Diagsheet

2019 Kia Sorento · symptom sheet

Infotainment, screen or backup camera fails

  • 48owner reports
  • 18,200median miles
  • 1involved a crash

Newest report Jul 17, 2026 · checked Sep 9, 2026

153 of the 426 complaints on this car are about the electrical system. 48 of those describe infotainment.

Tick what matches of 48 reports

18
19
7
1

What got replaced

Owners who name the part that was replaced mention the head unit or screen (21 reports) and the camera (19 reports).

Recalls and investigations

One recall on the electrical system covers the 2019 model year. A recall on the same system isn't always the same failure, so read the defect text.

23V-639Sep 15, 2023
Back Over Prevention: Sensing System: Camera

Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2019 Sorento vehicles. Due to a manufacturing error, water may leak into the rearview camera, which can cause the rearview camera image not to appear on the display. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."

Risk and remedy
Risk: A rearview camera that does not display an image can reduce the driver's rear view, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect the rearview camera and add additional water proofing to the camera harness, or replace the camera as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 8, 2024. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC282.

NHTSA investigations into the electrical system on the Sorento

PE19-004opened Mar 29, 2019
Electrical · model years 2011 to 2014

Non-crash vehicle fires. Closed dec 22, 2021, led to recall 20V-088.

NHTSA summary
During this Preliminary Evaluation (PE), the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) assessed the scope, frequency and potential safety-related consequences of non-crash vehicle fires caused by both engine failures and failures of other vehicle systems/components in model year (MY) 2011-2014 Kia Optima, MY 2011-2014 Kia Sorento and MY 2010-2015 Kia Soul vehicles equipped with Theta II, Gamma, Nu and Lambda II engines (approximately 1.7 million vehicles). ODI also reviewed field and other data on other Kia vehicles (approximately 3.6 million additional vehicles) equipped with the same engines used in the above-mentioned vehicles.As a result of this PE, Kia has issued NHTSA Recalls 20V-750 and 21V-844 to address potential engine failures and fires in certain Kia vehicles equipped with various engine types.Additional information on these and other related recall actions is available in the downloadable version of this resume available at NHTSA.gov.In addition, ODI has upgraded this PE to an Engineering Analysis (EA) 21-003 which will focus on potential recall scope concerns and recall remedy concerns related to the engine failure-related recalls mentioned above and conducted previously.See the EA21-003 Opening Resume available at NHTSA.gov for more information.Also available in the downloadable version of this resume is a list of the reference numbers for the 444 ODI reports, or Vehicle Owner Questionnaires (VOQs), cited above which ODI received through mid-November 2021.Note that
DP18-003opened Aug 21, 2018
Electrical · model years 2011 to 2014

Non-crash vehicle fires. Closed may 10, 2019, led to recall 18V-907.

NHTSA summary
In a letter dated June 11, 2018, the Center for Auto Safety (CAS) petitioned the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to initiate a safety defect investigation into non-collision related fires on model year (MY) 2011-2014 Kia Optima and Sorento, and Hyundai Sonata and Santa Fe vehicles. In a letter dated July 24, 2018, CAS requested that MY 2010-2015 Kia Soul vehicles be added to the petition. CAS stated that there is a higher number of complaints to NHTSA regarding non-crash fires on these vehicles compared to other similar vehicles. The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) had already opened Recall Queries (RQ17-003 and RQ17-004) on all Kia and Hyundai vehicles equipped with Theta II engines for engine failures that may cause stalling and fires.The queries cover most of the petition subject Optima, Sorento, Sonata, and Santa Fe vehicles but not any of the subject Soul vehicles.On August 21, 2018, ODI opened a Defect Petition (DP18-003) to evaluate whether to grant or deny the CAS petition. ODI sent Information Request letters to Kia and Hyundai (September and October 2018) requesting information on all engine and non-engine related fires in the petition vehicles.ODI performed extensive analysis on the information obtained from Kia and Hyundai. During the DP18-003 analysis, Kia and Hyundai each initiated three additional safety recalls related to engine compartment fires on certain petitioned and non-petitioned vehicles (nearly 740,000 total vehicles: Reca
EA14-002opened May 12, 2014
Visibility · model years 2011 to 2013

Panoramic glass sunroof breakage. Closed jan 15, 2021.

