2016 Kia Sorento Body & Structure Problems

Vehicle inspection catalytic converter fumes coming inside vents causing fire an frame issues

WHILE DRIVING ON HIGHWAY WE WERE ALERTED BY OTHER DRIVERS THAT THERE WAS FIRE AND SMOKE COMING FROM THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT. WE PULLED OVER IMMEDIATELY AND WITHIN MINUTES THE ENTIRE VEHICLE BURST IN FIRE. WE CONTACTED KIA MOTORS REGARDING THIS AND THEY SIMPLY DENIED RESPONSIBLY FOR THIS, DEEMING THE CAUSE OF FIRE TO BE UNRELATED TO FAULTY ENGINE COMPONENTS.

October 10, 2018 drove car into driveway, shut car off, parked, went into house for about 2 mins, came back to car, it was smoking from under hood. I turned on faucet in garage, and sprayed water on car. Called 911.

While driving on the highway at 55 MPH the sunroof over the driver and front passenger compartment exploded sending glass into the vehicle. We drove the vehicle at lower speeds to the smith kia dealership in bellingham, wa and are awaiting repairs.

When driving on the highway at 55 MPH the sunroof over the driver and front passenger compartment exploded. Glass showered into the car (2016 kia sorento xls). We drove the car a lower speeds to the dealership in bellingham, wa (smith kia).

When driving on the highway at 55 MPH the sunroof over the driver and front passenger compartment exploded and sent glass into the vehicle. We drove the vehicle at lower speeds to the smith kia dealership in bellingham, wa and are awaiting repairs. We found an article from consumer reports that details how there glass roof fail and found a link to how to file the ntsb report.

While driving on the highway at 55 MPH the sunroof over the driver and front passenger compartment exploded sending glass into the vehicle. We drove the vehicle at lower speeds to the smith kia dealership in bellingham, wa and are awaiting repairs.

While driving on the highway at 55 MPH the sunroof over the driver and front passenger compartment exploded sending glass into the vehicle. We drove the vehicle at lower speeds to the smith kia dealership in bellingham, wa and are awaiting repairs.

Tl* the contact owns a 2016 kia sorento. While stationary, the vehicle caught fire without warning. The contact stated that smoke entered the vehicle through the air conditioning vents and that flames emerged from the floorboard area near the driver's seat.

The contact owns a 2016 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that the dashboard was cracked in the shape of an air bag on both the left and right sides, causing concerns about a potential inadvertent air bag deployment. There were no warning lights illuminated.

I now believe I've had a lemon. Since I purchased my car in 2016 they have been trying to diagnose a smell from the exhaust and started replacing parts, this was in Miami. Then for a few years in Vegas the car spent months at the dealership trying to fix a burning oil issue which I've been told there is a known problem with the turbo still isn't fixed.

I purchased my Kia sorento in August of 2024 in April 2025 my Kia went into limp mode p1326. It was determined to be part of the ksds recall but all they did is replace the sensor. Something caused that sensor to go off and I feel they just masked the problem.

Vehicle has paint that is delaminating in numerous places. It starts as a raised area then the paint just flakes off leaving bare metal exposed. My vehicle value has gone down and the cost to repaint is over $4000 because the damage is not isolated to one area, but is scattered across all sections of the car body.

Body paint has started peeling. Local Kia dealership acknowledged frequency of defect however corporate denied claim due to being outside of original warranty. Advised to pay for new paint with possibility of reimbursement.

Paint on the hood started to peel off in July of 2023. It has not been formally inspected, but is available for inspection. We have not contacted a dealer yet.

I have paint peeling from the hood of my car, the pearl white paint is bubbling up and peeling all by itself. KIA says the it's past the 3 year warranty period so I am responsible for the repair. I have never had paint peel from a car for no reason.

I brought my car brand new from the KIA DEALERSHIP.. I started to notice paint that was missing which I thought maybe from a rock(2019)But the peeling continued to peel. At this point my hood is 35% peeled off now and the top of my Kia is now starting to peel .

