The Used Car Index

2019 Kia Sorento problems

NHTSA lists 428 complaints for the 2019 Kia Sorento, 10 of them mention a crash and 19 mention a fire. 10 complaints mention an injury, with 16 injuries and 0 deaths reported.

Data build 2026-10-09.

NHTSA lists this vehicle as KIA SORENTO.

At a glance

Complaints
428
With crash
10
With fire
19
With injury (complaints)
10
Injuries
16
Deaths
0
Recalls
2
Do not drive recalls
0
Park outside recalls
1
Recall potential units (maximum)
83,667
Investigations
1
Open investigations
0
Manufacturer communications
118

Complaints per 100k sold: 443.381. Units sold: 96,531; sales year: 2019; basis: calendar_year_us_sales_proxy_for_model_year. goodcarbadcar.net.

Where the complaints are

Top systems
SystemComplaintsShare of this vehicle's complaints
ENGINE15636.4%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER11025.7%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM6815.9%
STRUCTURE5512.9%
POWER TRAIN5111.9%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM245.6%
EXTERIOR LIGHTING225.1%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE184.2%
VISIBILITY/WIPER163.7%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL143.3%
Top subsystems
SystemSubsystemComplaints
STRUCTUREBODY54
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCEWARNINGS13
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCEAUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING6
LANE DEPARTUREBLIND SPOT DETECTION6
VISIBILITYSUN/MOON ROOF ASSEMBLY5
LANE DEPARTUREASSIST4
BACK OVER PREVENTIONREARVIEW SYSTEM BRAKING3
BACK OVER PREVENTIONWARNINGS3
LANE DEPARTUREWARNING3
EXTERIOR LIGHTINGHEADLIGHTS2

One complaint can name several systems, so shares can add to more than 100 percent.

Model-generated complaint tags

These labels are model-generated, not NHTSA data.

Failure modes
LabelCountShare of taggedMean confidence
mechanical failure9822.9%0.80
electrical electronic8820.6%0.87
loss of control6214.5%0.82
structural or corrosion5111.9%0.88
fluid or fuel leak4410.3%0.82
visibility or lighting296.8%0.92
fire or overheating235.4%0.89
unclear153.5%0.89
noise or comfort92.1%0.73
restraint or airbag92.1%0.87
Severities
LabelCountShare of taggedMean confidence
moderate24056.1%0.83
low14533.9%0.76
high337.7%0.82
critical81.9%0.97
none20.5%0.93

Model: typesafe/jev-1.13-20260917; schema version: tag-v1. 428 tagged complaints of 428 complaints (100.0%).

Confidence is the model's own probability for the label it chose (0 to 1), not accuracy.

Model-generated labels on tagged complaints only. Model years 2013 and newer are tagged in full; 2012 in part (see tagged_share); earlier model years have no tags. NHTSA's own flags remain separate in the complaints block.

Recalls

See new recalls and investigations this week.

2 recalls.

23V639000

Date: 2023-09-15. Systems: BACK OVER PREVENTION.

Defect: Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2019 Sorento vehicles. Due to a manufacturing error, water may leak into the rearview camera, which can cause the rearview camera image not to appear on the display. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."

Consequence: A rearview camera that does not display an image can reduce the driver's rear view, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Dealers will inspect the rearview camera and add additional water proofing to the camera harness, or replace the camera as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 8, 2024. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC282.

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

22V703000

Date: 2022-09-19. Systems: TRAILER HITCHES.

Defect: Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2016-2022 Sorento, 2021-2022 Sorento Hybrid (HEV), 2022-2023 Sorento Plug-In Hybrid (PHEV), and 2017-2022 Sportage vehicles equipped with a tow hitch harness installed as original equipment, or purchased as an accessory through a Kia dealership. Debris and moisture accumulation on the tow hitch harness module printed circuit board (PCB) may cause an el (excerpt)

Consequence: A fire while parked or driving can increase the risk of injury. (excerpt)

Remedy: Owners are advised to park outside and away from structures until the recall repair is complete. Dealers will inspect the vehicle, and, as necessary, replace the fuse and/or tow hitch harness module, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 11, 2023. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC249. (excerpt)

Do not drive: No. Park outside: Yes.

Investigations

1 investigations; 0 open.

DP22003

Opened: 2022-09-12. Closed: 2023-12-12.

Loss of Motive Power

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) received a letter dated July 13, 2022, petitioning the Agency to initiate a safety defect investigation into loss of motive power allegations attributed to oil drain pan assembly failures on certain Hyundai Motor America, Inc. and Kia America, Inc. vehicles spanning Model Years (MY) 2005-2021. The Petitioners cited examples of complaints i

Systems: ENGINE.

