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Problems with 2011 Kia Sorento SERVICE BRAKES

On average, the 2011 Kia Sorento starts to “feel” problems with the SERVICE BRAKES and its various aspects after 60 556 miles.

Recently reported SERVICE BRAKES problems on 2011 Kia Sorento

Takata brake lights not working bought 3 since jan2019. got brakes done in 2018 but pedal still moves at red light car moves forward. i mash breaks harder. engine shakes or jumps. ignition switch won't turn on car it don't crank up key was remade a yr ago. ignition started back working well but 6months ago same problem again. today i was stuck 3.5hrs.horrible please help my sorento is loved by me. no one contacted me on these issues im having.

Rear parking brakes never worked. using my shift gear for parking . now front door is not opening from outside. went to forum on internet about this issue. thousands of kia sorento 2011 owners has same issue with the door. if we go to kia, they charge $400 for one door lock! crazy! so many kia owners don,t want a kia anymore. me either

My kia sorento 2011. my problem is that my car started acting different. every time i turn it makes a noise. i got the ball joint done. the right site. also i got the strut done . i was told that i need new strut again. .went i drive it sound like if the car gonna fall apart.

A few months ago my rear brakes suddenly started making noise. i maintain my vehicles very well so i was surprised it happened so suddenly. when i took it in they told me the calipers had slipped and my brakes and rotors needed replacing. i noticed a leak in my garage as well. never received a recall or warning notice from kia. when i entered my vin my vehicle doesn't fall under the recall even though that's exactly what happened to my vehicle. i didn't even realize this until i was looking for a recall 9n a different issue.

Rear right wheel speed sensor replaced at 136,000. asb, brake and traction lights all on. was driving appox 45 miles per hour on city street, no reason for loghts to suddenly come on. owners manual indicated that battery should be checked for low charge, new battery not indicated in this situation. had replaced brakes, pads and rotators three months previously. got three qoutes and kia was $250 more that the other repair options and the indepentent companies included purchasing the sensor from kia.

My rear caliper has failed shortly after replacing all 4 rotars, and brake pads. now i am facing a rather expensive bill that i cannot afford on a limitted income as i am disabled. i am also lucky that this malfunction did not cause me to crash the vehicle. i noticed my gas mileage had significantly gone down, and the rear or the vehicle was dragging, and i also heard what sounded like something dragging on the ground und erderneath the vehicle. that's when i noticed a groove being dug into my rotar by the brake pads locked in the on position.

While diving down the road, the rear passenger side gear box shattered.

We have replaced the brakes several times and the calipers as well. now we are having issues again with them. we see that there has been a recall for this issue. this happened in 2017, 2018, and now again in 2019. two out of four of our doors will not open from the outside, we see there is also a recall for this issue. please advise us how we go about getting these recalls for our vehicle as we are tired of putting out money when we shouldn't have to repeatedly.

My brake lamp switch/ stoplight switch appears to be faulty or failing, as my brake lamps are not lightning up when i press my brake pedal, nor will my car go into park or reverse when this happens. if it's when i first crank the car, then it will not go out of park when the brake pedal is pressed. also, the esc light and the dbc light comes on when this happens. my pedal/gear shifter won't make the clicking vibration noise that can even be felt in my foot and hand in order to shift the car into a gear or out of gear. this appears to be a very common problem in kias and i do see a recall that was for 2006-2011 kia sorento vehicles. my vin is not showing as part of the recall, but i'm having the same exact problem, and this is a safety issue because i can be rear-ended and even killed in an mva with no brake lamps. kia should cover this replacement for me.

My kia was being details, the person detailing the vehicle got into the vehicle. he pushed the start button didn't start the vehicle. he started it by inserting the fob in the console. the vehicle started at high rpms, driver had his foot on the brake, placed the car into reverse and the car exited the garage at a high rate of speed, driver applied both feet on the brakes the brakes did not work he tried to steer the vehicle away from the creek the steering did not work.. the vehicle did stop after it crashed into the creek that was near the business. the driver sustained injury to his head when he tried to exit the vehicle after it entered the creek. vehicle was pulled from the creek. driver did seek medical attention at a local hospital.

