Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (engine, cooling system, oil leaks, timing chain, exhaust).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2011 Kia Sorento owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact owned a 2011 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while driving at 25 mph, a UPS truck veered off into her lane causing the contact to crash her vehicle into a curb. The contact stated that the next morning, she saw that her vehicle was leaking an immense amount of oil. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The air bags did not deploy. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was taken to a repair shop where it was diagnosed with nothing needing to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact then stated while driving at 55 mph, the vehicle stalled and the contact saw smoke emerging from the engine compartment. Upon exiting the vehicle, the contact opened the hood to fire behind the engine. There were no injuries. The air bags did not deploy. The fire department was contacted but did not extinguish the fire. …
The contact owned a 2011 Kia Sorento. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V652000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated while reversing out of the garage, there was smoke coming from underneath the hood. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was out of the garage. The contact stated that the turned off the vehicle and opened the hood. The contact stated that there was a significant amount of black smoke coming out of the engine compartment. The contact stated that he attempted to disconnect the positive battery thermal but was unable to do so. The contact stated that he applied a fire extinguisher to the engine compartment; however the smoke persisted and the vehicle caught on fire. The contact stated that the fire then extended to the entire vehicle. …
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving at 60 MPH, an abnormal clunking sound had emitted from the vehicle. The contact then heard parts falling out of the engine as white smoke began to release from the vehicle's hood. The check engine warning light was also illuminated on the instrument panel as the contact pulled over. The contact lifted that hood and saw flames coming from undeath the vehicle. The contact immediately shut the hood as smoke continued to discharge from the vehicle. The fire department arrived at the scene; however, the fire had dissolved on its own. The contact had the vehicle towed to an independent mechanic and was informed that a rod had blown in the engine resulting in engine failure. …
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. The contact stated when she first started the vehicle in the morning, while seated in the vehicle she started to smell fumes inside the vehicle; however, after the vehicle had warmed up the fume's odor went away. After transporting her children to school, while driving back to her residence at approximately 25 - 30 MPH, she noticed that there was smoke coming from the front and the rear of the vehicle. A passing motorist then informed her that the rear bumper of the vehicle was on fire. The Fire Department was contacted and arrived on the scene to extinguish the fire. The State Police also arrived on the scene. A fire report and police report were filed. There were no injuries reported. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic but was not yet diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. …
The contact owned a 2011 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while pulling into the parking lot at work at approximately 3 MPH, there was what seemed to be steam coming from the engine. The contact stated there was actually smoke and ash which was on the driver's side of the hood. There were no warning lights. The contact exited the vehicle safely. Immediately after exiting the vehicle it was engulfed in flame and was destroyed. The fire department extinguished the fire. The police department was on the scene and conducted a report. The vehicle was towed to the wrecking yard. The contact fell at the time of the explosion. There were smoke ventilation and cuts on the right arm along with bruises from the contact. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 90,000
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while her husband was driving at 55 MPH, the vehicle caught on fire without any warning. The contact's husband was able to pull over safely and the fire department was able to extinguish the fire. A report was filed with both the police and the fire department. No one was injured. The vehicle was towed to Doug Auto Motor for diagnosis and they stated the rod broke through the engine and caused the oil to leak into the engine. The vehicle was not repairable. The dealer was contacted, and they stated that they were aware of the failure but there was no recall. The manufacturer was contacted, and they also confirmed that there was no recall for the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle jerked, and the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended while depressing the accelerator pedal. The check engine warning light was illuminated. There was an abnormally loud sound coming from the engine. The contact stated that the vehicle occasionally stalled and was restarted after pulling over to the side of the road. Whenever the vehicle failed to restart immediately, the contact would disconnect the battery and wait approximately 5-10 minutes before reconnecting the battery and restarting the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle occasionally stalls while driving uphill. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the contact was informed that the vehicle had several pending recall repairs. …
The contact's significant other owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the engine was making abnormal rattling and knocking sounds. There was no warning light illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated that the failure would occur upon starting the vehicle. The vehicle was taken an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the timing belt had failed and advised the contact to not drive the vehicle. The vehicle was taken back to the residence. The vehicle was then towed to another independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the rod bearings had failed and had released metal shavings in the engine oil, which caused the engine failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact associated the failure with Kia Independent Recall Campaign Number: SC147. …
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that there was a knocking sound coming from the engine compartment. While driving at various speeds, the vehicle jerked with the transmission slipping gear with an engine misfire. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to Auto Zone and a code for the knock sensor failure was retrieved. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact had replaced the spark plugs on the vehicle. While driving 65 MPH, the vehicle went into LIMP Mode. The contact restarted the vehicle and continued driving. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who confirmed that the knock sensor had failed. The dealer related the failure to the NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V877000 (Engine); however, the VIN was not included. The dealer cleared the code, but the vehicle was not repaired. …
The contact's wife owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at various speeds, the vehicle stalled without warning. The driver was able to restart the vehicle; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. Additionally, the failure recurred three years later. The contact stated that while his wife was driving the vehicle stalled and the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a different dealer where it was diagnosed that the crankshaft needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was provided warranty information but never received a copy as promised. …
Related recalls
Engine
Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2011 Sorento vehicles. An engine compartment fire can occur while driving.
Remedy: Dealers will install Knock Sensor Detection System (KSDS) software and replace the engine as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed February 9, 2024.
NHTSA investigations
Engine Fires
On March 29, 2019, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened two Preliminary Evaluations (PE19-003 on Hyundai and PE19-004 on Kia) to broadly investigate incidents of non-crash fires (regardless of origin or operational status of the vehicle) on various model year Hyundai and Kia vehicles.
Loss of Motive Power
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) received a letter dated July 13, 2022, petitioning the Agency to initiate a safety defect investigation into loss of motive power allegations attributed to oil drain pan assembly failures on certain Hyundai Motor America, Inc. and Kia America, Inc. vehicles spanning Model Years (MY) 2005-2021.
Engine complaints in other Sorento years
Frequently asked questions
How common are engine problems on the 2011 Kia Sorento?
NHTSA has 316 complaints about the engine & cooling of the 2011 Kia Sorento, 21% of the model year's 1,520 complaints. The component named most often is engine (4 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2011 Kia Sorento engine problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 23V-877 (engine, Dec 21, 2023). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2011 Kia Sorento engine problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 98,000 miles, and 15% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 8 crashes, 42 fires and 9 injuries to engine & cooling 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.