NHTSA lists 136 complaints for the 2020 Kia Sorento, 10 of them mention a crash and 12 mention a fire. 11 complaints mention an injury, with 21 injuries and 1 deaths reported.
Data build 2026-10-09.
NHTSA lists this vehicle as KIA SORENTO.
At a glance
Complaints
136
With crash
10
With fire
12
With injury (complaints)
11
Injuries
21
Deaths
1
Recalls
1
Do not drive recalls
0
Park outside recalls
1
Recall potential units (maximum)
70,887
Investigations
1
Open investigations
0
Manufacturer communications
92
Complaints per 100k sold: 182.118. Units sold: 74,677; sales year: 2020; basis: calendar_year_us_sales_proxy_for_model_year. goodcarbadcar.net.
Where the complaints are
Top systems
System
Complaints
Share of this vehicle's complaints
ENGINE
65
47.8%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
24
17.6%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
20
14.7%
POWER TRAIN
18
13.2%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
10
7.4%
TRAILER HITCHES
9
6.6%
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
5
3.7%
SERVICE BRAKES
5
3.7%
AIR BAGS
4
2.9%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE
4
2.9%
Top subsystems
System
Subsystem
Complaints
LANE DEPARTURE
BLIND SPOT DETECTION
3
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE
ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
2
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE
AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
2
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE
WARNINGS
2
BACK OVER PREVENTION
REARVIEW SYSTEM BRAKING
1
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
12V/24V/48V BATTERY
1
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
HORN
1
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
WIRING
1
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
ENGINE
1
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
HEADLIGHTS
1
One complaint can name several systems, so shares can add to more than 100 percent.
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.
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
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
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
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
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.
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
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
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.