‘The brakes would activate for no reason’: Woman buys Kia with only 17 miles. These are all the service tickets she’s had to come in for

A Kia driver is going viral on TikTok after sharing the various issues she’s had since purchasing her once-new 2022 Kia Sorento.

Kara White (@kara.white7) said she purchased the car from a local dealer with just 17 miles on it. But, the driver said she began experiencing issues with the vehicle almost immediately. 

“The brakes would activate for no reason,” she said. “The driver’s seat belt would only work when it wanted to.” White said that she initially called the Kia dealership twice but was told to make sure “there was no dirt” on the camera area that would cause the brakes to randomly go off. Otherwise, they offered little-to-no help—and White said that Kia refuses to buy back her “unsafe” car. 

“Kia, please do better,” White said. “I have proven multiple times that this vehicle is unsafe. I don’t know what else you want from me.” As of Tuesday, the content creator’s video calling out the popular automaker had amassed more than 291,900 views.

What happened with the driver’s new car?

On her third call to the dealership, White said that she “advocated for myself and told them they needed to look at the car.” That led to Kia holding her Sorento for 11 days, she said, but workers were ultimately only able to fit the seat belt and said they couldn’t figure out the brake issues.

After getting her car back, White said she was in the middle of driving her car when her Kia “decided it did not want to accelerate.” White said this almost caused an accident while she and her family were in the car.

White said that she took the car back to the dealership again, where workers admitted they didn’t know how to fix what was wrong. In the end, she said the dealership gave her a new transmission.

But White’s car problems only worsened. She said the new transmission experienced issues and that the car’s safety features were still going off. “I started to document everything,” White shared. Eventually, she added, the check-engine light came on and the car couldn’t go above 55 mph on the highway.

These compounding issues led to a sort-of back-and-forth between White and Kia, she shared. Essentially, the driver would notice issues with her car and take it into a Kia dealership for assistance. But, while there, Kia would say they couldn’t recreate the problem—or simply couldn’t fix it—and would give the car back. White suggested that this pattern continued for months. And the only tangible solution she received from a dealership manager was to buy a new car, which White said was outside of what she could afford, she explained.

Eventually, White said she and Kia agreed to put a flight recorder in the car, which documented it losing power while at a red light. “Whenever I got power back, the flight recorder was flashing red,” White said. “When I took it back to them, [they] said that the flight recorder wasn’t showing anything.”

White said she was still documenting issues herself at this point. And when a new problem resurfaced, she said she decided to drive the car into Kia so workers there couldn’t tell her that her problems couldn’t be recreated. 

Now, given the number of problems she faced, White said she just wants Kia to buy back her car. But she said that the dealer refused. 

@kara.white7 @Kia worldwide @Kia America 2022 Kia Sorento, that has been in the shop multiple times with the same issue, putting my family at risk! @@WAVE@@WDRB News@@WDRB News##kiadobetter ♬ original sound - kara.white7

Has the driver received any updates? 

In a follow-up video, White said that she met with her state’s attorney general. She also said that she heard back from the Better Business Bureau, which is opening a case on her behalf. “That can take about ten to 12 business days,” said White, who posted her latest video on Monday.

In addition, White said the CEO of the local dealership where she bought the vehicle got in touch and is starting its own investigation. “I’m hoping we can start to get to a resolution,” White said, noting that she didn’t plan on exposing said dealership.

In the end, White thanked viewers who boosted her story. “This journey is crazy, and I just can’t thank everybody enough,” she said.

Problems with Kia cars 

According to CoPilot, shoppers on the market for a new car should avoid buying Kias that were manufactured in certain years. It recommended avoiding buying used Kia Sorentos from the following model years: 2004, 2006, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2016.

“The common issues include engine problems, electrical problems, airbag problems, seat belt problems, lights problems, and body/paint problems,” CoPilot shared.

But, it added, engine failure is the most common problem associated with Sorentos.

“This occurs when most consumers have accumulated an average of 62,000 miles,” it said. “We recommend staying clear from them, as they may cost you more money in repairs.”

Not all Sorento models experience widespread issues, though. The site noted, for instance, that used models outside of the aforementioned years they listed are largely safe to buy.

Still, White isn’t the only Kia driver to experience issues with her 2022 model. In a 2021 Reddit thread (r/KiaSorento), another driver said she felt like her car was a “ticking time bomb.” Specifically, they said they were experiencing issues with their Sorentos transmission and powertrain. 

Of course, some drivers who said they drive the same car reported zero issues—so it’s possible that the issues associated with the 2022 Sorento are not necessarily widespread. 

“Had zero probs with ours,” one Redditor shared. “Can’t wait to get another one!”

“Bought my 2022 sorento 3 months ago and love it 0 issues,” another said.

Viewers react to the Kia driver's horror story 

In the comments of White’s video, many viewers encouraged her to stick with other auto manufacturers for future car purchases. 

“As a former Toyota tech, go for Toyota or Honda,” one worker shared. “Buy you one that is pre-2020 models. Thank me later.”

“There’s no reason to buy anything other than a Honda or Toyota,” another person added. 

“Toyota,” a third person wrote. “End of story.”

And if White isn’t in the financial position to buy a new car, others recommended getting lawyers involved with her ongoing Kia-related issues. 

“Lemon law and lawyer up,” one person advised. 

“Call your attorney general for your state,” another said. 

“Sue em for the cost of the vehicle and then some,” a third viewer added.

The Daily Dot has reached out to White via TikTok comment and to Kia by email.

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