pads if it continued (the car was only 5 months old?) NOW the car drives strange. When shifting gears the car makes a loud clicking sound. When braking the car lunges forward and the car jerks. I do not feel safe in the car. It only has under 4000 miles. It is currently at the dealership for Transmission Diagnosis(NotShiftingProperly,Leaks,Other).

NHTSA ODI 11492241

Oct 29, 2022Transmission & drivetrain

After applying brakes and momentarily stopping the car surged forward as if the transmission didnt properly disengage and required me to apply max force to brakes in order to not move forward.This happens every time I come to a stop .

NHTSA ODI 11491430

Oct 24, 2022Transmission & drivetrainSpeed control

Vehicle not shifting properly..sometimes when you let off gas it will accelerate and rpms shoot up..I believe it's a transmission issue..dealership was able to confirm this happened...definitely not safe if a car is in front of you and it just decides to accelerate on its own

NHTSA ODI 11490691

Oct 19, 2022Transmission & drivetrain

I purchased a new 2022 Kia Sorento in March of 2022. By the end of April, at 1626 miles, the vehicle started giving me a warning on the dash stating "Transmission System Error! Check transmission oil immediately." The problem was intermittent and the dealer was not able to reproduce it. The difficulty is that the transmission does not have a method to check the transmission oil level. I have returned this vehicle to the dealer three times for this same problem. When the message is displayed, the transmission only provides power to the wheels in the odd numbered gears (1, 3, 5, 7) and slips badly in the even numbered gears. During slippage, the engine revs to 4,000 RPM. Unknown damage has most likely been done to my transmission at this point and Kia refuses to take care of their customers.

NHTSA ODI 11489981

Aug 25, 2022Transmission & drivetrain

While driving on the highway, a warning message came on the screen that read "Stop Car Immediately". After getting off the highway, the car suddenly slowed down on the major road. Fortunately, I was in the right lane and able to turn off the road into a nearby parking lot. I had to get the car towed to the dealership overnight. In the morning, a representative of the dealership drove it around their building and said he didn't notice anything wrong. However, when I went to pick up the vehicle and tried to drive it off the lot, the same message appeared again, and the car wouldn't move. I went into the dealership and got the service tech. I showed him what was going on, and he confirmed the problem. They kept the vehicle to run more tests to determine the problem.

NHTSA ODI 11481294

Aug 8, 2022Transmission & drivetrain

CODE P1C2D03 POSSIBLE CONDITION WITH TRANSMISSION CONTROL SYSTEM. Kia Red Engine displays on dashboard,as the transmission disengages and will not engage in Drive or Reverse.Transmision locked up on highway and engine revved up to 5800 rpm's.Kia started to smoke and AAA towing needed to be called.The Kia sits at Dealership with another Kia Sorento brought in a week earlier with same problem.Kia Engineers are evaluating the problem since it's 2022 with 2017 miles and this is the first year with a new transmission.

NHTSA ODI 11478279

Feb 25, 2022Transmission & drivetrain

Transmission failed at 1561 miles. Will accelerate to 3000rpm do a 1-2 shift then immediately bang back into 1st. Car was flat bedded to dealer. Awaiting new transmission which is on backorder.

NHTSA ODI 11454126

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Working with the data? Download all 181 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 19, 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 2022 Kia Sorento Plug-in Hybrid verdict →