Model-year matrix

Kia Sorento
which year?

Compare every Kia Sorento model year the EPA recorded, 2003 to 2027. See complaint patterns, fuel economy and configurations side by side, then open any year for recall campaigns and the full dossier. Confirm against the official NHTSA recall search.

Evidence-led answer

Looking for the best Kia Sorento year—or years to avoid?

The official records cannot honestly name a best, worst or most reliable year. Complaint totals have no sales, mileage or age denominator. They can show where more reports were filed and which components were named, giving you years to investigate more closely before checking the exact car and its VIN.

What is the best year for the Kia Sorento?

No official dataset can support one universal best year. Use the table to compare complaint patterns and EPA figures, then open the shortlisted years for recall campaigns and exact specifications.

Which Kia Sorento years should you avoid?

The records cannot justify a blanket avoid label. Years with more reports are surfaced below as research priorities, not predictions about every car from that year.

01 · More reports to inspect2011

1,517 indexed complaint reports; engine is the most-reported component label.

Open the 2011 dossier →02 · More reports to inspect2016

1,244 indexed complaint reports; engine is the most-reported component label.

Open the 2016 dossier →03 · More reports to inspect2014

982 indexed complaint reports; engine is the most-reported component label.

Open the 2014 dossier →

Do not read this as an avoid list. Older and higher-selling model years usually accumulate more reports. A low count can also mean a newer, rarer or poorly matched vehicle—not a safer one.

Read this as evidence, not a ranking.

Complaint totals are counts of owner-submitted allegations, not confirmed defects, and they carry no denominator: they are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, how old they are, how far they are driven, or how much publicity a fault received. A high-volume or older year will usually show more reports than a rare or recent one. The site does not convert these into a reliability score, because the data needed to do that honestly is not in the public record.

Direct comparison

Compare two Kia Sorento model years.

Choose any two years. The URL keeps the pair so you can return to the same comparison. Every figure below is an observed official record or EPA estimate—not a reliability score.

First model year

2026 Kia Sorento

NHTSA complaint allegations: 4
Combined EPA economy: 23–37 mpg/MPGe
EPA configurations: 7
Annual EPA fuel-cost estimate: $1,650–2,650
Fuel labels: Regular Gasoline

Most-reported component labelsback over prevention 1engine 1engine and engine cooling 1

Open the 2026 evidence dossier →

Second model year

2027 Kia Sorento

NHTSA complaint allegations: 0
Combined EPA economy: 37 mpg/MPGe
EPA configurations: 1
Annual EPA fuel-cost estimate: $1,650
Fuel labels: Regular Gasoline

Most-reported component labelsNo component label indexed

Open the 2027 evidence dossier →

Observed complaint-record difference

2027 has 4 fewer indexed complaint allegations than 2026.

This is not a rate or reliability finding. The counts have no sales, mileage, age or exposure denominator, and newer years have had less time to accumulate reports.

Side by side

Kia Sorento by year.

Complaint bars are scaled against this model’s own highest year, so they compare years with each other and with nothing else.

Kia Sorento model years with NHTSA complaint totals, most-reported components, EPA fuel economy and configuration counts
Year	Complaints	Most-reported components	Combined MPG	EPA configs	Annual fuel cost	Dossier
2027	0	—	37	1	$1,650	Dossier →
2026	4	back over prevention 1engine 1engine and engine cooling 1	23–37	7	$1,650–2,650	Dossier →
2025	70	unknown or other 20electrical system 19power train 19	23–36	7	$1,700–2,650	Dossier →
2024	36	electrical system 10structure 6unknown or other 6	23–37	7	$1,650–2,650	Dossier →
2023	115	electrical system 36unknown or other 34engine 28	24–37	7	$1,650–2,550	Dossier →
2022	185	power train 62engine 52unknown or other 37	24–37	7	$1,650–2,550	Dossier →
2021	238	power train 129engine 61electrical system 46	24–37	5	$1,650–2,550	Dossier →
2020	132	engine 64unknown or other 23electrical system 19	20–25	4	$2,450–3,100	Dossier →
2019	419	engine 151unknown or other 109electrical system 67	21–25	4	$2,450–2,950	Dossier →
2018	249	engine 103exterior lighting 41unknown or other 37	19–24	7	$2,550–3,250	Dossier →
2017	796	engine 381exterior lighting 125unknown or other 103	19–24	7	$2,550–3,250	Dossier →
2016	1,244	engine 690unknown or other 164power train 123	19–24	7	$2,550–3,250	Dossier →
2015	747	engine 359unknown or other 113structure 100	20–23	4	$2,650–3,100	Dossier →
2014	982	engine 385structure 161electrical system 152	20–22	5	$2,800–3,100	Dossier →
2013	980	engine 496electrical system 116structure 91	20–24	7	$2,550–3,100	Dossier →
2012	877	engine 461electrical system 127unknown or other 81	20–24	7	$2,550–3,100	Dossier →
2011	1,517	engine 284structure 269power train 266	20–24	5	$2,550–3,100	Dossier →
2009	55	air bags 21electrical system 14power train 9	17–18	4	$3,400–3,600	Dossier →
2008	217	air bags 67electronic stability control (esc) 44engine 35	17–18	4	$3,400–3,600	Dossier →
2007	154	air bags 61electrical system 21power train 20	17–18	4	$3,400–3,600	Dossier →
2006	242	engine 67exterior lighting 56electrical system 53	15–16	4	$3,850–4,100	Dossier →
2005	307	engine 63exterior lighting 56electrical system 49	15–16	4	$3,850–4,100	Dossier →
2004	220	engine and engine cooling 50engine 46power train 42	15–16	4	$3,850–4,100	Dossier →
2003	305	engine and engine cooling 83engine 43fuel system, gasoline 41	15	2	$4,100	Dossier →

Evidence snapshot generated August 25, 2026. “Not indexed” means NHTSA holds no complaint record matching this exact year, make and model — not that no fault occurred. Recall campaigns are not summarised here: NHTSA publishes no bulk recall dataset, and fetching them per year would take longer than the page should. Each year’s dossier shows its recalls in full, live from NHTSA.