Door handles not opening brakes not wanting to stop or grabing esc abs downhill on and passger air bag

Was driving my kia and suddenly could no longer drive pulled over n traffic and could only put the e brake on. nothing else would go in to gear drive reverse and the brakes were not working properly. so put the e brake on and called tow truck..took it to made in america made in japan..and the say its the input shaft..exactly described on recall for my vin # [xxx] . manufacture call#sc124. nhtsa# 15v626 .this happened on 225 placerville rd folsom on friday 1/5/2017 .its currently still at made in america made in japan..please contact. me a.s.a.p [xxx] . [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr

When driving at stable speed the vehicle often "feels" as if the gas is not getting to the motor. the speed of the car varies, regardless of the amount of pressure on the gas pedal. the car also shows low tire light, along with all lights on the dashboard at random times. the lights will appear when you start the vehicle and the tire pressure light remains on at all times.

Kia sorento 2011 esc dbs lights on dashboard and either cannot get out of park or when trying to shut vehicle down will get stuck in between neutral and drive, i shut down car but obviously cannot take keys out, wait a few minutes restart in neutral and sometimes i can get it in or out of park. sometimes this is done several times.

I was informed brake lights were not illuminating. electric stability control idiot light showed up on dashboard right before being informed. car is also not shifting into park or reverse. drive gear seems ok.

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 kia sorento. while attempting to open the passenger side door from outside the vehicle, the lock failed to open the door. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the contact also received notification of nhtsa campaign numbers: 156260000 (power train) and 13v114000 (service brakes, hydraulic, exterior lighting). the part needed for the repair was not available. the contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 78,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 kia sorento. while driving approximately 45 mph, the brake pedal was depressed and hesitated to stop the vehicle. the contact mentioned that the rear brakes failed to respond; however, the front brakes functioned properly. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the rear sway bar ran a hole in the brake line and needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 83,000.

While driving the traction light and down hill lights come on and start to apply the brakes also after making a turn the traction lights blinks and then applies the front brakes causing the car to rummble and brake peddle to viberate

The abs/traction sensor has gone out. seems to be a common issue and kia will not cover it or issue a recall.

I was driving the vehicle at low speed when the brakes started coming on by themselves. the traction control light came on as the vehicle stopped 6 times within a couple of hundred feet. i could feel the anti lock brakes working as the vehicle would stop, then the brakes would release and i would start moving again only to have the brakes come on by themselves again. the vehicle was taken to the dealer and a sensor was replaced regarding the steering. the vehicle has worked fine since, but its only been 5 days since it was repaired.

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 kia sorento. while driving at 20 mph, multiple warning lights illuminated. the failure recurred on multiple occasions. the vehicle was taken to the dealer. the technician diagnosed that the right rear passenger side brake sensor failed and needed to be replaced. the manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. the failure mileage was unavailable.

On 04/16/15 pulled into parking space. car would not go into park or reverse. parking brake would not engage. warning lights on didn't make sense., accessories would not turn off. car rolled w/o hard depress to brake. brake wouldn't fully engage (wouldn't plunge all the way). put into neutral, could not fully shut off. car warning signal blasting. could not secure car, lock car or or turn car off. could only drive forward slowly with drag when able to get out of parking spot. drove forward to get out of paking lot before trapped in there again and reverse rolling occurred. went to side of road for towing. huge drag while driving slow 5mph aprox. ignition finally turned off after putting into neutral again. warning sound finally went away but accessories still were on. parking brake would now engage. car not drivable or fully functioning. car towed to dealership. .diagnosed- failure of recall part put in at time of recall to fix had failed. resolution: replaced defective recall fix part with same recall part that just failed, no accident resulted because of this failure but i could not properly, drive, secure, car. left stranded with medically fragile child with limited cellular reception. concern: driving unsafe car with known failure part that could lead to serious accident do to symptoms of failure posted by kia. kia resolution was to put same part in that is know to fail and was part of a fix for voluntary recall due to know serious results of part failure. i am driving a car that is on it's third recall which is proven to have special needs medically fragile son would not have had immediate medical emergeny services if failure happened where there was no signal. lack of brake lights could result in collision resulting in death or serious injury. summary, driving car with know safey issues by kia with no resolution. *tr

