"How reliable is the 2019 Kia Sorento?"

"Based on 588 NHTSA complaints, the 2019 Kia Sorento has a median complaint mileage of 20000 miles. The most common issue is ENGINE."

"What are common problems with the 2019 Kia Sorento?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2019 Kia Sorento is ENGINE, accounting for a significant portion of the 588 total complaints filed."

2019 Kia Sorento: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 588 complaints

588

Total Complaints

20,000mi

Median Mileage

ENGINE

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

7,000 25th Percentile

20,000 Median Mileage

69,500 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

ENGINE

138

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

103

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

STRUCTURE:BODY

POWER TRAIN

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

VISIBILITY/WIPER

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"AT NIGHT TIME WHEN THE VEHICLE HEAD LAMPS ARE ON, THERE ARE TWO TRIANGULAR SHAPED OBJECTS THAT ARE SHADOWED FROM PART OF THE HEAD LAMP HOUSING. THESE PROJECT INTO THE DISTANCE AND ARE AN OBSTRUCTION AND MAKE THE DRIVER DIZZY AND IT APPEARS AS THOUGH THERE IS SOMETHING AHEAD THAT YOU MAY HIT. THESE..."

"CAR HAS PROBLEM WHEN DRIVING IN ECONO MODE. WILL HESITATE WHEN GIVEN GAS IN MORNING AND AT TIMES WHEN PULLING OUT IN TRAFFIC. NOTE NEVER INFORMED ABOUT THE PROBLEM BEFORE LEASING OF CAR. TOLD BY SERVICE DEPARTMENT THAT IS THE WAY IT WAS DESIGNED. MAY CAUSE PROBLEMS FOR OTHER DRIVERS OR ACCIDENTS. N..."

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 138 complaints

25th: 14,400 mi Median: 39,250 mi 75th: 92,500 mi

UNKNOWN OR OTHER 103 complaints

25th: 5,000 mi Median: 11,000 mi 75th: 11,070 mi

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 66 complaints

25th: 9,166 mi Median: 18,000 mi 75th: 40,000 mi

POWER TRAIN 47 complaints

25th: 918 mi Median: 11,800 mi 75th: 20,048 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

MI: 133 FL: 53 CA: 44 PA: 35 TX: 33 GA: 29 NC: 21 NY: 19 IL: 16 OH: 15

Who Files Complaints?

0.3%

Original Owners

99.7%

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
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
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