2019 Kia Sorento Problems

What owners report

Owners of the 2019 Sorento most often describe hesitation, surging and shuddering during low-speed acceleration, along with engine concerns that include excessive oil use, knocking and, in some cases, engine replacement. Many of these reports come in at low mileage, and a separate group of complaints covers electrical and infotainment glitches, lighting problems and water getting into the rearview camera.

1. 1
   Engine

   Excessive oil consumption and engine knocking

   • 126 complaints (29%)
   • median 98,500 mi at 6.0 yrs old (30 state mileage)
   • 2 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • owner-quoted repair $912 (median of 9 quotes)
   • filed 2019–2026

   Owners report the oil level dropping sharply between changes, sometimes with no warning light, and a ticking or knocking sound from the engine that gets louder over time. Complaints describe dealers running oil consumption tests, adding oil, or replacing the engine after the vehicle stalled or lost power. Some owners say their VIN was not covered by the engine-related campaigns they had read about. Reported from very low mileage up past 100,000 miles, with many between roughly 65,000 and 120,000 miles.

   4 related service bulletins

   What to check: Check the dipstick before and after a test drive and look for a fuel or burnt smell, and ask for service records showing oil consumption tests or engine work. Ask whether the emissions-related ECM software campaigns were completed.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “My vehicle has the leaking oil pressure sensor. I have brought my car to Kia multiple times since either 65-89k based on loosing too much oil between oil changes with NO check oil light. I lost an extreme amount of oil between 113k and 115k after they changed my filter and checked my oil levels. Always told there is no leak. Now at 115k and 120k miles I am told that not only is the oil pressure sender leaking but it has been leaking on my wire harness which can create a fire. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11522709, filed 2023-05, 150,000 miles

   “The contact owns a 2019 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, there was an abnormal ticking sound coming from the engine. The vehicle was taken to a local AutoZone, where a representative inspected the vehicle and advised the contact that the engine oil was extremely low. The contact added engine oil, and within two weeks, the engine oil was extremely low again. There were no warning lights illuminated. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11651750, filed 2025-03, 69,000 miles
2. 2
   Transmission and drivetrain

   Hesitation, surging and shuddering on acceleration

   • 65 complaints (15%)
   • median 16,900 mi at 1.5 yrs old (36 state mileage)
   • 3 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2018–2026

   Complaints describe the vehicle hesitating, bucking or surging when pulling away from a stop or accelerating at low speeds, sometimes with the engine feeling like it is misfiring until it warms up. Several owners say the behavior is worse in Eco and Comfort drive modes and that the car can lurch forward unexpectedly. Dealers reportedly reset the computer, reprogrammed the transmission control module, flushed the transmission fluid or replaced the throttle body, and in some cases told owners the behavior was normal or could not be reproduced. Mostly reported under about 30,000 miles, often on cold start-up or in stop-and-go traffic.

   1 related service bulletin

   What to check: Drive the car from a cold start and accelerate gently from a stop in each drive mode, watching for hesitation or lurching. Ask whether the transmission control module has been reprogrammed or the fluid changed.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “Purchased vehicle new with 12 miles on it back sept. 2019. I noticed almost immediately that it feels like the car is lurching forward, or skipping like when I accelerate. I took to dealership to have them check it out. Before I could get it into service dept. Tech told me that they all do it. With the new sport, eco, comfort and it is trying to adjust to your driving habits. It is still doing it. The other day, it lunged forward like it wasn't going to stop when I had my foot on brakes. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11321551, filed 2020-04, 20 miles

   “When accelerating from stop (19th ave and vineyard) the car will hesitate then take off at a fast rate of speed. There has been instances where the brake system hesitates to stop, almost like a delayed reaction (mostly while traveling on local streets such as west bound baseline rd). The brakes squill (all the time when braking) so bad and so loud. I feel like I've been ripped off on a car that's already giving problems less than six months of purchase. The city of all instances is phoenix, az.”

   NHTSA complaint #11342467, filed 2020-07, 12,600 miles
3. 3
   Engine

   Engine stalls or loses power while driving

   • 68 complaints (16%)
   • median 91,000 mi at 5.5 yrs old (23 state mileage)
   • 10 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2019–2026

   Complaints describe the engine cutting out or losing motive power at speed, sometimes with the check engine light on and the car unable to restart, leaving owners stopped in traffic. Some owners were told the engine needed replacement or that the throttle shaft or throttle body was faulty. A few reports mention smoke or flames from under the hood. Scattered across the range, mostly above 40,000 miles and often at highway speeds.

   1 related service bulletin

   What to check: Ask whether the throttle body or any engine components have been replaced, and have a pre-purchase inspection check for stored fault codes and repair history.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “Car lost power while drving and a semi truck almost ran into me. Have taken car to Kia dealership and throttle body was replaced and week later same problem exist. I have taken the car there 3 times for the same problem haven't had the car 3 months have had this problem since I purchased the car.”

   NHTSA complaint #11407538, filed 2021-04, 40,000 miles

   “The contact owns a 2019 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving at 25 MPH, the vehicle stalled. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not drivable and was towed to a dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The contact researched and was made aware of an unknown recall; however, the VIN was not included. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000.”

   NHTSA complaint #11710774, filed 2026-01, 90,000 miles
4. 4
   Electrical system

   Rearview camera and electrical glitches

   • 31 complaints (7%)
   • median 19,675 mi at 2.1 yrs old (6 state mileage, few)
   • 3 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2019–2026

   Complaints describe the rearview camera image becoming distorted or failing to display, particularly in rain, and steering-wheel control buttons that intermittently stop working even after the buttons and clock spring were replaced. Other reports mention warning lights for the collision-avoidance and stability systems coming on intermittently. Often reported under about 50,000 miles, with camera complaints tied to wet weather.

   Recall 23V639000

   What to check: Test the rearview camera in wet conditions if possible, and check that recall 23V639000 was completed. Try every steering-wheel button and the driver-assist warning lights on a test drive.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “The power windows are a safety hazard. They are all on an automatic feature, so when you touch the button they will either go down or go up all the way, and you cannot stop them. It's impossible to put the window down or up part of the way. My child's finger got caught in the window when I tried to raise it up half way. I took the car to a Kia dealership, and the service advisor told me that's the way Kia designed it, nothing can be done. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11331407, filed 2020-06, 18,000 miles

   “While driving on the interstate highway for a duration of 1 to 3 hours the collision avoidance system faults out, lights a warning on the dash and totally stops functioning. The text warning goes away after a few seconds and a triangular warning light stays on. The system remains inoperable for the balance of the trip. Overnight sometimes the system appears to reset and everything returns to normal and the system again works for 1 - 3 hours then the cycle repeats itself. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11399241, filed 2021-03, 21,350 miles

Buying note. Have any used Sorento inspected for oil consumption, engine noise and stored fault codes before buying, and check that open recalls and the emissions software campaigns were completed. A long test drive that includes cold starts and low-speed acceleration will show whether the hesitation and surging complaints apply to that particular vehicle.

Summary written with AI from a sample of 60 NHTSA complaints for this model year (picked at random, with complaints that state a mileage and recent ones taken first), then checked automatically against the source records. Where a problem shows a complaint count, every complaint for this model year was matched with fixed keyword rules (written with AI and tested against the sample), and the mileage, age and repair figures are calculated from those complaints; owners' figures are as stated, not verified. Other counts refer to the sample. The excerpts come from NHTSA's public complaint records and are unverified; capitalisation is normalised, NHTSA staff notes are removed, and shortened text ends with “…”. Something wrong? Request a correction.