Driving on the freeway in my 2011 kia sorento last night, the abs light came on, along with three other lights (all brake related). lights will not go out, so i took it to the dealership today. they told me it is a rear speed sensoring issue and my anti lock brakes are not working. fixing it is not under warranty. this is not the first time my kia has electronic issues. but these are dangerous! if your brakes don't work and you are driving on the freeway, danger about to happen. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 kia sorento. while driving various speeds, the vehicle decelerated independently. the driver side brakes locked, which caused the vehicle to swerve. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was not notified. the approximate failure mileage was 63,000.

After sitting overnight or all day, when backing up then going forward the car acts like the abs is sticking and wont move forward, pulls to the left. you have put car in park, turn it off, then turn back on for it to stop. *tr

Driving out of parking lot into street put foot on brake pedal and it stuck to floor. all the warning lights came on and engine was running. tried pumping brake but no good. tried gas pedal but no good. tried shifting into different positions but no good. only after turning car off and on did brake pedal come back. if this had happened in street or highway would have had serious accident. *tr

Push button start not starting vehicle. brake lights do not come on upon depress of brake pedal. vehicle only starts after holding button 10-15 seconds.

I was leaving a parking lot and applied the brakes before entering traffic. i found the brake pedal very hard to push with very limited braking power. luckily, i was not traveling at a high rate of speed or a tragic accident could have taken place. i drove carefully and was able to go very slow and pulled into a local mechanic. this is a potentially life and death issue should failure occur. i am awaiting final diagnosis but they feel the most likely part is a brake booster check valve or the brake booster. *tr

I purchased my 2011 kia sorento approximately 1 yr ago and my interior light in front over driver and passenger comes on and off during driving. this did it in the beginning then stopped, now it does it all the time with the illuminating door open sign on dash. they stay on much longer and happens more frequently. i'm afraid to drive with my grand children in car, not sure if safe anymore. dealer never expressed at time of purchase that there where any recalls for this vehicle. front makes noise everytime i place foot on brakes, people look over when i hit brakes. not sure if this is a problem as well(recall). i am unemployed now for 15 months no money to fix these problems. please let me know if these are part of any recalls. i purchased vehicle from sansone jr., route 66, neptune, nj. thank you for your assistance. *tr

Reversed car from my driveway. felt as if i had crashed into something (heard loud grinding sound). put the car into drive and came to stop. upon pressing the brakes, felt as if the abs had engaged and gripped all four wheels. heard loud grinding sound and car jolted (as brakes were pressed). i had my five year old and three old sons with me; they screamed from the jolt. i slowly released the breaks and applied the breaks again, and same thing occurred only with less force. turned off the car and called for towing. also, a howling whining noise is heard inside the car. the dealership had it for two weeks, and under the guidance of the field engineer they replaced the transfer case. the howling/whining noise continues. the dealership really tried to resolve the issue. the manager herself test drove the car and also heard the whining/howling sound. i did contact the manufacturer, but frankly felt disappointed. i had asked if anyone has called in with similar complaints and was not given an answer. i feel unsafe and very anxious about driving the car. they dealership stated the breaks were fine, and that no error code was detected. i was not given a definitive answer as to what caused the breaks to behave this way or what is the howling noise that is occurring. this is the third major issue we had with this car. i have an awd vehicle and the current recall only covers the 2wd issue (that also has this howling sound). i have read numerous other complaints in which other 2011 awd sorentos are having similar issues. please investigate; someone could be seriously hurt or worse. *tr

