2020 Kia Sorento: owner complaints and recalls

Complaints about the 2020 Kia Sorento include 1 report of a fatality, alongside 9 crashes and 11 fires across 130 filings.

130
Complaints
1
Recalls
9
Crash reports
11
Fire reports
20
Injuries
232.3
Severity index

Severity index 232.3 - High. It weights crashes, fires, injuries and fatalities per 100 complaints, so a vehicle attracting serious reports scores above one attracting many trivial ones (how this is calculated).

Middle half of all tracked vehiclesThis vehicle: 232.3p25 35p75 96cleanestworst
Where the 2020 Kia Sorento sits against the quartiles of every vehicle we track.

Among the 103 2020 vehicles we track with at least 40 complaints on file, the 2020 Kia Sorento ranks 2 of 103 by severity, where 1 is the worst. Its severity is higher than 98% of its model-year peers. See the full 2020 ranking.

What actually fails

EngineEngine: 63 complaints (48.5%)63 48%Unknown Or OtherUnknown Or Other: 23 complaints (17.7%)23 18%Electrical SystemElectrical System: 19 complaints (14.6%)19 15%Power TrainPower Train: 17 complaints (13.1%)17 13%Fuel/Propulsion SystemFuel/Propulsion System: 9 complaints (6.9%)9 7%Trailer HitchesTrailer Hitches: 9 complaints (6.9%)9 7%Exterior LightingExterior Lighting: 5 complaints (3.8%)5 4%Service BrakesService Brakes: 5 complaints (3.8%)5 4%
Systems named in complaints. One complaint can name several, so shares overlap.
ComponentComplaintsShare of complaints citing it
ENGINE6348.5%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER2317.7%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM1914.6%
POWER TRAIN1713.1%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM96.9%
TRAILER HITCHES96.9%
EXTERIOR LIGHTING53.8%
SERVICE BRAKES53.8%

Complaints filed per year

020402020: 72021: 112022: 112023: 212024: 142025: 402026: 26 (partial year)2021222324254026
Complaints filed per calendar year, not model year. The hatched bar is the current year and is still incomplete.
YearComplaints
20207
202111
202211
202321
202414
202540
2026 (year to date)26
Complaint volume is rising - the last three years carry 2.6x the filings of the three before them, which usually signals a wear-related defect surfacing with age.

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
Source. US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration public complaint and recall APIs (api.nhtsa.gov), retrieved 2026-07-25. Complaints are unverified consumer reports; volume is influenced by how many units were sold and how long the vehicle has been on the road. Not affiliated with NHTSA or any manufacturer.