Kia Sorento: which model years to avoid
Complaint and recall totals for every Kia Sorento model year we track, ranked by severity.
| Model year | Complaints | Recalls | Crashes | Fires | Severity | Most-reported system |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 875 | 5 | 21 | 76 | 94.6 Medium | ENGINE |
| 2013 | 977 | 5 | 23 | 44 | 63.5 Medium | ENGINE |
| 2014 | 978 | 6 | 23 | 45 | 60.7 Medium | ENGINE |
| 2015 | 746 | 3 | 20 | 14 | 47.7 Medium | ENGINE |
| 2016 | 1,239 | 8 | 29 | 49 | 45.4 Medium | ENGINE |
| 2017 | 788 | 4 | 12 | 31 | 45.9 Medium | ENGINE |
| 2018 | 248 | 3 | 12 | 11 | 97.6 High | ENGINE |
| 2019 | 418 | 2 | 10 | 19 | 67.5 Medium | ENGINE |
| 2020 | 130 | 1 | 9 | 11 | 232.3 High | ENGINE |
| 2022 | 183 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 29.5 Low | POWER TRAIN |
| 2023 | 109 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 40.4 Medium | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM |
| 2024 | 36 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 150.0 High | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM |
| 2025 | 67 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 65.7 Medium | POWER TRAIN |
Across 13 model years, the 2020 Kia Sorento carries the highest severity index (232.3, driven by engine), while the 2022 is the cleanest at 29.5.
Source. NHTSA public complaint and recall APIs. Complaint counts are not normalised by units sold; a high-volume seller will attract more filings than a rare trim.