I bought my 2011 kia sorento preowned certified car on 12/07/2012, the next evening 12/08/2012 i was driving home from town and about one block before i got to my residence i heard a noise like something hit the bottom of the car. i then turned into my driveway and as i began to come to a stop i realized i had no brakes in turn hitting another persons car that was parked in my driveway. 911 was called because my son and myself were injured, as the fire department inspected the car he found on the drivers front wheel that most of the brake had fallen apart, the brake fluid was low also, later one of the brake pads was found on the road not far from my driveway none of the other missing parts were found. i have been trying to talk to kia and they don't seem to care nor have they tried to rectify the problem after a solid month. today when i was looking up a phone # for yet another kia dept i found that there was a recall for 2011 kia sorento for the exact same thing with my car. kia's "preowned certified" program guarantees that the car went through a 150 point inspection brakes being a top priority. all they will say is they can fix my smashed car and that's it, i was lead believe i was buying a "certified 150 point inspected" car which was not the case. the car is not safe i want what i was told i was buying. thank you *tr

I bought my 2011 kia sorento preowned certified car on 12/07/2012, the next evening 12/08/2012 i was driving home from town and about one block before i got to my residence i heard a noise like something hit the bottom of the car. i then turned into my driveway and as i began to come to a stop i realized i had no brakes in turn hitting another persons car that was parked in my driveway. 911 was called because my son and myself were injured, as the fire department inspected the car he found on the drivers front wheel that most of the brake had fallen apart, the brake fluid was low also, later one of the brake pads was found on the road not far from my driveway none of the other missing parts were found. i have been trying to talk to kia and they don't seem to care nor have they tried to rectify the problem after a solid month. today when i was looking up a phone # for yet another kia dept i found that there was a recall for 2011 kia sorento for the exact same thing with my car. kia's "preowned certified" program guarantees that the car went through a 150 point inspection brakes being a top priority. all they will say is they can fix my smashed car and thats it, i was lead believe i was buying a "certified 150 point inspected" car which was not the case. the car is not safe i want what i was told i was buying. thank you *tr

On several occasions, the vehicle does not want to go into/out of gear. when staring in the morning, i often have to pump brakes, or turn car off and re-start in order to get the car to move into reverse. on one occasion, it would not move out of drive and into park. while this hasn't caused any accidents/injuries, it could have on several occasions. had my teenaged daughter been driving it at any of the times that the vehicle didn't cooperate and move out of drive, it could have been disastrous. *tr

Attempted to park car while waiting for a relative to get off work. car would not shift to reverse or park- no further than neutral. was able to put car in neutral and brake to stop car. after dropping relative off at home (had to stop car in same manner as above), had to stop in a near empty parking lot, as i still was unable to put the vehicle in reverse or park. contacted kia dealership by phone and was told by representative to pump the break several times in order to shift the car to neutral/park. did not work. was told by rep that the braking "solenoid" ? (spelling?) has malfunctioned and that i should use something like a small screwdriver to push down a button in a small box at the top right of the shifter. further stated that this would release the break so that the car could be put in park. was told that car would now be unable to be taken out of park unless the same process was repeated. i've owned this vehicle just over 3 months. certified per-owed. less than 34000 miles. will attempt to take to dealership for repair. unaware if service center will repair on saturday. this is the second time this has happened, but it was quickly remedied when i cut the car off and turned it back on while depressing the brake. thought it was a fluke until today. should have kept my 2006. this is my 3rd kia. 1st vehicle with an issue like this. *tr

This is approximate for the dates but if further proof is needed then i am on top of it! now matter at hand...i dropped my 20011 kia sorento base xl, aka ms silvia, off to the kia dealership, original owners of ms silvia, for the 2nd (second) time for brake issues. 1st (first) time, around 10-12 ms silvia got new calipers and master cylinder and the date was about 2 (two) mths before this time, which ms silvia has been in the kia hospital/service dept since 12-21-12 for the 2nd (second) time for the very same reason... calipers and master cylinder replaced. dealership says, "...bad parts...." i am very worried since a recall was issued through your organization back in nov 2010 for calipers for this very make, model & yr, this was never brought to my attention, by the dealership, till i did some snooping this time on my own. and wow... all i want is a dependable & safe vehicle to conduct my life. i am in fear this could happen again and wondering if others are suffering in silence and if this needs to be researched again...please help me in the mean time i am letting my car insurance carrier know about this issue also, just in case ms silvia can't do what's required of her for me on a daily bases and maybe involves others of innocence.... i am scheduled to pick up ms silvia up today...crossing my fingers that ms silvia is in good working order....help please... *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 kia sorento. the contact stated that a loud clicking and grinding noise emitted when the brake pedal was engaged. the dealer replaced the brake solenoid several times but the failure persisted. the vehicle was taken back to the dealer. the technician replaced the brake solenoid. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was 7,480.

The incline control light & the traction control light came on for no reason. i was parking my vehicle on a flat surface and when these lights were on i was unable to put the car in park or reverse. i had to put the vehicle in neutral and shut off the vehicle with my foot on the brake. i then had to restart the vehicle, the control and traction lights were not on and i was able to put the vehicle in park. i went directly to the dealership that i made the purchase from and was told that this is a known defect in the brake line where there is a short in the line that causes the computer to think the break is not pressed down enough, therefore confusing the computer into thinking it should apply the incline and traction control and prevents the vehicle from being put in reverse or park. i was told that by turning the vehicle off while in neutral like i did will sometimes reset the computer. i was told there is also a little box that has a very small slit in it and if i could find something to fit into it that would go down about 6 inches, that would also reset it. however, they were not aware of what one would use to do that with. i was told there was no need to fix this very common problem. i asked if this would eventually mess up the drive shaft, computer system, or transmission and was assured it would not. *tr

Was driving along at about 35mph and noticed a vehicle turning in front of me. i brake to stop or slow down at least. the brakes failed completely, no brakes, did not stop vehicle. it was like the anti-lock system was trying to work, but worked faulty, almost in a reverse fashion. i pressed brake pedal to no avail, like it was slipping, but nothing to slip on. long story short i ended up going in the ditch to avoid running into the vehicle. previous to this about 2months the shifter would not go into the park position, no matter what i tried, thankfully i was near the dealership. they replaced the brake controller and it seemed to fix the problem until now. furthermore, when i go around a corner at a reasonable speed the engine kills power for a split second, and the anti-sway lights kick on. this seems to be more of a safety concern than a safety fix. i feel having 3 serious potentially life threatening situations in the last 3 months merits further investigation into this model of kia, before it literally is killed in action, kia. i recently watch the news and saw a stuck accelerator problem on this model as well, hope you will take action. *tr

On 9/19/2012 at 12:17 pm i took a frantic call from my wife. she had just stopped to fill up with gas, got back on the interstate and set the cruise control at around 75 mph. shortly afterwards the front end started shaking and the vehicle started to lose speed. she shut off the cruise and was looking for a place to pull over when the vehicle started to accelerate on its own. it was already going over 80 mph when she called. i told her to stand on the brakes-no effect. i told her to put her foot on the brake and to push and hold the start button for 10 seconds-nothing (that is the override to get the car started when the brake switch malfunctions-we had just had it replaced at the dealership 2 weeks prior). i told her to shift it into neutral-the shifter is locked in drive. i told her to shift to a lower gear-it won't move. after 4 minutes the car was going over 85 mph-i told her to hang up & call 911 as she could tell them where she was much better than i could. a few minutes later i received a call from the highway patrol-they had 2 cruisers on the interstate with her trying to clear traffic ahead of her. i asked if they could get a cruiser ahead of her and let her nose up behind it and then use the cruiser to stop her. evidently they didn't like that idea or it is against policy because they never did try that. the dispatcher had to hang up to concentrate on the situation at hand. i now had the dispatcher's number so i could call her back. at one point i called back and suggested that she engage the cruise control and try to slow the car with it. my wife does not remember ever trying this. this went on for about 45 minutes at speeds up to 119 mph. at the end one of the officers told her to put her left foot on the brake and pull up on the accelerator with her right foot at the same time. she went from over 100 mph to under 50 mph instantly, let go of the pedals. *tr

