2004 KIA Sorento

Typical pattern

5% of complaints about the 2004 KIA Sorento came in the first year, which is unremarkable for a 2004 vehicle — around the middle of the 236 model-years on record. The median complaint arrives at 9.2 yr in service. The most-reported system is engine cooling (50 complaints), typically at 5.7 yr or about 70,000 miles.

Complaints: 339
Median age at failure: 9.2 yr
Median mileage: 99,000 n=289
Crash / fire / tow: 12.4% of reports
Safety recalls: 0

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

System

0y2y4y6y8y10y12y14y

Engine cooling

50 reports · 70,000 mi

5.7 yr

Engine

46 reports · 109,000 mi

11.1 yr

15.2%

Power train

42 reports · 83,904 mi

7.5 yr

4.8%

Suspension

31 reports · 103,000 mi

11.9 yr

9.7%

Structure

28 reports · 125,000 mi

11.1 yr

7.1%

Electrical system

28 reports · 100,000 mi

8.0 yr

25%

Steering

26 reports · 96,000 mi

9.2 yr

23.1%

In owners’ own words

Power train 1,500 mi 10 mo in service crash / fire / tow

THE CONSUMER APPROACHED A DRIVEWAY WHICH HAD A SLIGHT INCLINE. THE CONSUMER GOT OUT OF THE VEHICLE WITH THE ENGINE STILL RUNNING AND THE DRIVER'S DOOR OPENED. AT LEAST TWO MINUTES LATER, A CLICK WAS HEARD AND THE VEHICLE ROLLED BACKWARDS UNTIL IT HIT A TREE. A KIA REPRESENTATIVE CAME THREE DAYS LATER, INSPECTED THE VEHICLE, AND CLAIMED NO RESPONSIBILITY. *AK *SC *JB

Power train 14,000 mi 1.3 yr in service

THE VEHICLE HAS A HESITATION ON ACCELERATION. IT VIBRATES WHILE ON THE EXPRESSWAY. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON INTERMITTENTLY WHILE TRAVELING AT HIGH SPEEDS. MOST RECENTLY, THE TRANSFER CASE SEIZED UP AND THE FRONT WHEELS LOCKED UP WHILE I WAS TURNING AND I ALMOST CRASHED. IT IS NOW IN THE SHOP GETTING THE TRANSFER CASE REPLACED AND I'M TOLD THERE ARE EVEN MORE PROBLEMS WITH THE TRANSMISSION. PLEASE ADVISE ME ON WHAT TO DO SO THE COMPANY CAN POSSIBLY BUY THIS VEHICLE BACK FROM ME. *JB

Power train 600 mi 3.4 yr in service

INTERMITTENT SHIFTING DEFECT THAT CAUSES THE GEARS TO GET LOCKED UP AND THE TRUCK WILL NOT SHIFT INTO FIRST GEAR, OR THE SHIFTER WILL GET VERY TIGHT AND IT IS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO SHIFT GEARS. *JB

Steering 38,000 mi 3.9 yr in service crash / fire / tow

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 KIA SORENTO. WHILE DRIVING 15 MPH, THE STEERING WHEEL FAILED TO TURN TO THE RIGHT AND THE VEHICLE CRASHED INTO A POLE. THE FENDER WAS BADLY DAMAGED AND THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE LOCAL DEALER. THE DEALER STATED THAT THE VEHICLE NEEDED A NEW RACK AND PINION, TIE ROD, UPPER AND LOWER BALL JOINT ASSEMBLY, STEERING KNUCKLE, AND A PASSENGER SIDE FRONT WHEEL. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 38,000.

Other Sorento model years

How to read this

This is what owners reported, not a reliability rating. People file with NHTSA about alarming failures, not routine ones, and complaint volume tracks how many cars were sold.
Failure ages come from the incident date on each complaint, populated on about 83% of records. Mileage is shown where reported — NHTSA’s 2021 system change cut mileage capture to roughly 15%, so it thins out sharply after MY2020.
Every rank compares this vehicle only against others of the same model year. A 2025 car has not had time to accumulate five-year failures, so comparing early-failure share across years is meaningless.
Fourteen make-months distorted by media storms and mass recalls — Toyota in February 2010 ran 11× normal volume across 33 models — are excluded.
Recalls are manufacturer actions and authoritative; complaints are not. A recall listed here may already have been performed on any individual car. Check a specific VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.