Literally overnight large pieces of paint began peeling off of my hood and roof. Within days I took it to a body shop and they immediately identified it as a factory defect. The pearl white paint is separating in sheets.

Paint peeling in large flakes from front hood area of vehicle. Dealer documented paint issue on Jan 2, 2023

Rear door larch fell off. This is a documented problem with this vehicle. Kia dealerships have been unhelpful to resolve this issue.

The paint on my 2016 Kia Sorento it's peeling off. I went to the dealer where I purchased it and still owe $10,000 they do not want to help me.

The car was purchased new in 2016. Paint began peeling above the passenger door August 27, 2021 at the dealer service center carwash after a routine oil change. Its been peeling more since then. We have read of other owners having very serious paint peeling on there Sorentos. Estimates to repaint the panel are up to $1000. The car has 71,000 miles on it.

On October 28, 2021 the hood paint suddenly started to peel in large chunks. This occurred without warning as previously there was no peeling paint. These pieces stuck to the windshield and were a driving safety hazard as they obstructed clear view.

Stock paint is continuing to peel off of the car for no reason. No accidents, or anything self inflicted that would contribute to the paint chipping.

THE PAINT STARTED PEELING FROM THE HOOD OF MY CAR 2 YEARS AGO. IT STARTED AS SMALL CRACKS, SO I ORDERED PAINT REPAIR PENS FROM KIA AND TRIED TO REPAIR IT MYSELF, BUT IT DID NOT WORK. NOW IT HAS EXPANDED TO BIGGER AREAS. AFRAID TO WASH THE CAR BECAUSE ALL THE PAINT MAY PEEL OFF.

REAR POWER LIFT GATE DOOR ARE NOT WORKING PROPERLY. DOORS NOT OPENING WHEN TRYING TO OPEN USING KEY FOB, INSIDE BUTTON OR REAR ON DOOR BUTTON CAR IS PARKED AND NOT MOVING. DOORS TRYING TO OPEN BUT GIVING UP AND STAYING CLOSED. I FOUND THAT THIS IS A PROBLEM WITH THAT MECHANISM AND NUMEROUS OWNERS HAS SAME PROBLEM AND COMPLAINING ABOUT IT ON MANY FORUMS AND CAR DEALERS WEB PAGES. MY CAR WAS AT THE DEALER AND HE RECOMMENDED TO CHANGE LATCH ASSEMBLY NOT COVERED BY WARRANTY.

EXTERIOR DOOR HANDLE STICKING AND NEEDING REPLACED MULTIPLE TIMES.

DOOR HANDLE FELL OFF IN MY HAND. I CANNOT OPEN DOOR FROM INSIDE OR OUTSIDE DUE TO CHILD LOCKS BEING ENGAGED. VEHICLE WAS STATIONARY I WAS JUST OPENING THE DOOR LIKE USUAL AND IT BROKE OFF.

I HAVE OWNED THIS CAR FOR ONE YEAR. THE LAMINATION AND PAINT ARE BUBBLING UP FOR NO REASON. I TAKE GOOD CARE OF THIS CAR AND IT IS NOT OLD ENOUGH THAT THE PAINT SHOULD BE FAILING. I BELIEVE THE KIA PAINT IS DEFECTIVE. THE PAINT IS BUBBLING UP ON THE REAR HATCH AND ROOF, AS WELL AS ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE PASSENGER DOOR. I FOUND NUMEROUS ACCOUNTS OF THIS HAPPENING TO OTHER KIA OWNERS FOR NO REASON, AND FOUND OUT THAT THERE ARE CLASS ACTION LAWSUITS FOR KIA PAINT DEFECTS.

EXTERIOR RIGHT REAR HANDLE SNAPPED OFF WHEN ATTEMPTING TO OPEN IT ON STATIONARY VEHICLE. THE SPECIFIC PIECE THAT BROKE OFF IS PLASTIC. THIS PIECE ATTACHES THE MAIN COMPONENT THAT HOLDS THE ENTIRE DOOR LATCH ASSEMBLY TO THE DOOR.

THE PASSENGER DOOR DOES NOT OPEN FROM THE EXTERIOR. THIS A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE IF ONE NEEDS TO GET INTO VEHICLE IMMEDIATELY. THE DOOR DOES OPEN FROM THE INTERIOR. THIS IS A COMMON COMPLAINT ON MESSAGE BOARDS AT WWW.CARGURUS.COM. I WILL SUBMIT A 'REPAIR INVOICE LATER AS THE SORENTO IS IN THE DEALERSHIP NOW GETTING THIS REPAIRED. I STARED HAVING THIS ISSUE IN APRIL 2020 AND IT PROGRESSED UNTIL IT WAS A TOTAL FAILURE BY AUGUST 2020

PEARL WHITE PAINT STARTED PEELING OFF CAR

PAINT CHIPPING ON THE HOOD AND TOP OF MY CAR/ COLOR IS WHITE

MY 2016 KIA WITH PEARL WHITE PAINT IS PEELING VERY BADLY ON MY HOOD AND ROOF. THIS IS OBVIOUSLY A MAJOR PROBLEM OR DEFECT WITH THE PAINT. I THOUGHT AT FIRST IT WAS A ROCK CHIP BUT IT WAS NOT. IT IS SPREADING ALL OVER THE HOOD AND ROOF.

PEARL WHITE PAINT ON 2016 KIA SORENTO IS RAPIDLY PEELING OFF SINCE MARCH 2020. ONE HUGE SPOT ON DRIVERS SIDE BUMPER IS THE BIGGEST AND HAS HUGE CHUNKS THAT PEEL OFF. THERE IS ANOTHER SPOT ON THE PASSAGES SIDE BUMPER AND A FEW OTHER SPOTS ON BUMPER AND HOOD THAT ARE STARTING TO BUBBLE UP.

REAR TAILGATE LATCH WILL NOT LOCK, THE ACTUATOR HAS STOP WORKING. I HEAR THE CLICKING BUT NOTHING MOVES. I CALLED THE DEALER AND OF CAUSE NO INFORMATION THAT THIS EXISTS OR HAS HAPPEN TO ANYONE ELSE, WHY BECAUSE THEY WANT YOU BRING IT IN TO THEN CHARGE THE CUSTOMER $450.00 PARTS AND LABOR. I'M SURE THAT I AM NOT THE ONLY ONE.THEY ALSO WON'T GIVE ANY INFORMATION THAT YOU CAN DO E.G. THE SMART OPERATION CHECK, ETC....THIS HAPPEN TO ME WHILE TRAVELING FROM KEY WEST BACK HOME TO ST. LOUIS. *TR

I BOUGHT MY 2016 KIA SORENTO ON 06/17/2020. BY 06/20/2020 WHEN I GOT HOME AND TRIED LOCKING MY CAR, MY TRUNK DOOR WOULD NOT LOCK. IT WILL OPEN AND CLOSE BUT ANYBODY CAN ACCESS MY VEHICLE THROUGH THE TRUNK. AND BECAUSE IT WILL NOT LOCK ITS KEEPIN MY DASHBOARD FLASHING. *TR

PASSENGER DOOR HANDLE IS DISLODGING AND NOT WORKING. CAR WAS PARKED AND IN A DRIVEWAY.

THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE DOOR HANDLE DOES NOT OPEN AFTER USING THE KEY FOB TO UNLOCK THE DOOR OR USING THE KEY TO UNLOCK THE DOOR. AFTER USING THE KEY FOB, YOU MUST USE GREAT FORCE TO OPEN THE DOOR AND CLOSE IT SECURELY. WHEN THIS VEHICLE WAS PURCHASED, WE WERE TOLD THAT A RECALL HAD BEEN COMPLETED TO CORRECT THIS SAFETY ISSUE, HOWEVER I DOUBT THAT. ONCE A DOOR IS UNLOCKED IT SHOULD NOT TAKE GREAT FORCE TO OPEN IT. MY FEAR IS THAT WHILE DRIVING THIS DOOR MAY DISENGAGE AND OPEN WHILE IN TRANSIT. THIS HAS BEEN AN ONGOING PROBLEM SINCE THIS VEHICLE WAS PURCHASED & THE DEALER IS CLUELESS AS TO HOW TO ADDRESS/CORRECT THE PROBLEM. *TR

2016 kia sorento power liftgate will not always open when keyfob or button inside the car is pushed. I have to manually open it and then it will work fine for a few days. Problem has existed for a few years.

Parts of my car are falling off, first the bumper guard on the front,the bolts came off and had to be replaced,when the car was new, then the passenger door handle fell offseveral months ago now something called the win something fell on my feet as I wasdriving home today.

Tl* the contact owns a 2016 kia sorento. The contact stated that there was a fiberboard cover mounted underneath the engine that protected the other components underneath the vehicle. The contact mentioned that it was visible underneath the vehicle and was starting to detach.

Tl* the contact owns a 2017 (na) kia sorento. While driving the vehicle, the chrome finish located on the air vents created a reflection from the sunshine. The contact was unable to see the road clearly.

When opening the (front passenger & driver) doors from outside, door does not open each time when handle is pulled. When door is opened from the inside, door does not properly latch, thus, operator cannot secure the door to close or lock vehicle. Cannot secure occupant safely inside vehicle for operation.

Pearl white paint has begun flaking, and peeling.

I have a white pearl 2016 Sorento and Paint started peeling around windshield. Now paint is peeling all over. Recently had windy day and sheets of paint are laying on ground.

We have a 2016 Kia Sorento that has the Snow White Pearl paint. Our vehicle has a tad over 100k miles and the paint is peeling. We take care of our car and always have it clean and do not understand why this is happening.

manufacture paint peeling all over my car

Paint on our Pearl White 2016 Sorento is beginning to delaminate on the front of hood and the two pillar posts. It began as a small bubble and continues to spread and chip off. Several quarter-sized spots now and two hand-sized places.

Paint peeling everywhere an innocent burning excessive oil.

Pearl white paint on hood is peeling

The paint on my pearl white car is peeling off.

The paint on our Kia Sorrento is chipping and flaking off.

The paint on my vehicle has started to peel and is increasing getting worse. Will Kia repaint my car. It's looking very bad

Paint chipping/peeling severely from hood and top of car

The paint is bubbling up and peeling/chipping off on the hood and roof. Color is snow white pearl

I have the Pearl White paint on my 2016 Sorrento and the top front ,hood and pillars are all delaminating. I have tried to touch up paint some areas but it has gotten too bad to keep up. The paint is peelin g now all over the car.

The paint color - white pearl- is peeling off the hood of the car.

2016 Kia Sorento with 80,000 snow white pedal paint peeling at a rapid paste. Factory defect

The paint on my car is peeling off. Attached is pictures of the top of the back door window(In back of the driver’s seat)and the flap on top of the back window.The paint is Snow White.

I have a 2016 KIA Sorento. The paint is pearl white and it is peeling. The peeling is on the hood, roof and A pillars so far.

The Snow White Pearl paint on my Sorento has started chipping and peeling away on the hood, front quarter panels and roof. This is leading to rust which is quite concerning.

A rain storm came and I left my car out of the garage and the rain peeled off huge parts of my paint. There is no reason that my car last paint should have been washed off from rain.

I have a 2016 Snow White Kia Sorento that the paint is coming off of. Paint is coming off from the hood, above drivers side door and above back hatch.

Paint bubbling/chipping on multiple areas of my car. Concerned for rusting and further damage to my car. Paint chipping was first noticed in 2021 and it has progressively gotten worse since.

The paint on my car start peeling out of nowhere… the hood of the car 12/26/2023 and the roof of the car 2/09/2024 peeled off in the rain I have pictures and videos… Kia said warranty only covers 36000 miles or 3 years on the car so they couldn’t help me …plus as the paint peels u can see the car was painted with no primer for the paint to stick ….

My 2016 Kia Sorento started about 2 months to peel, it was a quarter size spot and now is getting bigger every day !!

Delamination -peeling paint

Large area of paint peeled off the hood while washing the vehicle

Paint delamination happening to my Kia Sorento, paint is peeling exposing primer

Peeling paint

The paint on the body of my vehicle just started rapidly peeling off on its own really bad from passenger door handle and spreading.

The paint on my vehicle began peeling about a year ago, 2022, right above the top of the windshield. Drivers side. About 6 months ago, approx Jan 2023, I noticed a few paint chips on the hood missing.

Paint peeliing and car rust has stated as soon as warranty ran out.

Rapid Delamination and paint peeling.

My 2016 Kia Sorento has large places on the body (hood, roof, door rails) where the paint has peeled off extensively. We noticed the paint peeling on the hood in August 2022 and the roof and door rails were noticed this month, March 2023.

Paint is peeling off in chunks without any cause

The car is available for inspection and has a paint defect. It went from one day being perfectly fine and next day I took it for a car wash and a big chunk of paint just peeled/ripped off. This is definitely a paint defect.

Paint is peeling off the hood and windsheld areas

Tailgate proximity sensor failed.

The hood of the car has large amounts of paint peeling. The paint peeling has progressively worsened. The paint on the roof of the car also has a similar problem with the paint.

Liftgate fail to open when key fob button pressed or dashboard release button pressed or approach function is turn on. Liftgate trying to open and than right a way closed. I read numerous posts of other owners stating same problem with liftgate.

Paint is peeling off

Paint peeling from hood and roof of car.

The paint on the front hood and also on the roof above the driver side is chipping away and peeling for no reason. It started about 24 months ago as a small chip on the roof right at the windshield above the steering wheel. Thought is was perhaps from a rock.

The pearl white paint paint on the vehicle is pealing on the hood, roof and doors. It started last July and there is new places popping up all the time

Paint started peeling. I thought it might have been a rock chip but it got worse in about 2 weeks.

Have a 2016 Kia sorento 93000 miles it is pearl white the paint is coming off peeling off ,chipping off

The driver side rear door handle does not open the door. The door is able to be opened from the door handle on the inside, and it can be locked and unlocked. This could create an unsafe situation in which a parent is unable to reach a child in the second row who needs assistance.

My paint is peeling. Kia sorento snow white paint peeling chipping and delamination

Paint is peeling while driving obstructing my view and potentially other drivers

Passenger door handle pulls off of door. Unable to open the door from the exterior. This is the second occurrence after already replacing the handle 6 months ago.

Paint is peeling in large portions.

Right rear door handle fell off. The vehicle was stationary in the parking lot.

Passenger exterior door handle broke off while vehicle was stationary,and I see multiple complaints online referring to the same problem

My kia sorento 2016 hatch door will not open. I have to get in and crawl over two row to get unlock from the inside. Since this started happening I have found numerous complaints about this happing to other people.

Takata recall rented car from budget. Exited car and the bottom corner of the driver's side door caught my leg producing a large gash immediately. Upon inspection it was clear that there was a very sharp plastic material at the bottom corner of the driver's side door.

The vehicle was being driven straight on a 4 lane road at slow speeds due to traffic. The rear pane of the panoramic sunroof imploded without being struck by any object. Luckily the shade was closed up to the front pane of glass which prevented the glass from showering the occupants.

Traveling at highway speed, the windshield seemed to have suffered a stress crack starting in the lower corner of the passenger side (about 1- 2" from the side), and spread to the middle of the windshield (about half way up). The windshield was not impacted by anything, nor did the vehicle hit any large and/or sudden bumps in the road.