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Problems with 2013 Kia Sorento SEATS

On average, the 2013 Kia Sorento starts to “feel” problems with the SEATS and its various aspects after 62 829 miles.

Recently reported SEATS problems on 2013 Kia Sorento

My child who is currently 13, has managed to pull the rear passenger handle off the vehicle twice in the 6 years we have owned it requiring replacement both times as the piece holding the handle in is plastic and has shattered. the first time he was only 7. it is unacceptable for a door handle to be able to be destroyed by a child multiple times. also, the handle which allows the second row seat to fold forward for passengers to gain access to the third row does not work. we have asked for this to be fixed at the dealership multiple times but they have been unable to get it to work properly either. obviously both of these problems occur when the vehicle is stationary.

Received extended warranty information regarding my airbag light brought this in to have the clock assembly spring reviewed and it was replaced but then was told i had to pay $2000 to have the passenger seat change to have the sensor go off.

The levers on both my middle seats do work, so i can't lay my seats down or get in the third row.

I purchased my 2013 kia sorento in 2014 with 15,000 miles. the 2nd row passenger seat has been a problem from day one with getting stuck in the down position. the seat is now completely inoperable and permanently stuck/locked down after i moved it in the down position.

Seat beat light remained on after repair.

Rear seat stuck. rear passenger seat lever has always been a little hard to activate to raise or lower the seat. it took a combination of pulling the lever and giggling the seat to get it to engage. that little trick recently stopped working and my rear passenger side seat is now permanently stuck in the down position. i did an internet search on a way to fix the problem and found multiple complaints which indicates that this is a systemic problem with kia sorrentos. they'll warranty the power train for 100,000 miles but this seat only made it for about 50,000 miles.

The 2nd row right side seat is stuck in the down position. it has always been tough to move up and down but i thought it would get better as we used it. that sure didnt happen! as a family that uses the 3rd row quite often i am very upset to see that there are many people who have had the same issue! this does not appear to be an easy fix as some have had the whole chair replaced.

Kia sorento 2013 2nd row seat (passenger side) stuck down, this is the 2nd time i have had it fixed. i bought the car brand new in 2012, and it has always been difficult to operate, lever sometimes would feel stuck. i would have to sometimes press on the seat to make the lever work, or shake the seat while pulling on the lever. first time it broke while trying to put the seat down it would not go down and felt like the lever was not engaged happened at home december 2015. i had it fixed on feb 11 2016 at the dealership, and it was considered under warranty. it broke again a month ago august 2018 while i was parked and trying to put the seat back up, it would not go back up. the lever would move but it did not allow the seat to go back up. i brought it in for an estimate on sept 6 2018. the estimate says "needs lever, cables and hinges") $500 parts and $300 labor. i see that there are several kia owners with the same problem and wondering if kia is recalling it.

Right rear seat is locked in the folded down position. it will not release

The middle right side seat is defective - it is stuck in the down position; the dealership said a cable broke and they could not fix it and it is $600 for a new seat. my daughter simply tried to raise the seat; nothing out of the ordinary. i searched salvage yards to find a replacement and found out everytime a sorento arrives at the yard, that particular seat is snatched up. i've also gone online and found it to be a chronic problem - the mechanism is faulty and there should be a no-charge fix for it.

My 2013 kia sorento with a theta 2.4 liter engine experienced complete engine failure at 63,000 miles; on tuesday 3/21/17. when my engine failed/heard loud engine noises i was driving on highway i-10 north in tucson az rush hour traffic, i had to coast over immediately to the side of the highway, very dangerous lucky no accident. i uncovered important information about kia theta 2.4 liter engine problems. spoke to kia certified master technician; morgan that took apart my engine for warranty evaluation. he said they have been seeing this engine problem; it's failure of the #3 cylinder connecting rod, feels it's an engineering mistake, the port sizes for the oil flow are not sized properly, causing insufficient oil flow overtime and complete engine failure. my engine looked brand new, there was no sludge build up, and the oil pump looked brand new as well. i have attached pictures for proof. there were very small bronze colored metal flakes in the oil pan; he said it was like panning for gold in the oil pan. the metal flake erosion didn't happen overnight this was slowly happening with every mile being driven; the metal from the connecting rod bearings eroded overtime in small metal flakes and collected in the oil pan. i had peoria kia in peoria, az do my last warranty inspection & maintenance service/oil change on my 2013 kia sorento in december 2016. i especially asked the service advisor to check out everything including the engine before the 60,000 mile second owner powertrain warranty was about to expired. kia knew about the numerous past warranty claims on this 2.4 liter engine, a quick oil analysis would have shown metal debris particulates in the oil, indicating a serious engine problem developing. the metal shavings collecting in the oil pan that should have been detected beforehand.

