Problems · by component

2011 Kia Sorento air bags problems

183 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2011 Kia Sorento cite air bags, 12% of all 1,520 complaints for this model year.

Complaints
183
12% of all complaints
Crashes
19
Reported by owners
Fires
2
Reported by owners
Injuries
22
Reported by owners
01 —Owner reports

What owners say about the air bags

Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“In a letter dated August 14, 2019, KIA advised that the warranty coverage for the driver's front airbag clock spring assembly was extended to 15 years. the clock spring is an electrical connection which rotates with the steering wheel to maintain proper functioning of the airbag unit. If the airbag light stays on, and the car continues to be used without repair, the driver's airbag may eventually not deploy in a frontal impact. This is a safety issue, since the airbag may not work, KIA knew about it in 2019!! The 2011 KIA that I own is now 16 years old, and of course KIA refuses to pay for the repair. Now I am faced with an approximately $500.00 repair bill to make sure I'm safe in case of an accident. This should be investigated, and KIA should pay for the repair since it is an airbag safety issue.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jan 22, 2026Air bagsODI 11712727
“My car has been in the Kia shop for engine. We just stopped on the freeway and for the module recall and my safety bag is just constantly on since I’ve gotten it and now I’m noticing electrical issues that shouldn’t be someone told me. Hey you need to file a complaint because your car can catch on fire And I don’t know what else to do but to do a paper trail just in case but it’s been recalls after recalls”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jan 6, 2025Electrical system, Air bagsODI 11634294
“1. Air bag light has been on for over a year. Was checked at dealership, and was told there is a recall on sensor. 2. Power Train, unknown of what's going on. Riding down the road all of a sudden it stalls for a minute. It's a hard jerk, like it's not getting gas, or the transmission is out of sinc. This started about two years ago. Took it to my local repairman, and he said it was a warning in the tire wheel letting me know something was wrong in the wheel. They repaired it, and I had no more problems until recently. It is doing it again. A hard jerk when I'm driving. 3. Other, passenger front and rear and drivers side rear doors locked up and I could not open them. This happen about two years ago. Took car to a certified electrical repairman and it cost me a fortune to get repaired. The clips that lock and unlock doors had to be replace. The repair was very costly.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Sep 28, 2024Power train, Air bags, Unknown or otherODI 11616981
“1-The front air bag sensor will nor register if a person is sitting in the sear, no matter the weight. 2-The modem keeps direction the vehicle to steer right. No matter how many alignments and parts are replaced, the ECM will not correct itself 3-KIA dealers will only repair the problem if the customer pays $$$$$$$$”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jul 8, 2024Steering, Electrical system, Air bagsODI 11600242
“The contact owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the front tires independently braked on and off quickly. The contact stated that the "Down Hill" symbol, traction control, and ABS warning lights were illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the clock spring and the angular velocity sensor needed to be replaced. The contact stated that the dealer retrieved DTC codes: C1260 and 934490RU0. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 117,757.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled May 15, 2024Service brakes, Air bagsODI 11588855
“When I started out with the car it drove alright then I had to take it back and forth for the wiring smelling like it was burning but have never caught on fire thank goodness had to get a tuneup spark plugs and it still doesn’t work right”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Aug 4, 2023Power train, Air bags, EngineODI 11536599

Showing 6 of 183 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.

Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 9, 2026NHTSA vehicle page

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.