Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (power windows, windshield, wipers, mirrors, sunroof).
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).
I was driving on the ma turnpike late morning when I looked in my rearview mirror and the view was cloudy. I washed the rear windshield and kept on driving. A few minutes later a man pulled along side me and signaled that I should pull over. I happened to glance in the rear view mirror again and it was cloudy again. As I was pulling over I checked the dashboard and no indicator lights were on. I stopped the car and smoke started to come out from under the hood. I got out and started walking away from the car while calling my husband. He suggested I call 911 -- by the time I dialed 911 (a total of about 2.5 minutes from exiting the car) flames were coming out from under the hood. By the time the police and fire department arrived at the scene (about 15 to 20 minutes after I called) the entire car was engulfed in flames and the tires had started to explode. …
I have had several issues with my Kia Sorento beginning in 2013 two of my doors in the car would not open from the outside only the inside. The doors was the front passenger side and the rear driver side. The most recent door that I am experiencing problems with is the front passenger side. I can not open the door from the outside only the inside. I have also experienced issues with my power windows. Last year the front driver window broke and now this year the rear driver window is broken. I have reached out to Kia numerous of times b/c being locked out of your car is a safety issues. I have had really strange things happening with my Kia that's really unheard of. I have also asked Kia to look into if my car is possibly one of their lemons.
As I was exiting a highway the sunroof literally exploded/shattered above my head sending millions of glass fragments and numerous larger shards raining down on my head and throughout the vehicle. It was not caused by flying debris nor striking a pothole. There were no other vehicles present in front or behind me and it was a very smooth stretch of roadway. Had I not been wearing a peaked cap and leaning to my left at the time I believe I would have suffered facial injuries from the falling glass. The glass appears to have exploded outwards which, I believe, completely rules out the possibility of debris being the cause.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. While driving 80 MPH and without warning, the contact heard a loud noise and thought the tire blew out. Upon further investigation, the contact noticed that the sun roof had exploded. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the sun roof needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 99,000.
Found the windshield wipers to only work intermittently when I bought the vehicle with 85,000 miles on it. Now my vehicle has almost 100,000 miles and the wipers only work on high and occasionally don't even work at all when it rains when driving. This has made the care scary to drive and we don't drive it when it rains. Brought the car in the Kia and they couldn't duplicate the problem as well.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving at 55 MPH, the sun roof fractured and shattered. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 140,000. Updated 7/9/15 updated 9/18/15
My low beam headlights keep blowing out, my rear wind shield wiper doesn't lay on the glass. Therefore, it doesn't clean well, the seatbelt in the middle row keeps falling in the seat crack making it hard to get out and buckle up. My rear Kia symbol is chipping paint.
Tl- the contact owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving at 20 MPH, the panoramic sun roof shattered. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 61,620. Djr
The top back glass roof spontaneously exploded while driving. There was no road debris, or any other material near the car, in fact the glass failed upwards! Glass pieces and small fragments fell on top of the roof screen.
My husband and I walked out of house about noon today (21apr13) and my husband looked at car and said "wtf , look at car". Sun roof is shattered. We attempted to contact local Kia which is 32 miles away and they are closed. Contacted our insurance company who can not help us out until Kia opens on Monday and they have to send us to a dealer that is 75 miles away from us for them to look at and then determine repair costs. I looked online to check for recall and am still searching also looking to see if this is an issue with anyone else and found one entry from 2010. Not sure how this happened to a parked car sitting in driveway with no trees around or loose objects. Have other vehicle in drive with no damage so ruled out rain. Hoping for fair weather until we can get the car to dealer (I hope it will be tomorrow). …
NHTSA investigations
Panoramic Sunroof Breakage
On October 21, 2013 the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE13-035 in order to further examine claims that the sunroof would spontaneously break on 2011-2013 Kia Sorento vehicles.The majority of these claims occurred while the vehicle was in motion.Glass shattering while driving may distract the driver, and the resulting glass particles which enter the passenger compartment may injure occupants.To date,…
Panoramic Glass Sunroof Breakage
The investigation focused on spontaneous breakage (fracture) of the panoramic sunroof (sunroof) on MY 2011-2013 Kia Sorento vehicles. The sunroof is constructed of tempered glass (often referred to as ?safety glass?), which, when broken, crumbles into granular chunks rather than splintering into jagged shards.
Window & Wiper complaints in other Sorento years
Frequently asked questions
How common are window & wiper problems on the 2011 Kia Sorento?
NHTSA has 29 complaints about the windows, wipers & sunroof of the 2011 Kia Sorento, 2% of the model year's 1,520 complaints. The component named most often is sun/moon roof assembly (13 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2011 Kia Sorento window & wiper problems?
No. NHTSA lists no windows, wipers & sunroof 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 window & wiper problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 44,000 miles, and 42% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 0 crashes, 1 fire and 1 injury to windows, wipers & sunroof 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.