My brakes will go to the floor every once in a while, sometime the car is not running and i just press the pedal to start the car, other time the car is moving all i have to do to correct this problem is pump the brake 1 time and everything is fine again. i have taken the car to the dealer twice for this problem and the last time this is the answer i got.(kia techline states that it is normal for the brake petal to travel to the floor at times. techline states that as long as the vehicle will hold still and will stop when the brakes are applied, this is normal. pressure on the brake system seems good. i have call kia customer service and i am waiting for a reply. i believe that this is a safety problem. *tr

My husband was on private property. he got in the car, put the car in reverse and backed up. he heard a loud pop. he put the car in drive, and his foot was still on the brake. the car began to accelerate on its own with his foot on the brake until the vehicle got up to 60 miles per hour. trying not to hit the house, or the person outside of the property he maneuvered the car into the back yard. the car was steadily picking up speed and his foot was on the brake the entire time. he could not get the gear to shift or the brakes to work. the vehicle struck a tree and that impeded the movement of the vehicle. he turned the car off and got out of it. *tr

Vehicle unable to start, even with key in 'holster' in glove box. vehicle brake appeared to be pressed down already and no reaction when start button was pushed. this happened multiple times over a 3 day period. after multiple attempts over two days, the vehicle started. taken to dealership who detected nothing and were unable to duplicate the situation. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 kia sorento. the contact stated that all of the lights on the dashboard failed to illuminate, causing the entire dashboard to go black with the exception of the glow plug. the vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnosis. the dealer was unable to determine the cause of the failure. an engineer was requested to further inspect the vehicle however, he was also unable to determine the cause of the failure. after inspection, the vehicle began to operate as designed. the contact also stated that the brake pedal had a spongy feel to it. the contact referenced nhtsa campaign id number: 10v599000 (service brakes, hydraulic:foundation components:disc:caliper) and the vehicle was taken to the dealer who informed him that the vin was not included in the recall. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 33,500 and the current mileage was 42,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 kia sorento. the contact was traveling 35 mph when the brake warning light illuminated. the contact then proceeded to depress the brakes but the vehicle failed to stop properly. the vehicle was taken to the dealer where the dealer confirmed that the master cylinder needed to be replaced. the manufacturer was contacted but the vehicle was not repaired. the failure and current mileages were 15,235.

Stability control and downhill assist lights illuminate while driving. then when stopped, car will not go past neutral when trying to shift into park. also, when driving, the brake lights do not work immediately when pedal is depressed. car will not shift out of park after started and stability control and downhill assist lights are illuminated. located switch at the upper part of the brake pedal and while car was in neutral, with parking brake on, was able to bump the switch box and then shift car into park. *tr

When shifting from reverse to drive, vehicle clunks and then jolts forward. when shifting into drive,vehicle whines, doesn't move and so i then shift back into park which results in clunking noise. this has happened numerous times. i brought this to the attention of my dealership on 8/28/12 and they couldn't find the problem at that time. i was advised to keep a log of when the problem occurs which is often but intermittent. just recently vehicle lost power at a stop sign (had plenty of gas in tank) and after several attempts to keep it running it jolted forward and ran fine. *tr

When coming to a stop at a light or stop sign, usually on a slight downhill slope, the vehicle engine dies completely. it usually happens after the vehicle has be driven for 10-15 minutes, parked for 10-15 minutes then driven again for ten minutes. once it dies i am able to start it up right away. it is a push start "key" and the car dies after i apply the brakes and am very near to a complete stop. this has happened within a few months of purchase and occurs randomly, every few months. it has happened six to ten times since i purchased the car. i have brought it into the dealer at least three times and the computer comes back with no codes. they can't replicate it and do not know what to fix. today, the dealer installed a monitor for me to use for two weeks to see if it happens and we can capture the info in real time. kia manufacturer customer service was abominable. i am trying to get a field technician to look at it and communicate with the dealer. *tr

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