There are some cars you shouldn’t miss in the compact crossover SUV segment and the 2021 Kia Sorento is one of them. This car has earned accolades for its wide range of powertrains, good looks, plush ride quality, as well as it’s excellent interiors. However, no car will establish a foothold in this category without having solid reliability credentials. And with predicted maintenance costs for five years being around $2,116 for this car, it has to prove itself in this aspect. With widespread complaints about Kia Sorento transmission problems, we have to conduct an in-depth investigation. Prices start at $30,565 and it competes against the Jeep Grand Cherokee, the Hyundai Palisade, and the Ford Bronco. Let us learn more about the 2021 Kia Sorento problems through this article.
2021 Kia Sorento User Complaints and Problems
Mechanical problems:
- Several owners have stated that the transmission control system has problems. From complaints about the shifting being rough, to not engaging drive or reverse, there have been numerous complaints that have been associated with 2021 Kia Sorento transmission problems. There have been a large number of catastrophic failures of the same part and more than half the complaints about this car have been regarding the transmission.
- According to one contact, upon inspecting an oil leak on the ground, the contact discovered that the oil drain plug had fallen out and caused oil to leak onto the skid plate. The lack of engine oil had caused the engine to fail and it needed to be replaced.
- One owner has complained that the car shut off without warning and would not restart. It seems to be another one on the list of Kia Sorento engine problems as the dealership could not figure out the cause. The car would show multiple error codes while starting up and had to be towed to the dealership multiple times.
- There have been instances where owners have reported a complete loss of vehicle power happening randomly. This problem goes away when the car is restarted but it seems to be one that warrants a Kia Sorento engine recall.
Electrical system problems:
- One owner reports that the vehicle's locks have an issue. With a key inserted and the ignition turned to the on position, the locks failed to automatically lock as designed. However, this failure occurs only when the vehicle is turned on.
Exterior problems:
- One owner reported that while using the headlights at night, there is a dark triangular non-illuminated section inside the field of light which causes a visibility hazard. There have been other complaints regarding the same issue. There needs to be a Kia Sorento headlight recall to fix the problem.
- There have been a few complaints that owners have had the sunroof shatter without any impact. Kia denies warranty claims in this instance even though it is no fault of the owner. There have been instances where the windshield cracks as well.
Safety problems:
- One owner states that the car’s driver assistance feature did not detect another slow vehicle upfront and caused a crash. What further disappointed the owner was that the airbags did not deploy in the event of this crash and two people sustained a concussion, fractured nose, and arm injuries.
- There have been a few complaints about the traction control system being too intrusive that the car is unable to accelerate when the road surface is slightly less than ideal. The same applies to the brakes that lock up in bad weather.
- Other owners have reported that the vehicle slows down suddenly even when there are no vehicles upfront by using the adaptive cruise control option. It goes without saying that the forward collision warning in these cars is totally defective.
2021 Kia Sorento Recalls
|
S. No. |
Date |
NHTSA Campaign Number |
Issues Noticed |
Additional Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
July 8, 2021 |
21V519000 |
Fuel leak at pipe connection |
It was noted that a fuel leak might happen at the pipe connection and this causes a huge safety concern because it can cause the risk of fire. |
Should you buy the 2021 Kia Sorento?
The Kia Sorento is a car that has a lot of good credentials but its reliability is not one of them. More than half of the complaints about this car have been regarding catastrophic problems like transmission failures. And the number of complaints seems to grow by the day. Another worrying fact is that Kia Sorento recalls have not addressed any of the major issues of the car. Despite how comfortable or spacious this car might be, we would never recommend it to our readers because it is utterly unreliable.
