2006 Kia Sorento

Owner complaints, recalls, fuel economy and safety ratings from public NHTSA and EPA data, updated Oct 17, 2026.

Fuel economy
15–16 mpgcombined; city 13–15, highway 18–20; every version of this model year
Five years of fuel
$20,300–$21,660U.S. average; Ohio $18,140–$19,350 at local prices; every version of this model year; fuel only, not other costs of owning it; 15,000 miles a year, at EIA fuel prices for the week of Oct 12, 2026
NHTSA overall safety rating
Not ratedlowest across the versions NHTSA tested
Recall campaigns
1over its history; check a VIN for open ones
Owner complaints
242filed with NHTSA; not adjusted for sales

Problems owners report

Owners have filed 242 complaints with NHTSA about the 2006 Sorento. These are unverified owner reports, counted by the part of the car they name; one complaint can name several parts. Counts aren't adjusted for how many were sold, so they don't show how reliable a car is.

Complaints by part of the car
PartComplaintsCrashesFiresInjuries
Engine67330
Exterior lighting56010
Electrical system53110
Power train35000
Steering33100
Air bags196110
Engine and engine cooling19000
Service brakes16100
Suspension10000
Unknown or other9021
Fuel/propulsion system8000
Vehicle speed control8100
13 more parts
Service brakes, hydraulic7000
Structure7202
Seats5201
Equipment4000
Fuel system, gasoline4000
Electronic stability control (ESC)3100
Interior lighting3000
Latches/locks/linkages3000
Service brakes, electric3000
Wheels3000
Seat belts2000
Tires2000
Visibility2000

Complaints by model year

Newer years have had less time to collect complaints, and counts aren't adjusted for sales, so a shorter bar doesn't mean a more reliable year.

  1. 2006242
  2. 2007154
  3. 2008217
  4. 200955
  5. 20111,520
  6. 2012880
  7. 2013981
  8. 2014988
  9. 2015753
  10. 20161,254
  11. 2017806
  12. 2018255
  13. 2019431
  14. 2020137
  15. 2021275
  16. 2022227
  17. 2023163
  18. 202450
  19. 2025134
  20. 20269

Every Sorento year side by side

Recalls

NHTSA lists 1 recall campaign for the 2006 Sorento over its history. Campaigns are matched by model and year, so each one may apply to a given car, and its repair may already be done: check a VIN on NHTSA's recall lookup for the open recalls on that exact car.

Exterior lighting: brake lights

NHTSA campaign 09V130000 · reported Apr 17, 2009 · 139,844 vehicles potentially affected

HUYNDAI-KIA IS RECALLING 139,844 MY 2006-2007- SEDONA, SPORTAGE, SORENTO AND MY RONDO AND AMANTI VEHICLES. THE STOP LAMP SWITCH IN THE AFFECTED VEHICLES MAY MALFUNCTION. A MALFUNCTIONING STOP LAMP SWITCH MAY CAUSE THE BRAKE LIGHTS TO NOT ILLUMINATE WHEN THE BRAKE PEDAL IS DEPRESSED OR MAY CAUSE THE BRAKE LIGHTS TO REMAIN ILLUMINATED WHEN THE BRAKE PEDAL IS RELEASED. A STOP LAMP SWITCH MALFUNCTION MAY ALSO AFFECT THE OPERATION OF THE BRAKE-TRANSMISSION SHIFT INTERLOCK FEATURE SO THE TRANSMISSION SHIFTER WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO BE SHIFTED OUT OF THE PARK POSITION. IT MAY ALSO CAUSE THE ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) MALFUNCTION LIGHT TO ILLUMINATE, AND IT MAY NOT DEACTIVATE THE CRUISE CONTROL WHEN THE BRAKE PEDAL IS DEPRESSED.

Risk: ANY OF THESE MALFUNCTIONS, ALONE OR IN COMBINATION, MAY LEAD TO A CRASH.

Remedy: DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE STOP LAMP SWITCH FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON JUNE 17, 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT KIA'S CONSUMER ASSISTANCE CENTER AT 1-800-333-4542.

NHTSA's record and documents

Service bulletins and investigations

Carmakers sent NHTSA 19 service bulletins and notices that cover the 2006 Sorento, the latest on Sep 13, 2021. They tell dealers how to fix known issues.

The parts they mention most: engine and engine cooling (4), power train (4), equipment (3), equipment adaptive/mobility (3), exterior lighting (3).

NHTSA defect investigations

Opening an investigation isn't a finding of a defect. Outcomes are as NHTSA's summary states them. A recall is shown as an investigation's outcome only where NHTSA's summary names it; other recalls NHTSA's file lists with it are marked as listed, not caused.

InvestigationPartOpenedStatus
Defect petition DP21003
Throttle control system vulnerabilities · covers 2 makes		Vehicle speed controlNov 12, 2021Closed Jun 20, 2023
Petition denied
NHTSA's record and documents

Maintenance

Oil

The owner's manual gives the oil and how often to change it. We show oil facts only once we've checked them against the manual, and we haven't yet for the 2006 Sorento.

Oil change near you: Jiffy Lube · Take 5

Used ones for sale

See used 2006 Kia Sorentos for sale on: Autotrader · CarMax

These are searches on those sites; we don't copy or check their listings. Your ZIP is used for these links and never kept.

Specs

EPA class: sport utility vehicle. Each version EPA tested:

VersionEngineTransmissionFuelCity / hwy / comb
Sorento
Rear-Wheel Drive		3.5 L, 6 cylAutomatic 5-spdRegular Gasoline14 / 20 / 16
Sorento
Rear-Wheel Drive		3.5 L, 6 cylManual 5-spdRegular Gasoline15 / 19 / 16
Sorento
4-Wheel or All-Wheel Drive		3.5 L, 6 cylManual 5-spdRegular Gasoline14 / 18 / 16
Sorento
4-Wheel or All-Wheel Drive		3.5 L, 6 cylAutomatic 5-spdRegular Gasoline13 / 18 / 15

Sources and dates

Fuel cost: EPA mpg with fuel prices for the week of Oct 12, 2026 and electricity prices for Jul 2026. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (Oct 2026). Complaints are unverified reports owners filed with NHTSA. About the data