"How reliable is the 2003 Kia Sorento?"

"Based on 420 NHTSA complaints, the 2003 Kia Sorento has a median complaint mileage of 72000 miles. The most common issue is ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING."

"What are common problems with the 2003 Kia Sorento?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2003 Kia Sorento is ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING, accounting for a significant portion of the 420 total complaints filed."

2003 Kia Sorento: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 420 complaints

420

Total Complaints

72,000mi

Median Mileage

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

36,000 25th Percentile

72,000 Median Mileage

115,250 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

ENGINE

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE

STEERING

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

AIR BAGS

SUSPENSION

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:COOLING SYSTEM

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"VEHICLE DRIVESHAFT INSTALLED 180 DEGREES OUT (UPSIDE DOWN) CAUSING SEVERE VIBRATION. DRIVESHAFT TURNED 180 DEGREES. STILL HAS VIBRATION. DEALER NOT SURE OF CAUSE. DT"

"CONSUMER PURCHASED VEHICLE ON 11/25/02. VEHICLE TURNS OVER, BUT WILL NOT START. CAR HAS BEEN IN FOR SERVICE 3 TIMES. PROBLEM IS THE FUEL INJECTION PUMP, BUT DEALER CAN NOT REPAIR. TS"

"I PURCHASED A 2003 KIA SORENTO IN FEB 2003, VEHICLE SPINS OVER FOR QUITE SOMETIME AND THEN SLOWLY FINALLY TURNS OVER, I HAVE TAKEN IT INTO THE DEALER 2 TIMES NOW AND THEY HAVE SAID IT WAS THE FUEL RELAY SWITCH AND VEHICLE STILL HAS THE PROBLEM SO I AM TAKING IT INTO THE DEALER FOR THE 3RD TIME AND T..."

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 46 complaints

25th: 59,455 mi Median: 71,500 mi 75th: 83,000 mi

ENGINE 43 complaints

25th: 79,739 mi Median: 118,000 mi 75th: 147,924 mi

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 34 complaints

25th: 88,212 mi Median: 113,000 mi 75th: 144,000 mi

FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE 33 complaints

25th: 60,980 mi Median: 82,000 mi 75th: 107,500 mi

STEERING 24 complaints

25th: 57,000 mi Median: 96,000 mi 75th: 135,000 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

FL: 51 NY: 34 CA: 26 GA: 26 VA: 23 MA: 20 PA: 17 MD: 17 IL: 14 NC: 14

Who Files Complaints?

24.8%

Original Owners

75.2%

Second+ Owners

Kia Sorento — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

Year	Complaints	Median Mileage	Top Issue	Crashes
2004	341	99,000	ENGINE	15
2005	457	89,500	ENGINE	31
2006	382	83,750	ENGINE	18
2007	224	70,436	AIR BAGS	20
2008	317	59,600	AIR BAGS	19
2009	79	46,000	AIR BAGS	2
2011	2069	80,000	ENGINE	65
2012	1194	88,000	ENGINE	32
2013	1283	78,513	ENGINE	37
2014	1348	79,800	ENGINE	34
2015	945	73,932	ENGINE	33
2016	1577	65,000	ENGINE	41
2017	989	45,000	ENGINE	17
2018	318	46,225	ENGINE	13
2019	588	20,000	ENGINE	20
2020	173	17,500	ENGINE	15
2021	299	34,256	POWER TRAIN	9
2022	253	27,330	POWER TRAIN	4
2023	158	12,000	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	4
2024	46	-	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	12
2025	96	530	ENGINE	11

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28