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).
3/11/24 The first thing I noticed was that my cruise control shut off with a couple of jerks to my vehicle. Then a few minutes later, I lost all steering, put in it park. There was smoke coming from under the hood, but not fire. It is sitting at my house still. A couple of months or so ago, when I received the letter of the recall, I called the dealership I bought my vehicle from and inquired about it. I was told that the part was not available but when it does, I will receive another letter. Also wanted to note, that right before I made that call, my engine light came on the day before that. Today, I called the same dealership to let them know what happened yesterday and they told me there was a cost for a tow truck to come get my vehicle. I was given a phone number to Kia, to which I called and started some kind of process. …
While driving, the front end of the car made a thud sound and vibrated, the lights on the panel came on, the engine light, battery light, key light, and the steering wheel locked up. This happened 3 times in a week. If we had been going faster it could have caused an accident because of car suddenly slowing down and loss of steering. After turning off and then back on it worked again but never know when it could happen again. Yes my car is available upon request. No codes come up when our mechanic diagnosed it, hasn't been to a Kia dealership yet, can't get in until Nov. 6. Refer to article "2011 Kia Sorrento's problems with sudden surging and engine stalls led to 7 investigations, 6 recalls." My mechanic referred us to this article as he thinks our car has a related problem. This problem happened without any warning.
I was driving my car to work when my check engine light came on and starting flashing. I made it to work just unable to go over 30MPH because it felt like it was in fail safe mode. That afternoon I spoke with KIA Affairs and the lady advise me to go to autozone and get it diagnosed after work. Well after work I went to go to autozone and barely made it half a mile before it felt like it was going to die. so i turned to go back to turn around to back to work in the parking lot next door. When I turned it felt like i had no control over where my car was going like i had no traction control even though i did not hit any patches of ice.
Brakes feel softer, rear brake burnt smell, replaced brakes one month ago. Headlight and taillight bulbs replaced several times in last 3 months due to blinking blowing replaced and starts over again. Screen will not turn on until car has run for 45 minutes. Cannot use back until screen turns on. Leaving car parked until I can get brake system fixed. Noticed brake light on dash and car with swerve light on dash. Too scared to drive until at least brakes are fixed. Reached out to dealership. No part available for recall which most likely is failing my brakes
1-The front air bag sensor will nor register if a person is sitting in the sear, no matter the weight. 2-The modem keeps direction the vehicle to steer right. No matter how many alignments and parts are replaced, the ECM will not correct itself 3-KIA dealers will only repair the problem if the customer pays $$$$$$$$
The past two weeks or so, the left side steering wheel controls have not been working properly. The volume up button is turning the volume down. I have researched and found out that many other people with all types of Kia vehicles are having this problem. For most, it has turned out to be a defective or faulty clock-spring in the steering wheel. I contacted the dealership and they acted stunned. It can't be a secret because so many other complaints are out there online. It says I have zero active recalls at this moment, when I just received a recall in the mail this week for the door latches in my 2011 Kia Sorento. That makes me believe there is a communication problem somewhere. The last time I took it in for a recall, the center console panel didn't get put back together properly and it doesn't fit down over my cupholders properly. It left a gap under the radio panel because of it. …
First issue began when car started pulling to right when going around corners on highway. Took to shop; paid for new brakes including pads, rotors, front calipers plus front driver side ball joint replaced. Ball joint rusted out so bad it crumbled to pieces when tire was taken off. Not out of shop for even a full day when the car started pulling again. This time it was a hard pull to the right while going straight on highway and in town. This time the pull was so strong the car went off road. This time it felt like steering went out completely. So back to shop to find out that the front passenger side ball joint was also shot and needed replaced. Car been out of shop barely 2 wks; now front end is making a hard clunky noise when turning and going over just the slightest bumps. The car feels like you are driving over boulders and sounds like the whole front end is about to fall apart. …
The temperature was minus 3 degrees fahrenheit and the paved road was dry. The vehicle was stopped at a red light. When the light turned green I crossed the intersection and was going about 25 to 30 miles an hour when I completely lost control of the steering. The vehicle veered to the right quickly. I was in the right hand lane of two lanes. I could not hold the steering wheel to keep the vehicle from turning. I used the brake and was able to stop the vehicle before it went over a curb where I would have hit a light pole. The vehicle could not be driven, so it was towed to the Kia dealership. The tires were fine. The serpentine built was fine. The power steering fluid was not low. Kia service technicians reported that the steering rack failed and caused damage to the steering pump.
In the last week, the vehicle shut down completely while driving. The first time it happened on the highway while driving 70mph - the car shut off and dropped to 50mph, the steering wheel locked but it started back up. Twenty minutes later while driving 25mph on a side road, the same thing happened. And then again while in a drive thru line. This has since happened twice while on the highway. The vehicle does start back up again but it is obviously unsafe to drive, especially on the highway. After researching the issue, I found there was a recall on 2011-2013 models with the same issue. I contacted Kia and was told my vehicle was not part of the recall but to bring it in and have it looked at. I have an appointment on Monday, December 19, 2016 to have several other recall items corrected.
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.
Steering complaints in other Sorento years
Frequently asked questions
How common are steering problems on the 2011 Kia Sorento?
NHTSA has 53 complaints about the steering of the 2011 Kia Sorento, 3% of the model year's 1,520 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2011 Kia Sorento steering problems?
No. NHTSA lists no steering 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 steering problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 20,000 miles, and 59% before 25,000 miles.
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.