"How reliable is the 2017 Kia Sorento?"

"Based on 989 NHTSA complaints, the 2017 Kia Sorento has a median complaint mileage of 45000 miles. The most common issue is ENGINE."

"What are common problems with the 2017 Kia Sorento?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2017 Kia Sorento is ENGINE, accounting for a significant portion of the 989 total complaints filed."

2017 Kia Sorento: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 989 complaints

989

Total Complaints

45,000mi

Median Mileage

ENGINE

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

21,041 25th Percentile

45,000 Median Mileage

70,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

ENGINE

367

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

116

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

100

STEERING

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

POWER TRAIN

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

SERVICE BRAKES

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"SUNROOF SPONTANEOUSLY IMPLODED WHILE DRIVING AT SLOW SPEED ON NEIGHBORHOOD STREET. A BRIEF INTERNET SEARCH HAS INDICATED THAT THIS IS NOT AN ISOLATED INCIDENT ON SORENTOS AND HAS HAPPENED TO NUMEROUS OTHERS. THIS VEHICLE IS ONLY 2 MONTHS OLD."

"PROBLEM: INTERMITTENT PROBLEM WITH ADVANCED SMART CRUISE CONTROL AND AUTONOMOUS BRAKING ON A NEW 2017 KIA SORENTO WITH LESS THAN 500 MILES. WHAT HAPPENED: WHEN USING THE ADVANCED SMART CONTROL FEATURE, AS EXPLAINED TO ME BY THE DEALER, THE MANUAL, AND KIA VIDEOS, THE CAR WILL STOP AUTONOMOUSLY WH..."

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 367 complaints

25th: 35,150 mi Median: 62,500 mi 75th: 88,515 mi

EXTERIOR LIGHTING 116 complaints

25th: 30,000 mi Median: 35,000 mi 75th: 64,000 mi

UNKNOWN OR OTHER 100 complaints

25th: 13,200 mi Median: 19,000 mi 75th: 44,025 mi

STEERING 94 complaints

25th: 16,350 mi Median: 30,000 mi 75th: 43,745 mi

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 85 complaints

25th: 35,000 mi Median: 46,500 mi 75th: 69,025 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

CA: 83 FL: 69 TX: 67 VA: 61 NC: 59 PA: 56 GA: 55 OH: 48 TN: 37 NY: 31

Who Files Complaints?

0.2%

Original Owners

99.8%

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
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
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