Kia bulletin TSB_TRA111_R1
What it saysThis bulletin has been revised to include additional information. NHTSA’s full summary ↓
Kia filed this with NHTSA as a service bulletin dated Aug 22, 2024, received Aug 29, 2024, about the power train. It names 6 model years (2021–2023). A service bulletin is not a safety recall: it is the manufacturer telling its dealers how to diagnose or repair a condition, and whether the work is paid for depends on the warranty in force. Quoting the number at a service desk can save a diagnosis.
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What the bulletin says
Source: NHTSA's summary of the manufacturer's communicationWhat it applies to, as the document itself states it — the build window in the manufacturer’s own words, read by machine from the PDF NHTSA serves. The build date is on the certification label in the driver’s door jamb; the dealer settles a borderline vehicle by its VIN.
TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: 8-SPEED DUAL CLUTCH TRANSMISSION EOP SENSORLESS LOGIC IMPROVEMENT - This bulletin has been revised to include additional information. New/revised sections of this bulletin are indicated by a black bar in the margin area. This bulletin provides information to improve the Electric Oil Pump ‘EOP’ operation logic of the automatic transmission 'A/T’ on some 2021-2023MY Sorento (MQ4a) vehicles produced from September 9, 2020 through December 29, 2023 and 2021-2023MY K5 (DL3a) vehicles produced from March 24, 2020 to December 18, 2023, equipped with a 2.5L T-GDI Theta III engines and 8-Speed Dual Clutch Transmissions (DCT). The affected vehicles may exhibit abnormal/harsh shifting, gear slipping, no gear engagement in Drive ‘D’ and/or Reverse ‘R’ shift selection, accompanied by a Malfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL) ‘ON’ illuminated on the instrument cluster with DTC(s) P1C2D03, P1C2D1C, and/or P1C2E92 stored.
Document filed under this number
| Document | Kind | Dated | NHTSA id | At NHTSA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TSB_TRA111_R1 | Service bulletin | Aug 22, 2024 | 11006664 | PDF, 593 KB |
The summary is NHTSA’s abstract of the document, as filed under 49 CFR 579.5. One communication is usually filed as several documents — the bulletin, a dealer notice, an owner letter — and the number on any of them finds this page. A PDF link is shown only once NHTSA’s own server has been seen to serve that document; the rest are checked over the following nights. Quote the number at a service desk; it is what the dealer’s system is keyed on.
Model years it names
Source: as the manufacturer filed themA vehicle page’s bulletin list shows the newest few communications filed against that model year; the count there is every one.
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What owners reported
Source: NHTSA complaint databaseOwners of the 6 model years this bulletin names have filed 1,083 complaints with NHTSA since 2015. 303 of them name Power Train — the same broad component group this bulletin is filed under. NHTSA groups complaints coarsely, so that means the same area of the vehicle, not necessarily the same fault.
On the 2021 Kia Sorento, the 22 owners who gave an odometer reading for Power Train reported it at a median of 65,000 miles. That figure is one model year’s, not the whole range this bulletin covers — medians from different model years are not averaged.
The drive train and motor slow to a near stop in traffic when trying to clear a lane and makes it very dangerouos for other traffic to have to wait for me to clear a lane. There is something wrong and we complained about this before the warranty ran out, but they could not find anything. The car stops in traffic unexpectedly.
2022 Kia Sorento · Power Train · filed with NHTSA Mar 11, 2026 · ODI 11723548
Transmission is itself in neutral while driving. Resulting in irratic RPMs, hesitating acceleration and rough transition to gears. Took care into dealership service department. They seemed that I would need a transmission replacement. Kia approved the request. Still waiting on transmission to be put in
2023 Kia K5 · Power Train · filed with NHTSA Aug 21, 2024 · ODI 11609954
1. First incident occurred on 10/29/24. My wife pulled into driveway and placed car into Park. When she shifted to reverse, the transmission didn't respond and the car revved to a very high RPM when she took foot off of brake, no foot on gas. Unable to shift it to go forward or backward.
