Selling a junk Kia Sorento
Any Sorento sells for scrap or parts, running or not. Below: what owners report most often for each model year, the recalls on file, and which of those change the offer. Enter your ZIP for a buyer near you.
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What owners report about the Kia Sorento
NHTSA has 13,706 owner complaints on file for the Kia Sorento, model years 2003 to 2022, the 28th-most of the 423 models in our data. The most-reported components are engine (3,786, 28%), other (1,413, 10%), electrical system (1,326, 10%). 450 complaints involved a crash, 653 a fire, and 694 say the vehicle had to be towed. The median mileage when the problem was reported is 78,500 miles. The 2011 model year has the most complaints (2,079). Data as of 2026-10-12.
When the top complaint is engine, the question for a seller is whether a buyer will resell the car, pull the parts or scrap it. Read our guide to selling a car with a blown engine: it explains which offers assume the part works and how to describe the car so the price holds at pickup.
Kia Sorento by model year
| Year | Complaints | Most reported | Crash | Fire | Recalls | Median miles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 421 | Engine and cooling | 13 | 3 | 1 | 78,000 |
| 2004 | 341 | Engine and cooling | 15 | 24 | 0 | 100,000 |
| 2005 | 457 | Engine | 31 | 7 | 0 | 93,000 |
| 2006 | 382 | Engine | 18 | 8 | 1 | 84,000 |
| 2007 | 224 | Air bags | 20 | 8 | 4 | 90,000 |
| 2008 | 319 | Air bags | 19 | 17 | 3 | 60,300 |
| 2009 | 79 | Air bags | 2 | 1 | 3 | 57,875 |
| 2010 | 3 | Air bags | 2 | 0 | 2 | — |
| 2011 | 2,079 | Engine | 65 | 111 | 8 | 85,000 |
| 2012 | 1,212 | Engine | 32 | 118 | 5 | 90,000 |
| 2013 | 1,298 | Engine | 37 | 71 | 5 | 80,000 |
| 2014 | 1,384 | Engine | 34 | 70 | 6 | 80,000 |
| 2015 | 966 | Engine | 33 | 22 | 3 | 75,000 |
| 2016 | 1,642 | Engine | 42 | 76 | 8 | 68,000 |
| 2017 | 1,047 | Engine | 18 | 44 | 4 | 53,178 |
| 2018 | 344 | Engine | 19 | 20 | 3 | 49,000 |
| 2019 | 634 | Engine | 20 | 29 | 2 | 30,845 |
| 2020 | 196 | Engine | 16 | 21 | 1 | 19,000 |
| 2021 | 384 | Transmission and drivetrain | 10 | 1 | 4 | 49,000 |
| 2022 | 294 | Transmission and drivetrain | 4 | 2 | 6 | 33,830 |
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not confirmed defects. Median miles is the odometer reading owners gave when they reported a problem, shown only where 20 or more reports include it.
Kia Sorento recalls
NHTSA lists 35 recall campaigns across these model years, most often for transmission and drivetrain (5), brakes (4), fuel system (3). Recall repairs are free at a franchised dealer. Before you sell, check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls; a buyer who plans to resell the car will.
- 2021 model year, electrical system (campaign 25V649000, Sep 2025): Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2021-2023 Sorento vehicles. The heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) blower motor wiring harness may be inadequate, which can result in a fire.
- 2011 model year, engine (campaign 23V877000, Dec 2023): Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2011 Sorento vehicles. An engine compartment fire can occur while driving.
- 2011 model year, brakes (campaign 23V652000, Sep 2023): Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2010-2019 Borrego, 2014-2016 Cadenza, 2010-2013 Forte, Forte Koup, Sportage, 2015-2018 K900, 2011-2015 Optima, 2011-2013 Optima Hybrid, Soul, 2012-2017 Rio, 2011-2014 Sorento,…
- 2019 model year, driver assistance (campaign 23V639000, Sep 2023): 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, …
- 2022 model year, driver assistance (campaign 23V610000, Aug 2023): Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2022-2023 Sorento, Sorento Hybrid, and Sorento Plug-in Hybrid (PHEV) vehicles. The mounting clips for the rearview camera may break, which can cause the rearview camera image …
What a Kia Sorento is worth as a junk car
Buyers price a junk Sorento on four things: its weight at today's scrap steel price (the floor), the parts still on it that can be resold, whether it starts and drives, and how far they have to tow it. None of those come from a complaint database, so use this page to describe the car accurately and our junk car value guide to work out a ceiling for the metal. Then get more than one offer.
Guides for selling this car
How to sell a car with a blown engine 
How much is my junk car worth? 
How junkyards price cars 
Catalytic converters and junk cars 
How to prepare your car for the junkyard 
Junk car scams and how to avoid them Other Kia models
- Kia Optima 10,428
- Kia Soul 7,471
- Kia Sportage 6,286
- Kia Forte 3,488
- Kia Sedona 3,423
- Kia Sephia 3,052
- Kia Rio 1,802
- Kia Spectra 1,211
Questions people ask
- What is a junk Kia Sorento worth?
- What a yard can recover: the car's weight at the current scrap steel price, plus parts it can resell (the catalytic converter, engine, transmission and wheels if they're good), minus towing and processing. The same Sorento gets different offers from different buyers, so compare at least two. Our value guide shows the public benchmark.
- Will a junkyard buy a Kia Sorento that doesn't run?
- Yes. Junkyards and junk car buyers take cars that don't start, and most arrange the tow. Tell them honestly whether it starts, whether the engine and transmission are still in it, and whether the catalytic converter is on; those are what change the price.
- Should I fix an open recall before selling a Kia Sorento?
- Recall repairs are free at a franchised dealer for as long as the car exists. If the car is going for scrap, the repair won't change the scrap price. If a buyer might resell it or pull parts, a completed recall can help. Check your VIN at NHTSA's recall lookup first.
- Where do these Kia Sorento numbers come from?
- From the complaint and recall data NHTSA publishes for every make and model, counted by model year on 2026-10-12. A complaint is an owner's report, not a confirmed defect, and the count rises with how many of the model were sold.