2019 Kia Sorento problems and recalls

Owners filed 252 complaints on the 2019 Kia Sorento in the last three full years, out of 433 on record. The most cited component is the Engine.

433
Complaints
2
Recalls
10
Crash reports
19
Fire reports
16
Injuries
64.3
Severity index

Severity index 64.3 Medium. The index weights crashes, fires, injuries and fatalities per 100 complaints. How it is calculated.

Middle half of all tracked vehiclesThis vehicle: 64.3p25 46p75 80cleanestworst
Severity index against the quartile range for all tracked vehicles.

Ranked 40 of 125 by severity index among 2019 vehicles with at least 40 complaints, highest first. 68% of those vehicles scored lower. Full 2019 ranking.

Components cited in complaints

EngineEngine: 158 complaints (36.5%)158 36%Unknown Or OtherUnknown Or Other: 111 complaints (25.6%)111 26%Electrical SystemElectrical System: 68 complaints (15.7%)68 16%StructureStructure: 56 complaints (12.9%)56 13%Power TrainPower Train: 51 complaints (11.8%)51 12%Fuel/Propulsion SystemFuel/Propulsion System: 24 complaints (5.5%)24 6%Exterior LightingExterior Lighting: 22 complaints (5.1%)22 5%Forward Collision Avoid…Forward Collision Avoidance: 18 complaints (4.2%)18 4%
A single complaint can cite more than one component, so shares total over 100%.
ComponentComplaintsShare of complaints citing it
ENGINE15836.5%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER11125.6%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM6815.7%
STRUCTURE5612.9%
POWER TRAIN5111.8%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM245.5%
EXTERIOR LIGHTING225.1%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE184.2%

Complaints filed per year

0551102018: 52019: 362020: 282021: 142022: 312023: 582024: 1072025: 872026: 67 (partial year)181920212223241072526
Complaints by the calendar year they were filed. The hatched bar is the current year to date.
YearComplaints
20185
201936
202028
202114
202231
202358
2024107
202587
2026 (year to date)67
Filings in 2023 to 2025 ran 3.5x those in 2020 to 2022 (252 against 73).

Recall campaigns

CampaignReportedComponentSummary
22V70300019/09/2022TRAILER HITCHESKia 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 d
23V63900015/09/2023BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERAKia 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 Fed

Other Kia Sorento model years

Severity index for every other model year on file. Compare all 14 years side by side.

Source. NHTSA public complaint and recall APIs (api.nhtsa.gov), retrieved 2026-10-23. Complaints are unverified consumer reports. Totals vary with units sold and years on the road. Not affiliated with NHTSA or any manufacturer.