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Recalls are issued for a make, model and model year. Whether the repair has already been done on one specific car is known only to its manufacturer and dealers. Check your vehicle's official status at nhtsa.gov/recalls or with a dealer.
US recalls (8)
Park outsideTrailer hitches
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 electrical short, which can result in a fire.
Risk and remedy
Risk: A fire while parked or driving can increase the risk of injury.
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.
Power train: automatic transmission, lever and linkage
Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2016 Sedona and Sorento vehicles. The vehicles may have been manufactured with faulty automatic transmission shift lever assembly components, preventing the shift lever from locking, which can allow the vehicle to rollaway.
Risk and remedy
Risk: A vehicle rollaway increases the risk of a crash and injury.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect and replace the automatic transmission shift lever assembly components, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed October 7, 2022. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC246.
Engine
Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2011-2017 Optima, 2012-2017 Sorento and 2011-2018 Sportage vehicles that previously received an engine replacement under recall number 17V-224, warranty, or the Knock Sensor Detection System (KSDS) Product Improvement Campaign. The high pressure fuel pipe that connects to the fuel pump outlet may have been damaged, misaligned or improperly torqued during the engine replacement procedure, possibly causing a fuel leak.
Risk and remedy
Risk: A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source can increase the risk of a fire.
Remedy: Kia has notified owners, and dealers will inspect and replace the fuel pipe, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began January 17, 2019. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC172.
Trailer hitches
Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 Sorento vehicles manufactured October 27, 2014, to August 25, 2016, and 2017 Sportage vehicles manufactured December 10, 2015, to August 26, 2016. The affected vehicles are equipped with an accessory trailer hitch wiring harness that, due to a malfunction of the tow hitch module, may result in the trailer brake lights being constantly illuminated. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 108, " Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."
Risk and remedy
Risk: If the trailer brake lights stay illuminated while being used, other drivers may be confused, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Kia will notify owners, and dealers will replace the trailer tow hitch harness, free of charge. The recall began January 18, 2017. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC142.
Seats
Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain model year 2016 Kia Sorento vehicles manufactured March 3, 2016 to March 21, 2016. The driver's seatback frame may have been produced with inadequate weld joints and, as a result, the seatback may not function as designed in the event of a rear-end collision.
Risk and remedy
Risk: In the event of a crash, the driver seatback frame could break and fail to restrain a seat occupant, increasing the risk of injury.
Remedy: Kia will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the welds and replace the driver seatback frame, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on December 9, 2016. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC140.
Suspension: rear
Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain model year 2016 Sorento vehicles. A component of the rear suspension may not be properly welded.
Risk and remedy
Risk: The improper weld may break, affecting the rear suspension alignment, thereby increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Kia will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the welds at the rear suspension cross-member, replacing the rear cross-member assembly, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began July 27, 2016. Owners may contact Kia Customer Service Department at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC137.
Seat belts: front, buckle assembly
Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain model year 2016 Kia Sorento vehicles manufactured October 23, 2014, to December 10, 2014. The affected vehicles have a front passenger seat belt whose buckle latch assembly may prevent the front passenger from fastening the seat belt.
Risk and remedy
Risk: If the front passenger seat belt cannot be latched, an occupant sitting in the front passenger seat has an increased risk of injury in the event of a crash.
Remedy: Kia will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger seat belt buckle cover, free of charge. The recall began on August 18, 2015. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC123.
Vehicle speed control: accelerator pedal
Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain model year 2016 Sorento vehicles manufactured October 27, 2014, to January 29, 2015. Due to an improperly soldered component in the accelerator pedal assembly, the driver may not be able to accelerate the vehicle.
Risk and remedy
Risk: If the vehicle is unable to be accelerated, there is an increased risk of a crash.
Remedy: Kia will notify owners, and dealers will replace the accelerator assembly, free of charge. The recall began on February 19, 2015. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC115.
Canadian recalls (8)
Show 8 Canadian recalls
Label
2024-08-15 · campaign 2024-549
Issue:
On certain vehicles, the compliance label may be missing information in French. The words listed on the label for "Tires", "Rims", "Front" and "Rear" appear in English only, when they should be listed as "Tires/Pneus", "Rims/Jantes", "Front/Avant" and "Rear/Arriere". Canadian regulations require this information to be listed on the label in both English and French.
Safety Risk:
These small errors do not affect vehicle safety.
Corrective Actions:
This is not a recall. Kia has corrected the compliance label for all new vehicles.
Lights and instruments
2023-08-11 · campaign 2023-449
Issue:
On certain vehicles, wear inside the multi-function switch could cause the headlights to turn off suddenly when the switch is in the AUTO mode.
Safety Risk:
A loss of headlights would reduce visibility and could increase the risk of a crash.
Corrective Actions:
Kia will notify owners by mail and advise you to take your vehicle to a dealership to replace certain parts in the multi-function switch. To reduce the safety risk, Kia recommends not to use the AUTO mode until the recall repairs have been completed.
Powertrain
2022-08-10 · campaign 2022-453
Issue:
On certain vehicles, a problem with the transmission shifter assembly may allow you to shift out of the Park position (P) without pressing the brake pedal. If the transmission is shifted without applying the brakes and the parking brake isn't used, the vehicle could move suddenly or roll away.
