2025 Kia Sorento Engine Problems

Your 2025 Kia Sorento suddenly lost power when you pressed the accelerator and entered limp mode, forcing you to stop in traffic intersections. The engine didn't respond normally, and the power loss kept disengaging and re-engaging as you drove home. Your vehicle is subject to a recall (25V548) warning that engine damage could cause loss of propulsion, and although the dealership couldn't reproduce the issue, this experience raises serious safety concerns. The fix will likely involve inspection and possible replacement of engine connecting rod bolts as specified in the recall.

My vehicle has an ongoing acceleration problem that feels like the engine and transmission are not communicating correctly. There are times when the vehicle will not accelerate even though the RPMs increase. Instead of picking up speed, it feels like the engine is pulling the vehicle back. This creates hesitation and uncertainty about whether the car will respond when I press the accelerator. This happens most noticeably at lower speeds (around 30–40 mph, often near 30 mph), where the RPMs may rise on their own even if I am maintaining steady pressure on the gas pedal. It also occurs when I need to accelerate quickly — such as merging onto the freeway or joining the flow of traffic — and the vehicle feels like it resists gaining speed. Even when I press the pedal gradually and correctly, the vehicle struggles to accelerate and the engine revs without the car moving forward as it should. I reported this to the dealership. They ran diagnostics and told me no issues were detected. They also stated they cannot take action unless they can re-create the problem themselves. Because this does not happen every time, recreating it on command is very unlikely, leaving me without a solution. This is a safety concern because hesitation or failure to accelerate properly during merging or crossing traffic increases the risk of collisions. The problem remains unresolved.

The inverter radiator is punctured during typical road use by road debris. This results in a total loss of circulating coolant in the inverter/electric motor cooling system. This renders the car undrivable, with a concern for electric motor overheating, given that the hydrid mode and electric power can not be turned off. This is available for inspection. It is unclear whether the electric motor will shut down when overheated, but seizing of the motor or fire seems possible. Reproducibility: There are many examples online of this occurring during normal road use of Kia electric and hybrid vehicles. There is a warning 'Check drive motor cooling system' in this model. This appeared during driving and reamined on while the coolant was depleted. Refilling coolant turned the light off but with coolant being actively sprayed out of the pin hole in the radiator at all times (the pump does not turn off when the engine is cold) resulting in rapid coolant loss.

My Sorento has a transmission issue or something similar. It slips, it dies down and sometimes when I come to a stop and try to move, it won’t move. I have to put it back in park and then put it in drive. I have had several near miss accidents due to all these issues. It has been repaired twice but it has never fixed the issue and the dealer claims there is nothing wrong.