Other engine problem on the 2007 Kia Sorento
When other engine problem gets reported
Owners of the 2007 Kia Sorento report other engine problem at a median of 85,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 75,000 miles and a quarter after 135,000 miles, from 9 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 95,000 miles. It is the 5th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 15,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 145,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 130,031 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
A spread this wide points at use rather than design. Towing, climate, service history and city mileage all move a failure like this, so the median is a weak guide to any individual car.
22% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12,769 miles | 75,000 miles | 87,000 miles | 134,000 miles | 142,800 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
Putting it right typically runs $300–$4,000 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 21 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2023, at a median of 1,600 miles, and latest on the 2014 at 101,000 miles.
By volume the 2016 carries the most reports, with 340; the 2007 has 10. 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.
Well bought this new kia sorento on 01-06-07 well noticed on 01-07-07 a tciking noice comming from engine brought it back I on monday 01-08-07 service manager at world kia iof las vegas says its new needs to e broke in then I get a recall notice fix on 02-23-07 fre of course now on 4-23-07 brought back in the ticking noice got worse replace lifeters tensinor assy almost a complete over haul on engine at 1843 miles fixed then on 6-29-07 the upper raidator hose blows at 3049 miles ask why service manager kevin blackwell ays they dont know I brougth this back not even one day to get my other vechile back well they say you signed the new car note this SUV has 3350 miles on now and with this amount of work already that has ben dont I cant even get a good geal on a trade once they run a carfax report it will show this is a problem SUV so who wants it my opion the dealer gives me back my money in full of what I paid for it let him have his problem SUV
2007 kia sorento engine blown up. No warning signs had occurred. No check engine light came on. While driving the car lost all power. Upon an inspection the oil had turned to sludge. Oil only had approx. 900 miles. Needed to have new engine installed. *tr
During acceleration, the "esc off" light comes on, the "check engine" light comes on, and I lose power simultaneously. When I turn the car off and restart it, the esc off light does not come back but the check engine light stays on. This happened 3 times on during my hour commute to work. If I was in a passing situation or were in the middle of crossing traffic, this would have been a serious safety concern. *tr
Also reported on the 2007 Kia Sorento
Control module (ECM/PCM/BCM) failure
Airbag warning light or occupant sensor fault
Other powertrain problem
Other brake problem
Other body or interior problem
Other driver assistance problem
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 10 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 engine problem happen on the 2007 Kia Sorento?
Across 9 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 85,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 75,000 miles and a quarter after 135,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is other engine problem on the 2007 Kia Sorento?
10 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.3 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