NHTSA summary
The investigation focused on spontaneous breakage (fracture) of the panoramic sunroof (sunroof) on MY 2011-2013 Kia Sorento vehicles. The sunroof is constructed of tempered glass (often referred to as ?safety glass?), which, when broken, crumbles into granular chunks rather than splintering into jagged shards. The failure summary above shows NHTSA reports identified by the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI), and reports submitted by Kia from start of production of the subject MY 2011-2013 Kia Sorento through October 8, 2019, the date of ODI's last request for Kia data.Reports of sunroof failures typically occurred while the vehicle was in motion and often described a loud noise when the fracture occurred. If the sunshade is closed when the sunroof fractures, the particles are contained, otherwise the particles can drop into the passenger compartment.Reported injuries generally were minor in nature, such as nicks and cuts that often occurred when complainants were cleaning-up glass particles post-incident. No crash incidents have been identified, and complaints display a declining trend since 2014.During EA14-002, ODI requested and obtained failure data for the subject vehicles, the MY 2014 Sorento (which used a similar sunroof from a different supplier), and other peer Kia products (Optima and Sportage).ODI also requested and obtained failure data for peer vehicles produced by Hyundai, Ford, Nissan, and Volkswagen and failure reports through a General Order NHTSA issued to
PE13-035opened Oct 21, 2013
Visibility · model years 2011 to 2013

Panoramic sunroof breakage. Closed may 21, 2014.

NHTSA summary
On October 21, 2013 the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE13-035 in order to further examine claims that the sunroof would spontaneously break on 2011-2013 Kia Sorento vehicles.The majority of these claims occurred while the vehicle was in motion.Glass shattering while driving may distract the driver, and the resulting glass particles which enter the passenger compartment may injure occupants.To date, ODI has received a total of 26 reports of sunroof breakage on the subject vehicles. Of those, 24 occurred while the vehicle was in motion.There were also four (4) injury incident reports for minor cuts/scratches. Kia submitted a total of 123 field incidents related to sunroof breakage in response to ODI's information request. Of this number, ODI identified 78 unique vehicle identification numbers (VINs), with 9 matching ODI complaint vehicles.Sixty of the submitted reports occurred while the vehicle was in motion.Fourteen (14) of the submitted reports alleged minor cuts/scratches from falling glass.Kia also submitted a total of 101 warranty and goodwill claims for sunroof replacement, of which 86 unique VINs were identified.Kia stated in its response that their field inspections identified only one potential cause for the sunroof breakage - external impacts from rocks or other foreign objects encountered while the vehicle was in motion.In the other instances, no evidence of a defect was found, however, Kia's inspection results were inconclusive as to a cause for the

None of these investigations covers the 2019 model year.

When it happens

Too few of these reports state a mileage to give a range.

119
220
523
3524
325
226

What owners wrote

“A crack on my dashboard by the airbag above glove box. I use a windshield screen and armor all it to protect it I’m afraid if there’s an accident the airbag will not work as designed and it could cause injury or death Kia said after 5 years it’s normal wear and tear I bought car new oct 2019”

Filed Jan 16, 2025

“Vehicle has LKA FCA and HBA error lights on. Dealer inspection found Active DTC C180508 LKAS Can-Signal error. C160649 ECU Software Error. CAN Line inspection found incorrect Can-Signal from Multifunction Camera.”

Filed Oct 7, 2024

“infotainment center glitching Attemped to resolve with KIA but they do not feel that this is a safety concern or feel it needs to be investigated appropriately. This occurs when driving typically on the highway because most of my travel is highway. When this occurs it is a distraction for the driver. It interferes with the ability to use hands free/calls/gps. There is no warning before failure.”

Filed Jul 10, 2024

“Infotainment center no longer has option for date/time. Option is grayed out. Dealership had vehicle for 89 days and returned it not fixed after claiming they resolved everything.”

Filed Jul 8, 2024

Should you keep driving it?

This page can't tell you that. 1 of 48 reports involved a crash. Owners who file are the ones who had a bad experience, and nobody checks their reports. If the problem affects steering, braking, power or a fire risk, treat it as a safety fault and have it inspected before a long or high-speed drive.

File your own report with NHTSA. Complaint counts are how a problem gets an investigation.

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