I have had the second passenger side rear seat latch repaired 3x already. it is going in for 4th time next week.

Rear seat latch broke in reclined position ,has been hard to operate since purchased.in driveway when incident occured

Rear seat latch malfunction. the seat is stuck in an upright position. the latch does not work at all. very inconvenient when the whole family is in the car. kids forced to enter and exit through trunk. annoying!! appointment at dealership next week. hopefully they will fix it free of charge because clearly its a design flaw.

The second row seat will not release.

Passenger side 2nd row seat was extremely difficult to fold down since the first day i bought it. now it is stuck and will not fold down at all. the latch seems to be broken. my kids were stuck in the 3rd row seat until i could remove my baby's car seat base to lay down the driver side 2nd row to let them climb out. had i been in a hurry to get them out it would have been impossible to do so.

The lever to fold down the second row seat has gotten stuck since i got the car. it was so hard to operate sometimes that no matter how much force you use the seat back lever will not release. the dealer is telling me the gear that holds the seat in place is not working. they say many kia sorrentos have the same problem. now the seat is in the down position and i can not get it back up. the dealer tells me it will cost $350 to have the lever replaced even though it has never worked. the middle saftey belt has never worked either. every time i take it to the dealer they say it is fixed. when i get home it doesn't work.

The second row seat on the passenger side that is supposed to fold down, use a latch to let the 3rd row passengers in or out of the vehicle , is not working level is loose feels like it is not connected to anything and the seat is stuck in the upright position. passengers in the 3rd row have to hoop out the back hatch door.

Second row right passenger seat handle to put seat down gets stuck and is very hard to put back up or lay it down to access the third row.

Second row passenger side latch to release seat from folded down position to upright position sticks and is impossible to reposition seat back. the seat is now permenantly in the folded down position and i am unable to use the seat.

Tl* the contact owns a 2013 kia sorento. approximately two weeks after the contact purchased the vehicle, she began smelling tar. the vehicle ws taken to the dealer, but the technician was unable to diagnose the failure. the failure recurred and the headlights burned out. the dealer replaced the headlights and stated that there was a recall; however, the contact did not receive any recall notice. approximately three weeks ago, the failure recurred and the driver seat began to burn, jamming the driver side door. the contact called 911 and the fire department extinguished the fire. there were no injuries and a police report was not filed. the vehicle was towed away by the insurance company. the vin and nhtsa campaign number were unavailable. the failure mileage was 37,000.

The second row passenger side seat is extremely difficult to fold down. i have been to the dealership 5 times already and it is still not fixed. i'm about to have to make a 6th trip. this can be a very dangerous situation as my son sits in the third row and if there's an emergency it's likely he will not be able to fold the seat down to escape the vehicle. *tr

I purchased my car on may 8, 2012. approximately 2 months later, i began having trouble with a loud thumping noise in the front end when accelerating. this thumping was most noticeable at lower speeds. i took the car back to the dealer on saturday, july 21, 2012. i called on tuesday, july 24, 2012 and was told that they are still testing my vehicle to determine what was wrong. i finally heard from the dealer on thursday, july 26, 2012, and was told that my new car required a new transmission, that it was on order and my car would be ready by wednesday, august 1, 2012. my vehicle was ready for pick up on saturday, august 4, 2012. the car was running fine. i had a regular maintenance check at 5,477 miles, oil and filter change, etc., on saturday, september 29, 2012. on monday, march 4 2013, i again began to hear the thumping noise, not loud, but it became louder as the week progressed. i took my car back to the dealer on saturday, march 9, 2013, informed my service advisor that the thumping noise was back, and that the lumbar was not working on the driver's seat. i was informed that i had to leave my car, so that the technician can look at it on the following monday. i received a call on tuesday, march 12, 2013 and was told that my car would need a transfer case, which had to be ordered and that my car would be ready in one week. i received a from the dealer on wednesday, march 20, 2013 informing me that my car was ready to be picked up, and that they could find nothing wrong with the lumbar support, as the technician tested it and could find nothing wrong, and that the routine maintenance due at the time was also performed however, there is still an issue with the lumbar in the driver's seat, the motor works, but the lumbar bar does not expand or contract for support. *tr

The lever to fold down the second row seat gets stuck. it is so hard to operate sometimes that no matter how much force you use the seat back lever will not release. after servicing it 3 times the dealer has told me they fixed it each time, but the intermittent problem is still present. they say the gear that holds the seat in place has very sharp teeth and was not manufactured properly. they say many kia sorrentos have the same problem. they say you have to wiggle the seat back as you try the release lever. the safety concern is if you have to exit the vehicle in an emergency the second row seat in the up position would prohibit the back seat passengers from escape. the seat in the down position would impeed the two second row passengers from exiting through the passenger door. *tr

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