Owner complaints, recalls, fuel economy and safety ratings from public NHTSA and EPA data, updated Oct 17, 2026.
Fuel economy
17–18 mpgcombined; city 15–16, highway 20–22; every version of this model year
Five years of fuel
$18,050–$19,110U.S. average; Ohio $16,120–$17,070 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
Owners have filed 55 complaints with NHTSA about the 2009 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
Part
Complaints
Crashes
Fires
Injuries
Air bags
21
2
0
3
Electrical system
14
0
0
0
Power train
9
0
0
0
Electronic stability control (ESC)
8
0
0
0
Service brakes, hydraulic
6
0
0
0
Vehicle speed control
6
0
0
0
Engine
4
0
0
0
Seats
3
0
0
0
Unknown or other
3
0
1
0
Service brakes
2
0
0
0
Exterior lighting
1
0
0
0
Structure
1
0
0
0
1 more part
Tires
1
0
0
0
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.
NHTSA lists 2 recall campaigns for the 2009 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.
Electrical system; Service brakes, hydraulic: antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip
Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2006-2010 Sedona and 2007-2009 Sorento vehicles. Moisture may enter the Anti-lock Brake (ABS) Module and result in an electrical short.
Risk: An electrical short within the ABS Module may cause an engine compartment fire, even when the vehicle is turned off, increasing the risk of an injury.
Remedy: Kia will notify owners, and dealers will install a relay in the main junction box to prevent power from being directed to the HECU when the vehicle's ignition switch is turned off, free of charge. The recall began June 5, 2020. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC186.
Kia Motors Corporation (Kia) is recalling certain model year 2007-2010 Rondo, model year 2007-2011 Sedona, Sorento and Sportage, model year 2010-2011 Soul, model year 2008-2011 Optima, model year 2010 Forte, model year 2007-2009 Amanti, and model year 2009 Borrego vehicles. Originally, in April 2013, Kia recalled 623,658 model year 2007-2010 Rondo and Sportage, model year 2007-2011 Sorento, model year 2007 Sedona, model year 2010-2011 Soul, and model year 2011 Optima vehicles. In September 2013, Kia informed the agency that it was adding an additional 356,719 vehicles to this campaign. The total number of vehicles being recalled is now 980,377. In the affected vehicles, the stop lamp switch may malfunction. A malfunctioning stop lamp switch may cause the brake lights to not illuminate when the brake pedal is depressed or may cause an inability to deactivate the cruise control by depressing the brake pedal. Additionally, a malfunctioning stop lamp switch may also result in intermittent operation of the push-button start feature, affect the operation of the brake-transmission shift interlock feature preventing the shifter from being moved out of the PARK position and cause the Electronic Stability Control (ESC) malfunction light to illuminate.
Risk: Failure to illuminate the stop lamps during braking or inability to disengage the cruise control could increase the risk of a crash. Additionally, when the ignition is in the 'ON' position, the transmission shifter may be able to be moved out of PARK without first applying the brake. This may lead to unintentional movement of the car which may increase the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Kia will send an interim notification to owners in May 2013. When parts are available, owners will receive a second notification and dealers will replace the stop lamp switch, free of charge. Owners may contact Kia at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's recall campaign number is SC098.
Carmakers sent NHTSA 16 service bulletins and notices that cover the 2009 Sorento, the latest on Sep 13, 2021. They tell dealers how to fix known issues.
The parts they mention most: electrical system (5), engine and engine cooling (5), equipment (4), equipment adaptive/mobility (4), power train (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.
Investigation
Part
Opened
Status
Defect petition DP21003 Throttle control system vulnerabilities · covers 2 makes
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 2009 Sorento.
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:
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Version
Engine
Transmission
Fuel
City / hwy / comb
Sorento Rear-Wheel Drive
3.3 L, 6 cyl
Automatic 5-spd
Regular Gasoline
16 / 22 / 18
Sorento Rear-Wheel Drive
3.8 L, 6 cyl
Automatic 5-spd
Regular Gasoline
15 / 21 / 17
Sorento 4-Wheel or All-Wheel Drive
3.3 L, 6 cyl
Automatic 5-spd
Regular Gasoline
15 / 22 / 17
Sorento 4-Wheel or All-Wheel Drive
3.8 L, 6 cyl
Automatic 5-spd
Regular Gasoline
15 / 20 / 17
Sources and dates
U.S. EPA fuel economy data, file of Sep 29, 2026
NHTSA owner complaints, file of Oct 17, 2026
NHTSA recalls, file of Oct 17, 2026
NHTSA manufacturer communications, file of Oct 17, 2026
NHTSA defect investigations, file of Oct 17, 2026
NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings, file of Aug 7, 2026
U.S. Energy Information Administration, file of Oct 12, 2026
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