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EnginePart report

2012 Kia Sorento Engine Problems

Complaints
461about this part
Share
52%of 880 total for the year
Median mileage
99,612miles
Trend
FallingComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are at least 25% lower than in the 3 years before.

NHTSA recorded 461 complaints about the engine of the 2012 Kia Sorento, 52% of the 880 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 99,612 miles. 2 of these say a crash was involved and 53 a fire, according to the filers. 2 recall campaigns on record are filed under a similar system.

Example complaints

Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.

“On april 9,2021 I was driving home the engine started making a noise and smoking. I pulled over and called a tow. The mechanic told me on monday 12th the engine needed replacement. I found out about the Kia engine recall last week. I never received a letter or heard from Kia before. I need to know how to handle this and what steps I can take.”

NHTSA complaint #11412848, filed 2021-04, 194,000 miles

“While driving on the Highway at 70 mph car started to slow and stall. I pulled out on an access road where I was able to come to a stop and push car into a fast food restaurant. This was the first incident. The second time it also stops while I was driving. We had to have it towed back home.”

NHTSA complaint #11588583, filed 2024-05, 146,928 miles

“I was driving and suddenly heard a knocking noise under the hood and then all of the lights came on and it broke down and I had to pull over on the side of the road then it started smoking and then it caught fire. This all happened within 20 minutes on 12/10/2020. It was in cobb county ga off of ew connector and in between fontaine rd and floyd rd.”

NHTSA complaint #11384057, filed 2020-12, 138,693 miles

“The car engine caught fire while I was driving. Another driver notified me so I could pull over. The engine fire destroyed the car. I notified Kia 1 month later, but the car had already been inspected/destroyed by usaa. Kia refused accountability (even though Kia was fined by the govt for cars of this make/model with this issue).”

NHTSA complaint #11408344, filed 2021-04, 60,000 miles

“I had my car serviced on 3/13/2020. I had a cracked valve cover gasket. I drove my car on 3/15/2020 to my dad's house. It was parked in my dad's driveway and turned off. About 15-20 minutes later it was on fire. The fire was on top of the hood over the engine area. Within minutes the whole front half of the car was an inferno.”

NHTSA complaint #11321957, filed 2020-04, 93,500 miles

Related recalls

Related service bulletins

Engine: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
2026117%
20251925%
2024512%
20233226%
20225227%
20216827%
20206748%
201915937%
201810742%
201738748%
201669655%
201536348%
201438839%
201349851%
201246152%
201128419%
200947%
20083516%
200775%
20066728%
20056321%
20044621%
20034314%

Other parts of the 2012 Kia Sorento

Electrical system
127 complaintsBrakes
103 complaintsOther or unknown
84 complaintsAir bags
81 complaintsExterior lighting
60 complaintsTransmission and drivetrain
55 complaintsFuel system
39 complaintsBody and structure
35 complaintsVehicle speed control
29 complaintsVisibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)
28 complaintsSuspension
22 complaintsSteering
20 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2012 Kia Sorento

About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 27, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.

To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology