2022 Kia Sorento Electrical Problems
16 owner-reported electrical complaints from NHTSA data
Data sourced from NHTSA public database. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified mechanic.
Electrical Recalls (1)
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING:FUSES AND CIRCUIT BREAKERS
Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2021-2023 Sorento vehicles. The heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) blower motor wiring harness may be inadequate, which can result in a fire.
Fix: Dealers will replace the wiring harness and blower motor resistor, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 23, 2026. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC351. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will be searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning October 9, 2025.
Owner Complaints (16)
Your 2022 Sorento lost all engine power while you were driving, creating a dangerous situation. After inspection, Kia determined you need a complete engine replacement at a cost of $8,000+, and your extended warranty won't cover it. Kia has existing recalls for similar power loss issues on this model. The repair will require removing and replacing the entire engine.
Parts you may need:
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Your vehicle is subject to a safety recall due to a potential fire hazard that could occur during normal driving. Kia has declined to repurchase your vehicle despite it being inoperable. The issue involves the electrical, engine, and fuel systems and will likely require diagnostic inspection and component replacement or repair as part of the recall service.
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Your instrument panel screen goes blank while driving, and the check engine light comes on—sometimes repeatedly. The dealer found a faulty battery sensor and says it needs replacement, but hasn't repaired it yet and wants to run additional diagnostics on the instrument panel itself. Fixing this will likely involve replacing the battery sensor and possibly diagnosing the instrument cluster wiring or connections.
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Your reverse camera bracket broke and the camera is now hanging loose from your license plate, making it impossible to use for backing up safely. This leaves you without a rear view camera when reversing. The bracket will need to be repaired or replaced to restore the camera to working condition.
Parts you may need:
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The contact owns a 2022 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that after coming to a complete stop, while attempting to accelerate, the vehicle failed to immediately respond. Additionally, the “Battery Failure” and check engine warning lights were illuminated in red. The contact scheduled an appointment with the dealer, but the vehicle was not yet diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 26,000.
I was driving on a busy road when the computer system completely stopped the engine from running and gave a message/notice appear, accompanied with an alarm stating "engine failure." I had to put the car in neutral and try to pull over to safety. This is the third time this has happened. The second time, the dealer repair shop ran a diagnostic test and told me that they reset the computer, and nothing was wrong mechanically. This time, it is sitting at the dealership waiting to have a diagnostic test done, but I was told it was likely just a computer issue. Prior to the engine being completely stopped, the car will jump gears while driving [i.e., from 1st to 5th while going 25 miles an hour and not accelerating], and the car feels like it is misfiring. The car is two years old and has 50,000 miles. It should not have any of these issues. A car should not be putting my life in danger while driving for no reason and without any effort to fix it.
Automatic stop start admission. Was turning right on a green light. The vehicle stalled while trying to take the turn. All the dash lights flickered and the dashboard made a buzzing sound. Then vehicle then shut off, while trying to take the turn. There was 4 people in the vehicle 2 of them small children. We almost got hit on the left side of the vehicle. Because the light that was green had turned red. This is the fourth time the vehicle had failed us. By shutting off while driving. We having taken the vehicle in 2 times to be inspected by Kia, but have been told there is nothing wrong with the vehicle. But we are still having issues. There is no warning signs that the vehicle is going to shut off. It shows it after the fact.
The car just randomly turns off mid drive, several times a week. Even in drive the engine turns off and says I need to put it in park and return on the whole car, very unsafe.
While driving, all lights on the dash will light up and the gas pedal loses power. The only way to move the car to the side of the road out of danger is by coasting to the shoulder which can be very unsafe on the interstate. The car remains running with no power until it is cut off and turned back on. This has happened four times with the dealership being unable to specifically identify and fix the problem.
My raise and lower Windows don't work some times including the unlock and loock Windows. I get my house and want closed the car but I can rise the Windows, and try many times after a couple hours and could. I was far for the kia service and I dont have time at the moment to go, went al make the appointment the said that the car need to have the fail in the moment if the not fail at the moment the can do anything.
The Sorento went in for three recalls on 1/24/2023 at 6970 miles. These were tow hitch recall ( no tow hitch on the vehicle) . SC250 8 speed electrical oil pump and SC252 B HECU inspection. One week later , (and after approx. 35 miles) , while driving all warning lights started flashing and the engine lost power. Luckily I was in an area where I could stop and when the car was in neutral with all lights warning still flashing the engine ran irregularly between 1000 and 1500 revs. When I tried to put in back in gear and drive it just limped at a about 5 miles per hour and when you depressed the accelerator nothing happened. I switched car off and waited 10 seconds and restarted it. This time the malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) stayed on. I then switched it off again and waited 30 minutes. This time all lights went out and the engine operated normally. I immediately phone the dealer who did the recalls and who then examined the car. The error codes they found were P065312 (engine) C1161386 Brake) C136081 C174181 C161381 (Front Radar) C161386 C164286 (Front View camera) C169381111111 (Rear corner radar). They redid the SC 250 update and test drove the vehicle to see if the problem reoccurred. It did not and the vehicle was returned to me on 2/3/2023. With the sudden loss in engine power this could have been very serious had it happened on an expressway. My wife is now too scared to drive the vehicle. I did phone KIA Customer service to report the issue and their file number is 15300218
I was pulling out to cross a highway with my 13 year old daughter in the passenger seat when my brand new 2022 Kia Sorento completely lost power and we were almost T-boned by a white Ford F150 (I have all of this drivers info if needed). The screens went black like it simply shut off & I had no control of the vehicle whatsoever. I quite literally could not move my vehicle. We sat helpless, my daughter screaming bloody murder, watching a truck barrel towards us. By what could only be the grace of god, this man came to a screeching hault mere inches from my daughters windows. The car started back up like it never happened & I was able to drive almost 10 miles homes before suddenly losing power again, only this time, the screens turned black for a moment and it started back up on its own. I do not trust this car & I will be taking it back to the dealership today to demand a different car or a refund. This vehicle WILL CAUSE A FATAL ACCIDENT.
Smell something burning like electric
Last Tuesday, August 16, I parked in the driveway at around 8 PM. After about 2 hours I heard car alarm. I looked out window and saw flames engulfing rear of vehicle. Called 911. Firefighters extinguished flames. Fire crew stated fire was likely electrical and started near tow hitch receptacle. Tow hitch was installed by Kia dealer weeks after I bought car; they told me it was an OEM hitch. I'd never used the hitch until the day of the fire. That afternoon I bought a Kuuat bicycle rack with lights. Bike store installed the rack and plugged it into the hitch receptacle. I did errands for several hours with nothing appearing amiss. Then parked, and fire started hours later. No injuries and no other damage. Looks like total loss, but State Farm hasn't confirmed yet.
6700 miles and vehicle began exhibiting Check ESC, Check Engine, Emergency Brake lights. Daily driven, vehicle does not sit for more than a day at a time. 7092 miles now, local dealership inspection lead to concluding that a rodent has chewed through wires and must be repaired. Claims KIA warranty does not cover such damage. Of the SEVERAL (6+) vehicle I have owned/financed/driven over the last 3 years, this is the first and only incident involving a wiring harness chewed. NOT HAPPY! Quick research shows there's a bit of a problem with KIA manufactured vehicle including Soy-Based wire shielding.
While driving at highway speed the vehicle lost power and all warning lights on the dash came on. Fortunately the traffic was light and I was able to get off the highway. It was early Sunday morning but if I had been in heavy traffic or construction it could have been much worse. The vehicle died and wouldn't start again. The vehicle repeated this 3 other times. It went to three separate dealerships for repair but none could find a problem. They saw all the codes for past problems but nothing was current so couldn't be diagnosed. Twice it wouldn't start in the morning. Once it died while idling. The dealership said the solution was to wait a few hours to see if it would reset. Kia was incapable of fixing the problem or even helping with my expenses. The car was only a few weeks old.