Kia Sorento Reliable?
Posted by Alarmed-Emergency990@reddit | askcarguys | View on Reddit | 18 comments
Is the kia Sorento a reliable car? I'm going from a truck to an SUV and like the look of the kias inside and out as well as the pricing/driving performance. I've read online that newer kias are very reliable but some people i know say they're not.
I'm looking at a 2021 to a 2023 sorento with under 40k miles on it.
Ayyy-yo@reddit
I know 7 people personally who owned a Kia. 3 of them had engines blow up before 100k.
digitalsierra@reddit
Those people who had their Kia Theta II engines blow up probably didn't check and change their oil often enough. The factory manual says change it every 7500 miles; it really needed to be every 3000 - 5000 miles.
Steefin84@reddit
good thing they give a 10 yr 100k warrenty
mjkuwp94@reddit
we had a 2015 Kia minivan. the engine family is likely similar or it may be the same. run away. it started burning oil, then drank oil, and it cascaded from there. They are not a good manufacturer. If somehow you do end up buying anyway, use only top quality synthetic oil and change and check often and look into what warranty you can get. you have been warned : O. our van had the V6 gdi which some would assert is the 'good engine' but that is a relative term. it lasted more than the 4 cylinders but still had fatal flaws.
digitalsierra@reddit
Those 2.4L Theta 2 engines were notorious (recalls and class action lawsuits). Kia phased them out starting in 2021 with a more reliable design.
traditional_genius@reddit
Consumer Reports recently listed automakers that make the most reliable used cars. FWIW, both Kia and Hyundai were in the bottom half. I drove a Kia Optima 2013 that i bought at 88k and is currently on 130k. It had a new engine installed at 80k.
digitalsierra@reddit
https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/car-reliability-owner-satisfaction/who-makes-the-most-reliable-cars-a7824554938/
Kia ranks #10 out of 26. They're behind Tesla (rank 9) but ahead of Ford (rank 11).
If you have a different list from Consumer Reports, link it or I say you're full of B.S.
tmssmt@reddit
I know this is an old comment but...
No automakers make used cars 🤣
GeneticEnginLifeForm@reddit
"[The company] Consumer Reports recently listed automakers that ~~make~~ made the most reliable cars..."
That's how I read it.
No-Explanation1034@reddit
Nothing with the words KIA or Hyundai on it could ever be considered reliable.
Alive-Cheetah-7033@reddit
Not true.Â
DueToday8057@reddit
What year do you think this is? Korean cars have greatly increased in reliability and quality while American cars have done the exact opposite
Kustu05@reddit
They are pretty reliable generally. Only avoid the 2.4 litre Theta engine and their DCT transmissions. Others commenters here have no idea what they are talking about.
WU5K@reddit
No, if you want one, I'll sell you mine which has a new motor in it because the old one blew up.
Alarmed-Emergency990@reddit (OP)
How many miles did it have when that happened? I have an F150 with 113 which is a good truck that normally lasts longer but it seems i got a bad one that has a major engine issue already. So one offs do happen
WU5K@reddit
About 93 000, it's my wife's car and she had a job which caused her to drive a..lot, we kept it dealer maintained and the motor still blew up, they did not cover it because it didn't have the knock sensor issue, the sorento is a 2017, it cost $6000 to replace the motor at a shop that I trust and they gave me a deal. I will never buy another Kia. I'd get a honda or toyota or something and stay away from hyundia and kia's. Good luck, I only wish I'd have posted to reddit before we bought ours.
Alarmed-Emergency990@reddit (OP)
Hmmmm thanks for the input. I have read that the newer ones are more reliable like 2020+ but im still a little cautious
WU5K@reddit
Potentially, I'll leave you with one last thing, we purchased it because of the price point and we were struggling financially at the time, it lasted just long enough to be paid off, literally the month after we paid it off, it really f'd us when we were hoping to not have to pay anything for awhile. I hope it doesn't cause you this kind of issue down the road, mind you I am biased because I am hella pissed at Kia.
If you still do get it I would suggest selling it before 70-80k miles, that makes it someone elses issue, oh and also the dealership still calls us to try and buy our kia so they can resell it they still gave us a price after the engine had been replaced, they would be more than happy to sell it to someone else, kinda dirty.