Linked campaign numbers: None listed.

Manufacturer communications

118 manufacturer communications.

Communications by system
SystemCount
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM42
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING27
ENGINE21
EQUIPMENT16
STEERING11
EQUIPMENT ADAPTIVE/MOBILITY8
FUE8
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE7

11037387

Date: 2026-09-10. Type: Emissions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE.

VOLUNTARY EMISSIONS SERVICE CAMPAIGN: OWNER NOTIFICATION (SC365) - This document is the owner notification advising that Kia is conducting an important Voluntary Emissions Service Campaign to improve the emissions software logic in the Electronic Control Module (ECM) to ensure compliance with emissi

11037380

Date: 2026-09-09. Type: Emissions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE.

VOLUNTARY EMISSIONS SERVICE CAMPAIGN: DEALER PRINCIPAL MEMO (SC365) - This document is the announcement to the dealer principals advising that Kia is conducting an important Voluntary Emissions Service Campaign to improve the emissions software logic in the Electronic Control Module (ECM) to ensure

11037381

Date: 2026-09-09. Type: Emissions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE.

VOLUNTARY EMISSIONS SERVICE CAMPAIGN: DEALER PARTS AND SERVICE MANAGER MEMO (SC365) - This document is the announcement to dealer Parts and Service managers advising that Kia is conducting an important Voluntary Emissions Service Campaign to improve the emissions software logic in the Electronic Con

11037382

Date: 2026-09-09. Type: Emissions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE.

VOLUNTARY EMISSIONS SERVICE CAMPAIGN: QUESTION AND ANSWER (SC365) a This document is the Question and Answer Guide containing the most frequently asked questions regarding Voluntary Emissions Service Campaign SC365.

11037383

Date: 2026-09-09. Type: Emissions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE.

SC365_POC: PROOF OF CORRECTION CARD

11037384

Date: 2026-09-09. Type: Emissions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE.

SC365_STKR: VOLUNTARY EMISSIONS SERVICE CAMPAIGN COMPLETION LABEL/STICKER

11037385

Date: 2026-09-08. Type: Emissions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE.

TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: VOLUNTARY EMISSIONS SERVICE CAMPAIGN: This bulletin provides the procedure to update the emissionsa related logic of the Engine Control Unit (ECU) system software on certain 2019a 2020MY Sorento (UMa) and 2019a 2021MY Sedona (YP) vehicles equipped with the 3.3L GDI Lam

11034003

Date: 2026-06-08. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: STRUCTURE.

TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: CUSTOMER SATISFACTION: THEFT DETERRENT IGNITION CYLINDER PROTECTOR AND DECAL INSTALLATION (CS2312) - This bulletin has been revised to include additional information. New/revised sections of this bulletin are indicated by a black bar in the margin area. This bulletin prov

11031854

Date: 2026-04-04. Type: Emissions. Systems: ENGINE.

VOLUNTARY EMISSIONS SERVICE CAMPAIGN: THETA II 2.4L GDI EMISSIONS: ECM LOGIC IMPROVEMENT (SC340 REVISION 5) - This bulletin has been revised to include additional information. New/revised sections of this bulletin are indicated by a black bar in the margin area. This bulletin provides information to

11029979

Date: 2026-03-06. Type: Emissions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE.

TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: VOLUNTARY EMISSIONS SERVICE CAMPAIGN: THETA II 2.4L GDI EMISSION SECM LOGIC IMPROVEMENT (SC340 REV 4) - This bulletin has been revised to include additional information. New/revised sections of this bulletin are indicated by a black bar in the margin area. This bulletin p

Notes on this record

  • Complaints from the API and bulk file are merged and deduplicated by ODI number; the API alone misses records.
  • System and subsystem counts are numbers of distinct complaints, recalls or communications that name them. One record can name several systems, so shares across systems can add to more than 100 percent; a single share never exceeds 100 percent.
  • Recalls are counted once per campaign, investigations once per action and manufacturer communications once per NHTSA id, even when NHTSA lists several model names for the same record.
  • A sales denominator is a calendar-year proxy, not the population of vehicles still in use. Rates are copied from verified pipeline output.

Other names NHTSA uses

None listed.

Matched NHTSA models

Matched labels and complaints
NHTSA model labelComplaints
SORENTO428

Same model, other years

All model years | All Kia models

Other Kia models, 2019

Sources

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