2020 Kia Sorento: What to check before buying

Oil burning is the main pattern. Engines use a quart or more between changes with no visible leak, often starting around 80,000 miles. Fouled spark plugs, misfires, a flashing oil light, and a check engine light follow. Many reports end in sudden power loss or a stall in traffic, sometimes on a freeway exit, and several needed a full engine replacement past 100,000 miles. Two reports describe engine fires, one injuring two occupants. Dealers often decline coverage when the VIN falls outside campaigns or the mileage limit.

Fire breaks out while driving at about 55 mph in one report, followed by a stall. The driver coasts to the shoulder and the fire department puts out the fire. The other report describes oil consumption so heavy that oil must be added daily, with the pan found low or empty at around 100,000 miles. Both match the oil burning and fire patterns reported under the engine heading.

Fire is the main concern, with five fire-related reports. Several follow the same sequence: every dashboard warning light comes on at once, a loud pop, then smoke through the vents and flames under the hood. Other fires start at the driver's-side fuse box or in trailer hitch wiring covered by recall 22V703. Separate reports describe headlights and running lights going dark while driving at night, a horn that fails again after replacement, and a control module shorted during the anti-theft software installation.

Erratic shifting on cold starts is the most common report. The transmission slips, stutters, or hesitates when pulling away, worst from 1st to 2nd and 2nd to 3rd, until the car has warmed up. Some cars surge forward when coming to a stop. Problems often start within days of purchase, and transmission reprogramming or a rebuilt transmission did not fix them. Other reports describe jerking at higher mileage, oil burning blamed on piston rings, connecting rod bearing failure, and sudden coolant loss that causes overheating.

These reports concern a recall repair, not breakdowns. Recall 22V703000 covers the trailer hitch, but repair parts are unavailable for long stretches and dealers cannot say when they will arrive. Most of these complaints involve no failure at all, only the wait. One describes a burning odor in the cabin while the repair is pending. Fire reports under the electrical heading tie hitch wiring to this same recall, so an unrepaired car carries real risk.

Braking fails to stop the car as expected in hard stops. Reports describe the ABS pushing the foot off the pedal and releasing, the car pulling hard left as if only one side is braking, a pedal that does not engage until pumped, and brakes grabbing with a metal-on-metal sound at low speed. Two reports involve crashes, one into a concrete wall, and four people were injured across these complaints.

Noise and stalling make up these few reports. One describes loud clunks and a shaking wheel that keep the car under 20 mph. Another describes a rattle behind the steering wheel during acceleration that the dealer cannot reproduce. A third is really a stall and shutdown while pulling away. Three complaints are too few to show a pattern, but a clunking, shaking wheel is a serious drivability problem.

Headlights and taillights go out together in the main lighting report, with brake lights dark too, and the dealer quotes $150 just to diagnose it. Another report links failed fob locking and inoperative windshield wipers to the anti-theft software update. A third complaint is actually about oil burning and a burnt oil smell, not lighting. The risk is driving at night or in traffic with no working lights.

Airbags fail to deploy in a frontal crash at 65 to 70 mph, according to one report, with head, neck, back, and abdomen injuries to the driver and passenger. The second report involves a side impact near the front door and gives no detail on airbag behavior. Both complaints are crash-related, with four people injured in total. Two reports are too few to show a pattern.