Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (seat frames, recliners, heated seats and seat tracks).
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 car will not always go in park and will click into gear a few seconds afterwards. The car rolled out of my driveway in reverse and caused over 5000.00 dollars in damages. Also the seat settings will get stuck moving and not moving. The air bag light is also on and the fuel cap sticks and won't open unless forced opened
Both rear doors do not open from the outside and only the passenger rear door will open from the inside, leaving the driver side rear, not accessible from the inside or the outside. The middle row of seats do not adjust backwards or forwards. The controls on the steering wheel do not work at all.
Dash light with the airbag logo came on as I was starting up today, and stayed on. Went straight to Kia dealership, the one we always use. Service advisor said he's seen a lot of them, same problem. He agreed that $2,000 was very expensive for this repair. This malfunction disables all the airbags. In the event of an accident, we are toast. Kelly blue book rates this vehicle at a value of $9500, in mint condition, which this is. 21% of the value for a repair? Are you kidding me? Very disappointed that this is an issue for so many ( I did check the internet, it's a common problem) and no one chooses to take it seriously. We just went around with the tire pressure monitoring system, and finally they replaced that on a recall, but we had a blowout on I-81 at 70 MPH that could've ended our life.....someone needs to look into this. I appreciate anything you can do.
All accessories on steering wheel have gone out: radio controls no longer work, cruise control does not work, Bluetooth capability(answering/ending phone calls) no longer works, and now the horn does not work. Having a working horn is part of the safety equipment on a vehicle. One day while parked, I honked the horn to get my sons attention and it did not work.the horn just stopped working. Another time I was making a left turn and some idiot not paying attention almost did not stop, as I was turning I honked the horn(forgetting it had not been working previously) and it worked just that one time. It has not worked since! How does that happen? Also, the head rest on front seats are poorly designed, both have come off completely.
The back seat on the drivers side will not go back to the proper upright position. I put down the seat in order to take some materials needed for my job, when I tried to return back to the upright position it only went so far, now when my son is in his car seat he is leaning forward and a slight angle. If an accident were to happen and I was hit on the drivers side and the airbag were to deploy it would literally hit my son at such an angle as to possibly seriously injure or kill him. I went to get it replaced and because I had gone over my mileage by 1300 miles they stated that it would cost me 550.00 to correct this issue. I feel this is a serious safety violation and I should not have to pay to get it repaired.
When out to my Kia and I hit the unlock button. Attempted to open the front passenger door. Didn't open, so I hit the unlock again, still wouldn't open. So I walked around and opened the drivers side and reached over, the door opened. This is the first time for this door. But I've had this happen to me to the rear drive side door and had to have the door handle replaced. The Kia was sitting in the driveway not running and that door doesn't have near as much use as some of the others. Also the back seat on the passenger side won't go down. I am assuming the cable is broke. Again this was not used much since I got the Kia almost 4 years ago. I think I used this feature 2 times and it wouldn't work after that.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving 30 MPH downhill in icy weather, the vehicle began to slide uncontrollably until crashing into a tree. The vehicle was destroyed. The air bags did not deploy nor did the headrest prevent whiplash, as designed. The contact suffered whiplash and required physical therapy. The dealer was notified of the incident and statedt that the safety features in the vehicle would only operate if the vehicle was involved in a severe crash. The failure and current mileage was 8,000.
Rear seat latches break. 1st occurrence approx 60K miles. Broken again approx 70K miles. Latches very difficult to use. May break and leave seat useless in down position. Currently broken with seat stuck in upright position. Appears to break while vehicle stationary. Kia seems to have issues w latches in general. Am aware warranty extension for door latches (2 of mine have broken). Thank you!!!
My car driver side air bag light came on suddenly and dealer wants to charge to diagnose and repair. The driver seat lower back adjusting cushion does not function anymore. The rear driver side door does not umlock dealer wants to charge to diagnose or inspect and order the door handle base mechanism part, then charge for that and installation.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that the rear driver side seat adjuster was stuck past the upright position and failed to adjust. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 53,000.
Seat complaints in other Sorento years
Frequently asked questions
How common are seat problems on the 2011 Kia Sorento?
NHTSA has 21 complaints about the seats of the 2011 Kia Sorento, 1% of the model year's 1,520 complaints. The component named most often is front assembly › head restraint (1 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2011 Kia Sorento seat problems?
No. NHTSA lists no seats recall for the 2011 Kia Sorento, though it has 7 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 2011 Kia Sorento seat problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 73,000 miles, and 15% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 2 crashes, 0 fires and 2 injuries to seats 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.