"How reliable is the 2004 Kia Sorento?"

"Based on 341 NHTSA complaints, the 2004 Kia Sorento has a median complaint mileage of 99000 miles. The most common issue is ENGINE."

"What are common problems with the 2004 Kia Sorento?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2004 Kia Sorento is ENGINE, accounting for a significant portion of the 341 total complaints filed."

2004 Kia Sorento: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 341 complaints

341

Total Complaints

99,000mi

Median Mileage

ENGINE

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

63,924 25th Percentile

99,000 Median Mileage

123,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

ENGINE

SUSPENSION

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

POWER TRAIN

STEERING

STRUCTURE:BODY

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE

AIR BAGS

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"SPEEDOMETER READS FAST. ACCORDING TO KIA AT 60 MPH IT IS IN TOLARENCE PLUS OR MINUS 7-8 MPH.*AK"

"1. SINCE NEW, 2004 KIA SORENTO 5-SPEED TRANSMISSION HAS HAD A GRIND WHEN SHIFTING BETWEEN LOWER GEARS. I BROUGHT PROBLEM TO ATTENTION OF BERLIN CITY KIA DEALERSHIP IN BURLINGTON VT DURING MY FIRST ROUTINE SERVICE. THEY CONFIRMED THE GRIND AND ELECTED TO REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION AS AN ATTEMPTED SOLUT..."

"SINCE PURCHASING NEW 2004 SORENTO IN FEBRUARY 2004, HAVE HAD THE VEHICLE TO TWO DIFFERENT DEALERS FOR FIVE ATTEMPTS TO RESOLVE A VIBRATION FROM UNIDENTIFIED SOURCE. THE VIBRATION WAS FIRST EXPERIENCED AT 70 MPH. ONE DEALER HAS REPLACED THE GEAR CLUSTER IN THE REAR DIFFERENTIAL, BALANCE AND REBALANCE..."

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 46 complaints

25th: 95,093 mi Median: 109,000 mi 75th: 142,786 mi

SUSPENSION 28 complaints

25th: 85,500 mi Median: 103,000 mi 75th: 120,000 mi

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 26 complaints

25th: 61,875 mi Median: 70,500 mi 75th: 100,486 mi

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 25 complaints

25th: 64,000 mi Median: 100,100 mi 75th: 138,057 mi

POWER TRAIN 23 complaints

25th: 90,441 mi Median: 107,000 mi 75th: 125,171 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

FL: 37 CA: 28 MA: 25 PA: 24 OH: 18 IL: 15 TX: 14 MI: 13 NC: 12 NY: 11

Who Files Complaints?

12.3%

Original Owners

87.7%

Second+ Owners

Kia Sorento — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

Year	Complaints	Median Mileage	Top Issue	Crashes
2003	420	72,000	ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING	13
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