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Transmission and drivetrainPart report

2017 Kia Sorento Transmission and drivetrain Problems

Complaints
37about this part
Share
5%of 808 total for the year
Median mileage
56,574miles
Trend
RisingComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are at least 25% higher than in the 3 years before.

NHTSA recorded 37 complaints about the transmission and drivetrain of the 2017 Kia Sorento, 5% of the 808 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 56,574 miles. 1 of these say a crash was involved and 1 a fire, according to the filers.

Example complaints

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

“After 650 miles: merging onto a highway: engine rattled. Engine died. We coasted to the shoulder. We stopped. I put the vehicle in park. Smoke was coming from under the hood. Looking underneath, we saw the car was on fire. Initially the fire was under the engine. We got away from the car and called 911. The fire department came and put it out. By this point it burned the front 2/3 of the car. The car got towed to an automotive towing place.”

NHTSA complaint #11003183, filed 2017-07, 650 miles

“On 3/24/2019, our 2017 Kia sorrento with 30k miles on completely shut down on the freeway. All lights went on and off, the car shook from side to side and the car shut down we lost steering and power brakes while we were going 70mph on the freeway. Luckily we were able to get to the side of the freeway. This happened 2 more times and then we had the car towed to a dealership for service. This could have easily caused a life threatening car accident and we no longer feel safe driving this Kia. …”

NHTSA complaint #11191588, filed 2019-03, 30,000 miles

“Vehicle was parked, and running, on sloped driveway. My wife, who had exited the car, returned to turn the car off. She opened the door and turned the car off. The car then began rolling down the driveway. The car door was still open and my wife ended up running backwards with the car, which went into a street and hit a curb. The door hit my my wife in the head causing her to fall. She sustained road rash abrasions on her hip and shoulder. She has no recollection of the incident. She spent a night in the hospital and had to undergo a ct scan, brain mri, eeg and hip xray. …”

NHTSA complaint #11056570, filed 2017-12, 19,100 miles

“Our 2017 Kia Sorento v6 with mileage of 54,882, underwent a multi-point inspection on mon., 10/08/2018 at luther Kia of bloomington and was tech driven for 2 wks in an effort to duplicate the unintended, unexpected and uncontrolled acceleration of my vehicle. Unfortunately, they were unable to verify the problem. They were apologetic in being unable to duplicate the problem and recommend we come back if the issue re-occurred. The service manager also suggested we not use our GPS hum locator unit/obd reader which connects into the vehicle diagnostic port. We agreed and did not reconnect it. …”

NHTSA complaint #11151469, filed 2018-11, 56,574 miles

“Power steering went out. Radio turns on and off going down the road. Headlights turn off and on by themself. Battery is now dead. Car will not run. Transmission light came on all in one day..I've had this vehicle for 4 to 5 months”

NHTSA complaint #11388450, filed 2021-01, 72,000 miles

Related service bulletins

Transmission and drivetrain: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
20251925%
2024511%
20232217%
20226835%
202114456%
20201813%
20195112%
201894%
2017375%
201612610%
2015426%
2014727%
2013697%
2012556%
201126517%
2009916%
20082311%
20072013%
20063514%
20053812%
20044018%
2003227%

Other parts of the 2017 Kia Sorento

Engine
387 complaintsExterior lighting
125 complaintsOther or unknown
110 complaintsElectrical system
97 complaintsSteering
97 complaintsFuel system
49 complaintsEngine cooling
27 complaintsBrakes
23 complaintsVehicle speed control
21 complaintsBody and structure
17 complaintsAir bags
14 complaintsForward collision avoidance
12 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2017 Kia Sorento

About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 31, 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