The Lemon Index$7,500 middle bill · most between $6,000 and $10,000
About the same as the $8,000 middle bill owners of all 168 models reported.
Owners who gave their mileage: a middle of 105,000 miles (48 reports).
Kia Sorento owners reported paying a median of $7,500 for a engine replacement, with the middle half of bills between $6,000 and $10,000. That's from 98 owner reports (98 complaints to NHTSA). Costs vary by shop and region.
What owners paid
- Under $5000%
- $500–$1,0000%
- $1,000–$2,5004%
- $2,500–$5,0008%
- $5,000 and up88%
Share of the 98 owner reports in each price band.
By model year
- 2003 Kia Sorento2too few for a middle
- 2004 Kia Sorento1too few for a middle
- 2005 Kia Sorento2too few for a middle
- 2006 Kia Sorento6$5,200 middle bill
- 2008 Kia Sorento1too few for a middle
- 2011 Kia Sorento3$6,500 middle bill
- 2012 Kia Sorento14$6,800 middle bill
- 2013 Kia Sorento11$6,500 middle bill
- 2014 Kia Sorento8$10,500 middle bill
- 2015 Kia Sorento9$8,000 middle bill
- 2016 Kia Sorento22$10,000 middle bill
- 2017 Kia Sorento11$10,000 middle bill
- 2018 Kia Sorento3$8,400 middle bill
- 2019 Kia Sorento2too few for a middle
- 2020 Kia Sorento3$11,000 middle bill
Reports per model year, with the middle bill where there are 3 or more. YouTube amounts count for the generation the video covers.
How often owners report the failure
- 2016 Kia Sorento223 complaints name it18% of that year's complaints
- 2015 Kia Sorento131 complaints name it17% of that year's complaints
- 2017 Kia Sorento122 complaints name it15% of that year's complaints
- 2012 Kia Sorento121 complaints name it14% of that year's complaints
- 2013 Kia Sorento116 complaints name it12% of that year's complaints
- 2014 Kia Sorento86 complaints name it9% of that year's complaints
Owner complaints to NHTSA whose own words name a engine failure. Raw counts: popular years get more complaints. A complaint is a report, not proof of a defect.
Engines in these years
2.4 Theta II · 3.3 V6 (Lambda II) · Theta II 2.0 turbo (G4KH)
Engines with a page of their own that this model was sold with in the years above. Owners don't always say which engine they had.
Keep going
- Kia Sorento reliability by year
- Engine replacement cost on every car
- Car symptoms and what they can mean
Other repairs Kia Sorento owners reported
Airbag module and clock spring replacement (10) · Fuel pump replacement (7) · Brake repair (6) · Transmission replacement (6) · Fuel injector replacement (5)
The details
How we count
Every number here is a repair bill an owner reported, never a shop's price list. Two sources: the bills owners wrote in their own complaints to the U.S. government (NHTSA), and the dollar amounts owners said out loud in YouTube repair and ownership videos. A figure counts for a repair when that repair is the part named nearest to it. Left out: purchase prices, payments, rentals, towing, warranties and deductibles, amounts under $50 or over $15,000, parts-only prices ("the part was $80 on Amazon"), bills for two different repairs named together, and money someone else paid. One number per complaint (or video) and repair: the biggest, so it's the bill, not the diagnosis fee.
The range is the middle half of the bills (the 25th to the 75th percentile), so one wild number can't swing it. Owners who complain to the government often had expensive repairs, so a typical bill can be lower. Costs vary by shop and region, by dealer vs independent shop, by parts and by miles. This is what owners reported, not a quote for your car.
Check the bills yourself
NHTSA complaint numbers (search them at nhtsa.gov): 11773067, 11766758, 11757589, 11748442, 11748438, 11720382, 11688542, 11646868, 11645403, 11626020, 11608404, 11606325 and more.
Quick answers
How much does engine replacement cost on a Kia Sorento?
Kia Sorento owners reported a median of $7,500, and the middle half paid $6,000 to $10,000, from 98 owner reports. Costs vary by shop and region.
Is a Kia Sorento engine replacement more expensive than on other cars?
The Kia Sorento middle bill of $7,500 is about the same as the $8,000 owners of all 168 models we have reports for paid.
Where do these Kia Sorento repair costs come from?
From 98 complaints to NHTSA: what owners themselves said they paid. They aren't verified bills or a shop's quote.
Which Kia Sorento years report this failure most?
In complaints to NHTSA, owners of the 2016 (223), 2015 (131), 2017 (122) Kia Sorento named it most. Raw counts, not a failure rate.
Sources: NHTSA owner complaints and YouTube videos (amounts said out loud), sorted by The Lemon Index. Owner reports, not a price quote. Costs vary by shop and region.