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Engine
06/25/2026
bought car from carmax. engine knock sensor went bad and engine is knocking. kia states engine is not origional and was taken from a junk yard, both kia and carmax are refusing to fix eventhough I am doing payments and it is a known kia issue for this car. Kia charged me 350$ to run test and cleared the light but informed me my engine is going to blow. carmax is refusing to do anything but still wants us to pay the 9k we owe on the car eventhough its broke.
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Power Train, electrical System
06/16/2026
Following an engine replacement performed at Billion Auto Kia in Rapid City, SD, I began experiencing persistent electrical system failures in my 2017 Kia Sorento. The vehicle alarm would activate randomly without cause, including while I was inside the vehicle with the engine running. Additionally, the door locks would engage spontaneously, trapping me inside the vehicle and preventing me from exiting. The only way to exit was to forcibly pull the door handle, which triggered the alarm. I have video documentation of these incidents. I presented the vehicle to Billion Auto Kia in Rapid City, SD — an authorized Kia dealership with these exact symptoms. The service department was unable to identify a root cause and provided no repair path, returning the vehicle to me unrepaired. 7 months later, Courtesy Kia of Brandon in Brandon, FL, another authorized Kia dealership diagnosed the root cause as a failed Body Control Module (BCM). During the service visit, a Kia dealership technician pers...
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Engine
05/09/2026
While driving on the highway on Mother’s Day weekend with my wife and daughter, the vehicle suddenly lost acceleration and engine power while traveling on a 5-lane beltway. The vehicle would not accelerate and I was unable to maintain normal highway speed. I had to coast to the side of the road with the hazard lights activated because of the safety risk. The vehicle was eventually restarted after being towed to a dealership, but it continued to have severe loss of power and could not safely travel above approximately 45 mph. The suspected failure involves the engine and emissions system. The vehicle has a history of engine-related issues and previously received engine-related repairs. The current engine has developed excessive oil consumption. This condition has resulted in fouled spark plugs and a catalytic converter becoming severely restricted/clogged from oil contamination, causing significant loss of engine performance. A dealership inspected the vehicle and documented the oil-...
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Engine And Engine Cooling, fuel System, Gasoline
05/01/2026
The contact owned a 2017 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact noticed an abnormal fuel odor, and there was white smoke coming from underneath the hood. The contact was able to safely pull into a driveway, and the contact noticed flames coming out of the hood. The contact stated that the fire caused property damage to the driveway, including debris and burn marks. The entire vehicle was engulfed in fire and deemed destroyed. The fire department extinguished the fire. A fire department incident report was filed. The police arrived at the scene, assisted in directing traffic, but did not file a report. The contact further stated that while attempting to exit the vehicle, the contact's mother fell on the ground. No medical treatment was sought, and no injuries directly related to the vehicle fire were reported. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 150,000.
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Unknown Or Other
01/31/2026
Sunroof/Moonroof After a stop light, while driving at less than 30mph, sunroof/moonroof exploded outwards. There were no surrounding cars in front or beside or in other lane direction. It was not hot or cold out. Evening time. No weather issues. If the fabric shade screen had not been closed all the glass would have fallen all over driver. There was no warning of any kind. Glass just exploded outward into a point like a mountain peak. Then glass started falling inwards into car. Took to dealership, had insurance company evaluate for repairs, insurance approved repairs performed by dealership. Dealership service writers said this has happened on other kia's.