2009 Kia Sorento: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 79 complaints
79
Total Complaints
46,000mi
Median Mileage
AIR BAGS
Top Issue
2
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

10,000 25th Percentile
46,000 Median Mileage
96,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

AIR BAGS
14
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
12
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC)
8
POWER TRAIN
6
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
6
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
5
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
5
ENGINE
4
SEATS
3
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
3

Severity Assessment

2
Crashes
1
Fires
3
Injuries
0
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"SINCE JANUARY 2009 WE HAVE BEEN FIGHTING WITH KIA MOTORS BECAUSE MY PASSENGER AIRBAG LIGHT WILL NOT ACTIVATE WHEN SOMEONE IS SEATED IN THE SEAT. ALL KIA HAS DONE IS UPDATE THE VEHICLES COMPUTER SYSTEM, WHICH HASN'T WORKED. THEY HAVE ISSUED A SAFETY RECALL ON THIS PROBLEM, BUT THEY REFUSE TO FIX IT S..."
"I BOUGHT A USED 2009 SORENTO KIA AND WHEN MY WIFE WAS SEATED ON THE PASSENGER SEAT THE PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF SIGN WAS ON. THE LIGHT COMES OFF/ON RANDOMLY WHEN A PASSENGER IS ON THE SEAT. I TOOK THE CAR TO THE MECHANIC AND THEY COULD NOT FIND ANYTHING WRONG, BUT THE PROBLEM PERSISTS. *TR"
"WE HAVE BEEN HAVING A PROBLEM WITH THE OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM ON OUR 2008 KIA SORENTO. THE SYSTEM IS DEACTIVATED WHEN THERE IS AN ADULT PASSENGER IN THE FRONT SEAT.. THE CAR HAS BEEN IN FOR REPAIR FOUR TIMES. THE PASSENGER SEAT HAS BEEN REPLACED AND THE COMPUTER HAS BEEN REPROGRAMMED. AT THI..."

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

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