Safety Risk:
A vehicle that moves suddenly or that rolls away could create the risk of an injury or a crash.
Corrective Actions:
Kia will notify owners by mail and instruct you to take your vehicle to a dealership to inspect the shift lever assembly. The shift lock lever and holder will be replaced, if necessary. To reduce the safety risk, Kia recommends that you should always use the parking brake when you park.
Electrical
2021-11-05 · campaign 2021-680
Issue:
Certain vehicles may be equipped with an accessory trailer wiring harness that could fail. Over time, water could leak into the control module and cause a short circuit. If this happens, there could be loss of the trailer lights.
Note: This recall affects trailer wiring harness kits that may have been ordered at the time of a vehicle purchase, or purchased separately from a dealer as an aftermarket accessory.
Safety Risk:
A loss of trailer lights could make the trailer less visible. In addition, other drivers may not recognize that the vehicle ahead is braking or intends to turn. This could increase the risk of a crash.
Corrective Actions:
Kia will notify owners by mail and instruct you to take your vehicle to a dealer to inspect the trailer wiring harness. If the harness is from the lot (batch) affected by this problem, the dealer will replace it. Kia recommends that you should always check to ensure that trailer lights work properly before towing.
Engine
2019-03-18 · campaign 2019-143
Issue:
Kia Canada is conducting a Product Improvement Campaign that provides an update to the engine control module to detect potential problems before an engine fails. An engine failure may cause a sudden loss of power with an inability to restart.
Safety Risk:
A sudden loss of engine power could increase the risk of a crash.
Corrective Actions:
The company will notify owners by mail. Owners will be instructed to take their vehicle to a dealer to update the software for the engine control module.
Note: Vehicles repaired under Service Campaign SC023 already have this software update.
Fuel system
2019-02-27 · campaign 2019-098 · 760 vehicles
Issue:
When the engine was replaced under warranty or under Kia's Product Improvement Campaign SC023, the high pressure fuel pipe may not have been properly installed on the fuel pump outlet. A fuel leak could occur if the pipe was damaged, misaligned or improperly torqued during the recall repair.
Safety Risk:
Leaking fuel in the presence of an ignition source could increase the risk of a fire.
Corrective Actions:
The company will notify owners by mail. Owners will be instructed to take their vehicle to a dealer for an inspection. If fuel leakage is detected, the fuel pipe will be replaced with a new one.
Seats and restraints
2016-11-01 · campaign 2016-540 · 453 vehicles
On certain vehicles, the driver’s seatback may have been incorrectly welded at time of assembly. This could cause the seatback to fail in a rear-end collision, increasing the risk of injury to vehicle occupants. Correction: Dealers will inspect the seat back frame and replace if necessary.
Structure
2016-07-05 · campaign 2016-346
On certain vehicles, the rear crossmember assist arm bracket may not have been properly welded during the manufacturing process. This could cause the welds to break and affect the rear suspension alignment, which would result in poor vehicle handling, increasing the risk of a crash causing injury and/or damage to property. Correction : Dealers will inspect and replace the rear crossmember assembly as necessary.
Owner complaints (1,261)
Owners filed 1,261 complaints with NHTSA about the 2016 Kia Sorento (29 crashes, 50 fires, 19 injuries reported). Among 24 model years of this model, it ranks #2 for the most complaints (median 255).
| Most-reported problem | Complaints | |
|---|
| Engine | 697 | |
| Unknown or other | 167 | |
| Power train | 126 | |
| Structure | 111 | |
| Electrical system | 107 | |
| Steering | 81 | |
| Exterior lighting | 67 | |
| Vehicle speed control | 62 | |
Crash test ratings
NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings for the 2016 Kia Sorento.
| Version | Overall | Frontal | Side | Rollover |
|---|
| 2016 Kia Sorento SUV FWD | 5★ | 5★ | 5★ | 4★ |
| 2016 Kia Sorento SUV AWD | 5★ | 5★ | 5★ | 4★ |
Fuel economy
EPA ratings for each 2016 Kia Sorento version.
| Version | City MPG | Highway MPG | Combined | Yearly fuel cost |
|---|
| Sorento AWD 2.0 L Automatic (S6) | 19 | 25 | 21 | $3,200 |
| Sorento AWD 2.4 L Automatic (S6) | 21 | 25 | 22 | $3,050 |
| Sorento AWD 3.3 L Automatic (S6) | 17 | 23 | 19 | $3,550 |
| Sorento FE AWD 3.3 L Automatic (S6) | 18 | 25 | 21 | $3,200 |
| Sorento FWD 2.0 L Automatic (S6) | 20 | 27 | 23 | $2,900 |
| Sorento FWD 2.4 L Automatic (S6) | 21 | 28 | 24 | $2,800 |
| Sorento FWD 3.3 L Automatic (S6) | 18 | 25 | 20 | $3,350 |
Need this data in your app?
Recalls, complaints, crash ratings and fuel economy as a JSON API. Decode up to 50 VINs per call and get a daily feed of new recalls.
Explore the API →Sources: NHTSA recalls, complaints and 5-Star Safety Ratings, US EPA fuel economy and Transport
Canada's Vehicle Recalls Database (contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada).
Recalls updated 2026-10-30.