69 owner complaints filed with the United States safety regulator · top issue: Electrical System · verdict AVOID 26/100
“The dashboard has a screen display. I couldn’t see my fuel tank information. Every time I would use my turn signal a large green circle would take over the screen. Followed by loss of the screen, meaning no speedometer, rpm, etc. As the problem continued the speedometer started displaying incorrect numbers. Saying I was going 70 miles an hour when I was actually going about 55. Gage for fuel and heat (notifying i”NHTSA complaint, 2025 Kia Sorento owner
“The transmission is not shifting gears correctly. The engine revs loudly and hesitates for a few seconds before shifting. There were no warning lamps. The vehicle has not been inspected yet. This causes a dangerous situation when driving and accelerating in traffic.”NHTSA complaint, 2025 Kia Sorento owner
“I was stopped at a red light. The light turned green, the vehicle in front of me was easily 4 car lengths ahead at this point into the intersection, I then slowly began to accelerate, my car gave me a false collision warning even though there was no car or hazard in front of me, then I brake checked me (initiated my brakes and slammed on them). This could’ve easily caused the car behind me to hit me and fortunately i”NHTSA complaint, 2025 Kia Sorento owner
| Reported | Component | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| 13/01/2025 | Electrical System:Body Control Module:Software SAFETY | Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2024-2025 Sorento, 2025 Sorento Hybrid, and 2025 Sorento Plug-In Hybrid vehicles. A software error in the Body Domain Control Unit (BDC) may cause a loss of low beam headligh |
| 25/08/2025 | Engine And Engine Cooling:Critical Fasteners | Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2025 K4 and Sorento vehicles. The connecting rod bolts in the engine may have been improperly tightened, which can cause a loss of drive power. |
| 27/01/2026 | Electrical System: Instrument Cluster/Panel SAFETY | Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2025 Kia K4, 2025-2026 Sorento, Sorento Hybrid, Sorento Plug-In Hybrid Electric (PHEV), 2026 Sportage, Sportage Hybrid, Sportage PHEV, K5, EV9, Carnival, and Carnival Hybrid |
On the federal record it scores 26/100: 69 owner complaints (69 per year on the road) and 3 recall campaigns, 2 touching safety-critical systems.
The most-reported component in NHTSA complaints is Electrical System, with 19 of 90 categorised reports.
The 2025 Kia Sorento scored 26/100 on the federal record.