ABS module or sensor failure on the 2011 Kia Sorento
When abs module or sensor failure gets reported
Owners of the 2011 Kia Sorento report ABS module or sensor failure at a median of 75,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 55,000 miles and a quarter after 95,000 miles, from 12 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 95,000 miles. It is the 24th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 10,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 130,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 120,804 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.
25% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11,100 miles | 55,500 miles | 73,500 miles | 95,035 miles | 131,904 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 $500–$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 9 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2017, at a median of 1,100 miles, and latest on the 2018 at 125,000 miles.
By volume the 2011 is the worst of them, which makes this a problem of this specific year rather than of the model as a whole.
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.
My 2011 kia sorento ex v6 AWD was brought in to a kia dealer 15 days ago to check on the brakes, which seemed to have a longer than normal "play" before engaging. The mechanic at the dealership agreed and replaced the master cylinder. After I brought it home, the next morning the pedal almost went all the way to the floor! It seemed to have air in the system after I pumped the pedal. I brought it back to the dealer where they again replaced the master cylinder. (I personally think they put in a rebuild kit the first time). The mechanic tried mechanical and manual methods to get all the air out with no success. They again replaced the master cylinder, again with no success. They then replaced the ABS module, again it did not solve the problem. They are sending out a kia engineer to see if problem can be resolved. He will arrive monday nov 8! The SUV is still at the dealership, which will be a total of 21 days! Have there been any other incidents of this problem? *tr
Bought new 2011 kia sorento in february and have 11,000 miles on it. I have taken it in several times for the push to start taking a bit to start. It seems as if sometimes it is not going to start. Took it in at 8000 miles and they said it was a brake sensor and the part was on back order. Just got that fixed with 11,000 miles on it. Took kia in this week for a noise in the front wheel because it sounds like the wheel is going to fall off. Problem was not fixed. Said kia was working to resolve issue with brake pad but that it was safe for me to drive and that nothing would happen. Not to happy about my service not getting taking care of when I take it in. Apparently they need to just replace our cars if they can't fix it. I don't appreciate buying a $27,000 car and being told that they are working on a solution. Very disappointed in my new kia already having all these problems and only 11,000 miles on it. *kb
Kia sorento infrequent and unpredictable loss of power during moderate acceleration. During certain conditions, which have included moderate uphill climbs, highway driving and city under 50mph and at moderate acceleration, the vehicle will suddenly loose power, fail to upshift when needed, or show no signs of power, followed by erratic shifting and a loud clunk. At other times on highway driving, the car will, for no apparent reason, downshift on flat sections when speeds are between 45-65mph. Multiple trips to the dealer: 1/8/13, 95,035 miles- dealer could not replicate, inhibitor switch bracket installed, did not resolve the issue 7/26/13, 106,574 miles-electronic stability and ABS light come on, similar to stop lamp switch, dealer could not replicate, did see error codes but did not provide them to customer, reset the computer. Not resolved. 10/3/13, 107,842-transmission still jerking, dealer tried replacing automatic transmission fluid, did not resolve the issue. Took to alternative dealer-road test with customer-advised the problem will need to become worse and more frequent to diagnose. This is leading to unsafe conditions…
Also reported on the 2011 Kia Sorento
Other body or interior problem
Other engine problem
Other powertrain problem
Airbag warning light or occupant sensor fault
Other electrical problem
Door latch or handle failure
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 18 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 abs module or sensor failure happen on the 2011 Kia Sorento?
Across 12 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 75,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 55,000 miles and a quarter after 95,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is abs module or sensor failure on the 2011 Kia Sorento?
18 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.1 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