2025 KIA Sorento

Too new to assess

The 2025 KIA Sorento is too new for this measure. Almost every complaint about a vehicle this recent is a first-year complaint, because that is all the service life there has been, so the figure cannot separate a genuine early defect from simple youth. The complaint counts, systems and recalls below still stand on their own. The most-reported system is electrical system (21 complaints), typically at 1.3 yr or about 22,000 miles.

Complaints: 126
Median age at failure: 1.2 yr
Median mileage: 4,000 n=16
Crash / fire / tow: 11.9% of reports
Safety recalls: 3

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

26V046000 2026-01-27

Electrical system: instrument cluster/panel

Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2025 Kia K4, 2025-2026 Sorento, Sorento Hybrid, Sorento Plug-In Hybrid Electric (PHEV), 2026 Sportage, Sportage Hybrid, Sportage PHEV, K5, EV9, Carnival, and Carnival Hybrid vehicles. Due to a software error, the instrument panel display may fail. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) numbers 101, "Controls and Displays" and 138, "Tire Pressure Monitoring System."

An instrument panel display that fails to show critical safety information, such as the speedometer, tire pressure, or warning lights, increases the risk of a crash.

25V548000 2025-08-25

Engine and engine cooling:critical fasteners

Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2025 K4 and Sorento vehicles. The connecting rod bolts in the engine may have been improperly tightened, which can cause a loss of drive power.

A loss of drive power increases the risk of a crash.

25V006000 2025-01-13

Electrical system:body control module:software

Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2024-2025 Sorento, 2025 Sorento Hybrid, and 2025 Sorento Plug-In Hybrid vehicles. A software error in the Body Domain Control Unit (BDC) may cause a loss of low beam headlights and taillights. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."

A loss of headlights and taillights can reduce visibility, increasing the risk of a crash.

In owners’ own words

Other mileage not reported 10 mo in service

Transmission concern. Randomly rolls forward (about 1-2 feet) when placed in reverse. It rolls forward before it finally catches to reverse. I have rolled into and tapped another vehicle when exiting a parking spot. I have taken it to two different Dealers and they said basically it does that and I need to account for it. This car is a liability.

Other mileage not reported 4 mo in service

While driving this warning alert will show up on the screen of my vehicle. It is important to note that this happens WHILE driving and when NO ONE is using their phone or using the touchscreen of the car. No one is ever searching something on their phone OR on the carâs touchscreen system.

Other mileage not reported 1.0 yr in service

We have a brand new 2025 Kia Sorento and suddenly the AC stopped working. Took it into the service center who could not identify the problem but didn't see any damage. They got it working again and we drove it for a couple of days and it stopped working again as anticipated. We brought it back in and they now report debri damage, now not covered by kia warranty. I searched online and this seems to be a common issue with the unit and that the grill design does not protect the engine and is prone to significant damage to the vehicles engine components that Kia will not cover under warranty.

Electrical system 530 mi 6 mo in service

The contact owns a 2025 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that upon purchasing the vehicle brand new from the dealer and driving the vehicle to the residence, the contact became aware that the VIN was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V006000 (Electrical System, Exterior Lighting) after conducting a VIN search the same day. The dealer and the manufacturer were not contacted. The mileage on the vehicle was 10. The actual mileage was 530.

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.

2025 KIA Sorento

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

In owners’ own words

Other Sorento model years

How to read this