Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2008 Kia Sorento owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
I was in an auto accident 8/18/17 tossed back and forth like a rag doll my air bag didn't deploy on impact until the 4th time and I was knock out unconscious. Don't recall my seat belt worked I recall being tossed back and forth back and forth and took my last breath. This is my 3 time doing this. It was moving I was hit in an accident.
I started my 2008 Kia Sorento ex when I put it in reverse all of a sudden it makes a loud bump noise and with pressure on the brakes it jumps hard in reverse I look and see my ESC light came on and I could not accelerate, my vehicle in fact slowed down terribly. I have noticed that if I shut my car off then turn it back on sometimes this will take care of the problem for a short time. It looks like this has happened 3 times during hot days. This is very dangerous when driving with my kids in the backseat. If my car slows while on the highway I could end up causing quite an accident not to mention hurting myself or my family that is in the vehicle. Mileage on my vehicle at the time was approximately 88000 miles.
On two seperate occasions approximately 2 months apart on start up and initial drive the engine suddenly lost all power, the check engine light came on and the ESC off light came on. Pulled vehicle to curb, shut off engine, waited several minutes to one hour, restarted engine and had full power.. Check engine light remains on for several start ups then resets itself. This sudden loss of power at highway speeds could be devastating and potentially lead to fatalities.
The electronical parts of the ignition switch went out at the same time the battery and the starter did . Then on top of my ESC randomly coming on and every time this has happened it made it to where I couldn't go above 5 miles have to turn the car off and then restart it multiple times just so I can dive home this has been happening since I have had he vehicle November 2016
I was readind down bearess ave in tampa fla ias I was riding my truck went into flames as soon as I left my home at the time not even a half miles the hilss county sheriff did let the hood up attempted to put the fire out the fire department my insurance did cover cause I ihad pip the tow truck came and put. Thefire out the cause was elactric battery burned up cables etc
All door handles have fallen off it's going to be $250.00 to have one fixed. I am not able at this time to have a malfunction fixed! It is not vandalism of any kind! It's a defective part! The auto repair place said to look into recalls! I need this problem fixed! No car I have owned has ever had this problem but this one!
ESC off light comes on and sends the transmission into a "limp" mode. This causes extreme loss of acceleration. Dealership replaced the ABS control module, but it did not fix the problem. Dealership can not figure out why the vehicle is doing this.
I have a 2008 Kia Sorento with just over 34,000 miles on it and am on my second experience with the ESC off problem. The first time was July 2010, car was taken to a dealership and they replaced the sensor and car worked fine until this past Monday. I started my car to warm it up and after 10 minutes I returned to the car to leave and noticed that the ESC off light was on as well as the check engine light. As previous experience has shown me, the ESC off light is dangerous as the car loses power. I turned the car off, then on, but the lights were still on. I got a ride to work that day, but my dad went over to look at the car. The ESC off light went off for him and so did the check engine, he drove it around with no problem. Now this morning I started it to warm it up, no lights came on. I got in to leave and when I reached the end of my road at the stop sign, both lights came on again. …
Current and ongoing problems began just a few days after receiving a notice of recall from Kia regarding the faulty/defective brake light switch. The switch was faulty and there was a problem with no brake lights coming on upon braking as well as "ESC off" and "check engine" malfunction indicator lights appearing and staying on the instrument cluster. The vehicle was promptly taken to a Kia dealership where the recall service was performed. Replacement of a failed brake light switch under the recall campaign did not eliminate the problems/codes that began when the brake light switch failed. …
Two days ago the check engine light illuminated (and stayed on) with intermittent electronic stability control off light illuminated; vehicle acceleration became sluggish and sometimes unresponsive. Vehicle codes using obdii pocketscan showed active and stored codes of p2138 (accelerator), p2127 (accelerator) and p2106 (limp mode). I made an appointment to take it to the dealership on 09/25/13. On the day of appointment the check engine light was not illuminated, but the dealership found stored codes in the computer of p2138, p2127 and p2106. The dealership refused to fix the vehicle even though it was still under warranty because there was not an active code (check engine light) on at the time of the appointment and the part was functioning properly for the time being. …
Traction Control complaints in other Sorento years
Frequently asked questions
How common are traction control problems on the 2008 Kia Sorento?
NHTSA has 44 complaints about the stability & traction control of the 2008 Kia Sorento, 20% of the model year's 217 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2008 Kia Sorento traction control problems?
No. NHTSA lists no stability & traction control recall for the 2008 Kia Sorento, though it has 3 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2008 Kia Sorento traction control problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 51,000 miles, and 12% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 1 crash, 1 fire and 1 injury to stability & traction control problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.