2023 Kia Sorento · Power Train · filed with NHTSA Dec 11, 2024 · ODI 11630256
In depth: 2022 Kia Sorento transmission and drivetrain problems → · 2021 Kia Sorento transmission and drivetrain problems →
A complaint is one owner’s account, not a defect finding, and a bulletin is not a recall. Nothing here says this bulletin was issued because of these complaints, or that the repair it describes fixed them. Complaint files on this site begin in 2015.
More bulletins about the power train
Source: same model, same component group11 other manufacturer communications filed against these Kia models under the same component group (power train), newest first. The eight newest are listed; the rest are on the Kia list.
| Number | Kind | Dated | NHTSA’s summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| SC363 | Service campaign | Apr 17, 2026 | TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: VOLUNTARY SERVICE CAMPAIGN: OIL LEVEL PLUG (OLP) INSPECTION, AND OLP GASKET AND/OR ATF FILLER BOLT REPLACEMENT O… |
| SA630 | Over-the-air update | Sep 30, 2025 | TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: SERVICE ACTION: 8-SPEED TRANSMISSION GEAR SHIFT LOGIC IMPROVEMENT (SA630) - This bulletin provides information t… |
| TSB_TRA112 | Service bulletin | Sep 9, 2025 | TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: TRANSAXLE ASSEMBLY REPLACEMENT & HCU LOGIC IMPROVEMENT - This bulletin provides information to replace the trans… |
| TSB_TRA046_R5 | Service bulletin | Apr 17, 2025 | TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: TRANSMISSION FLUID APPLICATION GUIDE - This bulletin has been revised to include additional information. New/rev… |
| TSB_TRA111 | Service bulletin | Jul 31, 2024 | TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: 8-SPEED DUAL CLUTCH TRANSMISSION EOP SENSORLESS LOGIC IMPROVEMENT - This bulletin provides information to improv… |
| TSB_TRA046_R4 | Service bulletin | May 16, 2024 | This bulletin provides information relating to the correct transmission fluid type and fill quantity requirement for each Kia model. A flush… |
| TSB_TRA108_R1 | Service bulletin | Apr 25, 2024 | TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: 4WD COUPLING ACTUATOR ASSEMBLY REPLACEMENT - This bulletin has been revised to include additional information. N… |
| TSB_TRA105_R1 | Service bulletin | Apr 8, 2024 | TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: 4WD COUPLING NOISE INSPECTION AND SNAP RING REPLACEMENT - This bulletin has been revised to include additional i… |
Quote the number at the service desk. It is what the dealer’s system is keyed on.
Every manufacturer communication NHTSA holds for Kia, by the number printed on the letter.
Common questions
Source: NHTSA, 49 CFR 579.5Is Kia TSB_TRA111_R1 a recall?
No. A service bulletin is a manufacturer communication filed with NHTSA under 49 CFR 579.5; a safety recall carries an NHTSA campaign number (two digits, a letter, six digits) and a federal duty to repair for free. Check the vehicle’s recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls, or on its page here.
Is the TSB_TRA111_R1 repair free?
Not automatically. A service bulletin describes how to diagnose or repair a condition; who pays depends on the warranty in force, any extension, and the dealer. Quoting the number can save a diagnosis either way. Every Kia warranty extension on file lists the ones Kia has filed.
Which vehicles does TSB_TRA111_R1 cover?
The manufacturer filed it against 6 model years: 2023 Kia K5, 2022 Kia K5, 2021 Kia K5, 2023 Kia Sorento, 2022 Kia Sorento, 2021 Kia Sorento. Whether one particular vehicle is affected is a matter of its VIN and its build, not its model year alone. The document itself sets the build window: 2021 -2023MY Sorento (MQ4a): built 9 Sep 2020 – 29 Dec 2023; 2021 -2023MY K5 (DL3a): built 24 Mar 2020 – 18 Dec 2023; Sorento (MQ4a): built 9 Sep 2020 – 29 Dec 2023 — the build date is on the certification label in the driver’s door jamb.