Other steering problem on the 2005 Kia Sorento
1 crash 1 injury 2 of the 17 reports for this failure mention a crash, a fire, an injury or a death. Those are the owner's words on the complaint form, not a verified finding, and one report can mention more than one.
When other steering problem gets reported
Owners of the 2005 Kia Sorento report other steering problem at a median of 105,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 90,000 miles and a quarter after 120,000 miles, from 14 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 95,000 miles. It is the 7th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 80,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 140,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 58,700 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
A window that narrow is the signature of a part that fails on its own schedule rather than on how the car is driven — which is usually a design or supplier problem rather than wear and tear.
0% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 79,200 miles | 91,000 miles | 103,000 miles | 119,025 miles | 137,900 miles |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Of these reports, 1 a crash and 1 an injury are mentioned. Owners write their own complaints and the agency does not verify them, so read this as what the reports say happened rather than as a confirmed count.
Putting it right typically runs $350–$2,400 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 16 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2019, at a median of 5,000 miles, and latest on the 2021 at 210,000 miles.
By volume the 2017 carries the most reports, with 77; the 2005 has 17. A mode that appears across most years of a model is usually a design choice rather than a bad batch.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
Tl*the contact owns a 2005 kia sorento. While driving at 15 MPH, the contact noticed that the power steering suddenly stopped functioning. The vehicle was towed to an authorized dealership where the contact was informed that the crank shaft pulley bolt needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired at the time of the complaint. The current and failure mileages were approximately 72,000. Updated 07/29/10 *bf the consumer also stated the vehicle lost steering. Updated 08/09/10*jb
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 kia sorrento. The contact was pulling into a driveway at relatively low speeds of 5 MPH when he noticed an unusual popping sound. The steering immediately failed and the contact was able to stop the vehicle without incident. The contact noticed that when turning the steering wheel, the tires would not move. The manufacturer advised having the vehicle towed to a local dealer for a diagnosis of the failure. The contact stated he would have his personal mechanic diagnose the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileages were 78,000.
Tl*the contact owns a 2005 kia sorento. The contact stated that when entering her vehicle she had a difficult time trying to turn the steering wheel. The vehicle was towed to a independent mechanic who informed the contact that the bolt on the crank shaft had fractured. The manufacturer was contacted and offered no assistance. The VIN was unknown. The vehicle has not been repaired. The failure mileage was 82,000.
Also reported on the 2005 Kia Sorento
Other engine problem
Other lighting problem
Headlight failure or clouding
Timing chain, belt or tensioner failure
Other powertrain problem
Other electrical problem
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 17 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does other steering problem happen on the 2005 Kia Sorento?
Across 14 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 105,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 90,000 miles and a quarter after 120,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is other steering problem on the 2005 Kia Sorento?
17 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.6 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed